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. It is the fourth biggest film industry in India, following Bollywood, Tollywood, and Kollywood. Malayalam cinema includes the commercial film industry, sometimes known as Mollywood, as well as independent cinema made in Malayalam.
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi (1988) won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the premiere chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the first academy for film and TV in India and was also the executive chairman of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) from 1998 to 2001. He is best known for his award-winning films Piravi (1988), Swaham (1994), Vanaprastham (1999) and Kutty Srank (2009). He won the National Award for Best Director for his debut film Piravi. He also won two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Director for his films Swaham and Vanaprastham. Currently, he is the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
Jayaram Subramaniam, known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil and Telugu language films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasional playback singer. Jayaram has acted in more than 200 films and received several awards, including the Padma Shri, two Kerala State Film Awards, one Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, and four Filmfare Awards South.
Arayannangalude Veedu is a Malayalam film written and directed by A. K. Lohithadas. The film stars Mammootty in the lead role with Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Devan, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Siddique, Jomol, Krishna Kumar, Cochin Haneefa, Lal and Bindu Panicker in supporting roles.
Sargam is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written and directed by Hariharan and produced by his wife, Bhavani Hariharan. Chowallur Krishnankutty wrote the dialogues. The film features Vineeth, Manoj K. Jayan, and Rambha, while Nedumudi Venu, Soumini/Srikanya, Urmila Unni, V. K. Sriraman, Thilakan, and Oduvil Unnikrishnan play supporting roles. Shaji N. Karun did the cinematography, while Bombay Ravi composed the soundtrack and M. S. Mani handled the editing. This movie was a blockbuster and the third highest-grossing movie of the year. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and three Kerala State Film Awards: Best Director (Hariharan), Second Best Actor, and Best Music Director. It was remade in Telugu as Sarigamalu with Vineeth, Manoj K. Jayan, and Rambha reprising their roles.
Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film written and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad from a story by C. V. Balakrishnan. It stars Jayaram, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Kalidas Jayaram, Innocent, and Kavya Madhavan. It marked the on-screen debut of Kalidas. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film won two National Film Awards—Best Feature Film in Malayalam and Best Choreography.
Friends is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Siddique, produced by Lal and starring Jayaram, Mukesh, and Sreenivasan with Meena, Divya Unni, Jagathy Sreekumar, V. K. Sreeraman, Janardhanan and Cochin Haneefa in supporting roles. It was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year, grossing around ₹11 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹ 2 crore. It was later remade into Tamil with the same name (2001) and into Telugu as Snehamante Idera (2001) and Odia as Dosti.
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is an Indian actress from Karnataka and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has mainly acted in Malayalam films, while also appearing in few Kannada and Tamil films.
Passenger is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language conspiracy thriller film written and directed by debutant Ranjith Sankar and starring Sreenivasan, Dileep, Mamta Mohandas, Jagathy Sreekumar and Nedumudi Venu in major roles. It was a path breaker in Malayalam cinema in terms of its story telling and started the Malayalam new cinema wave. Owing to its critical and commercial success, Passenger was to be remade into Tamil as Muriyadi by Selva.
Bhramaram (transl. Beetle) is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language road suspense thriller film, written and directed by Blessy, starring Mohanlal, Bhumika Chawla, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Suresh Menon and Murali Gopy. The film was released on 25 June 2009. It was an average grosser at the box office.
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.
Ustaad (transl. Master) is a 1999 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Sibi Malayil and written by Ranjith. The film was produced by Ranjith and Shaji Kailas. The plot follows Parameshwaran (Mohanlal), a soft-spoken businessman who leads a double life as an underworld don named Ustaad, he takes care of his younger sister Padmaja, his only family. The film also features Indraja, Narendra Prasad, N. F. Varghese, Rajeev, and Vineeth.
Kadal Kadannu Oru Maathukutty is a 2013 Indian Malayalam comedy film written and directed by Ranjith and starring Mammootty in the lead role of an Achayan from Kozhencherry, Central Travancore and also in a cameo as himself. The cast includes Nedumudi Venu, Balachandra Menon, Siddique, Harisree Asokan, Suresh Krishna, P. Balachandran, Balachandran Chullikad, Prem Prakash, Meera Nandan, Muthumani, Krishna Prabha, and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. It was produced by Prithviraj Sukumaran, Santhosh Sivan, and Shaji Nadesan under the banner of August Cinema. The film was released on 8 August 2013 on the occasion of Eid-ul Fitr and was a critical and commercial failure. However, modern reception has been positive.
Ginger is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language comedy road film directed by Shaji Kailas and written by Rajesh Jayaraman. It stars Jayaram, Muktha George, Mallika, Sudheesh, Jagadish, Suresh Krishna, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. The film was released on 2 November 2013, coinciding with the Diwali fest.
Apaaratha is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language film produced and directed by I. V. Sasi. The film stars Rahman, Sukanya, Urvashi, Siddique and M. G. Soman. The plot follows a person who is trying to find a job and the hardships he has to face after managing it later.
Oru Vadakkan Selfie is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language road-comedy film directed by G. Prajith and scripted by Vineeth Sreenivasan. The film features Nivin Pauly, Manjima Mohan, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, and Vineeth Sreenivasan. The music was composed by Shaan Rahman. It was released on 27 March to positive reviews, and became one of the biggest grossing Malayalam films of the year. Some news media and the Kerala Film Producers Association called it the first successful Malayalam film of 2015. This movie marks the debut of Manjima Mohan as an actress in a Malayalam movie. Earlier, she appeared as a child artist in films, including Priyam and Sundara Purushan. The film was remade in Telugu as Meda Meeda Abbayi. The 2017 Bengali movie Bolo Dugga Maiki was partially based on this movie.
Loham (transl. Metal) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Ranjith, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor for the production company Aashirvad Cinemas. The film, starring Mohanlal, Renji Panicker, Siddique, Andrea Jeremiah and Ajmal Ameer is about an elusive smuggling operation and the mysterious disappearance of 100 kilograms (220 lb) of gold. Sreevalsan J. Menon and C. Rajamani composed the soundtrack and film score, respectively.
Kambhoji is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Vinod Mankara.
Aadu 2 is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language slapstick comedy film written and directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas and produced by Vijay Babu under Friday Film House. It is the sequel to the 2015 film Aadu, and stars an ensemble cast including Jayasurya, Saiju Kurup, Vinayakan, Vijay Babu, Sunny Wayne, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Anson Paul, Mamukkoya, Bhagath Manuel, Vineeth Mohan, Indrans, Baiju, Bijukuttan, Sudhi Koppa and Harikrishnan reprising their roles. Principal photography began on 13 September 2017. Aadu 2 which was one of the most anticipated film of the year released in India on 22 December 2017. Even though the first part of the movie didn't perform well, Aadu 2 became a blockbuster at the box office.
Simhasanam (transl. Throne) is a 2012 Malayalam action film written and directed by Shaji Kailas starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Sai Kumar with supporting cast including Siddique and Devan. The music was composed by Ronnie Raphael.
