Malayalam cinema
Encyclopedia
The Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the India
n state of Kerala
, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has pioneered various technical, thematic and production techniques among films in India. The first 3-D film
produced in India, My Dear Kuttichathan
(1984), was made in Malayalam. The first CinemaScope
film produced in South India
was the Malayalam film Thacholi Ambu
(1978). The world's first film with just one actor in the star cast was the Malayalam film The Guard (2001).
At first (beginning in the 1920s), the Malayalam film industry was based in Thiruvananthapuram
. Later, the industry shifted to Chennai
, which then was the capital of the southern Indian film industry. In the 2000s, the Malayalam film industry returned to Kerala and established itself in production facilities in Thiruvananthapuram
and Kochi
.
Many Malayalam films have been remade in other languages, including Dindigul Sarathy
, Sundara Travels, Friends
, Ninaithale Inikkum
, Perazhagan
, Kuselan
, Chandramukhi
(in Tamil), Classmates
, Chandralekha
, Nagavalli (in Telugu), Aaptamitra
, Manmatha
, Bellary Naga (in Kannada), and Garam Masala
, Kyon Ki
, Billu, Bhool Bhulaiyaa
, Hera Pheri, Chup Chup Ke
, Khatta Meetha
, Bodyguard
(in Hindi) and Kaavalan (in Tamil).
, with a manually operated film projector, was opened in Thrissur
by K. W. Joseph in 1907. In 1913, the first electrically operated film projector was established (in Thrissur
again) by Jose Kattukkaran
and was called the "Jose Electrical Bioscope". Soon such cinema halls were established in other major cities of Kerala. In the early days, Tamil, Hindi and English
films were exhibited in these theatres.
, which was released in 1930. It was produced and directed by J. C. Daniel
, and for this work he is credited as the father of Malayalam cinema. The shooting of the first Malayalam film, the silent movie Vigathakumaran
, was started in 1928; the film was released in Trivandrum Capitol Theatre on November 7, 1930. It was produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, a businessman with no prior film experience. Daniel founded the first film studio, 'The Travancore National Pictures Limited' in Kerala.
The second film, Marthanda Varma
, based on a novel by C. V. Raman Pillai
, was produced by R. Sundar Raj in 1933. However, it became stranded in a legal battle over copyright issues and the court ordered the confiscation of the prints. As a result, the second movie's exhibition lasted only four days.
, released in 1938. It was directed by S. Nottani with a screenplay and songs written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai
. It was produced at Chennai
(then Madras) in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu
. Malayalam films continued to be made mainly by Tamil producers until 1947, when the first major film studio
, Udaya, was established in Kerala, in Alleppey (Alappuzha) by Kunchacko
, who earned fame as a film producer and director.
, drama
, and politics
since its inception. One such film, Jeevitha Nouka
(1951), was a musical drama which spoke about the problems in a joint family. This movie became very popular and was probably the first "super hit" of Malayalam cinema. However, this movie's success was bittersweet. Although its success accelerated Malayalam movie-making, films that were produced after Jeevitha Nouka closely mimicked its structure, hoping to find some sort of "success formula", thus hampering creativity for a long time. Nevertheless, this time was hailed as "the period of giants" in Malayalam film industry, due to the work of film stars Sathyan
and Prem Nazir
.
In 1954, the film Neelakuyil captured national interest by winning the President's silver medal. Scripted by the well-known Malayalam novelist Uroob
, and directed by P. Bhaskaran
and Ramu Kariat
, it is often considered the first authentic Malayali film. Another notable production was Newspaper Boy
(1955), which contained elements of Italian neorealism
. This film is notable as the product of a group of amateur college filmmakers. It told the story of a printing press employee and his family being stricken with extreme poverty.
, one of the directors of Neelakkuyil (the other was P. Bhaskaran), went on to become a celebrated director in the 1960s and 1970s. P. Bhaskaran
also directed a few acclaimed films in the 1960s. The cameraman of Neelakkuyil, A. Vincent
, also became a noted director of the 1960s and 1970s. Notable films of this decade include Odayil Ninnu
, Bhargavi Nilayam
(1964), Chemmeen
(1965), Murappennu
(1965) and Iruttinte Athmavu
(1966). The era of colour films came to Malayalam cinema with its first colour film, Kandam Bacha Coat (1961). Chemmeen (1965), directed by Ramu Kariat
and based on a story by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
, went on to become immensely popular, and became the first Malayalam film to win the National Film Award for Best Film
. Most of the films of the 60s were animated by the nationalist and socialist projects, and centred on issues relating to caste and class exploitation, the fight against obscurantist beliefs, the degeneration of the feudal class, and the breakup of the joint-family system.
During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Kunchacko
made significant contributions to Malayalam cinema, both as a producer and as director of some notable Malayalam movies. He started Udaya Studios
in Alleppey (Alappuzha) in 1947, reducing the travel to Madras (Chennai) for film crew and actors. This boosted Malayalam film production in Kerala.
's first film, Swayamvaram
(1972), brought Malayalam cinema to the international film arena. In 1973 M. T. Vasudevan Nair
who was by then recognized as an important author in Malayalam, directed his first film Nirmalyam, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. G. Aravindan
followed Adoor
's lead with his Uttarayanam
in 1974. K. P. Kumaran
's Adhithi (1974) was another film which was acclaimed by the critics. Cinematographers who won the National Award
for their work on Malayalam films in the 1970s were Mankada Ravi Varma
for Swayamvaram
(1972), P. S. Nivas for Mohiniyattam (1977), and Shaji N. Karun
for Thampu
(1979). John Abraham, K. R. Mohanan
, K. G. George
, and G. S. Panikkar were products of the Pune Film Institute who made significant contributions.
During the late 1970s, some young artists started seeing Malayalam cinema as a medium of expression and thought of it as a tool to revitalize society. A noted director, Aravindan
was famous in Kerala as a cartoonist before he started making films. His important movies include Kanchana Sita
(1977), Thampu
(1978), Kummatty (1979), Chidambaram
(1985), Oridathu
(1986), and Vasthuhara
(1990). 1970s also saw the emergence of a notable director P. G. Viswambharan with his debut film Ozhukinethire and mythical film Sathyavan Savithri from the same director, which was well accepted. Also, commercial cinema in this period saw several workerclass themed films which mostly had M. G. Soman
and Sukumaran
in the lead followed by the emergence of a new genre of pure action themed films, in a movement led by action star Jayan
who is usually considered the first genuine commercial superstar of Malayalam cinema. But this was short-lived, and almost ended with Jayan's untimely death while performing a stunt
in a film called Kolilakkam
(1980). Nevertheless, he paved way for different films and future actors who proved their talents in both commercial and art genres, the most famous of them being Mohanlal
and Mammootty
.
in 1981. This movie was widely acclaimed and won the British Film Institute
award. His other movies include Mukhamukham (1984), Anantharam
(1987) Mathilukal
(1989), Vidheyan
(1994), Kathapurushan
(1995), and Nizhalkuthu
(2003), I.V. Sasi the path breaker who has directed more than 131 odd films over a span of 34 years made Kanamarayathu
(1984), P. G. Viswambharan was the other major name during this period with his movies like Spodanam (1981) which was the first film with Mammootty
in a major role . Padmarajan
made his early works in this period including the movie Koodevide?
(1983). The year 1988 marked the release of Kerala's first superhit softcore
film Adipapam
which was directed by P. Chandrakumar
.
P. A. Backer
and Bharathan
are other names worth mentioning.
s dealing with everyday life with a lucid narration of plot intermingling with humour and melancholy. This was aided by brilliant cinematography
and lighting as in motion pictures like Perumthachan
(1990), directed by Ajayan with Santosh Sivan
as the cinematographer. These films are also remembered for their warm background music by composer
s like Johnson
, as in the motion picture Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal
(1986) by Padmarajan
. The golden age saw big actors like Mammootty
, Mohanlal
, etc.
Many of the movies released during this time narrowed the gap between art cinema and commercial cinema in the Malayalam film industry, as in Mrigaya
starring Mammootty
(1989, directed by I.V. Sasi and written by Lohithadas
), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
(1989), starring Mammootty
,Kireedam (1989, directed by Sibi Malayil
, starring Mohanlal
and written by Lohithadas
), Mathilukal
starring Mammootty
(1989, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
), Carnival, starring mammootty
(1989, directed by P. G. Viswambharan) ,Amaram
starring Mammootty
(1991, directed
by Bharathan
), Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal
(1988, directed by Kamal) and Sargam
(1992, directed by Hariharan
).
The period had an abundance of movies rich in creative humour from directors like Priyadarshan
, Sathyan Anthikkad
and Kamal. The era also saw well-crafted comedy by the Duo Siddique-Lal
's, Ramji Rao Speaking
(1989) and In Harihar Nagar
(1990). The internationally acclaimed Piravi
(1989) by Shaji N. Karun
was the first Malayalam film to win the Caméra d'Or
-Mention at the Cannes Film Festival
. Other notable contributions of this period include His Highness Abdullah
(1990) directed by Sibi Malayil
, Abhayam
(1991) directed by Santosh Sivan
, and the motion picture Daisy
(1988) an expressive depiction of separation and longing set in a boarding school
, directed by Prathap K. Pothan
.
(1990) directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
,Kattu Kuthira (1990) directed by P. G. Viswambharan, Bharatham
(1991) by Sibi Malayil
, Ulladakkam
(1992) directed by Kamal
, Kilukkam
(1991) directed by Priyadarshan
, Kamaladalam
(1992) by Sibi Malayil
, Vidheyan
(1993) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
, Devaasuram (1993) by I. V. Sasi
, Manichithrathazhu (1993) by Fazil, Ponthan Mada
(1993) by T. V. Chandran
, and Desadanam
(1997) by Jayaraaj. Swaham
(1994), directed by Shaji N. Karun
, was the second Malayalam film entry in the Cannes International Film Festival
, where it was a nominee for the Palme d'Or
. Murali Nair's Marana Simhasanam later won the Caméra d'Or
at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival
. Guru
(1997) directed by Rajiv Anchal
was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for that year, making it the first film in Malayalam to be chosen for Oscar nomination.
(2003) by Johny Antony
, Meesa Madhavan
(2002) by Lal Jose
and Kunjikoonan
(2002) directed by Sasi Shanker
are examples. Sequels to a number of successful films were made. These include blockbuster hit Raavanaprabhu (Devaasuram) and the sequels to the 80s hit movie Oru CBI Diarykurippu, named Sethurama Iyer CBI
(2004) and Nerariyan CBI
(2005), which were well received. Many movies during the early 2000s were of low quality. Adding to this crisis, a parallel culture of adult-content movies
named "Shakeela films
" emerged to be the best grossers for more than a year. Malayalam cinema saw a rare dearth of talent. At the same time, Tamil movies saw a surge of new talent in scriptwriters, directors
and actor
s. This resulted in increased popularity of Tamil and Hindi movies
in Kerala. Several film theatres were closed in rural Kerala and were converted to marriage halls. But by the last of year 2003, it was a happy season for the industry.
, Roshan Andrews, Blessy
and Anwar Rasheed
brought back original scripts to Malayalam movies. Notable movies of this era are Kaazhcha
, Udayananu Tharam
, Notebook
, Classmates
, Keerthi Chakra
, Vinodayathra
, Paradesi
,Rajamanikyam
, Arabikkatha, and Kadha Parayumbol. Many of Malayalam movies are remade into other languages.
This era has seen new promising actors like Dileep
, Kunchako Boban, Prithviraj
, Jayasurya
, and Indrajith
, along with stalwarts Mammooty, Mohanlal
, Suresh Gopi
and Jayaram
.
, the Award assembling drama, has been chosen as India's official entry to the Academy Awards to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for the year 2011. Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Rajiv Anchal
's Guru
. Other films that contributed the most to this renaissance include Bhramaram
,Ividum Swargamanu, Kutty Srank, Pranchiyettan and the Saint, Urumi
, T. D. Dasan Std. VI B, Chaappa Kurish
, Traffic, Pranayam
, City of God
, Melvilasom
, and Salt N' Pepper
. This era also saw the release of a slew of multistarrers
, following the box-office success of Twenty:20
(2008).
n state of Kerala and emigrants from it. The total population of Malayalees, as they are called, is around 4 crore. As of 2002, most Malayalam films were made with a budget of less than Rs
1 crore. (0.25 million USD) Despite the apparent budget constrains, Malayalam cinema has pioneered various technical, thematic and production techniques among films in India and South India. Such films include:
s, starting with J. C. Daniel
, the director and producer
of the first Malayalam film, Vigathakumaran
(1928). Unlike other Indian films at that time, most of which were films based on the puranas
, he chose to base his film on a social theme. Though the film failed commercially, he paved way for the Malayalam film industry and is widely considered the father of Malayalam cinema. Till the 1950s, Malayalam film didn't see many talented film directors. The milestone film Neelakkuyil (1954), directed by Ramu Karyat and P. Bhaskaran
, shed a lot of limelight over its directors. Ramu Karyat went on to become a celebrated director in the 1960s and 1970s. P. Bhaskaran
also directed a few acclaimed films in the 1960s. The cameraman of Neelakkuyil, A. Vincent
, also became a noted director of the 1960s and 1970s. Another noted director of the 1950s was P. Ramadas, the director of the neorealistic film Newspaper Boy
(1955).
In the 1970s, the Malayalam film industry saw the rise of film societies. It triggered a new genre of films known as "parallel cinema". The main driving forces of the movement, who gave priority to serious cinema, were Adoor Gopalakrishnan
and G. Aravindan
. People like John Abraham and P. A. Backer
gave a new dimension to Malayalam cinema through their political themes. The later 1970s witnessed the emergence of another stream of Malayalam films, known as "middle-stream cinema", which seamlessly integrated the seriousness of the parallel cinema and the popularity of the mainstream cinema. Most of the films belonging to this stream were directed by I. V. Sasi
, P. G. Viswambharan, K. G. George
, Bharathan
and Padmarajan
.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period widely regarded as the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema, a new array of directors joined the stalwarts who had already made a mark in the industry. The Golden Age saw the narrowing of the gap between the different streams of the industry. Directors like I. V. Sasi
, Fazil
, Joshy, P. G. Viswambharan, Kamal
, Sibi Malayil
, Hariharan
, Priyadarshan
, Sathyan Anthikkad
, K. Madhu
and Siddique-Lal
contributed heavily in the Golden Age. Then there were maverick filmmakers like John Abraham, Balachandra Menon
and Sreenivasan who contributed their part as well.
The 2000s witnessed the decline of quality of Malayalam films. Many directors who excelled in the Golden Age struggled as many of their films continuously failed critically and commercially. As a result the gap between parallel cinema (now known as art cinema) and mainstream cinema (now known as commercial cinema) widened. The 2000s also saw a commercial film formula being created in line with Tamil and Bollywood
films. Directors like Shaji Kailas
, Rafi Mecartin
and Anwar Rasheed
directed blockbusters which had few artistic merits to boast of. Despite the overall decline, some directors stood apart and made quality cinema. Shaji N. Karun
, T. V. Chandran
, Lenin Rajendran
, T. K. Rajeev Kumar
, Shyama Prasad and Jayaraj
made films that won laurels. Notable directors who debuted in this time include Blessy
, Lal Jose
, R. Sharath, Renjith
and Roshan Andrews.
Malayalam film directors have made their mark in the national level as well. Out of the 40 National Film Awards for Best Director given away till 2007, Malayalam directors have pocketed 12, trailed only by Bengali (14 awards). The directors who have won the prestigious award are Adoor Gopalakrishnan
(1973, 1985, 1988, 1990, 2007), G. Aravindan
(1978, 1979, 1987), Shaji N. Karun
(1989), T.V. Chandran (1994), Jayaraj
(1998) and Rajivnath (1999). There are several recipients of the Special Jury Award
as well: Mankada Ravi Varma
(1984), John Abraham (1987), Shaji N. Karun
(1995) and Pradeep Nair (2005).
when that person has become a driving force at the box office
. Just like other Indian film industries, there are no clear-cut guidelines for decorating an actor as superstar, and this designation is almost always bestowed by the media after an actor proves to be a champion at the box office.
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair
was the first person in the Malayalam film history to be called a superstar, following the tremendous success of his second film Jeevithanauka (1951), which is touted as the first superhit of Malayalam cinema. Later Prem Nazir
, Sathyan
, Madhu
, Jayan
, M. G. Soman
, and Sukumaran
came to be called superstars. Prem Nazir
and Sathyan
formed a bipolar industry in which a considerable number of films made in Malayalam in the later 1960s and almost the whole of 1970s starred one of them, until the rise of Jayan. Curiously, the trend was continued in the next era as well, with Mammootty
& Mohanlal
being established as superstars in the 1980s. Suresh Gopi
emerged as a superstar by mid 1990s, following a series of successful movies having police/political themes, most notably Commissioner, directed by Shaji Kailas .
As with most of the other Indian film industries, the Malayalam film industry is driven by male actors. None of the female actors who have been part of the industry have come to be known as superstars, though there have been immensely popular stars like Miss Kumari
, Sharada
, Sheela
, Jayabharathi
, Vidhubala
, Srividya
, Shobhana, Revathi
, Urvashi
, Manju Warrier
, Samyuktha Varma
and Kavya Madhavan
.
Many actors have brought laurels to Malayalam films with their performances. As of 2007, Malayalam film actors have won 12 out of the 42 National Film Awards for Best Actor
ever given away, including two occasions of double awardees. 12 is the second highest number of award wins by a film industry trailed only by Hindi (17 awards). The Malayalam film actors who have won the award are MG Ramachandran (1972), P. J. Antony
(1974), Gopi
(1978), Balan K. Nair
(1981), Premji
(1988), Mammootty
(1989, 1993, 1999), Mohanlal
(1991, 2000),, Suresh Gopi
(1998), Balachandra Menon
(1998), Murali (2002) and Salim Kumar (2011). Additionally, Malayalam film actors have won several Special Jury Awards
as well: Mohanlal
(1990), Kalabhavan Mani
(2000), Nedumudi Venu
(2004), Thilakan
(2007).
