Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Bharathan and K. G. George, in the 1980s.
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail, known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English-language productions. In a career spanning five decades, he has appeared in more than 420 films, predominantly in lead roles. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, nine Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South. He was honored with the Padma Shri, the second highest civilian award by the Government of India in 1998, for his contributions to cinema. He was also honored with the Kerala Prabha Award by the Government of Kerala in 2022.
Kesavan Venugopal, better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Malayalam and also in Tamil in a career spanning nearly five decades. He wrote screenplays and directed one film. Nedumudi Venu won three National Film Awards and six Kerala State Film Awards for his various performances in various Movies.
Prem Nazir was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. A popular cultural icon of Kerala, Nazir is often referred to as Nithyaharitha Nayakan. Nazir began his career as a stage actor and made his film debut with the 1952 film Marumakal. He took on the stage name Prem Nazir on the sets of his second film, Visappinte Vili (1952).
Sreenivasan is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such as Odaruthammava Aalariyam (1984), Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam (1986), Gandhinagar 2nd Street (1986), Nadodikkattu (1987), Pattanapravesham (1988), Varavelpu (1989), Thalayana Manthram (1990), Sandesam (1991), Midhunam (1993), Mazhayethum Munpe (1995), Azhakiya Ravanan (1996), Oru Maravathoor Kanavu (1998), Udayananu Tharam (2005), Katha Parayumpol (2007), and Njan Prakashan (2018) among which the latter is one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time. He has won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Screenplay, for Sandesam and Mazhayethum Munpe.
Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Parameswaran Sukumaran Nair, known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. He was considered one of the superstar trios of Malayalam cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s along with Soman and Jayan.
M. G. Soman was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He has also done roles in Tamil films Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, Naalai Namadhe, Kumara Vijayam and Airport. However, in the late 1980s and 1990s, he switched to character and villainous roles.
Madhavan Nair, commonly known by his stage name Madhu, is an Indian actor, director, producer, former college lecturer and former film studio owner, who works in Malayalam cinema and a certain number of Hindi and Tamil films. He was a prominent lead actor during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and has acted in more than 400 films. Madhu has also directed 12 films, produced 15 films and at one time owned the Uma Film Studio. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013 for his contributions towards the arts. He was honored with the J. C. Daniel Award by the Government of Kerala in 2004, for his outstanding contributions to Malayalam films. He is the president of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) Kerala Unit.
Jayasurya is an Indian actor, distributor, sponsor, model, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Award, three Kerala State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South for acting and Best Actor at the Cincinnati Film Festival held in Cincinnati, US. Jayasurya has also appeared in a few Tamil films.
P. V. Jagadish Kumar, better known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and television presenter. He has starred in over 400 Malayalam films and two Hindi films. He is best known for his comic and character roles. Jagadish starred in over 50 films as the lead actor during the 1990s. He was one of the bankable lead stars in Malayalam cinema during the 1990s.
Sathyan was an Indian actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. Known for his own style and versatility in acting, Satyan was one of the pioneers of realistic acting in Indian film industry. He is respectfully called Sathyan Master. He was also a soldier in the British Indian Army and later a police officer with the Travancore State Police.
T. G. Vinayakumar, professionally credited as Vinayan, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and lyricist, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and occasionally in Tamil cinema. He has done 40 Malayalam movies, 4 Tamil movies and one Telugu movie.
N. Sreedharan Nair, popularly known as Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair or just Kottarakkara, was an Indian actor, born as the son of Narayana Pillai and Ummini Amma in Kollam district, Kerala. He appeared in Malayalam movies.
Venu Nagavally was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director best known for his work in Malayalam film industry. He has directed 12 films. Son of writer, commentator, and broadcaster Nagavally R. S. Kurup, Venu has acted in about fifty films, directed films such as Sukhamo Devi (1986), Sarvakalashala (1987), Lal Salam (1990), and Aye Auto (1990), Aayirappara (1993) and scripted the commercially successful Kilukkam (1991). Venu Nagavally died at Thiruvananthapuram on 9 September 2010.
Velayudhan Pillai Gopynathan Nair Muralikrishnan, professionally credited as Murali Gopy, is an Indian actor-screenwriter, producer, author, singer, lyricist, music composer and journalist. He has written films like Ee Adutha Kaalathu, Left Right Left, Tiyaan, Kammara Sambhavam, and the highest-grossing Malayalam film Lucifer. He has won numerous awards including Filmfare Awards South and South Indian International Movie Awards.
Devan Sreenivasan, also known as Devji, is an Indian film and television actor, producer, and politician. He is known for his character roles in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and few in Kannada and Hindi language films. He has starred in over 380 films. He made his breakthrough in the 1987 film New Delhi.
Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Vinayan based on a screenplay by J. Pallassery. The film features Kalabhavan Mani, Kaveri, Praveena and Sai Kumar in the lead roles. The film centers around Ramu, a blind poet and singer who supports his family. However, their happiness dissipates soon after he gets cheated by a rich businessman turned politician. The film is reported to be inspired from Dosti (1964).
T. K. Balachandran was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Malayalam films. He has acted in more than 200 films. His areas of contribution includes production, dialogue, story, screenplay. He is the first actor to play a double role in the history of Malayalam cinema.
Mahesh is an Indian actor in Malayalam films and television serials. He came into the movie industry as a hero and later started doing negative roles and supporting roles.
Kaloor Dennis is an Indian film scriptwriter and novelist. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He started his career with Anubhavangale Nandi in 1979. He worked in more than 100 Malayalam movies with the areas of his contribution including script, story and dialogue. Popular movies scripted by him are Raktham (1981), Aa Rathri (1983), Sandarbam (1984), January Oru Orma (1986),Gajakesariyogam (1990), Mimics Parade (1991), Welcome to Kodaikanal (1992), Kudumbasametham (1992) and Paithrukam (1993). He won the 1992 Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay for Kudumbasametham His son Dinu Dennis has acted in the films Ottananayam (2005) and Ennitum (2006).
