Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of
Indian cinema
The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
dedicated to producing films in the
Malayalam language
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
, primarily spoken in
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
and the
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...
islands. It encompasses both the mainstream film industry and independent Malayalam films. Known for its strong storytelling, powerful performances, and social themes, Malayalam cinema has received critical acclaim and is often regarded as one of India's most notable film industries.
The first Malayalam
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
was ''
Vigathakumaran
''Vigathakumaran'' () is a 1928 (or possibly 1930) Indian silent film written, produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the movie. The lead actress P. K. Rosy was a Dalit who played an upper-caste Nair woman, which c ...
,'' a
silent film directed and produced by
J. C. Daniel. Production started in 1928, and it was released at the Capitol Theatre in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
on 23 October 1930.
The first
talkie
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 passed befo ...
in Malayalam was ''
Balan'' (1938) directed by
S. Nottani.
During the 1920s, the Malayalam film industry was based in Thiruvananthapuram, although the film industry started to develop and flourish by the late 1940s. Later the industry shifted to
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
(now Chennai). By the late 1980s, the industry returned to Kerala, establishing
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
as its hub with most production and post-production facilities located there and most of the film stars including
Mammootty
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...
and
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
living in the city.
As of 2024, Malayalam cinema has earned numerous accolades at the
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...
, including 14 for
Best Actor, 6 for
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...
, 13 for
Best Film
The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...
, and 13 for
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* As ...
. Malayalam cinema garnered international recognition, with ''
Elippathayam
''Elippathayam'' (Translation: The Rat Trap) is a 1982 Malayalam film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It stars Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, and Rajam K. Nair. The film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its twi ...
'' (1982) winning the
Sutherland Trophy
The Sutherland Trophy was created in 1958 by the British Film Institute (BFI) as an annual award for "the maker of the most original and imaginative irst or secondfeature film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year".''1963 Londo ...
at the
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October.
In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...
, and being named the Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 by the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
. Additionally, ''
Marana Simhasanam'' won the prestigious
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week).
The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...
at the
1999 Cannes Film Festival
The 52nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg served as jury president for the main competition. Kristin Scott Thomas was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Belgian filmmakers ...
.
Several Malayalam films have been India's official entries for the
Best Foreign Language Film
The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...
category at the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, including
Rajiv Anchal
Rajiv Anchal (born 20 December 1956) is a film director, screenwriter, and sculptor who works in Malayalam cinema. In 1997, he made ''Guru'', India's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His first English ...
's ''
Guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
'' (1997),
Salim Ahamed
Salem Ahamed (born 6 July 1971) is an Indian film director, screen writer and producer. After working for a long time as a travel consultant, he joined as a creative director and script writer in a television channel. His directorial debut, ''Ad ...
's ''
Adaminte Makan Abu
''Adaminte Makan Abu'' () is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab, with Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Suraj Venjarammoodu, and Nedumudi Ve ...
'' (2011),
Lijo Jose Pellissery
Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. His best works include ''Amen'' (2013), '' Angamaly Diaries'' (2017), '' Ee.Ma.Yau.'' (2018), ''Jallikattu'' (2019), '' Churuli'' (202 ...
's ''
Jallikkattu'' (2019) and
Jude Anthany Joseph
Jude Anthany Joseph (born Sijo Joseph) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, who works in Malayalam film industry. His directorial debut was with '' Ohm Shanthi Oshaana'' in 2014, which won the Best Film with Popular Appeal and ...
's ''
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
'' (2023). Other globally acclaimed films include ''
Chemmeen
''Chemmeen'' () is a 1966 Indian Malayalam-language romance film, based on the novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. It was adapted into a screenplay by S. L. Puram Sadanandan, directed by Ramu Kariat, and produced by Babu I ...
'' (1965), which received a Certificate of Merit at the
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
, and a gold medal at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
for Best Cinematography.
[. ''The Hindu''. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2011.] ''
Swaham'' (1994) won the ''Bronze Rosa Camuna'' at the
Bergamo Film Meeting
Bergamo Film Meeting is a film festival held every March in Bergamo, Lombardy. The festival was founded by Sandro Zambetti and Angelo Signorelli in 1983. As of 2023, it has an annual attendance of 70000 and offers more than 150 screenings in its ...
in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Malayalam cinema has also produced India's first
3D film
3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema and later experienced a worldwide r ...