Malayalam female actors are not far behind. As of 2007, they have won the National Film Award for Best Actress
5 times. The winners are Sharada
(1969, 1973, 1979), Monisha
(1987), Shobana (1994, 2002), Meera Jasmine
(2004) and Priyamani
(2007). The actresses to win the Special Jury Award
are Jomol
(1998), Manju Warrier
(1999) and Jyothirmayi (2003). Sharada
did win another award in 1979 for the Telugu film Nimajjan; so did Shobana in 2002 for the English film Mitr, My Friend
.
artists, did not have any noted supporting actors. In the 1960s and 1970s several supporting actors like Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
, Adoor Bhasi
, Bahadoor
, Balan K. Nair
, Adoor Bhavani
and Aranmula Ponnamma
came into the scene. Most of them went on to have lifelong careers. In the 1980s and 1990s many more joined them, notably Thilakan
, Nedumudi Venu
, Jagathy Sreekumar
, Oduvil Unnikrishnan
, Biju Menon
, Vijayaraghavan, Innocent
, Siddique
, Jagadish
, Kuthiravattam Pappu
, Manoj K. Jayan
,Murali,Naendraprasad Rajan P. Dev
, Sukumari
, K.P.A.C. Lalitha and Bindu Panicker
. Some of them had short careers with title roles as well.
Despite the presence of a number of talented actors, Malayalam films have only won 2 out of the 24 National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor
so far given away, as of 2007. Thilakan
(1988) and Nedumudi Venu
(1991) are the only actors to win the award. The same is not the case with female actors. They have won 6 out the 24 National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress
given away, trailed only by Hindi (10 awards). The winners are K.P.A.C. Lalitha (1991, 2001), Santha Devi
(1992), Aranmula Ponnamma
(1996), Sheela
(2005) and Urvashi
(2006).
, forms the most important canon of popular music
in India. The film music of Kerala in particular is the most popular form of music in the state. Before Malayalam cinema and Malayalam film music developed, the Keralites eagerly followed Tamil
and Hindi
film songs, and that habit has stayed with them till now. The history of Malayalam film songs begins with the 1948 film Nirmala. The film's music director was P. S. Divakar, and the songs were sung by P. Leela
, T. K. Govinda Rao, Vasudeva Kurup, C. K. Raghavan, Sarojini Menon and Vimala B. Varma, who is credited as the first playback singer of Malayalam cinema.
The main trend in the early years was to use the tune of hit Hindi or Tamil songs in Malayalam songs. This trend changed in the early 1950s with the arrival of a number of poets and musicians to the Malayalam music scene. People who stormed into the Malayalam film music industry in the 1950s include musicians like V. Dakshinamurthy (1950), K. Raghavan
(1954), G. Devarajan
(1955) and M.S. Babu Raj (1957) and lyricists like P. Bhaskaran
(1950), O. N. V. Kurup
(1955) and Vayalar Rama Varma (1956). They are attributed with shaping Malayalam film music stream and giving it its own identity. Major playback singers of that time were Kamukara Purushothaman, K. P. Udayabhanu, A. M. Raja
, P. Leela, Santha P. Nair, P. Susheela
and S. Janaki
. Many of this singers like A. M. Raja, P. Susheela and Janaki were not Malayali
s and their pronunciation was not perfect. Despite that, these singers got high popularity throughout Kerala. In the later years many non-Malayalis like Manna Dey
, Talat Mahmood
, Lata Mangeshkar
, Asha Bhosle
and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
sang for Malayalam films. This trend was also found among music director
s to an extent, with outside musicians like Naushad
, Usha Khanna
, M.B. Sreenivasan, Bombay Ravi, Shyam
, Bappi Lahiri
, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Salil Chowdhury
, Ilaya Raja, Vishal Bharadwaj and A. R. Rahman
scoring music for Malayalam films. This can be attributed to the fact that film music in South India
had a parallel growth pattern with so many instances of cross-industry contributions.
K. J. Yesudas
, who debuted in 1961, virtually revolutionised the Malayalam film music industry and became the most popular Malayalam singer ever. He became equally popular with classical music audience and people who patronised film music. He along with P. Jayachandran gave a major facelift to Malayalam playback singing in the 1960s and 1970s. Malayalam film music also received heavy contributions from composers and musicians like Johnson
, M.B. Sreenivasan, Shyam
, M. G. Radhakrishnan
, Raveendran
, S. P. Venkatesh
and Ouseppachan
, lyricists like Sreekumaran Thampi
, Yusuf Ali Kechery
, and Kaithaprom Damodaran Namboodiri, and singers like M. G. Sreekumar
, G. Venugopal
, K. S. Chitra and Sujatha Mohan
. A notable aspect in the later years was the extensive of classical carnatic music
in many film songs of the later 1980s and early 1990s. Interestingly, that particular period is also considered as the peak time for Malayalam cinema itself and is quite widely known as the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema, a period in which the difference between art films and popular films was least felt. Similarly, classical carnatic music was heavily used in several popular film songs, most notably those in films like Chithram
(1988), His Highness Abdullah
(1990), Bharatham
(1991), Sargam
(1992) and Sopanam (1993). Vidyasagar
was the leading music composer in Malayalam films, from the late nineties to the early 2000s.
At present, the major players in the scene are young musicians like Rahul Raj, Deepak Dev
, Alphonse
, Gopi Sundar
, Jassie Gift
and Biji Pal, lyricists Gireesh Puthanchery, Vayalar Sarath and Anil Panachooran, and singers Madhu Balakrishnan
, Afsal, Manjari
and Jyotsna, along with stalwarts in the field.
Young composers like Rahul Raj and Gopi Sundar
are not only known for their catchy tunes, but also known for bringing in a lot of electronics, digital sound and a variety of genres in Malayalam film songs.
The National Award-winning music directors
of Malayalam cinema are Johnson
(1994, 1995), Bombay Ravi (1995), Ouseppachan
(2008), Ilaiyaraaja
(2010) and Issak Thomas Kottakapally (2011). Till 2009, the 1995 National Award that Johnson received for the film score
of Sukrutham (1994) was the only instance in the history of the award in which the awardee composed the film soundtrack rather than its songs. He shared that award with Bombay Ravi, who received the award for composing songs for the same film. In 2010 and 2011, awards were given to film score and both were bagged by Malayalam films: Pazhassi Raja (2010; Score: Ilaiyaraaja) and Adaminte Makan Abu (2011; Score: Issak Thomas Kottakapally). Ravindran also received a Special Jury Award
in 1992 for composing songs for the film Bharatham
. The lyricists who have won the National Award
are Vayalar Ramavarma
(1973), O. N. V. Kurup
(1989) and Yusuf Ali Kechery
(2001). The male singers who have received the National Award
are K. J. Yesudas
(1973, 1974, 1988, 1992, 1994), P. Jayachandran (1986) and M. G. Sreekumar
(1991, 2000). Yesudas has won two more National Awards for singing in Hindi
(1977) and Telugu
(1983) films, which makes him the person who has won the most National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer
with seven awards, closely followed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
with six awards. The female singers who have won the award
are S. Janaki
(1981) and K. S. Chitra (1987, 1989). Chitra had also won the award for Tamil (1986, 1997, 2005) and Hindi (1998) film songs, which makes her the person with the most National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer
with six awards, closely followed by P. Susheela
with five awards.
. The awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
since 1998 on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala
. The awards were started in the year 1969. The awardees are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs. The jury usually consists of eminent personalities from the film field. For the awards for literature on cinema a separate jury is formed. The academy annually invites films for the award and the jury analyses the films that are submitted before deciding the winners. The awards intends to promote films with artistic values and encourage artistes and technicians.
, the capital city of Kerala
. This film festival was started in 1996 and is organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the State Government. The festival is held in November/December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading film festivals in India.
. It was established by J. C. Daniel
in 1926 in Nagercoil
, which was then a part of Travancore
. Producer-director Kunchacko
and film distributor K. V. Koshy established Udaya Studios
in Alappuzha
in 1947. The studio influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madras, Tamil Nadu
to Kerala
. In 1951, P. Subramaniam
established Merryland Studio
in Nemom
, Thiruvananthapuram
. The other major studios are Sreekrishna (1952, Kulathoor
), Ajantha (1964, Thottumukham), Chithralekha (1965, Aakkulam), Uma (1975, Vellakkadavu), Navodaya
(1978, Thrikkakkara) and Chithranjali
(1980, Thiruvallam).
(AMMA) is an organisation formed by artists of Malayalam cinema to safeguard their interests. It aims to act against piracy, to safeguard the interests of member actors and actresses, and to serve as a common forum to raise concerns and address issues. The activities of AMMA include endowments, insurance schemes, and committees on wages and benefits on revision, fund for research, pensions, education loans for their children etc. for the members. The organization ventured into film production in 2008 with Twenty:20
to raise funds for its activities.
AMMA was involved in the film industry deadlock of 2004
and the alleged denial of work to senior actor Thilakan
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has pioneered various technical, thematic and production techniques among films in India. The first 3-D film
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
produced in India, My Dear Kuttichathan
My Dear Kuttichathan
My Dear Kuttichathan is a 3D Malayalam film and the first 3-D film made in India. The movie was produced by Maliampurackal Appachan of Navodaya studio in Kerala....
(1984), was made in Malayalam. The first CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
film produced in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
was the Malayalam film Thacholi Ambu
Thacholi Ambu
Thacholi Ambu is a 1978 Malayalam film starring Prem Nazir, Sivaji Ganesan and Jayan. Directed and produced by Navodaya Appachan, it was the first cinemascope film of South India. Prem Nazir played the title role in the film.-Cast:...
(1978). The world's first film with just one actor in the star cast was the Malayalam film The Guard (2001).
At first (beginning in the 1920s), the Malayalam film industry was based in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
. Later, the industry shifted to Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, which then was the capital of the southern Indian film industry. In the 2000s, the Malayalam film industry returned to Kerala and established itself in production facilities in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
and Kochi
Kochi
-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...
.
Many Malayalam films have been remade in other languages, including Dindigul Sarathy
Dindigul Sarathy
Dindigul Sarathy is a 2008 Indian Tamil language Drama film directed by Subramaniam Pillai starring Karunaas, Karthika, Livingston, Nassar, Saranya, Puja Bharati, M. S. Baskar, Periyar Dasan, Manobala, Mayilsamy and Shanumuga Rajan...
, Sundara Travels, Friends
Friends (1999 film)
Friends is a 1999 Malayalam comedy film written and directed by Siddique, produced by Lal and starring Jayaram, Mukesh, Sreenivasan and Meena. It was later remade into Tamil with the same name and into Telugu as "Snehamante Idera" ....
, Ninaithale Inikkum
Ninaithale Inikkum (2009 film)
Ninaithale Inikkum is a 2009 Tamil mystery-drama film directed by Kumaravelan. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sakthi Vasu, Priyamani, Karthik Kumar and Anuja Iyer in the lead roles while K. Bhagyaraj and Manobala play supporting roles. The film's score was composed by Vijay Antony.The film...
, Perazhagan
Perazhagan
Perazhagan is a 2004 Indian Tamil film directed by Sasi Shanker, starring Surya and Jyothika in lead roles with both essaying dual roles, whilst the supporting cast comprises Vivek, Manorama and Manobala among others. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja...
, Kuselan
Kuselan
Kuselan is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu, which was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu . Both remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, the film is directed by P. Vasu and produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages...
, Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi is a 2005 Indian horror, comedy and drama film directed by P. Vasu and produced by Ramkumar Ganesan. With a few deviations, it is a remake of Vasu's 2004 Kannada film Apthamitra, which was in-turn a remake of the 1993 Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu...
(in Tamil), Classmates
Classmates (film)
Classmates is a 2006 Malayalam musical mystery-thriller film directed by Lal Jose and written by James Albert. The film has an ensemble cast starring Prithviraj, Narain, Indrajith, Jayasurya, Kavya Madhavan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Balachandra Menon and Radhika. The music is composed by Alex Paul with...
, Chandralekha
Chandralekha (1997 film)
Chandralekha is a 1997 Malayalam film written and directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Fazil. Audiences were ecstatic on seeing the energetic performance of Mohanlal and counted this as his comeback film. This also brought back the old successful combo of Mohanlal and Sreenivasan, which was...
, Nagavalli (in Telugu), Aaptamitra
Aaptamitra
Apthamitra is a 2004 Kannada movie starring Vishnuvardhan, Ramesh Arvind, Soundarya and Avinash. This was actress Soundarya's last film. This was inspired from a Malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu . It was a box-office hit and ran successfully for a year. It was followed by its sequel, Aptharakshaka...
, Manmatha
Manmatha (film)
Manmatha is a 2007 Kannada comedy film starting Jaggesh in a double role. The film is a remake of Kunjikoonan.-Plot:Putswamy is a ugly village youth who covers up his handicap with humor...
, Bellary Naga (in Kannada), and Garam Masala
Garam Masala (film)
Garam Masala is a 2005 Bollywood film directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rimi Sen, Neha Dhupia, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav...
, Kyon Ki
Kyon Ki
Kyon Ki is a 2005 Bollywood film directed by Priyadarshan and starring Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rimi Sen, Jackie Shroff, Om Puri and Sunil Shetty. The film is a remake of the 1986 Malayalam film Thalavattam...
, Billu, Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a 2007 Bollywood psychological thriller comedy horror film directed by Priyadarshan. The film constitutes the official remake of the 1993 Malayalam film, Manichitrathazhu, which was already remade into several Indian films...
, Hera Pheri, Chup Chup Ke
Chup Chup Ke
Chup Chup Ke is a 2006 Bollywood film directed by Priyadarshan. Originally titled as Khatta Meetha, the story of the film is adapted from the Malayalam film Punjabi House , with a tagline of "Love meets confusion meets love." The film has Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in their third film...
, Khatta Meetha
Khatta Meetha
Khatta Meetha is a 1978 Hindi movie directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Rakesh Roshan, Bindiya Goswami, Pearl Padamsee, David Abraham Cheulkar, Ranjit Chowdhry, Preeti Ganguly, Deven Verma, Pradeep Kumar and Iftekhar. The films music is by Rajesh Roshan...
, Bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
(in Hindi) and Kaavalan (in Tamil).
Cinemas before the first film
The first cinema hall in KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, with a manually operated film projector, was opened in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
by K. W. Joseph in 1907. In 1913, the first electrically operated film projector was established (in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
again) by Jose Kattukkaran
Jose Kattukkaran
Jose Kattukkaran is an Indian National Congress politician from Thrissur city, India, and was the first mayor of Thrissur Municipal Corporation when it was raised to the present status in 2000. He was in office from October 5, 2000 to April 3, 2004....
and was called the "Jose Electrical Bioscope". Soon such cinema halls were established in other major cities of Kerala. In the early days, Tamil, Hindi and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
films were exhibited in these theatres.
The first film (silent movie, 1928)
The first film to be made in Malayalam was VigathakumaranVigathakumaran
Vigathakumaran is a 1928 Indian silent film written, directed and produced by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the film. It is the first Malayalam feature film.-Plot:...
, which was released in 1930. It was produced and directed by J. C. Daniel
J. C. Daniel
J. C. Daniel was the first film-maker from Kerala, India. He produced, directed, wrote, photographed, edited and acted in the first film made in Kerala, named Vigathakumaran meaning the Lost Child. He also established the first film studio in Kerala, named The Travancore National Pictures. It was...
, and for this work he is credited as the father of Malayalam cinema. The shooting of the first Malayalam film, the silent movie Vigathakumaran
Vigathakumaran
Vigathakumaran is a 1928 Indian silent film written, directed and produced by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the film. It is the first Malayalam feature film.-Plot:...
, was started in 1928; the film was released in Trivandrum Capitol Theatre on November 7, 1930. It was produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, a businessman with no prior film experience. Daniel founded the first film studio, 'The Travancore National Pictures Limited' in Kerala.
The second film, Marthanda Varma
Marthanda Varma (film)
Marthanda Varma is a 1933 black & white silent film directed by P.V.Rao based on 1891 Malayalam novel by C. V. Raman Pillai. This was the first film based on a Malayalam literature and next film of Malayalam film industry after Vigathakumaran.-Plot:...
, based on a novel by C. V. Raman Pillai
C. V. Raman Pillai
Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai was one of the great Indian novelists and playwrights and the greatest novelist and pioneering playwright and journalist in Malayalam...
, was produced by R. Sundar Raj in 1933. However, it became stranded in a legal battle over copyright issues and the court ordered the confiscation of the prints. As a result, the second movie's exhibition lasted only four days.
The first talkie (1938)
The first talkie in Malayalam was BalanBalan (film)
Balan is a 1938 Malayalam film directed by S. Nottani. It was the first talkie in Malayalam. Based on the short story Vidhiyum Mrs. Nayarum by A. Sundaram, its screenplay and dialogues are written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. The film is a melodrama and was the first movie in this genre in...
, released in 1938. It was directed by S. Nottani with a screenplay and songs written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai
Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai
Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai was a Malayalam dramatist, poet, screen play writer and actor. He was born on 1900 in Muthukulam, a small village in Alappuzha District, Kerala, India...
. It was produced at Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(then Madras) in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Malayalam films continued to be made mainly by Tamil producers until 1947, when the first major film studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
, Udaya, was established in Kerala, in Alleppey (Alappuzha) by Kunchacko
Kunchacko
Kunchacko was a Malayali Indian film producer and director who heavily influenced the Malayalam film industry by redefining the commercial film scenario. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madras, Tamil Nadu to Kerala...
, who earned fame as a film producer and director.
1950s
Malayalam cinema has always taken its themes from relevant social issues and has been interwoven with material from literatureLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
since its inception. One such film, Jeevitha Nouka
Jeevitha Nouka
Jeevitha Nouka is a 1951 Malayalam film directed by K. Vembu and jointly produced by K. V. Koshi and Kunchako. It was the first "super hit film" in Malayalam cinema, with a theatrical run of 284 days. Made at a budget of 5 lakhs, the film did extremely well at the box office that very few films...
