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, India. In 1982, Elippathayam won the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival, and Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 by the British Film Institute. The film Marana Simhasanam has won the prestigious Caméra d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
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 410 films, predominantly in lead roles. He is the recipient of several accolades, including three National Film Awards, nine Kerala State Film Awards, eleven Kerala Film Critics Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South. For his contribution to film, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 1998. In 2022, he was honoured with Kerala Prabha Award, the second-highest honour given by the Government of Kerala.
John Abraham was an Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter who worked mainly in Malayalam cinema. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only South Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute. Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll.
Mahalakshmi Menon, best known by her stagename Shobha, was an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam and Tamil films. At the age of 17, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1979 Tamil film Pasi. She also received three Kerala State Film Awards: for Best Actress (1978), Best Supporting Actress (1977) and Best Child Artist (1971); and two Filmfare Awards South for Best Actress in Kannada (1978) and Tamil (1979) films. Considered one of the finest talents to have emerged in the Indian film world, her promising career was unexpectedly cut short as she committed suicide in 1980, due to unknown reasons. Her popularity resulted in considerable public scrutiny of the events that led to her death and also various conspiracy theories. The 1983 Malayalam film Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback is supposedly based on her life and death.
Vidheyan is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed and written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is based on the novella Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Paul Zacharia. The film, starring Mammootty and M. R. Gopakumar, explores the master-slave relationship in a South Karnataka setting.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Telicherry, 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).
Maheshwari Amma, better known by her stage name K. P. A. C. Lalitha, was an Indian film and stage actress who worked primarily in the Malayalam film industry. She started her acting career with Kerala People's Arts Club, a theatre collective in Kayamkulam, Kerala. In a career spanning five decades, she starred in over 550 films.
Thenmavin Kompath is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. It was produced and edited by N. Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobana, and Nedumudi Venu, with Kaviyoor Ponnamma, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sukumari, Kuthiravattam Pappu, Sreenivasan, Sankaradi, and Sharat Saxena in supporting roles. The background score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh, while the Berny-Ignatius duo composed the songs. K. V. Anand was the cinematographer.
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).
Jayabharathi is an Indian actress. She is a two-time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and National Film Award by Special Jury Award - Special Mention. Her roots are from Kollam district of Kerala.
Vartha (transl. News) is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by I. V. Sasi and produced by P. V. Gangadharan. The film stars Mammootty, Mohanlal, Rahman, Seema, Venu Nagavally, K. P. A. C. Lalitha and Prathapachandran. The film has musical score by A. T. Ummer. The film was successful at the box office. The film was remade in Tamil as Palaivana Rojakkal (1986), and in Hindi as Jai Shiv Shankar, which never released.
Dhwani (ധ്വനി) is a 1988 Malayalam-language musical romance film directed by A. T. Abu. It was the last completed film of veteran actor and evergreen hero of Malayalam cinema Prem Nazir who died on 16 January 1989. The film has music composed by legendary Bollywood composer Naushad. It stars Shobhana and Jayaram in the lead roles. Suresh Gopi also makes an appearance in the movie. Noted writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer makes a special appearance as the visitor at the hospital. The film was a huge hit due to several factors like the excellent performances by the cast and the rousing music scored by veteran composer Naushad, his first and only score for a Malayalam film.
Ormakalundayirikkanam is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by T. V. Chandran. Starring Mammootty, Master Nithin, Bharath Gopi, Priyambada Ray, Nedumudi Venu, Kukku Parameswaran and Sreenivasan, the film portrays the rise of the Communists to power in 1957 and the infamous Vimochana Samaram of 1959.
Nellu (transl. Paddy) is a 1974 Malayalam-language drama film directed by Ramu Kariat from a screenplay by K. G. George based on the 1972 award-winning novel of the same name by P. Valsala. It features an ensemble cast of Prem Nazir, Jayabharathi, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Sankaradi and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair. The film portrays the life of the Adiyar community, a tribe of the forests in the Wayanad hills of Kerala, through the eyes of an outsider.
Dasharatham is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Rekha, Murali, Nedumudi Venu, Sukumaran, Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sukumari, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, and Jayabharathi. The music was composed by Johnson. The movie deals with the subject of traditional surrogacy
Mathilukal (transl. Walls) is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language film written, directed, and produced by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The film focuses on the prison life of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and the love between him and Narayani, a female inmate of the prison, who remains unseen throughout the film. Mammootty plays the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer while K. P. A. C. Lalitha gives voice to Narayani. The film was screened at the Venice Film Festival.
Ayaal is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Suresh Unnithan. Lal, Lena, Ineya and Lakshmi Sharma play the lead roles. The story, screenplay and dialogue of the film is written by Dr. K. Ampady. The film is produced by Madhusoodanan Mavelikara and M. T. Dileep Kumar. The cinematography is by Sujith Vasudev. Ayaal was earlier titled Nagabandham. The film was released on 28 June 2013.
K. Appukuttan Nair (1925–2007), better known as Kozhikodan, was a film critic and writer from Kerala, India. He began writing on films from the early 1950s. He started writing in Mathrubhumi and Chandrika, and later became a regular columnist of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly along with Cynic and Nadirsha. Kozhikodan received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Book on Cinema in 1988 for Chalathitraswadanam Engane? and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (Humour) in 2010 for the poetry collection Padachonikku Salam. He died on 20 January 2007.
CR No: 89 is a 2013 Indian Malayalam drama film written and directed by Sudevan. It stars debutantes Ashok Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, and Santhosh Babu in lead roles. CR No: 89 was crowdfunded by Pace Trust.
S Suresh Babu is an Indian film screenwriter and artist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut as a writer in the movie Dada Sahib in the year 2000, with Director Vinayan and actor Mammootty. Since then, he has worked on movies like Shikkar (2010), Thiruvambadi Thamban (2012), Nadan (2013), Jalam (2016) and Oruthee (2022). The movie Oruthee acted by Navya Nair marked her return to Malayalam cinema after 10 years and it was a commercial success.