, ''
My Dear Kuttichathan
''My Dear Kuttichathan'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language children's fantasy film directed by Jijo Punnoose and produced by his father Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D format. Wi ...
'' (1984).
The first
CinemaScope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter.
Its cr ...
film produced in Malayalam was ''
Thacholi Ambu
''Thacholi Ambu'' is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language historical drama film directed and produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was the first anamorphic CinemaScope film in Malayalam. Starring Prem Nazir in the title role, al ...
'' (1978).
History

Active Malayalam film production did not take place until the second half of the 20th century: there were only two silent films, and three Malayalam-language films before 1947.
With support from the Kerala state government production climbed from around 6 a year in the 1950s, to 30 a year in the 1960s, 40 a year in the 1970s, to 127 films in 1980.
Origins 1928
The first cinema hall in
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
, with a manually operated film projector, was opened in
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
by
Jose Kattookkaran in 1907. In 1913, the first permanent theatre in Kerala was established in
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
town by Kattookkaran and was called the ''Jose Electrical Bioscope'', now
Jos Theatre.

The first film made in Malayalam was ''
Vigathakumaran
''Vigathakumaran'' () is a 1928 (or possibly 1930) Indian silent film written, produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the movie. The lead actress P. K. Rosy was a Dalit who played an upper-caste Nair woman, which c ...
''. Production started in 1928, and it was released at the Capitol Theatre in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
on 23 October 1930. It was produced and directed by
J. C. Daniel, a businessman with no prior film experience, who is credited as the father of Malayalam cinema.
[''The History of Cinema'', by Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan] Daniel founded the first film studio, The Travancore National Pictures Limited, in Kerala.
A second film, ''
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ; 1706 – 7 July 1758) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") ...
'', based on the novel by
C. V. Raman Pillai, was produced by R. Sundar Raj Nadar in 1933. However, after only being shown for four days, the film prints were confiscated due to a legal battle over copyright.
The first
talkie
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 passed befo ...
in Malayalam was ''
Balan'', released in 1938.
It was directed by
S. Nottani with a screenplay and songs written by
Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai
Shivanandakumar (22 February 1924)He was an Telugu Superstar and Violnist and who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela.
Early life
He was born on 22 February 1924 in Visakhapatnam, a small village near Peddapalli in Visakh ...
. It was produced by
Modern Theatres
Modern Theaters Ltd was an Indian film studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu started by T. R. Sundaram Mudaliar in 1935. The studio produced over more than 150 films until 1982 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English ...
at
Salem
Salem may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Salem, Ontario, various places
Germany
* Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district
** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery
* Salem, Schleswig-Holstein
Israel
* Salem (B ...
in the neighbouring state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. ''Balan'' was followed by ''Gnanambika'' in 1940, which was directed by S. Nottani. Then came ''Prahlada'' in 1941, directed by K. Subramoniam of Madras and featuring Guru Gopinath and Thankamani Gopinath.
Until 1947 most Malayalam films were made by Tamil producers, P. J. Cherian was the first Malayali producer to venture into this field after JC Daniel Nadar. PJ Cherian produced ''
Nirmala'' in 1948 with Joseph Cherian and Baby Joseph his son and daughter-in-law as hero and heroine. He also cast many other family members in other roles, trying to break the taboo that noble family people do not take up acting. ''Nirmala'' is the first movie which introduced play-back singing in the Malayalm filim industry . P.J. Cherian introduced play-back singing in Malayalam cinema. The lyrics of the film written by
G. Sankara Kurup
G. Sankara Kurup, (3 June 1901 – 2 February 1978) also referred to as Mahakavi G (The Great Poet G), was an Indian poet, essayist and literary critic of Malayalam literature. Known as one of the greats of Malayalam poetry, he was the first r ...
became popular.
Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios is one of the oldest film studios in the Malayalam film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko (1912–1976) and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala. The stud ...
' ''
Vellinakshatram'' (1949) was the first movie with audio to be made completely in Kerala.
1950s
Malayalam cinema has always taken its themes from relevant social issues and has been interwoven with material from
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
,
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
, and
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
since its inception. One such film, ''
Jeevitha Nouka
''Jeevitha Nouka'' () is a 1951 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by K. Vembu and jointly produced by K. V. Koshi and Kunchako. It was the first "blockbuster cinema" in Malayalam cinema, with a theatrical run of 284 days. Made at a budget ...
