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.
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Malayalam and Hindi cinema.
Thalavattam (transl. Rhythm) is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan, starring Mohanlal, Lizy, M. G. Soman and Karthika. The film is very loosely based on the 1975 movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which was an adaptation of the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey. The film features songs composed by Raghu Kumar and C. Rajamani, and a score by Johnson. The story follows Vinod, an eccentric new patient at a mental asylum.
Malabar Gopalan Nair Sreekumar, better known as M. G. Sreekumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, music producer, television presenter and film producer, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He has sung more than 25000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Sanskrit. He owns a music company named KMG Musics and the Saregama School of Music in Thiruvananthapuram. Sreekumar has won several awards, including two National Film Awards, three Kerala State Film Awards and 5 Filmfare Awards South. He was also honoured with the Harivarasanam Award by the Government of Kerala in 2016. His career as a singer spans over 44 years.
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest award in Malayalam cinema. Often described as a pathbreaker, Sasi made his mark during Malayalam cinema’s transformative period from the 1970s to 1990s.
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.
Plamthottathil Gangadharan Viswambharan was an Indian film director who worked in Malayalam cinema. Viswambharan directed 63 Malayalam films, in a career spanning close to four decades.
Abdul Hameed Muhammed Fazil, known mononymously as Fazil, is an Indian film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor who works in Malayalam cinema, in addition to directing a handful of Tamil films. He made his directorial debut with the 1980 film Manjil Virinja Pookkal.
Nambiathusseril Varkey John, better known by his screen name Sasikumar, was an Indian film director who worked in Malayalam cinema. He has directed more than 141 films in his career which began in the mid-1960s. He is often referred to as Hitmaker Sasikumar due to the commercial success of his films. In 2012, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema
Shanker Panicker is an Indian film and television actor, film director, producer, businessman and social worker who has worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. He has acted in nearly 200 films and was a leading actor in Malayalam cinema and a lead youth hero in Tamil cinema in the 1980s. Shankar's debut Tamil film, Oru Thalai Ragam, and Malayalam debut, Manjil Virinja Pookkal, completed theatrical runs of 365 and 250 days respectively. He was the most successful romantic hero in Malayalam movies along with Prem Nazir. He starred in nearly 100 films from 1980-1990 as a hero. Later, he became a director and producer, while continuing to act, from 1990 to 2024.
M. P. Michael, better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and in a few Telugu films. Lal has won several awards, including a National Film Award – Special Mention for acting (2012), two Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, and a Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam (2008). He is the owner of Lal Media Arts, a post-production studio.
Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Sreenivasan from a story by Anthikkad. The film stars Mohanlal, Karthika, Sreenivasan and M. G. Soman. The film features songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by Shyam. The film was released on October 31st, 1995 during Diwali.
Anusree is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She made her acting debut in the 2012 film Diamond Necklace and has acted in a number of Malayalam films in female lead roles.
Mohan Jose is an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 100 films. He came into movie industry portraying villains and later began acting in different comedy and character roles. He is the son of singer and actor Pappukutty Bhagavathar.
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Priyadarshan is mostly known for directing comedy films but has directed a few non-comical films such as a historical epic film based around freedom fighters in India titled Kaalapani and his epic period drama Kancheevaram. In a career spanning almost three decades, Priyadarshan has directed 96 films in several Indian languages, predominantly Malayalam and Hindi, besides eight in Tamil, and two in Telugu. Though he began his career in Malayalam cinema in 1984, Priyadarshan was mainly active in Hindi cinema for 2001–2010. In 2013, he announced Rangrezz would be his last Hindi film for a short period; and focused on making more Malayalam films.
Oppam Oppathinoppam is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by Soman and produced by K. H. Khan Sahib. The film stars Mohanlal, Shankar, Menaka and Lalu Alex. The film has musical score by Jerry Amaldev.
Ennum Eppozhum is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikad and written by Ranjan Pramod based on a story by Raveendran. It was produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the production company Aashirvad Cinemas. It stars Mohanlal and Manju Warrier, alongside a supporting cast, including Innocent, Reenu Mathews, Jacob Gregory, Lena, and Renji Panicker. It also marked the reunion of Mohanlal and Manju Warrier after 17 years. Ennum Eppozhum was released across India on 27 March 2015 and met with mixed reviews from critics. The film was a commercial success though at the box office. The song "Malarvaka Kombathu" won Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer for P. Jayachandran.
Oppam (transl. Along) is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film directed by Priyadarshan from a story by Govind Vijayan. The film, produced by Antony Perumbavoor for Aashirvad Cinemas, stars Mohanlal and Samuthirakani. The songs were composed by the group 4 Musics, while the score was composed by Ron Ethan Yohann. The cinematography and editing were handled by N. K. Ekambaram and M. S. Ayyappan Nair and the film is influenced by the basic concept of the 2011 Korean film Blind and the English film Cape Fear which itself inspired from a novel.
Oppam is a feature film soundtrack for the 2016 film of the same name directed by Priyadarshan and starred Mohanlal in the lead role. The film's six-song soundtrack was composed by 4 Musics, and featured lyrics written by Madhu Vasudevan, B. K. Harinarayanan and Sharon Joseph. The original score was composed by Ron Ethan Yohann in his Malayalam-film debut. The soundtrack album was released on the Satyam Audios label on 17 August 2016. The music was well received by critics and audiences, with the songs "Chinnamma Adi" and "Minungum Minnaminuge" becoming chartbusters.
Anandakuttan was an Indian cinematographer who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He worked on over 150 films including His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, Kamaladalam, Sadayam, Chronic Bachelor, Akashadoothu, Harikrishnans, Punjabi House and Aniyathipraavu. He died in 2016, at the age of 61.