(1951), was a musical drama which spoke about the problems in a joint family. This movie became very popular and was probably the first "super hit" of Malayalam cinema. However, this movie's success was bittersweet. Although its success accelerated Malayalam movie-making, films that were produced after Jeevitha Nouka closely mimicked its structure, hoping to find some sort of "success formula", thus hampering creativity for a long time. Nevertheless, this time was hailed as "the period of giants" in Malayalam film industry, due to the work of film stars Sathyan
Sathyaneshan Nadar
Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
and Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
.
In 1954, the film Neelakuyil captured national interest by winning the President's silver medal. Scripted by the well-known Malayalam novelist Uroob
Uroob
Uroob was a famous Malayalam writer from Kerala state, South India. He along with writers like Basheer, Thakazhi, Kesavadev, and Pottekkatt formed the progressive writers in Malayalam during the twentieth century. Uroob is a recipient of Kendra Sahithya Academy Award for his novel Sundarikalum...
, and directed by P. Bhaskaran
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies...
and Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat was a Malayali Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s. He directed many acclaimed films in Malayalam...
, it is often considered the first authentic Malayali film. Another notable production was Newspaper Boy
Newspaper Boy (film)
Newspaper Boy is a 1955 Malayalam film written and directed by P. Ramdas. It was the first neo-realistic film in India. It stars Neyyattinkara Komalam, Adoor Pankajam, Omana Madhavan, P. Gangadharan, S. Parameswaran, P. Ramdas, N. Subramanian, Master Mani and Master Venkiteswaran...
(1955), which contained elements of Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
. This film is notable as the product of a group of amateur college filmmakers. It told the story of a printing press employee and his family being stricken with extreme poverty.
1960s
Ramu KariatRamu Kariat
Ramu Kariat was a Malayali Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s. He directed many acclaimed films in Malayalam...
, one of the directors of Neelakkuyil (the other was P. Bhaskaran), went on to become a celebrated director in the 1960s and 1970s. P. Bhaskaran
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies...
also directed a few acclaimed films in the 1960s. The cameraman of Neelakkuyil, A. Vincent
A. Vincent
Aloysius Vincent born June 14, 1928 in Calicut, Kerala, India is an Indian cinematographer of Hindi movies and director of Malayalam movies. Since the mid 1960s he has directed some 30 movies...
, also became a noted director of the 1960s and 1970s. Notable films of this decade include Odayil Ninnu
Odayil Ninnu
Odayil Ninnu is a Malayalam novel written by P. Kesavadev in 1942. The protagonist of the novel is a rickshaw-puller named Pappu. The novel is one of the best known works of Kesavadev. Dev was in the forefront among the writers who employed new norms in the content and characterization in...
, Bhargavi Nilayam
Bhargavi Nilayam
Bhargavi Nilayam is a 1964 Malayalam horror - romance film written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and directed by A. Vincent. The film stars Prem Nazir, Madhu and Vijaya Nirmala in the lead roles, and had its story, screenplay and dialogues are written by noted Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad...
(1964), Chemmeen
Chemmeen
Chemmeen is a 1965 Malayalam romantic drama film based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and directed by Ramu Kariat from a screenplay by S. L...
(1965), Murappennu
Murappennu
Murappennu is a 1965 Malayalam film written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, directed by A. Vincent and produced by Shobhana Parameswaran Nair in the banner of Roopavani. It marked the entry of M. T. Vasudevan Nair, the noted Malayalam novelist to Malayalam cinema. The film's story is based on Snehathinte...
(1965) and Iruttinte Athmavu
Iruttinte Athmavu
Iruttinte Athmavu is a 1967 Malayalam film directed by P. Bhaskaran and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own story with the same name. It stars Prem Nazir, Sharada, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, P. J. Antony, Ushakumari, Kozhikode Shantha Devi and Baby Rajani in important roles, and...
(1966). The era of colour films came to Malayalam cinema with its first colour film, Kandam Bacha Coat (1961). Chemmeen (1965), directed by Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat was a Malayali Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s. He directed many acclaimed films in Malayalam...
and based on a story by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai was a novelist and short story writer of Malayalam language, spoken in Kerala state, South India. He is popularly known as Thakazhi, after his place of birth. He focused on the oppressed classes as the subject of his works, which are known for their attention to...
, went on to become immensely popular, and became the first Malayalam film to win the National Film Award for Best Film
National Film Award for Best Film
The National Award for Best Feature film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1954. This is one of the Golden Lotus Awards given among National Film Awards...
. Most of the films of the 60s were animated by the nationalist and socialist projects, and centred on issues relating to caste and class exploitation, the fight against obscurantist beliefs, the degeneration of the feudal class, and the breakup of the joint-family system.
During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Kunchacko
Kunchacko
Kunchacko was a Malayali Indian film producer and director who heavily influenced the Malayalam film industry by redefining the commercial film scenario. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madras, Tamil Nadu to Kerala...
made significant contributions to Malayalam cinema, both as a producer and as director of some notable Malayalam movies. He started Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios is the oldest film production studio in the Malayalam language film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala...
in Alleppey (Alappuzha) in 1947, reducing the travel to Madras (Chennai) for film crew and actors. This boosted Malayalam film production in Kerala.
1970s
The 70s saw the emergence of a new wave of cinema in Malayalam. The growth of the film society movement in Kerala introduced the works of the French and Italian New Wave directors to the discerning Malayali film enthusiasts. Adoor GopalakrishnanAdoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
's first film, Swayamvaram
Swayamvaram
Swayamvaram is a 1972 Malayalam feature film co-written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan starring Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. Notable smaller roles are filled by Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhavani, Bharath Gopi, and K. P. A. C. Lalitha. The film was produced by the Chitralekha...
(1972), brought Malayalam cinema to the international film arena. In 1973 M. T. Vasudevan Nair
M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Madathil Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair , popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He was born in Kudallur, a small village in the present day Palakkad District, which was under the Malabar District in the Madras Presidency of the British Raj...
who was by then recognized as an important author in Malayalam, directed his first film Nirmalyam, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. G. Aravindan
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan who was popularly known as G. Aravindan was a national award winning film director, screenwriter, musician and cartoonist from Kerala, India. He was known for his unorthodox way of film-making; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in story telling without...
followed Adoor
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
's lead with his Uttarayanam
Uttarayanam
Uttarayanam is a 1974 Malayalam film directed by G. Aravindan and written by Thikkodiyan. Aravindan, who is considered the doyen of Malayalam parallel cinema, debuted with this film...
in 1974. K. P. Kumaran
K. P. Kumaran
K. P. Kumaran is a Malayalam film maker. He co-authored the script of Swayamvaram directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Kumaran's first directorial venture was Athithi. His major films include Rugmini , Thenthulli, Laxmivijayam and Thottam...
's Adhithi (1974) was another film which was acclaimed by the critics. Cinematographers who won the National Award
National Film Award for Best Cinematography
The National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category....
for their work on Malayalam films in the 1970s were Mankada Ravi Varma
Mankada Ravi Varma
Ravi Varma , better known by his stage name Mankada Ravi Varma, was an Indian Malayalam cinematographer and director. He is exclusively known for his association with renowned film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has associated with other major directors such as G. Aravindan and P. N. Menon. He has...
for Swayamvaram
Swayamvaram
Swayamvaram is a 1972 Malayalam feature film co-written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan starring Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. Notable smaller roles are filled by Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhavani, Bharath Gopi, and K. P. A. C. Lalitha. The film was produced by the Chitralekha...
(1972), P. S. Nivas for Mohiniyattam (1977), and Shaji N. Karun
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
for Thampu
Thampu
Thampu is a highly acclaimed Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, V. K. Sriraman, Jalaja the artistes of the Great Chitra Circus form the cast. The film deals with the roving street circus of Kerala. It is shot in black and white in a direct documentary...
(1979). John Abraham, K. R. Mohanan
K. R. Mohanan
K. R. Mohanan is a Malayalam film director best known for his critically acclaimed works, Ashwathama , Purushartham and Swaroopam . He studied at the Pune Film Institute....
, K. G. George
K. G. George
Kulakkatil Geevarghese George is an Indian film director who work in Malayalam film. George is one of the most celebrated filmmakers of Kerala who modernized the Malayalam cinema in the seventies. He is the founder-chairman of MACTA, and continues to be an executive member...
, and G. S. Panikkar were products of the Pune Film Institute who made significant contributions.
During the late 1970s, some young artists started seeing Malayalam cinema as a medium of expression and thought of it as a tool to revitalize society. A noted director, Aravindan
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan who was popularly known as G. Aravindan was a national award winning film director, screenwriter, musician and cartoonist from Kerala, India. He was known for his unorthodox way of film-making; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in story telling without...
was famous in Kerala as a cartoonist before he started making films. His important movies include Kanchana Sita
Kanchana Sita
Kanchana Sita is a 1977 Indian Malayalam feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from C. N...
(1977), Thampu
Thampu
Thampu is a highly acclaimed Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, V. K. Sriraman, Jalaja the artistes of the Great Chitra Circus form the cast. The film deals with the roving street circus of Kerala. It is shot in black and white in a direct documentary...
(1978), Kummatty (1979), Chidambaram
Chidambaram (film)
Chidambaram is a 1985 Malayalam film written, directed and produced by G. Aravindan. It is the film adaptation of a short story by C. V. Sreeraman. The film explores various aspects of relations between men and women through the lives of three people living in a cattle farm. Themes of guilt and...
(1985), Oridathu
Oridathu
Oridathu is an Indian Malayalam satirical drama film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Nedumudi Venu, Sreenivasan, Thilakan, Vineeth, Krishnankutty Nair, Chandran Nair and Soorya form the cast. The story is about the problems faced by the people of a hamlet where electricity in unavailable,...
(1986), and Vasthuhara
Vasthuhara
Vasthuhara , a Malayalam film by the late G. Aravindan is a social film which looks into the lives of partition refugees from East Bengal to West Bengal. At a larger level, it's the universal story of refugees.- Plot :...
(1990). 1970s also saw the emergence of a notable director P. G. Viswambharan with his debut film Ozhukinethire and mythical film Sathyavan Savithri from the same director, which was well accepted. Also, commercial cinema in this period saw several workerclass themed films which mostly had M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman was an actor in Malayalam film. He was considered to be one of the superstars in Malayalam cinema along with Sukumaran and Jayan during the 1970s. He was born in Tiruvalla, Travancore...
and Sukumaran
Sukumaran
Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Sukumaran Nair , popularly known as Sukumaran, was an Indian film actor, and producer....
in the lead followed by the emergence of a new genre of pure action themed films, in a movement led by action star Jayan
Jayan
Krishnan Nair , better known by his stage name Jayan , was an Indian film actor, former sailor, stunt performer and 1970s style icon. He worked in Malayalam cinema, a sector of the Indian movie industry...
who is usually considered the first genuine commercial superstar of Malayalam cinema. But this was short-lived, and almost ended with Jayan's untimely death while performing a stunt
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
in a film called Kolilakkam
Kolilakkam
Kolilakkam is a 1981 Malayalam film directed by Vijayanandh, and starring Jayan.This was Jayan's last film before his death. His death happened during the shooting of this movie in which he was supposed to board a moving helicopter from a bike. The helicopter carrying him hit the ground while he...
(1980). Nevertheless, he paved way for different films and future actors who proved their talents in both commercial and art genres, the most famous of them being Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
and Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
.
1980s
Adoor Gopalakrishnan made ElippathayamElippathayam
Elippathayam is an Malayalam Film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is critically considered by many to be one of the most outstanding piece in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's filmography....
in 1981. This movie was widely acclaimed and won the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
award. His other movies include Mukhamukham (1984), Anantharam
Anantaram
Anantaram is a 1987 Malayalam feature film production written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Mammootty, Ashokan and Shobhana star in the lead. The film is structured like a monologue. It develops through a commentary by the protagonist about himself in the first person...
(1987) Mathilukal
Mathilukal
This article has details about the novel as well as its film adaptation.Mathilukal is a Malayalam novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in 1965. It is one of the most cherished and well-known love stories in Malayalam. Its hero, Basheer himself, and heroine, Narayani, never meet, yet they love...
(1989), Vidheyan
Vidheyan
Vidheyan is a 1993 Indian Malayalam film directed and co-written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is a cinematic adaptation of the novel Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia. The film explores the master-slave dialectic in a South Karnataka setting...
(1994), Kathapurushan
Kathapurushan
Kathapurushan is an award-winning feature film directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film is in Malayalam. It stars Vishwanathan, Mini Nair, Aranmula Ponnamma, Narendra Prasad and Urmila Unni. It won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Film at the National Film Awards in 1996...
(1995), and Nizhalkuthu
Nizhalkuthu
Nizhalkuthu is a 2002 Indian film directed, written and co-produced by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film explores the recesses of the human consciousness. The film stars Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Narain , Murali, Sukumari, Reeja, Nedumudi Venu, Vijayaraghavan, Jagathi Sreekumar and Tara Kalyan...
(2003), I.V. Sasi the path breaker who has directed more than 131 odd films over a span of 34 years made Kanamarayathu
Kanamarayathu
Kanamarayathu is a 1984 Malayalam film written by Padmarajan and directed by I. V. Sasi. It strars Mammootty, Rahman, Lalu Alex, Shobhana and Seema. This film won 1984 Kerala State Film Awards for the Best Story , Best Music Director and Best Female Singer .-Plot:Sherly is an orphan who is...
(1984), P. G. Viswambharan was the other major name during this period with his movies like Spodanam (1981) which was the first film with Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
in a major role . Padmarajan
Padmarajan
P. Padmarajan was an Indian author, screenwriter, and film director who contributed in Malayalam language. Padmarajan was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam, along with Bharathan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed...
made his early works in this period including the movie Koodevide?
Koodevide
Koodevide? is a 1983 Malayalam drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Suhasini, Mammootty and Rahman who makes his debut. The plot of the film is loosely based on a Tamil novel by Vasanthi.-Plot:...
(1983). The year 1988 marked the release of Kerala's first superhit softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
film Adipapam
Adipapam
Adipapam aka Aadhya Paapom is a 1988 Malayalam softcore biblical film directed by P. Chandrakumar and featuring Abhilasha in the lead role. The film is actually made as a family drama based on the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The lead characters appear completely nude in the film...
which was directed by P. Chandrakumar
P. Chandrakumar
P. Chandrakumar is an Indian director of Malayalam movies. Since the late 1970s Chandrakumar has directed some 50 movies. He started his career as a director of family entertainers. In 1988, his biblical film Adipapam got released. The film turned out to be Kerala's first superhit pornographic film...
.
P. A. Backer
P. A. Backer
P.A. Backer was one of the "new wave" Malayalam film directors of the 1970s and 1980s. Backer was born in 1940 in Thrissur, Kerala State. Whilst still a student Backer worked as a journalist for Kuttikal and Poomottukal. He then worked as an assistant to director Ramu Kariat...
and Bharathan
Bharathan
Bharathan was an Indian film director, artist, lyricist, music director, sculptor, poster designer, editor and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely...
are other names worth mentioning.
Golden age of Malayalam cinema
Most critics and audiences consider the period from the late 1980s to early 1990s as the golden age of Malayalam cinema. The Malayalam cinema of this period was characterised by detailed screenplayScreenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s dealing with everyday life with a lucid narration of plot intermingling with humour and melancholy. This was aided by brilliant cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
and lighting as in motion pictures like Perumthachan
Perumthachan
Perumthachan also spelled as "Perunthachan" meaning is an honorific title that is used to refer to an ancient legendary carpenter, architect, woodcarver and sculptor from Kerala, India...
(1990), directed by Ajayan with Santosh Sivan
Santosh Sivan
Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, and producer who has worked in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi cinema....
as the cinematographer. These films are also remembered for their warm background music by composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s like Johnson
Johnson (composer)
Johnson was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, including those for Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Vadakkunokkiyantram, Perumthachan, Amaram, Njan...
, as in the motion picture Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal
Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal
Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal is a landmark film in Malayalam cinema written and directed by Padmarajan. The film is noted for its rich and detailed screenplay, expressive cinematography and flowing musical narration...
(1986) by Padmarajan
Padmarajan
P. Padmarajan was an Indian author, screenwriter, and film director who contributed in Malayalam language. Padmarajan was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam, along with Bharathan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed...
. The golden age saw big actors like Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
, Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
, etc.
Many of the movies released during this time narrowed the gap between art cinema and commercial cinema in the Malayalam film industry, as in Mrigaya
Mrigaya (1989 film)
Mrigaya is a 1989 Malayalam film about a leopard hunter, directed by I. V. Sasi. The movie stars Mammootty in the lead role with Thilakan, Kuthiravattom Pappu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Lalu Alex, Urvashi, Sunitha as other actors.- Plot :The movie's story revolves around a village which is frequently...
starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
(1989, directed by I.V. Sasi and written by Lohithadas
Lohithadas
Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas was an Indian screenwriter, director, and producer known for his extensive work in Malayalam cinema....
), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha is a 1989 Malayalam film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Mammootty, Balan K. Nair, Suresh Gopi, Madhavi, Geetha, and Captain Raju.The film is based on a legend about the famous Chekavar warriors of present day northern Kerala...
(1989), starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
,Kireedam (1989, directed by Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil is an Indian film director of Malayalam cinema best known for his melodramas of the 80s and 90s. Since the mid-1980s he has directed some 40 movies. Movies like Kireedam, Dasharatham, Thaniyavarthanam, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, and Akashadoothu defined the way Malayalam movies...
, starring Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
and written by Lohithadas
Lohithadas
Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas was an Indian screenwriter, director, and producer known for his extensive work in Malayalam cinema....
), Mathilukal
Mathilukal
This article has details about the novel as well as its film adaptation.Mathilukal is a Malayalam novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in 1965. It is one of the most cherished and well-known love stories in Malayalam. Its hero, Basheer himself, and heroine, Narayani, never meet, yet they love...
starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
(1989, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
), Carnival, starring mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
(1989, directed by P. G. Viswambharan) ,Amaram
Amaram
Amaram is a 1991 Malayalam film directed by Bharathan and written by A. K. Lohithadas, starring Mammootty, Murali, Maathu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Balan K. Nair, Ashokan, Chitra, and Kuthiravattam Pappu in the main roles. The film score is composed by Johnson while the songs are by Raveendran.The...
starring Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
(1991, directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Bharathan
Bharathan
Bharathan was an Indian film director, artist, lyricist, music director, sculptor, poster designer, editor and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely...
), Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal
Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal
Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal is a 1988 Malayalam film directed by Kamal. The film is heroine-oriented, in which Revathi and Ambika play the lead roles.-Plot:...
(1988, directed by Kamal) and Sargam
Sargam (1992 film)
Sargam is a Malayalam film directed by Hariharan released in 1992. It was written by Chowallur Krishnankutty. The movie was produced by Bhavani Hariharan, , under the banner of Gayathri Enterprises. The cast of the movie included Vineeth, Manoj K...
(1992, directed by Hariharan
Hariharan (director)
Hariharan is a Malayali film director. His movies mainly revolved around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Kerala society. His notable works include Pazhassi Raja, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Sargam, Parinayam, Amrutham Gamaya and Nakhakshathangal, which won him national...
).
The period had an abundance of movies rich in creative humour from directors like Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...
, Sathyan Anthikkad
Sathyan Anthikkad
Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director and screenwriter known primarily for his family based Malayalam films.He has created many critical and commercially successful films, especially when working with Sreenivasan as the scriptwriter...
and Kamal. The era also saw well-crafted comedy by the Duo Siddique-Lal
Siddique-Lal
Siddique-Lal were a screenwriter and director duo, consisting of Siddique and Lal. They were active together in Malayalam cinema during 1989 - 1995...
's, Ramji Rao Speaking
Ramji Rao Speaking
Ramji Rav Speaking is a 1989 Indian Malayalam comedy film written and directed by the Siddique-Lal duo. It stars Saikumar, Mukesh, Innocent and Rekha in the lead roles. The film deals with social factors affecting Kerala such as poverty and unemployment during the 1980s.Fazil remade this film in...
(1989) and In Harihar Nagar
In Harihar Nagar
In Harihar Nagar is a 1990 Malayalam comedy film written and directed by the duo Siddique-Lal. It stars Mukesh, Siddique, Jagadish and Ashokan in major roles. The film became one of the biggest hits in Malayalam film history and has a dedicated cult following...
(1990). The internationally acclaimed Piravi
Piravi
Piravi is a 1988 Malayalam feature film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film's music is composed by G. Aravindan. Piravi met with widespread critical acclaim upon release...
(1989) by Shaji N. Karun
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
was the first Malayalam film to win the Caméra d'Or
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....
-Mention at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Other notable contributions of this period include His Highness Abdullah
His Highness Abdullah
His Highness Abdullah is a musical Malayalam film released in 1990, written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil; featuring Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gauthami, Sreenivasan and Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair. It was produced by Mohanlal under the banner of Pranavam Arts...
(1990) directed by Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil is an Indian film director of Malayalam cinema best known for his melodramas of the 80s and 90s. Since the mid-1980s he has directed some 40 movies. Movies like Kireedam, Dasharatham, Thaniyavarthanam, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, and Akashadoothu defined the way Malayalam movies...
, Abhayam
Abhayam
Abhayam is a 1991 Malayalam children's film written by Shibu Chakravarthy, directed by Sivan, produced by Children's Film Society of India , and starring Madhu, Parvathy, Master Tarun Kumar, Ramachandran and Baby Ambili...
(1991) directed by Santosh Sivan
Santosh Sivan
Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, and producer who has worked in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi cinema....
, and the motion picture Daisy
Daisy (1988 film)
Daisy is a 1988 Malayalam musical - romance film depicting separation and longing set in a boarding school, written and directed by Prathap K. Pothan. It stars Harish and Sonia in the lead roles, Lakshmi in another pivotal role, and Kamal Hassan in a guest appearance. The screenplay was written by...
(1988) an expressive depiction of separation and longing set in a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, directed by Prathap K. Pothan
Prathap K. Pothan
Prathap K. Pothan , popularly known by his first name , is an Indian actor, director, writer, producer who has acted in about 95 films. He has acted in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu as well as Hindi films...
.
1990s
Some examples are MathilukalMathilukal
This article has details about the novel as well as its film adaptation.Mathilukal is a Malayalam novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in 1965. It is one of the most cherished and well-known love stories in Malayalam. Its hero, Basheer himself, and heroine, Narayani, never meet, yet they love...
(1990) directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
,Kattu Kuthira (1990) directed by P. G. Viswambharan, Bharatham
Bharatham
Bharatham is a 1991 musical/drama Malayalam film directed by Sibi Malayil, produced by Mohanlal under the banner of Pranavam Arts and starring Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu and Lakshmi. The film is especially known for its music that is largely Carnatic Classical and Semi Classical...
(1991) by Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil is an Indian film director of Malayalam cinema best known for his melodramas of the 80s and 90s. Since the mid-1980s he has directed some 40 movies. Movies like Kireedam, Dasharatham, Thaniyavarthanam, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, and Akashadoothu defined the way Malayalam movies...
, Ulladakkam
Ulladakkam
Ulladakkam is 1991 Malayalam film by Kamal. The film stars Mohanlal, Amala and Shobana in the lead roles. The movie was produced by Suresh Balaji under the banner of Sithara Combines and was distributed by Bhavachithra and Murali Release.-Plot:...
(1992) directed by Kamal
Kamaluddin Mohammed
Kamaluddin Mohammed, usually credited as Kamal, is a Malayali Indian film director. His first film was Mizhineer Pookkal in 1986 and to date, he has directed more than 32 movies, among which include 2 non-malayalam movies, one each in Tamil and Hindi...
, Kilukkam
Kilukkam
Kilukkam is a 1991 Malayalam musical comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Venu Nagavalli...
(1991) directed by Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...
, Kamaladalam
Kamaladalam
Kamaladalam is a Malayalam film released in 1992, written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil; featuring Mohanlal, Murali, Vineeth, Nedumudi Venu, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Monisha, Parvathy and Sukumari...
(1992) by Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil is an Indian film director of Malayalam cinema best known for his melodramas of the 80s and 90s. Since the mid-1980s he has directed some 40 movies. Movies like Kireedam, Dasharatham, Thaniyavarthanam, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, and Akashadoothu defined the way Malayalam movies...
, Vidheyan
Vidheyan
Vidheyan is a 1993 Indian Malayalam film directed and co-written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is a cinematic adaptation of the novel Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum by Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia. The film explores the master-slave dialectic in a South Karnataka setting...
(1993) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
, Devaasuram (1993) by I. V. Sasi
I. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, is a Malayali Indian film director who is known for his films of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. He has directed about 150 films in various South Indian languages and Hindi. He is known as the "veteran" or the "guru" filmmaker in Malayalam...
, Manichithrathazhu (1993) by Fazil, Ponthan Mada
Ponthan Mada
Ponthan Mada is a 1994 Malayalam-language Indian feature film written and directed by T. V. Chandran. The film stars Mammootty and Naseeruddin Shah.-Plot:...
(1993) by T. V. Chandran
T. V. Chandran
T. V. Chandran is an Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actor. He is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism...
, and Desadanam
Desadanam
Desadanam is a Malayalam feature-length film released in the year 1996 by the critically acclaimed director Jayaraj. It won the National award for best Regional film in the year 1997.-Plot:...
(1997) by Jayaraaj. Swaham
Swaham
Swaham is an award-winning feature film directed by Shaji N. Karun. The film is in Malayalam. It stars Aswani, Venumani Vishnu and Mullenezhi. The film's music is composed by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally and K. Raghavan. Swaham met with widespread critical acclaim upon release...
(1994), directed by Shaji N. Karun
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
, was the second Malayalam film entry in the Cannes International Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, where it was a nominee for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
. Murali Nair's Marana Simhasanam later won the Caméra d'Or
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....
at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival
1999 Cannes Film Festival
The 52nd Cannes Film Festival was held on May 12-23, 1999. The Palme d'Or went to the French-Belgian film Rosetta by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.-Jury:* David Cronenberg * André Téchiné * Barbara Hendricks...
. Guru
Guru (1997 film)
Guru is a Malayalam-language film directed by Rajiv Anchal. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri and Sreelakshmi star in supporting roles....
(1997) directed by Rajiv Anchal
Rajiv Anchal
Rajiv Anchal is a screenwriter and film director from Kerala. He has directed eight feature films. Of late, he has based his movies in the United States. He is the life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television...
was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for that year, making it the first film in Malayalam to be chosen for Oscar nomination.
Early-mid 2000s
Slapstick comedy was the predominant theme in the films of this era. C.I.D. MoosaC.I.D. Moosa
C.I.D.Moosa is a 2003 Malayalam slapstick comedy film written by the duo Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas, directed by Johny Antony, and co-produced by and starring Dileep in the title role. The film also stars Harisree Ashokan, Cochin Haneefa, Jagathy Sreekumar, Bhavana, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Saleem...
(2003) by Johny Antony
Johny Antony
Johny Antony, movie director of Malayalam films hails from Changanassery in Kottayam District. He gained valuable experience by working for about a decade as Associate to Directors like Thulasidas, Taha, Kamal and Jose Thomas., and made his directorial debut with the movie C.I.D. Moosa in 2003...
, Meesa Madhavan
Meesa Madhavan
Meesa Madhavan is a 2002 Malayalam film directed by Lal Jose and written by Ranjan Pramod; starring Dileep in the title role...
(2002) by Lal Jose
Lal Jose
Lal Jose is an Indian film director. His debut film as a director is Oru Maravathoor Kanavu . His popular films include Meesa Madhavan , Classmates and Arabikkatha .- Biography :...
and Kunjikoonan
Kunjikoonan
Kunjikoonan is a 2002 Malayalam film, made in India, by Sasi Shankar and starring Dileep and Navya Nair. Dileep played dual roles in this movie.This movie was later remade to Tamil as Perazhagan, starring Surya Sivakumar and Jyothika Saravanan...
(2002) directed by Sasi Shanker
Sasi Shanker
Sasi Shanker also spelled Sasi Shankar is an Indian film director. He has directed one Tamil film and ten Malayalam films. He won the National Film award for Best film in other social issues in 1993 for his film Narayam.-Filmography:...
are examples. Sequels to a number of successful films were made. These include blockbuster hit Raavanaprabhu (Devaasuram) and the sequels to the 80s hit movie Oru CBI Diarykurippu, named Sethurama Iyer CBI
Sethurama Iyer CBI
Sethurama Iyer CBI is a 2004 Malayalam film directed by K Madhu, written by S. N. Swami, and starring Mammootty, Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar....
(2004) and Nerariyan CBI
Nerariyan CBI
Nerariyan CBI is a 2005 Malayalam film directed by K Madhu, written by S. N. Swami, and starring Mammootty, Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar....
(2005), which were well received. Many movies during the early 2000s were of low quality. Adding to this crisis, a parallel culture of adult-content movies
Motion picture rating system
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
named "Shakeela films
Shakeela
Shakeela , , , is a film actress from India who has appeared in Indian softcore pornographic movies. She mostly acted in film industries of Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Kannada languages. She started out as an actor in B-grade movies in the early 1990s.Later she moved to Chennai seeking...
" emerged to be the best grossers for more than a year. Malayalam cinema saw a rare dearth of talent. At the same time, Tamil movies saw a surge of new talent in scriptwriters, directors
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s. This resulted in increased popularity of Tamil and Hindi movies
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
in Kerala. Several film theatres were closed in rural Kerala and were converted to marriage halls. But by the last of year 2003, it was a happy season for the industry.
Late 2000s
Malayalam movies saw a comeback in 2005. New directors such as Lal JoseLal Jose
Lal Jose is an Indian film director. His debut film as a director is Oru Maravathoor Kanavu . His popular films include Meesa Madhavan , Classmates and Arabikkatha .- Biography :...
, Roshan Andrews, Blessy
Blessy
Blessy is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has made several critically acclaimed films in Malayalam. As a film director, he is influenced by Padmarajan and Bharathan.- Career :...
and Anwar Rasheed
Anwar Rasheed
Anwar Rasheed is a Malayali Indian film director notable for his debut film Rajamanikyam starring Mammootty. His second feature film was Chotta Mumbai , which had Mohanlal in the lead role...
brought back original scripts to Malayalam movies. Notable movies of this era are Kaazhcha
Kaazhcha
Kaazcha is a 2004 Malayalam drama film written and directed by Blessy. It stars Mammootty in the lead role.-Plot:Madhavan , a simple village man who in childhood got bitten by the film bug threw up his studies and finally ended up as the Operator Madhavan who toured the countryside with his 16 mm...
, Udayananu Tharam
Udayananu Tharam
Udayananu Tharam is a 2005 Malayalam comedy film that presents the southern Indian film industry through a satirical viewpoint. It was written by Sreenivasan and directed by debutant Rosshan Andrrews. The film stars Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Meena, Jagathy Sreekumar, and Mukesh in the lead roles...
, Notebook
Notebook (film)
Notebook is a 2006 Malayalam musical film directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby Sanjay. It is about three students at a boarding school and how they face up to challenges in their lives. The film dealt with the subject of teenage pregnancy...
, Classmates
Classmates (film)
Classmates is a 2006 Malayalam musical mystery-thriller film directed by Lal Jose and written by James Albert. The film has an ensemble cast starring Prithviraj, Narain, Indrajith, Jayasurya, Kavya Madhavan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Balachandra Menon and Radhika. The music is composed by Alex Paul with...
, Keerthi Chakra
Keerthi Chakra
Kirtichakra is a 2006 Indian Malayalam war film directed by debutant Major Ravi, and starring Mohanlal and Jeeva. The film is based on true events related to militancy in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The film was released on 7 August 2006 worldwide. It is the first movie in the Major...
, Vinodayathra
Vinodayathra
Vinodaythra is a 2007 Malayalam film written and directed by Sathyan Anthikkad, produced by Dileep, and starring Dileep, Meera Jasmine, Mukesh, Innocent, KPAC Lalitha, and Nedumudi Venu.-Plot:...
, Paradesi
Paradesi
Paradesi is a 2007 Indian Malayalam film written and directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed and starring Mohanlal.The film talks the issue of Indian citizens who left the country before independence in search of job, mostly to Arabia, and happened to reach Pakistan, and then when returned to the...
,Rajamanikyam
Rajamanikyam
Rajamanikyam is a 2005 Malayalam film, the directorial debut of Anwar Rasheed, written by T. A. Shahid, and starring Mammootty in the title role....
, Arabikkatha, and Kadha Parayumbol. Many of Malayalam movies are remade into other languages.
This era has seen new promising actors like Dileep
Dileep (actor)
Dileep is an Indian film actor, mimicry artist and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema.Dileep started his career as a mimicry artist in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe. He later started his film career as an assistant director to Kamal with the film Vishnu Lokam...
, Kunchako Boban, Prithviraj
Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj Sukumaran credited mononymously as Prithviraj, is an Indian film actor and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema....
, Jayasurya
Jayasurya
Jayasurya is an Indian film actor and comedian. He made his debut in 2001 in the Malayalam film Dosth and has since acted in about 50 films, notable ones being Swapnakkoodu , Pulival Kalyanam , Chathikkatha Chanthu , Classmates , Gulumaal , Happy Husbands and...
, and Indrajith
Indrajith
Indrajith is an Indian film actor. He is the elder son of late Malayalam actor Sukumaran and actress Mallika. His brother Prithviraj is also an actor...
, along with stalwarts Mammooty, Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
, Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
and Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
.
Present
After several years of qualitative deterioration, Malayalam films saw the signs of some renaissance in the last two years with the release of several experimental films, mostly from new directors. Salim Ahamed's Adaminte Makan AbuAdaminte Makan Abu
Adaminte Makan Abu is a 2011 Indian drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed in his debut film. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead roles along with Mukesh, Nedumudi Venu, Kalabhavan Mani, and Suraj Venjarammoodu in other supporting roles. The cinematography was...
, the Award assembling drama, has been chosen as India's official entry to the Academy Awards to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for the year 2011. Adaminte Makan Abu is the second Malayalam film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Rajiv Anchal
Rajiv Anchal
Rajiv Anchal is a screenwriter and film director from Kerala. He has directed eight feature films. Of late, he has based his movies in the United States. He is the life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television...
's Guru
Guru (1997 film)
Guru is a Malayalam-language film directed by Rajiv Anchal. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri and Sreelakshmi star in supporting roles....
. Other films that contributed the most to this renaissance include Bhramaram
Bhramaram
Bhramaram is a 2009 Malayalam thriller film of road-movie genre, written and directed by Blessy, starring Mohanlal, Suresh Menon, V. G. Muralikrishnan and Bhumika Chawla.-Plot:...
,Ividum Swargamanu, Kutty Srank, Pranchiyettan and the Saint, Urumi
Urumi (film)
Urumi is a 2011 Malayalam historical-fantasy film directed and co-produced by Santosh Sivan and written by Shankar Ramakrishnan. It stars Prithviraj, who was also one of the producers of the film, as Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, Prabhu Deva as Vavvali, Robin Pratt as Vasco da Gama, Alexx ONell as...
, T. D. Dasan Std. VI B, Chaappa Kurish
Chaappa Kurish
Chaappa Kurish is a 2011 Malayalam thriller film co-written and directed by Sameer Thahir and starring Fahad Fazil, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Roma, Remya Nambeesan and Nivetha in the lead roles...
, Traffic, Pranayam
Pranayam
Pranayam is a 2011 Malayalam romantic drama film written and directed by Blessy. The film revolves around the love bound between the characters of Mathews , Grace and Achutha Menon ....
, City of God
City of God (2011 film)
City of God is a 2011 Indian thriller film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by Babu Janardhanan. The film tells the story of Tamil migrant workers and a team of land mafia criminals in the city of Kochi. It stars Indrajith, Prithviraj, Rajeev Pillai, Rohini, Parvathi, Rima Kallingal...
, Melvilasom
Melvilasom
Melvilasom is a 2011 Malayalam courtroom drama film directed by Madhav Ramdasan and written by Soorya Krishna Moorthy. It stars Suresh Gopi and Parthiban in the lead roles, and features Ashokan, Thalaivasal Vijay, Nizhalgal Ravi, Krishnakumar and Sanjay in other pivotal roles...