'' (1951), was a musical drama that spoke about the problems in a joint family.
In 1954, the film ''
Neelakuyil
''Neelakuyil'' () is a 1954 Malayalam film jointly directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramu Kariat. It is a neo-realistic melodrama and was based on a story written by Uroob who co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues along with P. Bhaskaran. It sta ...
'' captured national interest by winning the President's silver medal. It was scripted by the well-known Malayalam novelist
Uroob
Parutholli Chalappurathu Kuttikrishnan Karunakara Menon, popularly known by his pen name Uroob (1915 – 1979) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Along with Basheer, Thakazhi, Kesavadev, and Pottekkatt, Uroob was counted amon ...
, and directed by
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
and
Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the Malayalam cinema. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' ...
.
''
Newspaper Boy'' (1955) contained elements of
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism (), also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They p ...
. 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.
The music took a turn away from the trend of copying Tamil and Hindi songs. The poets Tirunainaarkurichy Madhavan Nair – Thirunaiyarkurichy,
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
,
O. N. V. Kurup
Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...
, and Vayalar Ramavarma rose up in this period as film lyricists. Brother Lakshmanan,
Dakshinamurthy
Dakshinamurti () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher). He is regarded to be the personification of the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding, and knowledge. Dakshinamurti represents Shiva as a teacher of yoga, m ...
,
K. Raghavan,
G. Devarajan,
M. S. Baburaj
Mohammad Sabir Baburaj (3 March 1929 – 7 October 1978) was an Indian music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film music. Baburaj has rendered music to many evergreen Malayalam film songs.
Earl ...
, and Pukhenthey Velappan Nair started a distinct style of Malayalam music. Kamukara Purushotaman, Mehboob,
Kozhikode Abdul Kader
Kozhikode Abdul Kader was an Indian playback singer who was active in Malayalam cinema during the 1950s. He had sung for eight films and many dramas. One of his most popular songs is "Engane Nee Marakkum Kuyile" from the 1954 film ''Neelakuyil''.
...
, AM Raja,
P. B. Sreenivas
Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. S. was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, Lyricist and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollywood. His major chunk of ...
,
K. P. Udayabhanu,
Santha P. Nair,
P. Leela,
S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely referred to as Janaki Amma and Nightingale of India(nightingale of South) . She is one of the greatest playback singers in the history ...
,
P. Susheela, B. Vasantha, Renuka, and
Jikki
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, and Hindi lan ...
were the most prominent singers of the 1950s. The drama artist and school teacher
Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai
Shivanandakumar (22 February 1924)He was an Telugu Superstar and Violnist and who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela.
Early life
He was born on 22 February 1924 in Visakhapatnam, a small village near Peddapalli in Visakh ...
lent many of his skills to the cinema in this period.
1960s
Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the Malayalam cinema. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' ...
, one of the directors of ''
Neelakuyil
''Neelakuyil'' () is a 1954 Malayalam film jointly directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramu Kariat. It is a neo-realistic melodrama and was based on a story written by Uroob who co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues along with P. Bhaskaran. It sta ...
'' (along with P. Bhaskaran), went on to become a successful director in the 1960s and 1970s.
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
directed many acclaimed and hit films in the 1960s and 70s. The cameraman of ''Neelakkuyil'',
A. Vincent
Aloysius Vincent (14 June 1928 – 25 February 2015) was an Indian cinematographer and director known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu and Hindi language, Hindi language films. From the mid-1960s on, he ...
, also became a noted director of the 1960s and 1970s. Notable films of this decade include ''
Odayil Ninnu
''Odayil Ninnu'' (''From the Gutter'') is a Malayalam novel written by Indian author 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. With the appearance ...
'', ''
Bhargavi Nilayam
''Bhargavi Nilayam'' () is a 1964 Indian Malayalam-language romantic horror film directed by A. Vincent (in his directorial debut) and written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer based on the short story '' Neelavelicham''. The film stars Madhu, Vija ...
'' (1964), ''
Chemmeen
''Chemmeen'' () is a 1966 Indian Malayalam-language romance film, based on the novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. It was adapted into a screenplay by S. L. Puram Sadanandan, directed by Ramu Kariat, and produced by Babu I ...
