Ranjith Balakrishnan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Ranjith made his directorial debut in 2001 with Ravanaprabhu, the sequel to Devaasuram. His films Thirakkatha and Indian Rupee won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam in 2008 and 2011 respectively. He is also the current chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing credits in few films. Ponnamma is a four-time Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress winner. Her sister Kaviyoor Renuka was also an actress. Often called as the Mother to all actors, she has acted as mother of almost all actors in her career panning over decades. At the age of 20, she played the mother of Sathyan and Madhu in the 1965 movie Thommente Makkal. She gained critical acclaim for acting as the mother of the actor Mohanlal.
Kalaranjini is an Indian actress who started her career in the early 1980s.
Sukumari Amma was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, along with few Hindi and one each in Sinhala, French, Bengali, Tulu, English and Kannada films. Sukumari began acting at the age of 10. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions toward the arts. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil film Namma Gramam (2010). Sukumari died on 26 March 2013 in Chennai, following a heart attack.
Thiruvananthapuram has long been a center of media. Kerala Chandrika, the first newspaper of the state, was published from Thiruvananthapuram in 1789. The media also enjoyed the patronage of the Travancore kings. In 1836, Swathi Thirunal, the Travancore king, organized a government press in the city. The first Superintendent of the Press was the Rev. Sperschneider. The press was under Samathanam Maistry, one of the first batch of workmen trained in the Nagercoil Press.
Sheela Celine is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as heroine and hero. Sheela is a four-time winner of Kerala State Film Award. She came back to acting in 2003 through Manassinakkare after 22 years. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. In 2019, Sheela was honoured with the J C Daniel Award, the Kerala government's highest honour for outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema. She was also one of the highest paid actresses, reportedly paid more than her male counterparts, of her time.
Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model, television anchor and beauty pageant titleholder. She has won Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Films. She won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress and two Filmfare Award South. She participated in Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1.
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.
Siddique (born 1 October 1962 ) is an Indian actor and producer, who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. Along with appearing in over 350 Malayalam films, he has also acted in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language films. He is known for having played a wide range of starring and supporting roles, including comic characters, romantic leads, anti-heroes and villains.
Kalpana Ranjani, better known mononymously as Kalpana, was an Indian actress who appeared in South Indian films, predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil. Kalpana has acted in over 300 films in various South Indian languages. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Thanichalla Njan (2012) at the 60th National Film Awards. Kalpana started her career as a child artist in the late 1970s. Although she came into the industry with the intention of being a lead actress, she turned out to be popular among the audiences for her comic roles.
Saranya Mohan is an Indian former actress, who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has also acted in a few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. She is best known for her performances in Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu (2009), Eeram (2009), Velayudham (2011) and Osthe (2011).
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.
Priyanka Nair is an Indian model-turned-actress who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. She made her debut in the Tamil film Veyyil in 2006. She gained critical acclaim for her roles in Bhoomi Malayalam, Vilapangalkappuram and Jalam.
Ambili Devi is an actress from Kerala, India who appeared in many Malayalam cinema and serials. She has established herself as a lead actress in Malayalam Television Industry and has won the Kerala State Television Award for Best Actress in 2005.
Praveena is an Indian actress and dubbing artist who predominantly appears in Malayalam television series and films in addition to a few Tamil series and films. She is known for portraying the role of Goddess Devi in popular series Devi Mahathmyam.
Beena Antony is an Indian actress appearing in Malayalam film and television. She mainly appeared in supporting roles in films and television serials in her later career, including Ommanathinkalpakshi, Mayaseetha, Ente Manasaputhri, Autograph and Thapasya.
Bhagyalakshmi is an Indian actress, activist, and dubbing artist. She works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry, working with over 800 actresses and in 4,700 films. She has collaborated with actresses such as Shobana, Revathi, and Urvashi. Bhagyalakshmi's autobiography, Swarabhedangal, was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Biography and Autobiography.
Thesni Khan is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films, television, and stage. She made her acting debut through Daisy in 1988. She is widely known for the portrayal of character roles. In 2020, she contested in the second season of Malayalam reality TV series Bigg Boss. Thesni is currently an active celebrity vlogger in Youtube channel "Thezbeen's".
Subbalakshmi was an Indian Carnatic musician, composer, and actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi cinema. She was noted for her performance in Kalyanaraman (2002), Pandippada (2005), and Nandanam (2002).