, and Salt N' Pepper
Salt N' Pepper
Salt N' Pepper is a 2011 Malayalam romantic comedy film directed by Aashiq Abu. The film stars Lal, Asif Ali, Shweta Menon and Mythili in the lead roles while Baburaj and Vijayaraghavan play supporting roles. Cinematography is by Shyju Kahild, who's debut was Traffic...
. This era also saw the release of a slew of multistarrers
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
, following the box-office success of Twenty:20
Twenty:20
Twenty:20 is a 2008 Malayalam action thriller film directed by Joshi, written by Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas, and produced by Dileep. The film features an ensemble cast; it was known for starring all the major actors in the Malayalam film industry, and was referred to mother of all multistarrers...
(2008).
Pioneered film-making techniques
Malayalam films cater to people living in the South IndiaSouth India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
n state of Kerala and emigrants from it. The total population of Malayalees, as they are called, is around 4 crore. As of 2002, most Malayalam films were made with a budget of less than Rs
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
1 crore. (0.25 million USD) Despite the apparent budget constrains, Malayalam cinema has pioneered various technical, thematic and production techniques among films in India and South India. Such films include:
- Marthanda Varma (1933): The first Indian historical drama filmHistorical drama filmThe historical drama is a film genre in which stories are based upon historical events and famous persons. Some historical dramas attempt to accurately portray a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow...
. The film was based on the life of Marthanda VarmaMarthanda VarmaMarthanda Varma , was the founder of the Indian Hindu feudal kingdom of Travancore from Venad SwaroopamHe ruled from 1729 till his death in 1758, having succeeded his maternal uncle Dharma Raja.King Marthanda Varma is usually credited as the "founder of Kingdom of Travancore" from...
, the Maharajah of the Indian princely statePrincely stateA Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
of TravancoreTravancoreKingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
in the mid 18th century. Marthanda Varma was film adaptationFilm adaptationFilm adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of a novel in the same name by C. V. Raman PillaiC. V. Raman PillaiCannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai was one of the great Indian novelists and playwrights and the greatest novelist and pioneering playwright and journalist in Malayalam...
, making it one of the first Indian film adaptations from literature other than the puranasPuranasThe Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
. - Newspaper BoyNewspaper Boy (film)Newspaper Boy is a 1955 Malayalam film written and directed by P. Ramdas. It was the first neo-realistic film in India. It stars Neyyattinkara Komalam, Adoor Pankajam, Omana Madhavan, P. Gangadharan, S. Parameswaran, P. Ramdas, N. Subramanian, Master Mani and Master Venkiteswaran...
(1955): India's first neorealisticNeorealism (art)In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
film. The film drew its inspiration from Italian neorealismItalian neorealismItalian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
and was released a few months before Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
's debut film Pather PanchaliPather PanchaliPather Panchali is a 1955 Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by the Government of the Indian state of West Bengal. Based on Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name, the film was the directorial debut of Ray...
, another neo-realistic film. - Thacholi AmbuThacholi AmbuThacholi Ambu is a 1978 Malayalam film starring Prem Nazir, Sivaji Ganesan and Jayan. Directed and produced by Navodaya Appachan, it was the first cinemascope film of South India. Prem Nazir played the title role in the film.-Cast:...
(1978): South India's first CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
film. - PadayottamPadayottamPadayottam is a 1982 Malayalam film directed by Jijo Punnoose, produced by Navodaya Appachan, and starring Prem Nazir, Madhu, Mammootty, Mohanlal and Shankar. It was the first movie in South India to be indigenously shot in the 70 mm film format...
(1982): India's first indigenously produced 70 mm film70 mm film70mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge, with higher resolution than standard 35mm motion picture film format. As used in camera, the film is wide. For projection, the original 65mm film is printed on film. The additional 5mm are for magnetic strips holding four of the six tracks of sound...
. - My Dear KuttichathanMy Dear KuttichathanMy Dear Kuttichathan is a 3D Malayalam film and the first 3-D film made in India. The movie was produced by Maliampurackal Appachan of Navodaya studio in Kerala....
(1984): India's first 3-D film3-D filmA 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
. - Amma AriyanAmma AriyanAmma Ariyan is a 1986 Malayalam film directed by avant-garde filmmaker John Abraham....
(1986): The first film made in India with money collected from the public. The film was produced by Odessa Collective, founded by the director of the film John Abraham and friends. The fund was raised by collecting donations and screening Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's film The KidThe Kid (1921 film)The Kid is a 1921 American silent dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, and features Jackie Coogan as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie...
. - O' FaabyO' FaabyO' Faaby is a 1993 Indian film, partially animation film made in Malayalam starring Ashokan, Manoj K. Jayan and Srividya. The film attracted media attention as it was the 'First film in Asia, where an animated character played lead role alongwith live actors '...
(1993): India's first live-action/animationAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
hybrid film. - MoonnamathoralMoonnamathoralMoonnamathoral is the first digital Malayalam movie. It was created by Martin Sebastian, produced by Benzy Martin, distributed by Emil & Eric Digital Films, and directed by V. K. Prakash. The movie, which falls into the genre of suspense thrillers, was shot primarily at Peerumedu in Idukki, Kerala...
(2006): First Indian film to be shot and distributed in digital formatDigital cinemaDigital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute and project motion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector...
.
Directors
Malayalam cinema boasts many brilliant film directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
s, starting with J. C. Daniel
J. C. Daniel
J. C. Daniel was the first film-maker from Kerala, India. He produced, directed, wrote, photographed, edited and acted in the first film made in Kerala, named Vigathakumaran meaning the Lost Child. He also established the first film studio in Kerala, named The Travancore National Pictures. It was...
, the director and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
of the first Malayalam film, Vigathakumaran
Vigathakumaran
Vigathakumaran is a 1928 Indian silent film written, directed and produced by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the film. It is the first Malayalam feature film.-Plot:...
(1928). Unlike other Indian films at that time, most of which were films based on the puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
, he chose to base his film on a social theme. Though the film failed commercially, he paved way for the Malayalam film industry and is widely considered the father of Malayalam cinema. Till the 1950s, Malayalam film didn't see many talented film directors. The milestone film Neelakkuyil (1954), directed by Ramu Karyat and P. Bhaskaran
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies...
, shed a lot of limelight over its directors. Ramu Karyat went on to become a celebrated director in the 1960s and 1970s. P. Bhaskaran
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies...
also directed a few acclaimed films in the 1960s. The cameraman of Neelakkuyil, A. Vincent
A. Vincent
Aloysius Vincent born June 14, 1928 in Calicut, Kerala, India is an Indian cinematographer of Hindi movies and director of Malayalam movies. Since the mid 1960s he has directed some 30 movies...
, also became a noted director of the 1960s and 1970s. Another noted director of the 1950s was P. Ramadas, the director of the neorealistic film Newspaper Boy
Newspaper Boy (film)
Newspaper Boy is a 1955 Malayalam film written and directed by P. Ramdas. It was the first neo-realistic film in India. It stars Neyyattinkara Komalam, Adoor Pankajam, Omana Madhavan, P. Gangadharan, S. Parameswaran, P. Ramdas, N. Subramanian, Master Mani and Master Venkiteswaran...
(1955).
In the 1970s, the Malayalam film industry saw the rise of film societies. It triggered a new genre of films known as "parallel cinema". The main driving forces of the movement, who gave priority to serious cinema, were Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
and G. Aravindan
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan who was popularly known as G. Aravindan was a national award winning film director, screenwriter, musician and cartoonist from Kerala, India. He was known for his unorthodox way of film-making; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in story telling without...
. People like John Abraham and P. A. Backer
P. A. Backer
P.A. Backer was one of the "new wave" Malayalam film directors of the 1970s and 1980s. Backer was born in 1940 in Thrissur, Kerala State. Whilst still a student Backer worked as a journalist for Kuttikal and Poomottukal. He then worked as an assistant to director Ramu Kariat...
gave a new dimension to Malayalam cinema through their political themes. The later 1970s witnessed the emergence of another stream of Malayalam films, known as "middle-stream cinema", which seamlessly integrated the seriousness of the parallel cinema and the popularity of the mainstream cinema. Most of the films belonging to this stream were directed by I. V. Sasi
I. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, is a Malayali Indian film director who is known for his films of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. He has directed about 150 films in various South Indian languages and Hindi. He is known as the "veteran" or the "guru" filmmaker in Malayalam...
, P. G. Viswambharan, K. G. George
K. G. George
Kulakkatil Geevarghese George is an Indian film director who work in Malayalam film. George is one of the most celebrated filmmakers of Kerala who modernized the Malayalam cinema in the seventies. He is the founder-chairman of MACTA, and continues to be an executive member...
, Bharathan
Bharathan
Bharathan was an Indian film director, artist, lyricist, music director, sculptor, poster designer, editor and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely...
and Padmarajan
Padmarajan
P. Padmarajan was an Indian author, screenwriter, and film director who contributed in Malayalam language. Padmarajan was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam, along with Bharathan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed...
.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period widely regarded as the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema, a new array of directors joined the stalwarts who had already made a mark in the industry. The Golden Age saw the narrowing of the gap between the different streams of the industry. Directors like I. V. Sasi
I. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, is a Malayali Indian film director who is known for his films of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. He has directed about 150 films in various South Indian languages and Hindi. He is known as the "veteran" or the "guru" filmmaker in Malayalam...
, Fazil
Fazil
A. M. Fazil is an Indian filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter of Malayalam cinema.His father wanted him to be a doctor, but in school and college, extra curricular activities engulfed him. He wrote plays, enacted them with his friends A. M. Fazil (born 1953, in Alleppey, Kerala) is an Indian...
, Joshy, P. G. Viswambharan, Kamal
Kamaluddin Mohammed
Kamaluddin Mohammed, usually credited as Kamal, is a Malayali Indian film director. His first film was Mizhineer Pookkal in 1986 and to date, he has directed more than 32 movies, among which include 2 non-malayalam movies, one each in Tamil and Hindi...
, Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil
Sibi Malayil is an Indian film director of Malayalam cinema best known for his melodramas of the 80s and 90s. Since the mid-1980s he has directed some 40 movies. Movies like Kireedam, Dasharatham, Thaniyavarthanam, His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, and Akashadoothu defined the way Malayalam movies...
, Hariharan
Hariharan (director)
Hariharan is a Malayali film director. His movies mainly revolved around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Kerala society. His notable works include Pazhassi Raja, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Sargam, Parinayam, Amrutham Gamaya and Nakhakshathangal, which won him national...
, Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...
, Sathyan Anthikkad
Sathyan Anthikkad
Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director and screenwriter known primarily for his family based Malayalam films.He has created many critical and commercially successful films, especially when working with Sreenivasan as the scriptwriter...
, K. Madhu
K. Madhu
K. Madhu is a Malayalam film director.Popular for his suspense and investigation thrillers, K.Madhu has a long list of hits in his kitty.-Career:...
and Siddique-Lal
Siddique-Lal
Siddique-Lal were a screenwriter and director duo, consisting of Siddique and Lal. They were active together in Malayalam cinema during 1989 - 1995...
contributed heavily in the Golden Age. Then there were maverick filmmakers like John Abraham, Balachandra Menon
Balachandra Menon
Balachandra Menon is an Indian film actor, director, script writer, lyricist, and producer who works in Malayalam cinema. He made some popular films in the 1980s and 1990s...
and Sreenivasan who contributed their part as well.
The 2000s witnessed the decline of quality of Malayalam films. Many directors who excelled in the Golden Age struggled as many of their films continuously failed critically and commercially. As a result the gap between parallel cinema (now known as art cinema) and mainstream cinema (now known as commercial cinema) widened. The 2000s also saw a commercial film formula being created in line with Tamil and Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
films. Directors like Shaji Kailas
Shaji Kailas
Shaji Kailas is a Malayalam film director. He is known for his hard-hitting action films.-Childhood and entry into films:Shaji Kailas was born in Vanchiyoor, Thiruvananthapuram, to Late Sivakumaran Nair and Janakiyamma. After attending Model Boys School, Shaji pursued degree at Mahatma Gandhi...
, Rafi Mecartin
Rafi Mecartin
Rafi Mecartin are a screenwriter and film director duo who have worked in Malayalam cinema. Rafi and Mecartin have been working together since the initial days of their career. Rafi's younger brother Shafi is also a well-known director....
and Anwar Rasheed
Anwar Rasheed
Anwar Rasheed is a Malayali Indian film director notable for his debut film Rajamanikyam starring Mammootty. His second feature film was Chotta Mumbai , which had Mohanlal in the lead role...
directed blockbusters which had few artistic merits to boast of. Despite the overall decline, some directors stood apart and made quality cinema. Shaji N. Karun
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
, T. V. Chandran
T. V. Chandran
T. V. Chandran is an Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actor. He is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism...
, Lenin Rajendran
Lenin Rajendran
Lenin Rajendran is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked in Malayalam cinema.- Career :Beginning his film-making career as an assistant to director P. A. Backer, Rajendran made his directorial debut with Venal...
, T. K. Rajeev Kumar
T. K. Rajeev Kumar
T. K. Rajeev Kumar is an award winning director of Malayalam films.He is settled in Trivandrum, Kerala. Rajeev Kumar served as the Chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy from 2003 to 2006...
, Shyama Prasad and Jayaraj
Jayaraj
Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair, often credited as Jayaraj, is an award-winning Indian Malayali filmmaker who has marked his presence in mainstream as well as art house films...
made films that won laurels. Notable directors who debuted in this time include Blessy
Blessy
Blessy is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has made several critically acclaimed films in Malayalam. As a film director, he is influenced by Padmarajan and Bharathan.- Career :...
, Lal Jose
Lal Jose
Lal Jose is an Indian film director. His debut film as a director is Oru Maravathoor Kanavu . His popular films include Meesa Madhavan , Classmates and Arabikkatha .- Biography :...
, R. Sharath, Renjith
Renjith
Ranjith is an Indian screen writer, director, producer and occasional actor who works in Malayalam cinema.In his career spanning over two decades, he has scripted several high-grossing films including Devaasuram , Aaraam Thampuran , Summer in Bethlehem , and Narasimham .In the year 2001, Ranjith...
and Roshan Andrews.
Malayalam film directors have made their mark in the national level as well. Out of the 40 National Film Awards for Best Director given away till 2007, Malayalam directors have pocketed 12, trailed only by Bengali (14 awards). The directors who have won the prestigious award are Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema...
(1973, 1985, 1988, 1990, 2007), G. Aravindan
G. Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan who was popularly known as G. Aravindan was a national award winning film director, screenwriter, musician and cartoonist from Kerala, India. He was known for his unorthodox way of film-making; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in story telling without...
(1978, 1979, 1987), Shaji N. Karun
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
(1989), T.V. Chandran (1994), Jayaraj
Jayaraj
Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair, often credited as Jayaraj, is an award-winning Indian Malayali filmmaker who has marked his presence in mainstream as well as art house films...
(1998) and Rajivnath (1999). There are several recipients of the Special Jury Award
National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)
The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
as well: Mankada Ravi Varma
Mankada Ravi Varma
Ravi Varma , better known by his stage name Mankada Ravi Varma, was an Indian Malayalam cinematographer and director. He is exclusively known for his association with renowned film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has associated with other major directors such as G. Aravindan and P. N. Menon. He has...
(1984), John Abraham (1987), Shaji N. Karun
Shaji N. Karun
Shaji Neelakantan Karun is a National Award-winning Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or - Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival...
(1995) and Pradeep Nair (2005).
Lead actors
A lead actor is called as a superstarSuperstar
A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity.Superstar or superstars may also refer to:-People:* Warhol Superstar, associates of Andy Warhol* WWE Superstar, the term used to refer to entertainers from the WWE...
when that person has become a driving force at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. Just like other Indian film industries, there are no clear-cut guidelines for decorating an actor as superstar, and this designation is almost always bestowed by the media after an actor proves to be a champion at the box office.
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was a Malayali Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padmashri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India....
was the first person in the Malayalam film history to be called a superstar, following the tremendous success of his second film Jeevithanauka (1951), which is touted as the first superhit of Malayalam cinema. Later Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
, Sathyan
Sathyaneshan Nadar
Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
, Madhu
Madhu (actor)
Madhavan Nair , commonly known by his stage name Madhu is an actor in Malayalam cinema. He was a prominent lead actor during the 60s and 70s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time he owned Uma film studio.-Early life:...
, Jayan
Jayan
Krishnan Nair , better known by his stage name Jayan , was an Indian film actor, former sailor, stunt performer and 1970s style icon. He worked in Malayalam cinema, a sector of the Indian movie industry...
, M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman was an actor in Malayalam film. He was considered to be one of the superstars in Malayalam cinema along with Sukumaran and Jayan during the 1970s. He was born in Tiruvalla, Travancore...
, and Sukumaran
Sukumaran
Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Sukumaran Nair , popularly known as Sukumaran, was an Indian film actor, and producer....
came to be called superstars. Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...
and Sathyan
Sathyaneshan Nadar
Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills...
formed a bipolar industry in which a considerable number of films made in Malayalam in the later 1960s and almost the whole of 1970s starred one of them, until the rise of Jayan. Curiously, the trend was continued in the next era as well, with Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
& Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
being established as superstars in the 1980s. Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
emerged as a superstar by mid 1990s, following a series of successful movies having police/political themes, most notably Commissioner, directed by Shaji Kailas .
As with most of the other Indian film industries, the Malayalam film industry is driven by male actors. None of the female actors who have been part of the industry have come to be known as superstars, though there have been immensely popular stars like Miss Kumari
Miss Kumari
-Early life:Miss Kumari, whose real name was Thresiamma, was born on 1 June 1932 at Bharananganam in Kottayam District, in the Kerala state of India.-Malayalam cinema:...
, Sharada
Sharada (actress)
Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and...
, Sheela
Sheela
Sheela ), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films together as heroine and hero. In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. She has also...
, Jayabharathi
Jayabharathi
Jayabharathi is a popular Malayalam film actress who started her career in late 1960s. She is a two-time winner of the Kerala State Film Award for best actress....
, Vidhubala
Vidhubala
Vidhubala is a former Malayalam film actress who started her career in the mid-1970s and retired when she was at the peak of her career. She is the daughter of Indian magician K. Bhagyanath.-Acting career:...