'' (1965), ''
Murappennu
''Murappennu'' is a 1965 Malayalam-language drama film directed by A. Vincent and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The film stars Prem Nazir in the lead role with an ensemble supporting cast including Sharada, Madhu, Jyothilakshmi, K. P. Umme ...
'' (1965) and ''
Iruttinte Athmavu
''Iruttinte Athmavu'' () is a 1967 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by P. Bhaskaran and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair based on his own short story of the same name. It stars Prem Nazir and Sharada in lead roles with Thikkurissy Sukuma ...
'' (1966).
Malayalam cinema's first colour film was ''
Kandam Bacha Coat'' (1961).
''Chemmeen'' (1965), directed by
Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the Malayalam cinema. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' ...
and based on a novel of the same name by
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 600 s ...
, went on to become very popular and became the first South Indian film to win the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...
.
Most of the films of the 1960s were animated by the nationalist and socialist projects and centered on issues relating to caste and class exploitation, the fight against obscurantist beliefs, the degeneration of the feudal class, and the break-up of the joint-family system.
In the 1960s,
M. Krishnan Nair,
Kunchacko
Maliampurackal Chacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from it ...
and
P. Subramaniam
Padmanabha Subramaniam (19 February 1910 – 4 October 1979) was an Indian film producer, film director, distributor, theatre owner, and mayor. He is the founder of Merryland Studio (established in 1951), the second film studio in Kerala.
Fr ...
were the leading Malayali producers. Thikkurusi Sukumaran Nair, Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Madhu, Adoor Bhasi, Bahadur, S.P. Pillai, K.P. Ummer, Kottarakara Sreedharan Nair, Raghavan, G.K. Pillai, Muthukulam, Joseprakash, Paravur Bharatan, Muthayya, Shankaradi, Govindankutty, K.R. Vijaya, Padmini, Ragini, Sharada, Sheela, Ambika, Jayabharathi, Arumula Ponnamma and Sadahna were among the more popular actors active in this period.
During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s,
Kunchacko
Maliampurackal Chacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from it ...
made significant contributions to Malayalam cinema, both as a producer and as director of some notable movies. He started
Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios is one of the oldest film studios in the Malayalam film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko (1912–1976) and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala. The stud ...
in Alappuzha in 1947, reducing the travel to Madras (Chennai) for film crew and actors. This boosted Malayalam film production in Kerala.
Many directors sprang up in this period.
P.N. Menon made ''Rosy'' and later ''Chemparanthi''.
G. Aravindan and
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
also started work in the 1960s and became famous later.
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 Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
's first film, ''
Swayamvaram'' (1972), brought Malayalam cinema to the international film arena. In 1973
M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...
, who was by then recognised as an important author in Malayalam, directed his first film, ''
Nirmalyam
''Nirmalyam'' () is a 1973 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and stars P. J. Antony, Sumithra, and Ravi Menon. P. J. Antony won the National Film Award for Best Actor in 1974 for his performance as a ...
'', which won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...
.
G. Aravindan followed
Adoor
Adoor is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the List of taluks of Kerala, Adoor Taluk and Adoor Revenue Division. Adoor is located southwest of the district he ...
's lead with his ''
Uttarayanam
''Uttarayanam'' () is a 1975 Malayalam-language film directed by G. Aravindan and written by Thikkodiyan. Aravindan debuted with this film. The film, which exposes opportunism and hypocrisy set against the backdrop of the Independence struggle, ...
'' in 1974.
K. P. Kumaran's ''Adhithi'' (1974) was another film that was acclaimed by the critics.
Cinematographers who won the National Award for their work on Malayalam films in the 1970s were
Mankada Ravi Varma
Mankada Ravi Varma (4 June 1926 – 22 November 2010) was an Indian cinematographer and director who worked in Malayalam cinema. He is exclusively known for his association with renowned film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has associated with ...
for ''
Swayamvaram'' (1972),
P. S. Nivas for ''
Mohiniyattam
''Mohiniyattam'' is an Indian classical dance form originating from the state of Kerala. The dance gets its name from Mohini – the female enchantress avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who helps the devas prevail over the asuras using h ...
'' (1977), and
Shaji N. Karun for ''
Piravi
''Piravi'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son, a student in Regional ...
'' (1989).
John Abraham
John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
,
K. R. Mohanan,
K. G. George, and G. S. Panikkar were products of the
Pune Film Institute
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...
