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.
Kulakkattil Geevarghese George was an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who worked in the Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Bharathan and P. Padmarajan, in the 1980s. He was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Government of Kerala's highest honour for contributions to the Malayalam cinema.
Divyaa Unni is an Indian former actress and classical dancer of Indian origin who teaches various forms of dance such as Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Mohiniyattom. As an actress, she mainly appeared in Malayalam language films, in addition to few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films too.
Padma Shri Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 1986. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist two times. He was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor Padma Shri in 2021 by the Government of India for his contribution to the field of art.
M. P. Michael, better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and in a few Telugu films. Lal has won several awards, including a National Film Award – Special Mention for acting (2012), two Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor, and a Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam (2008). He is the owner of Lal Media Arts, a post-production studio.
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.
Renji Panicker is an Indian actor, scriptwriter, director, film producer, and journalist best known for his Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with Bharatchandran IPS in 2005.
Kaliyattam is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraj. It stars Suresh Gopi, Lal, Manju Warrier, and Biju Menon. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Othello, set against the backdrop of the Theyyam performance of Kerala. The film's screenplay is written by Balram Mattannur. Suresh Gopi plays Kannan Perumalayan, the equivalent to Othello. Lal plays Paniyan, the equivalent to Iago. Manju Warrier plays Thamara, the Desdemona version. And Biju Menon plays Kanthan, Cassio's role. Suresh Gopi's role as Kannan Perumalayan was critically acclaimed and it was considered one of his finest acting performances in his career.
Desadanam is a 1996 Indian Malayalam language feature film directed by Jayaraj. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam.
Kannaki (English: The Eye) is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraj and written by Sanjeev Kilikulam. It stars Nandita Das, Lal, Siddique, Kalpana, Geethu Mohandas and Manoj K. Jayan. It is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra. This is Jayaraj's second film adaptation of a Shakespeare play, the first being Kaliyattam (1997). Lal plays Manickam, the equivalent to Antony. Nandita Das plays Kannaki, the equivalent to Cleopatra and Manoj K. Jayan plays Gounder, Octavius Caesar's role. Nandita Das' role as Kannaki was critically acclaimed and is considered one of her finest acting performances in her career.
Kaithapram Vishwanathan Namboothiri was an Indian musician and music director. He was awarded Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music in 2001 for his background music for Kannaki.
M. J. Radhakrishnan was an Indian cinematographer working mainly in Malayalam films. He got National film award 2018 as best cinematographer for his work on Malayalam movie Oolu. He won Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography 7 times, equal with Mankada Ravi Varma. Earlier he worked as a still photographer and then as an associate to cinematographer turned director Shaji N. Karun. His important works included Deshadanam (1996), Karunam (1999) Naalu Pennungal (2007), Veettilekkulla Vazhi (2010) and Akasathinte Niram. His films were screened at several prominent film festivals around the world including Cannes, Shanghai, Cairo, Montreal, Telluride, Jeonju, Toronto, Chicago, Rhode Island and Rotterdam. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam, won Caméra d'Or in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Another film Veyilmarangal won Golden Goblet award for Outstanding Artistic achievement at Shanghai International Film Festival 2019. He worked on over 117 feature films and several documentaries and worked with some of the prominent Indian filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Murali Nair, Shaji N. Karun, TV Chandran, Dr. Biju, Jayaraj and Renjith. He mostly worked on arthouse films and was known for his natural lighting styles. In a career spanning more than two decades, he worked with a number of young film makers, mostly in their maiden ventures. Film Kalamandalam Hyderali 2019, directed by Kiran G. Nath was his last completed work as director of photography.
Korom Pulleri Vadhayarillathu Unnikrishnan Namboothiri was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. He mainly handled comedy roles and grandfather roles. His role as Dileep's grand father in the Malayalam movie Kalyanaraman was well noted. P. V. Kunhikrishnan, a judge of the Kerala High Court is his son and the noted lyricist and music director Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri is his son-in-law. He died on 20 January 2021 at a private hospital in Kannur.
Karunam is a 2000 Indian Malayalam film, directed and produced by Jayaraj. The film stars Biju Menon, Eliyamma, Madambu Kunjukuttan and Vavachan in lead roles. The film had musical score by Sunny Stephen. The film is the second installment in director Jayaraj's "Navarasa Series".
Joshy Mangalath is an Indian film screenwriter who made his debut with the feature film Ottaal for which he got the National award for the Best Screenplay (adapted). In 2015, he received the National Film Award for Best Screenplay (adapted) for the 2014 Malayalam film Ottaal, at the 62nd National Film Awards.
Ottaal is a 2015 Indian Malayalam film directed by Jayaraj, an adaptation of the short story "Vanka" by Russian author Anton Chekhov. This film stars Ashanth K Sha and Kumarakom Vasudevan, as well as actors Shine Tom Chacko, Sabitha Jayaraj and Thomas G. Kannampuzha.
Veeram (transl. Valour) is a 2016 Indian historical drama film written and directed by Jayaraj. It is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, and is the fifth installment in Jayaraj's Navarasa series. The film, which also takes inspirations from the Vadakkan Pattukal of North Malabar region in Kerala tells the story of Chandu Chekavar, an infamous warrior in the 13th century North Malabar.
Bhayanakam is a 2018 Indian Malayalam–language period drama war film directed by Jayaraj, produced by Sureshkumar Muttath, and stars writer-turned-actor Renji Panicker and Asha Sarath. The film is an adaptation of two chapters from Takazhy Sivasankara Pillai's epic Malayalam novel Coir (1978). The production design for the film was carried out by artist K. M. V. Namboothiri. The film is the sixth movie in director Jayaraj's "Navarasa Series".
Shivajith is an Indian actor from Kerala, who made his debut in the film Veeram in 2016, directed by Jayaraj.
The 41st Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, honouring the best Malayalam films released in 2017, were announced in April 2018. The awards were distributed at an event held in Kayamkulam on 15 October 2019.