, Srividya
Srividya
Srividya was a leading Indian film actress of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s in the Tamil film Industry, in addition to being a good singer. In the latter part of her career, she concentrated on Malayalam films. Her brilliant portrayals as a mother in many films were highly acclaimed....
, Shobhana, Revathi
Revathi
Revathi is an award-winning Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment...
, Urvashi
Urvashi (actress)
Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi , is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi...
, Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier is an Indian film actress. She was among the popular lead actress in Malayalam cinema during the mid to late-1990s.She made her debut in Saakshyam...
, Samyuktha Varma
Samyuktha Varma
Samyuktha Varma , born November 26, 1982 is an award winning actress in Malayalam Movie Industry. She entered filmdom through the Malayalam movie Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal directed by Sathyan Anthikkad. Then she acted in several Malayalam feature films and bagged some awards...
and Kavya Madhavan
Kavya Madhavan
Kavya Madhavan is an Indian film actress who works in Malayalam cinema. She made her debut in Pookkalam Varavayi as a child artist. In 1999, she became a lead actress in Lal Jose's Chandranudikkunna Dikhil.-Background:...
.
Many actors have brought laurels to Malayalam films with their performances. As of 2007, Malayalam film actors have won 12 out of the 42 National Film Awards for Best Actor
National Film Award for Best Actor
The National Film Award for Best Actor is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actor who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry.-Background:The Directorate of Film Festivals makes awards annually in several categories...
ever given away, including two occasions of double awardees. 12 is the second highest number of award wins by a film industry trailed only by Hindi (17 awards). The Malayalam film actors who have won the award are MG Ramachandran (1972), P. J. Antony
P. J. Antony
P. J. Antony was a Malayalam film actor. He received the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Nirmalyam in 1974. He was also the first actor working in Malayalam cinema to receive the award...
(1974), Gopi
Bharath Gopi
V. Gopinathan Nair, popularly known as Bharath Gopi was an Indian film actor, producer, and director. He was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in Kerala....
(1978), Balan K. Nair
Balan K. Nair
Balan K. Nair was a Malayalam film actor. Even though he appeared in most films as villain, he was also noted for his performance in strong character roles. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his performance in the movie Oppol.-Personal life:Balan K...
(1981), Premji
Premji
Premji was an Indian stage and film actor.-Biography:...
(1988), Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
(1989, 1993, 1999), Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
(1991, 2000),, Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopi
Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles...
(1998), Balachandra Menon
Balachandra Menon
Balachandra Menon is an Indian film actor, director, script writer, lyricist, and producer who works in Malayalam cinema. He made some popular films in the 1980s and 1990s...
(1998), Murali (2002) and Salim Kumar (2011). Additionally, Malayalam film actors have won several Special Jury Awards
National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)
The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
as well: Mohanlal
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star...
(1990), Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
(2000), Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
(2004), Thilakan
Thilakan
Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
(2007).
Malayalam female actors are not far behind. As of 2007, they have won the National Film Award for Best Actress
National Film Award for Best Actress
The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
5 times. The winners are Sharada
Sharada (actress)
Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and...
(1969, 1973, 1979), Monisha
Monisha
Monisha was an Indian film actress, primarily of Malayalam cinema, who made her presence known with her very first film. She was only 15 years old when she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her debut film, Nakhakshathangal . This made her the youngest recipient of the National Film...
(1987), Shobana (1994, 2002), Meera Jasmine
Meera Jasmine
Meera Jasmine is an Indian actress, who appears in regional Indian films that includes Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 and is a two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award, the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, as well as the...
(2004) and Priyamani
Priyamani
Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer, better known by her stage name Priyamani is an Indian film actress and model who has appeared in several Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films...
(2007). The actresses to win the Special Jury Award
National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)
The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
are Jomol
Jomol
Gowri Chandrasekhara Pillai is an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam films. She has had major roles in films like Niram, Piriyadha Varam Vendum and Deepasthambham Mahascharyam.She born in Koodathayi near Thiruvambady in Calicut district...
(1998), Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier
Manju Warrier is an Indian film actress. She was among the popular lead actress in Malayalam cinema during the mid to late-1990s.She made her debut in Saakshyam...
(1999) and Jyothirmayi (2003). Sharada
Sharada (actress)
Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and...
did win another award in 1979 for the Telugu film Nimajjan; so did Shobana in 2002 for the English film Mitr, My Friend
Mitr, My Friend
Mitr, My Friend is an Indian movie, directed by Indian actress Revathi. Set partly in India and the US, Mitr, My Friend was Revathi's debut directorial venture. The film was also noted for having an all-woman crew....
.
Supporting actors
In the early times of Malayalam cinema, supporting roles, though mostly donned by established theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
artists, did not have any noted supporting actors. In the 1960s and 1970s several supporting actors like Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair
Sreedharan Nair , popularly known as Kottarakkara and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, was an Indian film actor in Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala.Sreedharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards...
, Adoor Bhasi
Adoor Bhasi
Adoor Bhasi was an Indian film actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and roles became the cynosure of comic scenes in the Malayalam films of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. He is also famous for his...
, Bahadoor
Bahadoor
Bahadoor , born P. K. Kunjalu, was a Malayalam film comedian who, along with Adoor Bhasi, redefined the way in which comedy and funny scenes were perceived in Malayalam cinema. They made a significant contribution toward establishing comedy as the predominant genre of Malayalam cinema...
, Balan K. Nair
Balan K. Nair
Balan K. Nair was a Malayalam film actor. Even though he appeared in most films as villain, he was also noted for his performance in strong character roles. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1981 for his performance in the movie Oppol.-Personal life:Balan K...
, Adoor Bhavani
Adoor Bhavani
Adoor Bhavani was an Indian actress in Malayalam movies, best-known for her appearance in the National Award-winning film Chemmeen , directed by Ramu Kariat. She had acted in about 450 films, including Mudiyanaya Puthran, Thulabharam, Kallichellamma, and Anubhavangal Paalichakal. Her last film...
and Aranmula Ponnamma
Aranmula Ponnamma
Aranmula Ponnamma was a National Award winning Malayalam film actress known for her roles as mother of the protagonist in numerous films. She was widely described as a mother figure in Malayalam cinema.-Early life:...
came into the scene. Most of them went on to have lifelong careers. In the 1980s and 1990s many more joined them, notably Thilakan
Thilakan
Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
, Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
, Jagathy Sreekumar
Jagathy Sreekumar
Sreekumar Achary, better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar, is an Indian film actor who has performed in more than 1,000 Malayalam films. He has also directed two films and has written screenplays for two films...
, Oduvil Unnikrishnan
Oduvil Unnikrishnan
Oduvil Unnikrishnan was an award winning Malayalam movie actor known for his versatile acting skills, known for his portrayal of classical ancient aristocratic personalities in Malayalam cinema with his unique provincial linguistic style, expressions and dialect. He was noted as a serious as well...
, Biju Menon
Biju Menon
Biju Menon is an Indian film actor who has mainly worked in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films. He appears mostly in supporting roles, but has also acted in antagonistic roles. He made his debut in 1995 in Mannar Mathai Speaking...
, Vijayaraghavan, Innocent
Innocent Vincent
Innocent Thekkethala , popularly known as Innocent, is a Malayalam film actor and producer. He was born in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district of Kerala, India. He is one of the most successful and leading comedy actors of Malayalam cinema...
, Siddique
Siddique (actor)
Siddique is a Malayalam film actor, producer, and television compere. He started his film career doing comedy roles and later performed in a variety of roles.-Early career:...
, Jagadish
Jagadish
P. V. Jagadish Kumar , popularly known as Jagadish, is a Malayalam film actor and script writer. He became popular through performances in films such as Mukhachitram, In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Welcome to Kodaikanal, Thiruthalvaadi, Mantrikacheppu, and Hitler...
, Kuthiravattam Pappu
Kuthiravattam Pappu
Kuthiravattam Pappu, often credited as Pappu, was a popular Indian stage and film actor. His repertoire of acting was based on his unique style and use of the Kozhikodan dialect, impeccable timing and the capability to grasp the subtle nuances of any character and mould it into his signature "Pappu...
, Manoj K. Jayan
Manoj K. Jayan
Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor who mainly acts in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films. Manoj has won the Kerala State Film Award twice: Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Hariharan's Sargam and Second Best Actor for Hariharan's Pazhassi Raja .-Family and early life:He was born in...
,Murali,Naendraprasad Rajan P. Dev
Rajan P. Dev
Rajan P Dev was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi . He had acted in over 140 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. He was noted for his villain roles laced with a touch of humour...
, Sukumari
Sukumari
Sukumari is an Indian film actress who has primarily acted in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has been acting since she was 10 years old and has acted in various roles. The total number of her films is presumed to be about two-thousand. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of...
, K.P.A.C. Lalitha and Bindu Panicker
Bindu Panicker
Bindu Panicker is a Malayalam actress who has more than 80 films to her credit. She has played both comedic and character roles in Malayalam cinema, and also takes on character roles. Her films include Vaatsalyam, Soothradharan, and Joker.She won the fourth Lux-Asianet award for the best...
. Some of them had short careers with title roles as well.
Despite the presence of a number of talented actors, Malayalam films have only won 2 out of the 24 National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual award that was first given in 1968. The actors to have won the most awards in this category include Nana Patekar, Atul Kulkarni, and Pankaj Kapoor, each have received two....
so far given away, as of 2007. Thilakan
Thilakan
Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
(1988) and Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu
Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :...
(1991) are the only actors to win the award. The same is not the case with female actors. They have won 6 out the 24 National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
given away, trailed only by Hindi (10 awards). The winners are K.P.A.C. Lalitha (1991, 2001), Santha Devi
Santha Devi
Santha Devi , better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress...
(1992), Aranmula Ponnamma
Aranmula Ponnamma
Aranmula Ponnamma was a National Award winning Malayalam film actress known for her roles as mother of the protagonist in numerous films. She was widely described as a mother figure in Malayalam cinema.-Early life:...
(1996), Sheela
Sheela
Sheela ), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films together as heroine and hero. In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. She has also...
(2005) and Urvashi
Urvashi (actress)
Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi , is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi...
(2006).
Film music
Film music, which refers to playback singing in the context of Indian musicMusic of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
, forms the most important canon of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
in India. The film music of Kerala in particular is the most popular form of music in the state. Before Malayalam cinema and Malayalam film music developed, the Keralites eagerly followed Tamil
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film songs, and that habit has stayed with them till now. The history of Malayalam film songs begins with the 1948 film Nirmala. The film's music director was P. S. Divakar, and the songs were sung by P. Leela
P. Leela
Porayathu Leela better known as P. Leela was a popular Indian playback singer. She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2006.-Early life:...
, T. K. Govinda Rao, Vasudeva Kurup, C. K. Raghavan, Sarojini Menon and Vimala B. Varma, who is credited as the first playback singer of Malayalam cinema.
The main trend in the early years was to use the tune of hit Hindi or Tamil songs in Malayalam songs. This trend changed in the early 1950s with the arrival of a number of poets and musicians to the Malayalam music scene. People who stormed into the Malayalam film music industry in the 1950s include musicians like V. Dakshinamurthy (1950), K. Raghavan
K. Raghavan
K. Raghavan is a Malayalam music composer. Along with Baburaj, Raghavan is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music. K.Raghavan gave a new direction and identity to Malayalam film music.As he searched for the right tune for the lyrics, little did K...
(1954), G. Devarajan
G. Devarajan
Paravoor Govindan Devarajan , popularly known as G. Devarajan or Devarajan master, was a noted Malayalam music composer, died on March 15, 2006 in Chennai, at the age of 80....
(1955) and M.S. Babu Raj (1957) and lyricists like P. Bhaskaran
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies...
(1950), O. N. V. Kurup
O. N. V. Kurup
Ottaplakkal Nambiyadikkal Velu Kurup , popularly known as O. N. V. Kurup or simply O. N. V., is a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won Jnanpith Award,the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He is considered one of the finest living lyrical poets in India. O. N....
(1955) and Vayalar Rama Varma (1956). They are attributed with shaping Malayalam film music stream and giving it its own identity. Major playback singers of that time were Kamukara Purushothaman, K. P. Udayabhanu, A. M. Raja
A. M. Raja
A. M. Raja is an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Bhavani constituency in 1967, and 1971 elections....
, P. Leela, Santha P. Nair, P. Susheela
P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela is an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has recorded songs in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese.-Personal life:She is the daughter of Pulapaka...
and S. Janaki
S. Janaki
S. Janaki is an Indian female playback singer. Renowned for her voice modulation abilities, she has sung in many Indian languages, most frequently in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Throughout a career spanning more than five decades, she has won four National Film Awards and 35...
. Many of this singers like A. M. Raja, P. Susheela and Janaki were not Malayali
Malayali
Malayali is the term used to refer to the native speakers of Malayalam, originating from the Indian state of Kerala...
s and their pronunciation was not perfect. Despite that, these singers got high popularity throughout Kerala. In the later years many non-Malayalis like Manna Dey
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
, Talat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood was a popular Indian playback singer and film actor. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 1992, he was famous for singing ghazals. For this quality he was known as the King of ghazals....
, Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
, Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...
sang for Malayalam films. This trend was also found among music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
s to an extent, with outside musicians like Naushad
Naushad
Naushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
, Usha Khanna
Usha Khanna
Usha Khanna is an Indian music director. Regarded as the first established female music director in the Indian film industry, she remained active for more than 3 decades from 1960s to 1980s. She is still active making some music for some movies and television-serials, more than 40 years after her...
, M.B. Sreenivasan, Bombay Ravi, Shyam
Shyam (composer)
Samuel Joseph alias Shyam is a popular Malayalam music director from Tamil Nadu, India. He has scored music for over 300 films including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi languages. He also composed many Christian devotional songs...
, Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Lahiri or Alokesh Lahiri , born 27 November 1952, is a music director in the Hindi film industry. He pioneered the use of disco music in Indian cinema and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s with films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi among others.-Early...
, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury was an Indian music composer. He mainly composed for Bengali, Hindi, and Malayalam films. He was also a poet and a playwright. He is affectionately called Salilda by all his admirers....
, Ilaya Raja, Vishal Bharadwaj and A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
scoring music for Malayalam films. This can be attributed to the fact that film music in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
had a parallel growth pattern with so many instances of cross-industry contributions.
K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi,...
, who debuted in 1961, virtually revolutionised the Malayalam film music industry and became the most popular Malayalam singer ever. He became equally popular with classical music audience and people who patronised film music. He along with P. Jayachandran gave a major facelift to Malayalam playback singing in the 1960s and 1970s. Malayalam film music also received heavy contributions from composers and musicians like Johnson
Johnson (composer)
Johnson was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, including those for Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Vadakkunokkiyantram, Perumthachan, Amaram, Njan...
, M.B. Sreenivasan, Shyam
Shyam (composer)
Samuel Joseph alias Shyam is a popular Malayalam music director from Tamil Nadu, India. He has scored music for over 300 films including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi languages. He also composed many Christian devotional songs...
, M. G. Radhakrishnan
M. G. Radhakrishnan
M. G. Radhakrishnan was a senior music director and Carnatic vocalist from Kerala. He is highly regarded as one of the most successful light music and film music composer in Malayalam.- Personal life :M. G...
, Raveendran
Raveendran
M. Raveendran , fondly called as "Raveendran Master" was a popular South Indian music composer and Playback singer from Kerala. He was always referred to as the aristocratic music director of Malayalam who had a distinctive style of his own. He composed more than 150 films primarily for the...
, S. P. Venkatesh
S. P. Venkatesh
S. P. Venkatesh is a music director and composer popular for his works in the Malayalam film industry. He has also scored for some Bollywood and Bengali films. S. P. Venkatesh who is a Tamilian, was introduced into the Malayalam film industry by Dennis Joseph. The major break for S. P. Venkatesh...
and Ouseppachan
Ouseppachan
Ousephachan is a National Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Film Award-winning Indian music director who sets scores for Malayalam films. He is one of the most sought-after musicians in the Malayalam film industry.-Biography:...
, lyricists like Sreekumaran Thampi
Sreekumaran Thampi
Sreekumaran Thampi is a lyricist, director, producer, and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He is a civil engineer by education.-Film career:Sreekumaran Thampi, was introduced to the Malayalam film industry by P...
, Yusuf Ali Kechery
Yusuf Ali Kechery
Yusuf Ali Kecheri is a poet and film director from Kerala, India.He is the former president of the Kerala Sahitya Academy. Professor K. P. Narayana Pisharody, the eldest scholar, was Yousuf Ali's Sanskrit teacher...
, and Kaithaprom Damodaran Namboodiri, and singers like M. G. Sreekumar
M. G. Sreekumar
M. G. Sreekumar is a two-time National Award-winning Indian playback singer and music director who works in Malayalam cinema. With a career of over 25 years, he is one of the prominent male singers in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for matching voice with Malayalam actor Mohanlal. He has...
, G. Venugopal
G. Venugopal
G. Venugopal is an Indian playback singer, active mainly in Malayalam films. He also has Tamil and Telugu songs to his credit. Venugopal started his career in the film Odarathammava Aalariyam and has sung in more than 280 films and over 250 albums since then.G. Venugopal is a graduate of Kerala...
, K. S. Chitra and Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan , usually credited as Sujatha, is an award-winning Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam and Tamil movies. She has also sung for Telugu, Kannada and Hindi movies. She is widely popular for her evergreen melodies and her sweet voice is considered to be her...
. A notable aspect in the later years was the extensive of classical carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
in many film songs of the later 1980s and early 1990s. Interestingly, that particular period is also considered as the peak time for Malayalam cinema itself and is quite widely known as the Golden Age of Malayalam cinema, a period in which the difference between art films and popular films was least felt. Similarly, classical carnatic music was heavily used in several popular film songs, most notably those in films like Chithram
Chithram
Chithram is a 1988 Malayalam screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan, based on a story by Sreenivasan. The film stars Mohanlal, Ranjini, Nedumudi Venu, Poornam Vishwanathan, Sreenivasan, Soman, Sukumari, Innocent, and Maniyanpilla Raju in the main roles. The film was a...