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 revitalise society. A noted director, Aravindan, was famous in Kerala as a cartoonist before he started making films. His important movies include ''
Kanchana Sita
''Kanchana Sita'' (''Golden Sita'') (Malayalam :കാഞ്ചന സീത) is a 1977 Indian Malayalam language, Malayalam feature film, feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from ...
'' (1977), ''
Thampu
''Thampu'' () is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, V. K. Sreeraman, Jalaja and the artistes of the ''Great Chitra Circus'' form the cast. The film deals with the roving st ...
'' (1978), ''
Kummatty
''Kummatty'' () is a 1979 Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Ramunni, Master Ashok and Vilasini Reema were cast in the film.
Plot
The film opens with the sun rising from the mountains, and depicting the beauty of a hamlet's br ...
'' (1979), ''
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a major town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to b ...
'' (1985), ''
Oridathu
''Oridathu'' (1987) 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 fac ...
'' (1986), and ''
Vasthuhara
''Vaasthuhara'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written and directed by G. Aravindan. It is based on the short story of the same name by C. V. Sreeraman. The film looks into the lives of partition refugees from East ...
'' (1990).
The 1970s also saw the emergence of the notable director
P. G. Viswambharan with his debut film ''Ozhukinethire'' and the mythical film ''
Satyavan Savithri'', which were well accepted.
Also, commercial cinema in this period saw several worker-class themed films which mostly had
M. G. Soman
M. G. Soman (28 October 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and ...
,
Sukumaran
E. P. P. Sukumaran Nair (10 June 1948 – 16 June 1997), known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. He was considered one o ...
and
Sudheer Sudheer is an Indian given name.
People
*Sudheer (Kannada actor)
*Sudheer (Malayalam actor)
*Sudheer Babu
Posani Naga Sudheer Babu (born 11 May 1980) is an Indian actor and former professional badminton player. He works primarily in Telugu lang ...
in the lead followed by the emergence of a new genre of pure action-themed films, in a movement led by
Jayan
Krishnan Madhavan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, born as the son of Madhavan Pillai (Kerala title), Pillai and Bharathiyamma in Kollam district, Kollam, was an Indian actor, Officer (armed forc ...
. However, this was short-lived, and almost ended when Jayan died while performing a
stunt
A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...
in ''
Kolilakkam
''Kolilakkam'' () is a 1981 Malayalam-language action thriller film, written and directed by P. N. Sundaram, and starring Jayan. The film was a box office hit. The movie was a remake of the 1965 Hindi film '' Waqt''.
Premise
Three brothers, w ...
'' (1980).
1980s
The Malayalam cinema of this period was characterised by detailed
screenplay
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
s dealing with everyday life with a lucid narration of plot intermingling with humour and melancholy. This was aided by the
cinematography
Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...
and lighting. The films had warm background music.
In 1981 Fazil directed Manjil Virinja Pookal the film also introduced then romantic star
Shankar and later actor
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
to the world. Adoor Gopalakrishnan made ''
Elippathayam
''Elippathayam'' (Translation: The Rat Trap) is a 1982 Malayalam film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It stars Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, and Rajam K. Nair. The film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its twi ...
'' in 1981. This movie won the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
award. The year 1981 also saw the rise of actor ''
Mammootty
Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...
'' through the movie ''
Sphodanam'' directed by
P. G. Viswambharan.
In the 1980s
Padmarajan
Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan (23 May 1945 – 23 January 1991) was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a ...
made some of the landmark motion pictures in Malayalam cinema, including masterpieces like ''
Oridathoru Phayalvaan
''Oridathoru Phayalvaan'' () is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written, edited and directed by P. Padmarajan. The film is a folk parable about the success and failure in the life of a gatta gusthi wrestler in Kerala. It stars Rashid ...
'' (1981), ''
Koodevide
''Koodevide?'' () is a 1983 Malayalam-language drama film, written and directed by P. Padmarajan, starring Mammootty, Suhasini Maniratnam, Suhasini, and Rahman (actor), Rahman. The film is based on the Tamil language, Tamil novel ''Moongil Pook ...
'' (1983), ''
Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam'' (1985), ''
Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil
''Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil'' ( ''In the Village Which Wears a Warrior's Belt'') is a 1986 Malayalam film directed by P. Padmarajan, based on his own short story of the same name. The film revolves around three people, Zechariah (Mammootty), H ...
