Malayalam cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Malayalam language, which is widely spoken in the state of Kerala. Malayalam cinema includes the commercial film industry, sometimes known as Mollywood, as well as independent cinema made in Malayalam.
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian music and a cultural icon of Kerala. Yesudas is estimated to have recorded more than 50,000 songs in various Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Tulu, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Marathi as well as Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian, in a career spanning six decades. He is often referred to as Gaanagandharvan. Yesudas holds the record for singing 11 songs in different languages in a single day. He has also composed a number of Malayalam film songs during the 1970s and 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, 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 who predominantly works in Malayalam and Hindi cinema.
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.
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.
Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, and businessman who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has acted in Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada films. He has won several awards, including Kerala State Film Awards and one Filmfare Awards South.
Gulaab Gang is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action drama film centered on the struggle of women in India, directed and co-written by Soumik Sen and produced by Sohum Shah and Anubhav Sinha. It stars Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla in lead roles, marking the first time that the two female superstars of the 1990s shared screen space together.
The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a Sanskrit university in India established in 1993 in Kalady, Kerala. The foundation stone for the university was laid by Bharathi Tirtha Mahaswamiji of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham. SSUS provides education in Sanskrit, other Indian and Foreign languages, Social science and fine arts. It is accredited A+ by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The university has eight regional campuses across Kerala.
Lena Mohan Kumar, known by stage name Lenaa, is an Indian actress, author, and scriptwriter who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. In a career that spans over 25 years, Lenaa has worked in over 175 films in 5 languages, including blockbusters as well as critically acclaimed films in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.
Dulquer Salmaan is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management from Purdue University and worked as a business manager in Dubai before pursuing a career in acting. Dulquer is a recipient of several awards including, five Filmfare Awards South and a Kerala State Film Award.
Anumol is an Indian actress, predominantly acting in Malayalam and Tamil films. She appeared in Malayalam films such as Chayilyam (2014), Ivan Megharoopan (2012), Akam (2011), Vedivazhipadu (2013) and Jamna Pyari (2015).Her performance as Kuruvammal in 2023 Tamil web-series Ayali applauded by Critics and Audience.
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.
Premam (transl. Love) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language coming of age romance film written, directed and edited by Alphonse Puthren. It was produced by Anwar Rasheed and stars Nivin Pauly and Sai Pallavi. It also features with an ensemble supporting cast including Madonna Sebastian, Anupama Parameswaran, Shabareesh Varma, Krishna Sankar, Siju Wilson, Ananth Nag, Vinay Forrt, Soubin Shahir, Sharafudheen and others. The plot follows George (Nivin)’s romantic journey with his friends from their teens to adulthood. While George's first love turns out to be a disappointment, Malar (Pallavi), a college lecturer, rekindles his love interest. His romantic journey takes him through several stages, helping him find his purpose.
Ain is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Sidhartha Siva and starring Musthafa and Rachana Narayanankutty. Set in a Muslim household in Malabar, the film revolves around a lazy but innocent and vulnerable youth who happens to witness a murder and escapes to Mangalore. The film released in selected theatres in Kerala on 25 September 2015.
My Life Partner is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by M. B. Padmakumar. It stars Sudev Nair, Ameer Niyas and Anusree Nair in the lead roles and features Sukanya, Geetha Vijayan and Valsala Menon in supporting roles. The film was produced by Rejimon for Kirthana Movies. The story deals with the deep and intricate emotional relationship between two men, Kiran and Richard, shedding light on mental attachment and emotional caring, rather than the sexual relationship.
Anu Sithara is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Malayalam films. She has also appeared in some Tamil films. She made her debut in 2013 as a child artist Pottas Bomb in 2013. Anu is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and well known for her stage shows.
Nandini Nair is an Indian television personality, talk show host, performer, television anchor, and a professional disc jockey and radio jockey under the stage name DJ Envy. She appears on her talk show Hello Namaste. She appeared in the film Aedan directed by Sanju Surendran.
Jeo Baby is an Indian film director, scriptwriter and actor who works in Malayalam films. His family drama film The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) won the 51st Kerala State Film Award for Best Film and he received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay.