(1988), His Highness Abdullah
His Highness Abdullah
His Highness Abdullah is a musical Malayalam film released in 1990, written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil; featuring Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gauthami, Sreenivasan and Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair. It was produced by Mohanlal under the banner of Pranavam Arts...
(1990), Bharatham
Bharatham
Bharatham is a 1991 musical/drama Malayalam film directed by Sibi Malayil, produced by Mohanlal under the banner of Pranavam Arts and starring Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu and Lakshmi. The film is especially known for its music that is largely Carnatic Classical and Semi Classical...
(1991), Sargam
Sargam (1992 film)
Sargam is a Malayalam film directed by Hariharan released in 1992. It was written by Chowallur Krishnankutty. The movie was produced by Bhavani Hariharan, , under the banner of Gayathri Enterprises. The cast of the movie included Vineeth, Manoj K...
(1992) and Sopanam (1993). Vidyasagar
Vidyasagar (music director)
Vidyasagar is an Award-Winning Indian film music director and music composer in the Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi film industry. He is very popular in South Indian music industry and best known for his soulful melodies. His fast numbers to many films have earned him much fame too. He has...
was the leading music composer in Malayalam films, from the late nineties to the early 2000s.
At present, the major players in the scene are young musicians like Rahul Raj, Deepak Dev
Deepak Dev
Deepak Devraj, better known as Deepak Dev is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema, with films such as Chronic Bachelor, Symphony, Udayananu Tharam, Naran, and Puthiya Mukham.-Early years:...
, Alphonse
Alphonse
Alphonse is a French masculine given name. It may refer to :* Alphonse Allais , a French writer and humorist* Alphonse Alley , a Beninese army officer and political figure...
, Gopi Sundar
Gopi Sundar
Gopi Sunder is an award winning Indian music programmer, film score composer, musician and singer. He has composed music for more than 5000 ad jingles, programmed music for many major composers and have scored more than ten Malayalam films....
, Jassie Gift
Jassie Gift
Jassie Gift is a Malayalam film music composer and singer from Thiruvananthapuram, India. He became famous after his song "Lajjavathiye" in the film 4 the people.-Biography:...
and Biji Pal, lyricists Gireesh Puthanchery, Vayalar Sarath and Anil Panachooran, and singers Madhu Balakrishnan
Madhu Balakrishnan
Madhu Balakrishnan is an Indian playback singer, who sings in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages.-Biography:Madhu Balakrishnan is from Tripunithura, Cochin, Kerala in India. A Graded artist in All India Radio and Doordarshan, he has performed with all major playback singers in Kerala...
, Afsal, Manjari
Manjari
The word "manjari" is of sanskrit origin that primarily means a collection. e.g."katha manjari" . It is used in many Indian languages like Hindi and Kannada...
and Jyotsna, along with stalwarts in the field.
Young composers like Rahul Raj and Gopi Sundar
Gopi Sundar
Gopi Sunder is an award winning Indian music programmer, film score composer, musician and singer. He has composed music for more than 5000 ad jingles, programmed music for many major composers and have scored more than ten Malayalam films....
are not only known for their catchy tunes, but also known for bringing in a lot of electronics, digital sound and a variety of genres in Malayalam film songs.
The National Award-winning music directors
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R...
of Malayalam cinema are Johnson
Johnson (composer)
Johnson was an Indian film score composer and music director who has given music to some of the most important motion pictures of Malayalam cinema, including those for Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam, Vadakkunokkiyantram, Perumthachan, Amaram, Njan...
(1994, 1995), Bombay Ravi (1995), Ouseppachan
Ouseppachan
Ousephachan is a National Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Film Award-winning Indian music director who sets scores for Malayalam films. He is one of the most sought-after musicians in the Malayalam film industry.-Biography:...
(2008), Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
(2010) and Issak Thomas Kottakapally (2011). Till 2009, the 1995 National Award that Johnson received for the film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
of Sukrutham (1994) was the only instance in the history of the award in which the awardee composed the film soundtrack rather than its songs. He shared that award with Bombay Ravi, who received the award for composing songs for the same film. In 2010 and 2011, awards were given to film score and both were bagged by Malayalam films: Pazhassi Raja (2010; Score: Ilaiyaraaja) and Adaminte Makan Abu (2011; Score: Issak Thomas Kottakapally). Ravindran also received a Special Jury Award
National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)
The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
in 1992 for composing songs for the film Bharatham
Bharatham
Bharatham is a 1991 musical/drama Malayalam film directed by Sibi Malayil, produced by Mohanlal under the banner of Pranavam Arts and starring Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu and Lakshmi. The film is especially known for its music that is largely Carnatic Classical and Semi Classical...
. The lyricists who have won the National Award
National Film Award for Best Lyrics
The National Film Award for Best Lyrics winners:Vairamuthu won the award for maximum number of times . Javed Akhtar is the only lyricist to win the award for three consecutive years .-References:...
are Vayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma , often known as Vayalar, was a modern Malayalam poet and lyricist. His famous works include Sargasangeetham, Mulankaadu, Padamudrakal, Aayisha, Oru Judas janikkunnu.-Biography:...
(1973), O. N. V. Kurup
O. N. V. Kurup
Ottaplakkal Nambiyadikkal Velu Kurup , popularly known as O. N. V. Kurup or simply O. N. V., is a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won Jnanpith Award,the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He is considered one of the finest living lyrical poets in India. O. N....
(1989) and Yusuf Ali Kechery
Yusuf Ali Kechery
Yusuf Ali Kecheri is a poet and film director from Kerala, India.He is the former president of the Kerala Sahitya Academy. Professor K. P. Narayana Pisharody, the eldest scholar, was Yousuf Ali's Sanskrit teacher...
(2001). The male singers who have received the National Award
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The singer with the most awards in this category is K. J. Yesudas with seven wins, whereas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won six times for 4 different languages; Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.-Superlatives:...
are K. J. Yesudas
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas is an Indian classical musician and playback singer.Yesudas sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in many languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya, Marathi, Punjabi,...
(1973, 1974, 1988, 1992, 1994), P. Jayachandran (1986) and M. G. Sreekumar
M. G. Sreekumar
M. G. Sreekumar is a two-time National Award-winning Indian playback singer and music director who works in Malayalam cinema. With a career of over 25 years, he is one of the prominent male singers in the Malayalam film industry. He is known for matching voice with Malayalam actor Mohanlal. He has...
(1991, 2000). Yesudas has won two more National Awards for singing in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
(1977) and Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
(1983) films, which makes him the person who has won the most National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The singer with the most awards in this category is K. J. Yesudas with seven wins, whereas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won six times for 4 different languages; Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.-Superlatives:...
with seven awards, closely followed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual Indian playback singer, actor, music director, voice actor and a film producer. He is referred to as S. P. B. or Balu by the media. He has won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer six times closely following K. J. Yesudas...
with six awards. The female singers who have won the award
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
are S. Janaki
S. Janaki
S. Janaki is an Indian female playback singer. Renowned for her voice modulation abilities, she has sung in many Indian languages, most frequently in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Throughout a career spanning more than five decades, she has won four National Film Awards and 35...
(1981) and K. S. Chitra (1987, 1989). Chitra had also won the award for Tamil (1986, 1997, 2005) and Hindi (1998) film songs, which makes her the person with the most National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
with six awards, closely followed by P. Susheela
P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela is an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has recorded songs in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese.-Personal life:She is the daughter of Pulapaka...
with five awards.
Landmark films
The films in this list are those which have influenced the growth, trends, fame and acclaim of Malayalam cinema through its 80-year-long history. Quality is not a criterion for inclusion of films in this list.| Year | Film | Director | Major cast | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Vigathakumaran Vigathakumaran Vigathakumaran is a 1928 Indian silent film written, directed and produced by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the film. It is the first Malayalam feature film.-Plot:... |
J. C. Daniel J. C. Daniel J. C. Daniel was the first film-maker from Kerala, India. He produced, directed, wrote, photographed, edited and acted in the first film made in Kerala, named Vigathakumaran meaning the Lost Child. He also established the first film studio in Kerala, named The Travancore National Pictures. It was... |
J. C. Daniel J. C. Daniel J. C. Daniel was the first film-maker from Kerala, India. He produced, directed, wrote, photographed, edited and acted in the first film made in Kerala, named Vigathakumaran meaning the Lost Child. He also established the first film studio in Kerala, named The Travancore National Pictures. It was... , Rosy |
First Malayalam film. The first Indian film, Raja Harishchandra Raja Harishchandra Raja Harishchandra , is a 1913 silent Indian film directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, and is the first full-length Indian feature film... , was produced in 1912. |
| 1933 | Marthanda Varma Marthanda Varma (film) Marthanda Varma is a 1933 black & white silent film directed by P.V.Rao based on 1891 Malayalam novel by C. V. Raman Pillai. This was the first film based on a Malayalam literature and next film of Malayalam film industry after Vigathakumaran.-Plot:... |
P. V. Rao | Jaidev, Devaki, Padmini | Second and last silent film. First historical drama film Historical drama film The historical drama is a film genre in which stories are based upon historical events and famous persons. Some historical dramas attempt to accurately portray a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow... and novel to film adaptation Film adaptation Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even... . |
| 1938 | Balan Balan (film) Balan is a 1938 Malayalam film directed by S. Nottani. It was the first talkie in Malayalam. Based on the short story Vidhiyum Mrs. Nayarum by A. Sundaram, its screenplay and dialogues are written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. The film is a melodrama and was the first movie in this genre in... |
S. Nottani | Kamalan, Laxmikutty | First sound film Sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially... (talkie). |
| 1948 | Nirmala Nirmala (film) Nirmala is a 1948 Indian Malayalam film directed by P. V. Krishna Iyer and produced by P. J. Cherian. The fourth talkie in Malayalam, Nirmala introduced playback singing to Malayalam cinema. It was also the first film produced by a Malayali.... |
P. J. Cherian | Joseph Cherian, Baby Joseph | First film produced by a Malayali Malayali Malayali is the term used to refer to the native speakers of Malayalam, originating from the Indian state of Kerala... . Also the first film with songs Playback singer A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:... . Lyrics were by G. Shankara Kurup. |
| 1951 | Jeevitha Nauka | K. Vembu | Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was a Malayali Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padmashri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India.... |
First superhit. Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was a Malayali Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padmashri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India.... became the first Malayalam superstar Superstar A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity.Superstar or superstars may also refer to:-People:* Warhol Superstar, associates of Andy Warhol* WWE Superstar, the term used to refer to entertainers from the WWE... . |
| 1954 | Neelakkuyil | Ramu Karyat, P. Bhaskaran P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies... |
Sathyan Sathyaneshan Nadar Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills... , Miss Kumari Miss Kumari -Early life:Miss Kumari, whose real name was Thresiamma, was born on 1 June 1932 at Bharananganam in Kottayam District, in the Kerala state of India.-Malayalam cinema:... |
Considered the first mature film in Malayalam. The film excelled in direction, screenplay Screenplay A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated... , acting Acting Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play.... and music. |
| 1955 | Newspaper Boy Newspaper Boy (film) Newspaper Boy is a 1955 Malayalam film written and directed by P. Ramdas. It was the first neo-realistic film in India. It stars Neyyattinkara Komalam, Adoor Pankajam, Omana Madhavan, P. Gangadharan, S. Parameswaran, P. Ramdas, N. Subramanian, Master Mani and Master Venkiteswaran... |
P. Ramadas | Master Moni | Considered India's first neorealistic Neorealism (art) In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life... film. |
| 1961 | Kandam Bacha Coat | T. R. Sundaram | Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was a Malayali Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padmashri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India.... , Prem Nawaz, Ambika |
First colour film. |
| 1964 | Bhargavi Nilayam Bhargavi Nilayam Bhargavi Nilayam is a 1964 Malayalam horror - romance film written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and directed by A. Vincent. The film stars Prem Nazir, Madhu and Vijaya Nirmala in the lead roles, and had its story, screenplay and dialogues are written by noted Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad... |
A. Vincent A. Vincent Aloysius Vincent born June 14, 1928 in Calicut, Kerala, India is an Indian cinematographer of Hindi movies and director of Malayalam movies. Since the mid 1960s he has directed some 30 movies... |
Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... , Madhu Madhu (actor) Madhavan Nair , commonly known by his stage name Madhu is an actor in Malayalam cinema. He was a prominent lead actor during the 60s and 70s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time he owned Uma film studio.-Early life:... , Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala is a South Indian actress and director. In 2002, the Guinness Book of Records named her as the female director who had made the highest number of films. She has directed 47 movies.-Career:... , P.J. Antony |
First horror film Horror film Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres... . Story and screenplay were by Vaikom Muhammed Bashir. |
| 1965 | Chemmeen Chemmeen Chemmeen is a 1965 Malayalam romantic drama film based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and directed by Ramu Kariat from a screenplay by S. L... |
Ramu Karyat | Madhu Madhu (actor) Madhavan Nair , commonly known by his stage name Madhu is an actor in Malayalam cinema. He was a prominent lead actor during the 60s and 70s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time he owned Uma film studio.-Early life:... , Sathyan Sathyaneshan Nadar Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar commonly known by his stage name Sathyan, was an Indian film actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He has won the Kerala State Film Award twice and is renowned for his acting skills... , Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair Sreedharan Nair , popularly known as Kottarakkara and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, was an Indian film actor in Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala.Sreedharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards... , Sheela Sheela Sheela ), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films together as heroine and hero. In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. She has also... |
First film to participate in an international film festival]]. First South Indian film to win the National Film Award for Best Film National Film Award for Best Film The National Award for Best Feature film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1954. This is one of the Golden Lotus Awards given among National Film Awards... . |
| 1965 | Murappennu Murappennu Murappennu is a 1965 Malayalam film written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, directed by A. Vincent and produced by Shobhana Parameswaran Nair in the banner of Roopavani. It marked the entry of M. T. Vasudevan Nair, the noted Malayalam novelist to Malayalam cinema. The film's story is based on Snehathinte... |
A. Vincent A. Vincent Aloysius Vincent born June 14, 1928 in Calicut, Kerala, India is an Indian cinematographer of Hindi movies and director of Malayalam movies. Since the mid 1960s he has directed some 30 movies... |
Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... , P.J. Antony, Adoor Bhasi Adoor Bhasi Adoor Bhasi was an Indian film actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and roles became the cynosure of comic scenes in the Malayalam films of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. He is also famous for his... , Sharada Sharada (actress) Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and... |
First film to shoot extensively outdoors Location shooting Location shooting is the practice of filming in an actual setting rather than on a sound stage or back lot. In filmmaking a location is any place where a film crew will be filming actors and recording their dialog. A location where dialog is not recorded may be considered as a second unit... . It was the first film venture of writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair. |
| 1966 | Iruttinte Athmavu Iruttinte Athmavu Iruttinte Athmavu is a 1967 Malayalam film directed by P. Bhaskaran and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own story with the same name. It stars Prem Nazir, Sharada, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, P. J. Antony, Ushakumari, Kozhikode Shantha Devi and Baby Rajani in important roles, and... |
P. Bhaskaran P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies... |
Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... , Santha Devi |
Noted for being the first serious attempt at sensitive storytelling. Considered to be the masterpiece work of P. Bhaskaran P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskara Menon , better known as P. Bhaskaran, was a famous Malayalam poet and lyricist of Malayalam film songs. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam feature films and 3 documentaries, produced 6 feature films and acted in several movies... and Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... . |
| 1967 | Chithramela Chithramela Chithramela is a 1967 Malayalam anthology film directed and produced by T .S. Muthiah. It was Malayalam cinema's first anthology film, consisting of three short films. The cast includes Prem Nazir, Sharada, Sheela, K. P. Ummer, Kottayam Chellappan, S. P... |
T .S. Muthiah | Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... , Sharada Sharada (actress) Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and... , Sheela Sheela Sheela ), is a Malayalam film actress from India. She, along with Prem Nazir, holds the world record for acting in the largest number of films together as heroine and hero. In 2005 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film Akale. She has also... , K. P. Ummer K. P. Ummer K. P. Ummer was a Malayalam cinema actor from Thekkepuram quarter of Kozhikode, Kerala, India. He was active in cinema from early sixties until late nineties. He was the most successful villains of his time. He played opposite Prem Nazir, who was the hero in many films, which the audience liked to... |
Noted for being the first anthology film Anthology film An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director... . |
| 1972 | Swayamvaram Swayamvaram Swayamvaram is a 1972 Malayalam feature film co-written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan starring Madhu and Sharada in the lead roles. Notable smaller roles are filled by Thikkurisi Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhavani, Bharath Gopi, and K. P. A. C. Lalitha. The film was produced by the Chitralekha... |
Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema... |
Madhu Madhu (actor) Madhavan Nair , commonly known by his stage name Madhu is an actor in Malayalam cinema. He was a prominent lead actor during the 60s and 70s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time he owned Uma film studio.-Early life:... , Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was a Malayali Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padmashri from the Government of India, which is one of the highest civilian honours in India.... , Sharada Sharada (actress) Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and... |
Pinoeered "new-wave cinema movement" in India. It was the director's debut film and it was also the first Malayalam film to win the National Film Award for Best Directing National Film Award for Best Directing The National Film Award for Best Direction winners are given below. Satyajit Ray has been awarded the maximum number of times in this category.... . |
| 1974 | Kanchana Sita Kanchana Sita Kanchana Sita is a 1977 Indian Malayalam feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from C. N... |
G. Aravindan G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan who was popularly known as G. Aravindan was a national award winning film director, screenwriter, musician and cartoonist from Kerala, India. He was known for his unorthodox way of film-making; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in story telling without... |
Rama Chenchu Chenchu The Chenchus are an aboriginal tribe of the central hill regions of Andhra Pradesh, India. Their traditional way of life has been based on hunting and gathering. The Chenchus speak the Chenchu language, a member of the Telegu branch of the Dravidian language family. In general, the Chenchu... tribal people |
Pinoeered independent filmmaking in South India. |
| 1975 | Prayanam Prayanam (1975 film) Prayanam is a 1975 Malayalam language black-and-white feature film written by Padmarajan and directed by Bharathan. It was the debut of both Padmarajan and Bharathan. The writer-director duo is often credited for revolutionising Malayalam cinema with their expressive and innovative works... |
Bharathan Bharathan Bharathan was an Indian film director, artist, lyricist, music director, sculptor, poster designer, editor and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely... |
Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair Sreedharan Nair , popularly known as Kottarakkara and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, was an Indian film actor in Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala.Sreedharan Nair won two Kerala state film awards... |
Considered the starting point of middle-stream cinema, a mix of serious themes and mass appeal. It was the debut of director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... Bharathan Bharathan Bharathan was an Indian film director, artist, lyricist, music director, sculptor, poster designer, editor and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely... and screenwriter Screenwriter Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:... Padmarajan Padmarajan P. Padmarajan was an Indian author, screenwriter, and film director who contributed in Malayalam language. Padmarajan was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam, along with Bharathan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed... . |
| 1978 | Avalude Ravukal Avalude Ravukal Avalude Ravukal is a Malayalam film directed by I. V. Sasi, released in 1978. The film explores the life of a teenage prostitute and those of the people around her.- Cast :* Seema* Ravi Kumar* Soman* Sukumaran* Thoppil Bhasi* Bahadoor... |
I.V. Sasi | Soman Soman Soman, or GD , is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a nerve agent, interfering with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system by inhibiting the cholinesterase enzyme. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations according to UN... , Sukumaran Sukumaran Edappal Ponnamkuzhi Veettil Sukumaran Nair , popularly known as Sukumaran, was an Indian film actor, and producer.... , Seema Seema (actress) Seema is an Indian actress. She has performed in approximately 250 films in Malayalam, nine in Tamil, seven in Telugu, three in Kannada and one in Hindi. Seema is still active in the movie industry.She began her career in Tamil film at fourteen as a dancer... |
One of the bolder movies of Kerala cinema, this I. V. Sasi I. V. Sasi Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, is a Malayali Indian film director who is known for his films of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. He has directed about 150 films in various South Indian languages and Hindi. He is known as the "veteran" or the "guru" filmmaker in Malayalam... experimental film highlighted a theme (teenage prostitution) which most mainstream directors were reluctant to tackle. |
| 1978 | Thacholi Ambu Thacholi Ambu Thacholi Ambu is a 1978 Malayalam film starring Prem Nazir, Sivaji Ganesan and Jayan. Directed and produced by Navodaya Appachan, it was the first cinemascope film of South India. Prem Nazir played the title role in the film.-Cast:... |
Appachan | Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... , Jayan Jayan Krishnan Nair , better known by his stage name Jayan , was an Indian film actor, former sailor, stunt performer and 1970s style icon. He worked in Malayalam cinema, a sector of the Indian movie industry... |
South India South India South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area... 's first CinemaScope CinemaScope CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically... film |
| 1982 | Padayottam Padayottam Padayottam is a 1982 Malayalam film directed by Jijo Punnoose, produced by Navodaya Appachan, and starring Prem Nazir, Madhu, Mammootty, Mohanlal and Shankar. It was the first movie in South India to be indigenously shot in the 70 mm film format... |
Jijo Punnoose | Prem Nazir Prem Nazir Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema... , Madhu Madhu (actor) Madhavan Nair , commonly known by his stage name Madhu is an actor in Malayalam cinema. He was a prominent lead actor during the 60s and 70s. He has also directed and produced films, and at one time he owned Uma film studio.-Early life:... , Mammootty Mammootty Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles... , Mohanlal Mohanlal Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star... , Lakshmi Lakshmi (actress) Lakshmi Narayan is an Indian National Film Award winning actress who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Lakshmi has acted in more than 300 films in all south Indian languages apart from few in Bollywood. She has won a Filmfare Best Actress Award and eight Filmfare Awards South.-Early... |
India's first indigenously produced 70 mm film 70 mm film 70mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge, with higher resolution than standard 35mm motion picture film format. As used in camera, the film is wide. For projection, the original 65mm film is printed on film. The additional 5mm are for magnetic strips holding four of the six tracks of sound... . |
| 1984 | My Dear Kuttichathan My Dear Kuttichathan My Dear Kuttichathan is a 3D Malayalam film and the first 3-D film made in India. The movie was produced by Maliampurackal Appachan of Navodaya studio in Kerala.... |
Jijo Punnoose | Arvind, Sonia | India's first 3-D film 3-D film A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception... and the first film in Malayalam recorded with DTS sound in the second version released in 1997. |
| 1987 | Piravi Piravi Piravi is a 1988 Malayalam feature film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film's music is composed by G. Aravindan. Piravi met with widespread critical acclaim upon release... |
Shaji N Karun | Premji Premji Premji was an Indian stage and film actor.-Biography:... |
This film received more international awards than any other film in the history of Malayalam cinema. It participated over 72 International film festivals abroad India |
| 1988 | Adipapam Adipapam Adipapam aka Aadhya Paapom is a 1988 Malayalam softcore biblical film directed by P. Chandrakumar and featuring Abhilasha in the lead role. The film is actually made as a family drama based on the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The lead characters appear completely nude in the film... |
P. Chandrakumar P. Chandrakumar P. Chandrakumar is an Indian director of Malayalam movies. Since the late 1970s Chandrakumar has directed some 50 movies. He started his career as a director of family entertainers. In 1988, his biblical film Adipapam got released. The film turned out to be Kerala's first superhit pornographic film... |
Abhilasha | This was the first superhit theatrical softporn film and it inspired a series of similar productions in the next few years. |
| 1989 | Mathilukal Mathilukal This article has details about the novel as well as its film adaptation.Mathilukal is a Malayalam novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in 1965. It is one of the most cherished and well-known love stories in Malayalam. Its hero, Basheer himself, and heroine, Narayani, never meet, yet they love... |
Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema and is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of India.. Adoor's first film Swayamvaram pioneered the new wave cinema... |
Mammootty Mammootty Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles... |
This film has been screened at more international film festivals (76) than any other Malayalam film. |
| 1993 | Manichitrathazhu Manichitrathazhu Manichitrathazhu is a 1993 Malayalam psychological thriller-horror-musical film written by Madhu Muttam, directed by Fazil, and produced by Appachan. The film was an unusual theme in Malayalam cinema but proceeded to become a high grosser at the box-office... |
Fazil | Mohanlal Mohanlal Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star... , Shobana, Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles... |
This film was remade into five different languages, the most for any Malayalam film. |
| 1997 | Guru Guru (1997 film) Guru is a Malayalam-language film directed by Rajiv Anchal. Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. Nedumudi Venu, Srinivasan, Suresh Gopi, Sithara, Kaveri and Sreelakshmi star in supporting roles.... |
Rajiv Anchal Rajiv Anchal Rajiv Anchal is a screenwriter and film director from Kerala. He has directed eight feature films. Of late, he has based his movies in the United States. He is the life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television... |
Mohanlal Mohanlal Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star... , Nedumudi Venu Nedumudi Venu Nedumudi Venu is a popular Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.- Early life :... , Sreenivasan, Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles... , Sithara Sithara (actress) Sithara is an Indian actress who has performed in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam language films and television serials.-Filmography:-External links:... |
Movie was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for the year 1997, making it the first Malayalam film to be chosen for the same. |
| 1998 | Harikrishnans Harikrishnans Harikrishnans is a 1998 Malayalam film directed by Fazil and starring Mammootty, Mohanlal, and Juhi Chawla in the lead roles... |
Fazil Fazil A. M. Fazil is an Indian filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter of Malayalam cinema.His father wanted him to be a doctor, but in school and college, extra curricular activities engulfed him. He wrote plays, enacted them with his friends A. M. Fazil (born 1953, in Alleppey, Kerala) is an Indian... |
Mammootty Mammootty Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles... , Mohanlal Mohanlal Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star... , Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career... |
First Indian film to have multiple climaxes. |
| 2000 | Kinnara Thumbikal Kinnara Thumbikal Kinnara Thumbikal aka Kinnarathumbikal is a 2000 Malayalam softcore film directed by R. J. Prasad featuring Shakeela in the lead role. The film was a new revolution in Malayalam cinema as well as in South Indian Film industry. The film with a short string budget went on to become surprise... |
R. J. Prasad | Shakeela Shakeela Shakeela , , , is a film actress from India who has appeared in Indian softcore pornographic movies. She mostly acted in film industries of Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Kannada languages. She started out as an actor in B-grade movies in the early 1990s.Later she moved to Chennai seeking... |
This superhit low-budget theatrical softporn film inspired a series of similar productions in the next few years. |
| 2001 | The Guard | Hakkim Rawther | Kalabhavan Mani Kalabhavan Mani Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious... |
The world's first film with a single actor in the star cast. |
| 2006 | Moonnamathoral Moonnamathoral Moonnamathoral is the first digital Malayalam movie. It was created by Martin Sebastian, produced by Benzy Martin, distributed by Emil & Eric Digital Films, and directed by V. K. Prakash. The movie, which falls into the genre of suspense thrillers, was shot primarily at Peerumedu in Idukki, Kerala... |
V. K. Prakash | Jayaram Jayaram Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:... , Samvrutha Sunil Samvrutha Sunil Samvrutha Sunil is a South Indian actress from Kerala. She was introduced to the film industry through a Malayalam film Rasikan opposite Dileep. She had acted in several films in Tamil and Malayalam... , Jyothirmayi, Sherin Sherin Sherin Shringar, known by her stage name Sherin or Shirin is a model turned actress, who appears in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil films. She made her debut at the age of 16 with Darshan in 2002.-Biography:... , Vineeth Vineeth Vineeth is an Indian film actor and classical dancer who has acted in several well received films in his native Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. He studied in Good Shepherd Public School, Ooty, and at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Thalassery.Vineeth is nephew of the famous Travancore... |
The first Indian film to be shot and distributed in digital format Digital cinema Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute and project motion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector... . |
| 2008 | Twenty:20 | Joshy Joshi (director) Joshiy is a popular Malayalam film director who is popular for big budget action movies with huge star cast. In his three decades long career, Joshi has made several big hits and is still active in film making.-Career:... |
Mammootty Mammootty Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles... , Mohanlal Mohanlal Mohanlal Vishwanathan Nair , known mononymously as Mohanlal , is a National Award-winning Indian actor, producer, singer and writer who is well known for his versatile and natural acting in Indian cinema & hence widely known as the Universal Star... , Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopinathan Nair , often credited as Suresh Gopi , is an Indian film actor who works mainly in Malayalam cinema; he is famous for his roles in police dramas. He is noted for his leading roles as much as his character roles... , Dileep Dileep (actor) Dileep is an Indian film actor, mimicry artist and producer best known for his work in Malayalam cinema.Dileep started his career as a mimicry artist in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe. He later started his film career as an assistant director to Kamal with the film Vishnu Lokam... , Jayaram Jayaram Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:... |
First film to feature almost all the stars in the Malayalam film industry. The film was produced to raise funds for the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists Association of Malayalam Movie Artists Association of Malayalam Movie Artists is the association of film actors who work in Malayalam cinema. The association was first of its kind in India, and the functioning of it led to formation of actors guilds in film industries of other Indian languages as well.-General body:The AMMA General... . |
| 2009 | Pazhassi Raja | Hariharan Hariharan (director) Hariharan is a Malayali film director. His movies mainly revolved around the cultural and relational aspects of a typical Kerala society. His notable works include Pazhassi Raja, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Sargam, Parinayam, Amrutham Gamaya and Nakhakshathangal, which won him national... |
Mammootty Mammootty Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles... , Sarath Kumar Sarath Kumar Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian journalist, film actor, politician, body builder and the current president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He started his career in Tamil cinema playing negative roles, and later played minor roles in other movies. He was first chosen for the... , Manoj K. Jayan Manoj K. Jayan Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor who mainly acts in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films. Manoj has won the Kerala State Film Award twice: Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Hariharan's Sargam and Second Best Actor for Hariharan's Pazhassi Raja .-Family and early life:He was born in... , Kanika Kanika Subramaniam Divya Venkatasubramaniam , best known by her stage name Kanika, is an Indian film actress, occasional dubbing artist, playback singer, and TV anchor. Making her debut in the 2002 Tamil film Five Star, she went on to work in other South Indian film industries, including Telugu, Malayalam and... , Padmapriya |
The most expensive Malayalam film, with a reported budget of 27 crores. It was also the first Malayalam film to get a home video Home video Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital... release in Blu-ray format. |
Kerala State Film Awards
The Kerala State Film Awards are the most prestigious film awards for a motion picture made in the Malayalam languageMalayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
. The awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy is an autonomous non-profit institution working under the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. It was founded in August 1998 for the promotion of cinema in Kerala, considering the fact that cinema is the most popular art form in Kerala...
since 1998 on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Kerala, India for a period of 5 years. The state government is headed by the Governor of Kerala as the nominal head of state, with a democratically elected Chief Minister as real head of the executive. The state...
. The awards were started in the year 1969. The awardees are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs. The jury usually consists of eminent personalities from the film field. For the awards for literature on cinema a separate jury is formed. The academy annually invites films for the award and the jury analyses the films that are submitted before deciding the winners. The awards intends to promote films with artistic values and encourage artistes and technicians.
International Film Festival of Kerala
The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is a film festival held annually in ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
, the capital city of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. This film festival was started in 1996 and is organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy is an autonomous non-profit institution working under the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. It was founded in August 1998 for the promotion of cinema in Kerala, considering the fact that cinema is the most popular art form in Kerala...
on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the State Government. The festival is held in November/December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading film festivals in India.
Film studios
The Travancore National Pictures was the first film studio in KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. It was established by J. C. Daniel
J. C. Daniel
J. C. Daniel was the first film-maker from Kerala, India. He produced, directed, wrote, photographed, edited and acted in the first film made in Kerala, named Vigathakumaran meaning the Lost Child. He also established the first film studio in Kerala, named The Travancore National Pictures. It was...
in 1926 in Nagercoil
Nagercoil
Nagercoil is the 12th largest city in the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District...
, which was then a part of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
. Producer-director Kunchacko
Kunchacko
Kunchacko was a Malayali Indian film producer and director who heavily influenced the Malayalam film industry by redefining the commercial film scenario. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madras, Tamil Nadu to Kerala...
and film distributor K. V. Koshy established Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios is the oldest film production studio in the Malayalam language film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala...
in Alappuzha
Alappuzha
Alappuzha , also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated to the south of Kochi and north of Trivandrum...
in 1947. The studio influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madras, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
to Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. In 1951, P. Subramaniam
P. Subramaniam
P. Subramaniam was an Indian director and producer of Malayalam films. Since the mid 1950s he has directed 59 films and has produced 69 films. His venture Merryland Studio was the second film production studio of Kerala...
established Merryland Studio
Merryland Studio
Merryland Studio was the second film production studio in the Malayalam language film industry of India. It was established in 1951 by director-producer P. Subramaniam in Nemom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The studio has produced 69 films, with 59 of them directed by P. Subrahmaniam himself...
in Nemom
Nemom
Nemom is a suburb of the city of Trivandrum , capital of Kerala state, India. It lies 8 km to the south of the city center, on the main arterial highway leading to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. Nemom now falls within the municipal corporation of Trivandrum, though partly exclusive...
, Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
. The other major studios are Sreekrishna (1952, Kulathoor
Kulathoor
Kulathoor is a village in Thiruvananthapuram district in the state of Kerala, India.Kulathur is beautiful village blessed with natural beauty... its 13 km away from neyyattinkara... u can see lots of ponds ,paddy fields, farms..etc. here....
), Ajantha (1964, Thottumukham), Chithralekha (1965, Aakkulam), Uma (1975, Vellakkadavu), Navodaya
Navodaya Studio
Navodaya Studio is a film production studio in the Malayalam language film industry of India. It was established in 1976 by Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, who is also known by the name Navodaya Appachan. The filming studio is located in Kakkanad, Kochi....
(1978, Thrikkakkara) and Chithranjali
Chithranjali Studio
Chitranjali is a film production studio located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was established in 1980s by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation ....
(1980, Thiruvallam).
Association of Malayalam Movie Artists
The Association of Malayalam Movie ArtistsAssociation of Malayalam Movie Artists
Association of Malayalam Movie Artists is the association of film actors who work in Malayalam cinema. The association was first of its kind in India, and the functioning of it led to formation of actors guilds in film industries of other Indian languages as well.-General body:The AMMA General...
(AMMA) is an organisation formed by artists of Malayalam cinema to safeguard their interests. It aims to act against piracy, to safeguard the interests of member actors and actresses, and to serve as a common forum to raise concerns and address issues. The activities of AMMA include endowments, insurance schemes, and committees on wages and benefits on revision, fund for research, pensions, education loans for their children etc. for the members. The organization ventured into film production in 2008 with Twenty:20
Twenty:20
Twenty:20 is a 2008 Malayalam action thriller film directed by Joshi, written by Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas, and produced by Dileep. The film features an ensemble cast; it was known for starring all the major actors in the Malayalam film industry, and was referred to mother of all multistarrers...
to raise funds for its activities.
AMMA was involved in the film industry deadlock of 2004
2004 Kerala film deadlock
Since its formation the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists was involved in a number of controversies, the major one being with the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, which represents producers, exhibitors and distributors in Kerala...
and the alleged denial of work to senior actor Thilakan
Thilakan
Surendranatha Thilakan , known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.- Theatre:...
.
Other organisations
- Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA)
- Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce
- Federation of Film Societies of India - Keralam
- Malayalam Film Chamber of Commerce
- Kerala Film Producers' Association
- Kerala Film Distributors Association
- Kerala Cine Exhibitors Federation
- Kerala Film Exhibitors Association
- Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA)
External links
- Encyclopedia of malayalam movie in Malayalam
- Encyclopedia of malayalam movie
- Online Malayalam Film Magazine
- Online Malayalam film Reviews & photos
- Malayalam film timeline
- Comprehensive list of malayalam movie details
- List of Malayalam Cinema Magazines
- Comprehensive malayalam movie database with cast and crew details
- Discussion Forum for Malayalam Cinema
- Comprehensive searchable list of Malayalam Movies including Unreleased and Dubbed
- Exclusive Blog for Malayalam Cinema Reviews and Comments