'' (1986), ''
Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal'' (1986), ''
Thoovanathumbikal
''Thoovanathumbikal'' () or, Dragonflies in the Gentle Rain, is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan, based partly on his own novel ''Udakappola''. It revolves around Jayakrishnan (Mohanlal) ...
'' (1987), ''
Moonnam Pakkam
''Moonnam Pakkam'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Padmarajan. It stars Jayaram and Thilakan, along with Kirti Singh, Jagathi Sreekumar, Rahman, Ashokan, Ajayan and Surasu in supporting roles. Kirti ...
'' (1988), ''
Innale
''Innale'' () is a 1990 Malayalam-language psychological drama film written and directed by P. Padmarajan. The film was produced by Ashraf and Rasheed under the banner A. B. R. Productions. The film stars Jayaram, Suresh Gopi, Shobhana, and Sri ...
'' (1989) and ''
Season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
'' (1989). He wrote several short stories that were unique in content and presentation. His novels handled the darkest emotions and considered as classics. Most plots were nascent for that age literature. All works were so cinematic and can be easily visualised to the celluloid version.
K. G. George released films including ''
Yavanika
''Yavanika'' () is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language mystery thriller film written and directed by K. G. George. It stars Bharath Gopi, Mammootty, Nedumudi Venu, and Jalaja. ''Yavanika'' is one of George's most celebrated films; it rece ...
'' and ''
Adaminte Vaariyellu
''Adaminte Vaariyellu'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by K. G. George, starring Mammootty, Srividya, Suhasini, and Soorya. The film addresses women's issues and is considered one of the best classics in the Malayalam fil ...
''. This was the period during which script writer
M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...
started teaming up with director
Hariharan to produce works like ''
Panchagni
''Panchagni'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language crime drama film directed by Hariharan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. The story is loosely inspired from the life of naxalite K. Ajitha who was part of the Naxalite movement in Kerala in ...
'', ''
Nakhakshathangal
''Nakhakshathangal'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and starring Monisha, Vineeth, and Saleema. Monisha, in her film debut, won the National Film Award for Best Actress. The f ...
'', ''
Aranyakam
''Aranyakam'' (Malayalam:ആരണ്യകം, English:Forest) is a 1988 Malayalam film, directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and starring Saleema, Devan, and Vineeth. The film was produced by B. Sasikumar. The music was ...
'' and ''
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
''Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'' (), credited internationally as ''A Northern Story of Valor'', is a subplot of Vadakkan Pattukal, a medieval ballad from North Malabar and is often regarded as a classic in Malayalam cinema. The film won four Nation ...
''.
John Abraham
John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
's films such as ''Amma Ariyaan'' addressed people's issues and raised the finance directly from people. The period had movies with humour from directors like
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...
,
Sathyan Anthikad
Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning five decades he has directed more than 50 films, been the lyricist for 12 films and been the scriptwriter ...
,
Kamal and
Siddique-Lal. ''
Piravi
''Piravi'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Shaji N. Karun. It stars Premji, Archana and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. The film is based on the life of professor T. V. Eachara Warrier, whose son, a student in Regional ...
'' (1989) by
Shaji N. Karun was the first Malayalam film to win the
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week).
The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...
-Mention at the Cannes Film Festival.
Ratheesh
Ratheesh (11 September 1954 – 23 December 2002) was an Indian actor best known for his work in Malayalam cinema. He was a native of Kalavoor in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. He performed villainous roles during the 1990s. He had ac ...
and
Sukumaran
E. P. P. Sukumaran Nair (10 June 1948 – 16 June 1997), known mononymously as Sukumaran, was an Indian actor and producer of Malayalam films. Sukumaran became a popular film star in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. He was considered one o ...
also were leading stars in the industry in the early eighties. By the end of the 1980s, Mammooty and Mohanlal also established themselves as the leading actors in Malayalam.
The mid-1980s saw the emergence of low-quality
Malayalam softcore films made with fairly
low budgets. They were remarked as B-grade films, and were certified as fit for adults only (A rated). These films emerged parallel with the mainstream Malayalam cinema. In 1986, roughly 14 of the 32-odd films released were classified as B-grade films.
1990s
Some examples are ''
Mathilukal
''Mathilukal'' (Malayalam: മതിലുകൾ, meaning ''Walls'') is a Malayalam novel written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer in 1965.P.K.Ajith Kumar"Romantic interlude" ''The Hindu''. 14 May 2010.
