Mohanlal Viswanathan is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Mohanlal has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 400 films. Mohanlal's contributions to the Malayalam cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2001, and Padma Bhushan in 2019, India's fourth and third highest civilian honours, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2009, he became the first actor in India to be awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army. Mohanlal was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN.
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, eleven Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and fifteen Filmfare Awards South. He was honored with the Padma Shri, the fourth-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.
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director and screenwriter. In a career spanning almost three decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 90 films in several Indian languages, predominantly Malayalam and Hindi, besides eight in Tamil, and two in Telugu. He is recipient of several accolades including three National Film Awards and Kerala State Film Awards. In 2012, the Government of India honoured him the Padma Shri, country's fourth highest civilian award.
Suresh Gopi is an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter and politician who is currently serving as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Minister of Tourism since June 2024. He was elected as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha in the 2024 general election from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, becoming the first BJP MP from Kerala, marking the party’s first-ever victory in a Lok Sabha election in the state. He is also serving as the President of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute from September 2023.
Naran (transl. Man) is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Joshiy and written by Ranjan Pramod. The film tells the story of Velayudhan (Mohanlal), an innocent homeless ruffian who exercise control over the Mullankolli village to maintain order with his code of conduct. Produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas, it also features Madhu, Siddique, Bhavana, Innocent, Jagathy Sreekumar, Devayani, Mamukoya, and Maniyanpilla Raju in supporting roles.
Joshiy is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and also directed Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada-language films. Joshiy is a pioneer of action thriller films in Malayalam cinema and his films are known for its stylized imagery, color grading and film noir.
Thanmathra is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Blessy, based on Padmarajan's short story "Orma". It portrays the effects of Alzheimer's disease on the life of Ramesan Nair (Mohanlal) and his family. The film collected three times its budget at the box-office and completed 150 days run. Thanmathra won five Kerala State Film Awards, which includes the Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and a Special Mention Award for the debutant actor Arjun Lal. It also won the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the 53rd National Film Awards.
Biju Menon is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam films, and also has a few Tamil and Telugu film credits. He made his debut in the 1994 Malayalam film Puthran. In a career spanning over two decades, he has appeared in over 150 films, and has won one National film award for Best Supporting Actor, three Kerala State Film Awards including one best actor, two Filmfare Awards South and nine Asianet Film Awards. He got the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2021 for the film Aarkkariyam.
Baba Kalyani is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Shaji Kailas, written by S. N. Swami, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas. It stars Mohanlal in the title role, and also features an ensemble cast featuring Indrajith Sukumaran, Biju Menon, Mamta Mohandas, Sai Kumar, and Jagathy Sreekumar in important roles. The film's music was composed by Alex Paul.
Thazhvaram is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language thriller film directed by Bharathan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. It stars Mohanlal, Salim Ghouse, Sumalatha, Anju, and Sankaradi. It tells the story of Balan (Mohanlal) who's on the lookout for Raju for avenging the murder of his wife Raji (Anju). Bharathan also composed the only song featured in the film, and the background score was provided by Johnson.
Amala Paul is an Indian actress and producer who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Starting her career acting debut in the Malayalam film Neelathamara (2009), in a minor supporting role, she later appeared as the lead actress role in the Tamil film Mynaa (2010).
Chamaram is a 1980 Malayalam film written by John Paul Puthusery and directed by Bharathan, starring Nedumudi Venu, Zarina Wahab, Prathap Pothan and Ratheesh. The story is about the tumultuous affair between a student and his college lecturer, an uncommon type of love story in Indian Cinema. This film has the evergreen song "Nadha Nee Varum Kalocha Kelkkuvan", sung by S. Janaki. Chamaram considered one of the landmark movies in Malayalam film history. The film broke all conventional concepts and moral equations in love. The film become a trend in 1980s campus as well as youth. Chamaram is one of the evergreen campus movies in Malayalam cinema. C.M.S. College was the location of Chamaram.
Beautiful is a 2011 Indian Malayalam musical drama film written by Anoop Menon and directed by V. K. Prakash. The film stars Jayasurya, Anoop Menon, and Meghana Raj in the lead roles. The cinematography was by Jomon T. John and the music was composed by Ratheesh Vegha. It tells the story of the intense bonding of two friends, one quadriplegic and the other a musician. The film was released on 2 December 2011 to predominantly positive reviews and was a commercial success.
Ratheesh Vega is a composer, singer, and musician who works in Malayalam films. He debuted as a film music composer in the 2010 hit film Cocktail.
Lokpal is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film written by S. N. Swamy and directed by Joshiy. The film stars Mohanlal as chef Nandagopal who leads a double life with an alter ego named Lokpal, a vigilante fighting against corruption. Kavya Madhavan, Meera Nandan, Manoj K. Jayan, Thambi Ramaiah, and Sai Kumar play supporting roles. The soundtrack was composed by Ratheesh Vegha. The film was released on 31 January 2013.
Ebbey Abraham, better known by his stage name Vysakh, is an Indian film director who works in Malayalam films and is known for several commercially successful films like Pokkiri Raja, Seniors, Mallu Singh, Pulimurugan and Madhura raja. He began his career as a television anchor and later as an associate director to Joshiy and Johny Antony. He debuted as an independent director in 2010 with Pokkiri Raja starring Mammootty and Prithviraj Sukumaran. In 2016, his directorial Pulimurugan starring Mohanlal and Jagapathi Babu became the first Malayalam film to gross around ₹100 crore at the box office.
Chettayees: Lovable Rascals is a 2012 Malayalam comedy film written by Sachy and directed by Shajoon Kariyal. The film is produced under the banner of Thakkaali Films, a production house launched by a group of friends – actors Biju Menon and Suresh Krishna, cinematographer P. Sukumar, writer Sachy, and director Shajoon Kariyal.
Ladies and Gentleman is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film written and directed by Siddique and jointly produced by Antony Perumbavoor and Roy C. J. under their production companies Aashirvad Cinemas and Confident Group. It stars Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine, Mamta Mohandas, Padmapriya, Mithra Kurian, Krish J. Sathaar and Kalabhavan Shajohn. The film features original songs composed by Ratheesh Vegha and background score by Deepak Dev. Ladies and Gentleman was released in India on 12 April 2013 as a festival release during the time of Vishu.
Lailaa O Lailaa is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language action spy thriller film directed by Joshiy. It stars Mohanlal and Amala Paul alongside a supporting cast of Sathyaraj, Joy Mathew, Sreerag Nambiar, Rahul Dev and Kainaat Arora. Bollywood screenwriter Suresh Nair debuted in Malayalam as writer in the film. The original soundtrack and background score were composed by Gopi Sunder.
K. R. Sachidanandan, professionally credited as Sachy, was an Indian screenwriter, director, and film producer who worked in the Malayalam film industry. Initially, he co-wrote films with Sethu as a writer duo known as Sachi-Sethu, their works include Chocolate (2007), Robinhood (2009), Makeup Man (2011) and Seniors (2012). He made his independent debut as a screenwriter with the 2012 film Run Baby Run and his directorial debut with Anarkali (2015).
