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 and Lakshadweep islands of india. Malayalam cinema includes the commercial film industry, sometimes known as Mollywood, as well as independent cinema made in Malayalam.
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. Mammootty was named as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN.
Choodalani Vundi is a 1998 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Gunasekhar, and produced by C. Aswani Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies. This film stars Chiranjeevi, Soundarya, Anjala Zaveri and Prakash Raj. The film has music composed by Mani Sharma with cinematography by Chota K. Naidu.
Classmates is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lal Jose and written by James Albert. The film features an ensemble cast including Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kavya Madhavan in lead roles along with Narain, Jayasurya, Indrajith Sukumaran and Radhika in supporting roles. The story revolves around a college graduate class of 1991. In 2006, working in different corners of the world, the friends get together for a class reunion to revive the joy and laughter of their college days. On the night of the reunion, one of the students is almost murdered and goes into a coma.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Thalassery, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature Krishnan Kutty (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film Hemavin Kadhalargal (1985). Chandran came into prominence after Alicinte Anveshanam (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with Ponthan Mada (1993), his most famous film to date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of Kathavasheshan (2004), Vilapangalkappuram (2008) and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include Mangamma (1997), Dany (2001) and Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (2003).
Dany is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language tragicomedy film written, directed, and produced by T.V. Chandran with Mammootty in the title role. It also stars the noted dancer Mallika Sarabhai, Vani Viswanath, Siddique, Vijayaraghavan, Ratheesh, popular television actress Maya Moushmi, Raji Menon, and Narendra Prasad. It was released coinciding with the Christmas in December 2001. The film met with critical acclaim with most of the critics hailing the performance of Mammootty. It won numerous awards, including a National Film Award and three Kerala State Film Awards. This movie is a unofficial remake of Hollywood movie Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks
Vani Viswanath is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Telugu films. In 2000, Vani won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her performance in Susanna, directed by T. V. Chandran. She was termed as Mollywood's "Action Queen". In 2017, she joined in Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh.
Ekalavyan is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Shaji Kailas, written by Renji Panicker and produced by P. V. Gangadharan. The film stars Suresh Gopi, alongside Siddique, Geetha, Narendra Prasad, Vijayaraghavan, Ganesh Kumar, Janardhanan, Madhu, Maathu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Kuthiravattam Pappu and Devan.
Banaras is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language masala film directed by Nemom Pushparaj, starring Vineeth and Kavya Madhavan in lead roles with Navya Nair playing supporting role. Set against the city of Banaras, it tells the story of a young man named Hari, who travels from Kerala to do research on folk arts at Banaras Hindu University and meets Amrita, a student at the university.
Black Dalia is a 2009 Indian Malayalam film directed by Baburaj in his directorial debut. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Vani Viswanath and Baburaj with Cherrie Minhas, Tami Dushyantha, Suja Naidu, Teena Ponnamma, Ruksha, Jisna Ali, Althara, Kavitha Nair, Pavithra and Thegika in other important roles. This film was dubbed in Telugu as Anthima Theerpu.
Mazha (transl. Rain) is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Lenin Rajendran based on the short story Nashtappetta Neelambari by Madhavikkutty. It stars Biju Menon, Samyuktha Varma, and Lal. The music was composed by Ravindran. The film won five Kerala State Film Awards, a National Film Award, and a South Filmfare Award.
Sankaranum Mohananum is a 2011 Malayalam fantasy/comedy/drama film written and directed by T. V. Chandran. It stars Jayasurya in dual role, Meera Nandan and Rima Kallingal in the lead roles. The film is about the strange incidents faced by Mohanakrishnan (Jayasurya) from the ghost of his twin elder brother Sankaran. It is regarded as the first mainstream film of Chandran, who is known for his well-crafted art house films. Jayasurya also dons 20 different appearances in the film.
Sthithi is a 2003 Malayalam feature film written and directed by R. Sarath. The film tells the tale of a couple employed in the Secretariat. It stars Unni Menon, Nandini Ghosal, Master Achuth, Master Anand Pillay and Mallika Sukumaran. It is playback singer Unni Menon's debut film as an actor. He also composed a couple of songs for the film. Bengali actress and Odissi dancer, Nandini Ghosal plays the female lead. Master Anand Pillay who played the role of their son, hails from Thiruvananthapuram, and is a famous quizzer and quizmaster who had participated in the TV show Kuttikalodano Kali
Puthooramputhri Unniyarcha is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language historical film directed by P. G. Viswambharan. Based on Vadakkanpattu, the folklore of North Malabar, which are ballads extolling the brave and valiant chekavars, it stars Vani Viswanath, Kunchacko Boban, Devan, Siddique and Captain Raju in major roles. Jagadeesh, Mala Aravindan, Jayakrishnan, Naveen Arakkal, Anoop, Sreehari, Manya, Manka Mahesh, Spadikam George and Mamukkoya form the supporting cast. This is the last film of P. G. Viswambharan.
Rasaleela (2012) is a Malayalam language romantic drama film directed by Majeed Maranchery and starring Darshan and Prathishta in the lead roles. The film is a remake of the 1975 Malayalam film of the same name which was directed by N. Sankaran Nair, starring Kamal Haasan and Jayasudha in the lead roles.
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.
The Godman is a 1999 Indian Malayalam film, directed by K. Madhu. The film stars Mammootty, Indraja, Murali and Ratheesh in lead roles.
Mannar Mathai Speaking 2 is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film directed by Mamas K. Chandran. It is a sequel to the 1995 comedy Mannar Mathai Speaking and the third installment in the celebrated Ramji Rao franchise. Actors Innocent, Mukesh, Sai Kumar, Biju Menon, Vijayaraghavan and Janardhanan reprised their roles; while Aparna Gopinath, Shammi Thilakan and a few others are also included in the cast. The film features original music and background score composed by Rahul Raj.
Indriyam is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language horror film directed by George Kithu. The film is about a group of college friends who go into a haunted forest, with Vani Viswanath, Vikram, Nishanth Sagar, Boban Alummoodan And Lena appearing amongst others in the cast. It was dubbed and released in Tamil as Manthira Kottai in December 2000, shortly after the success of Sethu, in which Vikram had featured.
