Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in strong character roles. He emerged as one of the top villain of Malayalam cinema in the second half of the 1970s and played some of the best villain characters in Malayalam films during that period. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his performance as Govindan in the film Oppol.
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as M.T., is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. At the age of 20, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu, written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
Sreekumar Achary, better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four decades. Widely regarded as the greatest comedian in the history of Malayalam cinema, he is also known for his highly nuanced character roles. He is the son of acclaimed dramaturge and writer, the late Jagathy N. K. Achary.
Hariharan is an Indian film director who has directed over 50 Malayalam films. His movies mainly revolve around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Keralite society. His most notable works include Sharapancharam (1979), Panchagni (1986), Idavazhiyile Poocha Mindappoocha (1979), Amrutham Gamaya (1987), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Sargam (1992), Parinayam (1994) and Pazhassi Raja (2009) which has won him wide critical acclaim. In 2019, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
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.
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
Indrajith Sukumaran is an Indian actor and playback singer. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Indrajith was born to the actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran and is the elder brother of actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.
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.
Sai Kumar, also credited as Saikumar, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He is the son of Malayalam actor late Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair. He appears in both positive and negative roles. He notably plays the hero role in Ramji Rao Speaking, and the villain in Makkal Mahatmyam.
K. Bhaskaran Nair, professionally credited by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director. He was mostly cast as a sidekick to protagonists, particularly Prem Nazir. His comedic roles were widely appreciated in Malayalam films of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Bhasi has also done leading and character roles. He directed three Malayalam films in the late 1970s. Bhasi is also known for his eloquent speeches in fluent English. He has won Kerala State Film Awards, including two Best Actor and one Second Best Actor.
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India. In a career that spanned about 47 years, he acted in over 700 films. He is considered to be the "first superstar of Malayalam cinema". In 1993, he was honoured with the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema.
K. Ramachandra Babu was an Indian cinematographer of over 125 films, out of which most are Malayalam films. He also worked for films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic and English languages. He served as the cinematographer for several documentaries and advertisement films as well. He was the founder of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
Keezhoote Balakrishna Ganesh Kumar is an Indian actor, television host, and politician who is serving as the Minister for Transport of Kerala since December 2023 and previously from 2001 to 2003. He has also served as the Minister for Forests and Environment, Sports and Cinema of Kerala from 2011 to 2013. He is a Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly representing Pathanapuram since 2001. He is the Chairman of the Kerala Congress (B) party. He made his debut as an actor in the film Irakal (1985) directed by K. G. George. He has starred in over 100 Malayalam films, performing a variety of roles.
Nirmalyam is a 1973 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and stars P. J. Antony, Sumithra, and Ravi Menon. P. J. Antony won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1974 for his performance as a velichappadu in this movie. The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and Kerala State Film Award for Best Film in 1974. It is one of the classics in Malayalam cinema. The film was based on M. T. Vasudevan Nair's short story Pallivaalum Kaalchilambum.
Mohamallika Pillai, better known as Mallika Sukumaran is an Indian actress and businesswoman, known for her works in Malayalam cinema. She debuted in 1974 with the Malayalam film Utharayanam by G. Aravindan. Since then, she has appeared in over 60 films. She won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her role in the 1974 film Swapnadanam.
Oru Naal Varum is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language satirical film directed by T. K. Rajeev Kumar, written by Sreenivasan, and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju. It stars Mohanlal and Sameera Reddy in her Malayalam debut, with Sreenivasan, Devayani, Nazriya Nazim, and Esther Anil in supporting roles. The film's soundtrack was composed by M. G. Sreekumar. Oru Naal Varum was released on 9 July 2010. The plot deals with corruption in India.
Bandhanam is a 1978 Indian Malayalam film, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by V. B. K. Menon and P.K.Bhaskaran Nair. The film stars Shobha, Sukumaran, Sankaradi and Shubha in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. B. Sreenivasan. The film observes a young man's return from city living to the village. The film's mood is sorrowful. He leads a very wayward life and tries not to get himself attached to family ties but eventually gets drawn into the bondage of relationships and family by his step sister.
Ezhamathe Varavu is a 2013 Malayalam drama thriller film written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by Hariharan. The film stars Indrajith, Vineeth, Bhavana, and Kavitha in the lead roles while Mamukkoya and Nandhu play pivotal supporting roles. The music was composed by the director himself who also produced the film under the banner of Gayatri Cinema Enterprises.
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.
Rasam (transl. Taste) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language film based on food, tastes, restaurants and catering services. The film was directed and co-written by Rajeev Nath. Nedumudi Venu, Rajeev Nath and Sudip Kumar co-written the screenplay of the story written by Sudip. It stars Mohanlal and Indrajith Sukumaran in lead alongside Nedumudi Venu, Devan and Varuna Shetty in supporting roles.