Theme
The theme of the novel, focuses on the ...
'' (1990) directed by
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
, ''
Kattukuthira
''Kattukuthira'' () is a 1990 Malayalam-language drama film directed by P. G. Viswambharan and scripted by S. L. Puram, based on his classic play of the same name. The film stars Thilakan as the cantankerous Kochuvava along with Vineeth, Anju ...
'' (1990) directed by
P. G. Viswambharan, ''
Amaram
''Amaram'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam drama film directed by Bharathan and written by A. K. Lohithadas. It stars Mammootty, Maathu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Ashokan, Murali, Chitra, and Kuthiravattam Pappu in the main roles. The film's sc ...
'' (1991) directed by
Bharathan
Bharathan Parameshwara Menon Palissery (14 November 1946 – 30 July 1998) Known mononymously Bharathan was an Indian people, Indian film maker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film ma ...
, ''
Ulladakkam
''Ulladakkam'' () is 1991 Indian Malayalam-language psychological thriller film directed by Kamal and written by P. Balachandran from a story by Cheriyan Kalpakavadi. It stars Mohanlal, Shobana and Amala Akkineni. The film, produced by Sur ...
'' (1992) directed by
Kamal, ''
Kilukkam
''Kilukkam'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film directed by Priyadarshan and written by Venu Nagavalli. The story set in Ooty revolves around tourist guide Joji (Mohanlal) and photographer Nishchal (Jagathy Sreekumar). They ...
'' (1991) directed by
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...
, ''
Kamaladalam
''Kamaladalam'' () is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil, starring Mohanlal, Murali, Vineeth, Nedumudi Venu, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Monisha, Parvathy Jayaram a ...
'' (1992) by
Sibi Malayil
Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name.
Etymology
The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hin ...
, ''
Vidheyan
''Vidheyan'' () is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed and written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is based on the novella ''Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum'' by Paul Zacharia. The film, starring Mammootty and M. R. Gopakum ...
'' (1993) by
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
, ''
Devaasuram
''Devaasuram'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed by I. V. Sasi and written by Ranjith. It stars Mohanlal, Revathi, and Napoleon, with Innocent, V. K. Sreeraman, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Augustine in supporting ...
'' (1993) by
I. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1948 – 24 October 2017) was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest a ...
, ''
Manichitrathazhu
''Manichitrathazhu'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror Thriller film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobana and Suresh Gopi. It also ...
'' (1993) by Fazil, ''
Ponthan Mada
''Ponthan Mada'' is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by T. V. Chandran. The film stars Mammootty and Naseeruddin Shah. It is based on two short stories, ''Ponthan Mada'' and ''Sheema Thampuran'' by C. V. Sreeraman. Th ...
'' (1993) by
T. V. Chandran, ''
Spadikam
''Spadikam'' () is a 1995 Indian Malayalam-language action drama film directed and co-written by Bhadran and produced by R. Mohan through Shogun Films. Starring Mohanlal, Thilakan, Urvasi and Spadikam George, the film revolves around Thomas ...
'' (1995) by
Bhadran, ''
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
''(1994) ''
The King'' (1995) by
Shaji Kailas
Shaji Kailas (born 8 February 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Malayalam cinema. Shaji got a breakthrough with the comedy film '' Dr. Pasupathy'' (1990).
He is best known for his action films with main ...
, ''
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
'' (1996) by
Siddique and ''
Desadanam'' (1997) by
Jayaraj
Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj (born 31 May 1960), is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry.
He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berli ...
. Due to a series of comedy films produced between the late 1980s and late 1990s made actors like
Jagadish
P. V. Jagadish Kumar, Born On (12 June 1955) mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and television presenter. He has starred in over 400 Malayalam films and two Hindi films. He is best known for his comic and character rol ...
,
Siddique,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India.
People with the name Mukesh include:
* Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...
,
Sreenivasan
Sreenivasan (born 6 April 1956) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, dubbing artist and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Sreenivasan has starred in over 225 films. Sreenivasan wrote the screenplays of films such a ...
and
Jayaram
Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bhojpuri language films. He is also a chenda ...
became very popular for their comedy roles. This series of comedy films begun in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with comedy films by
Sathyan Anthikad
Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning five decades he has directed more than 50 films, been the lyricist for 12 films and been the scriptwriter ...
and
Siddique-Lal, like ''
Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu'', ''
Mazhavilkavadi
''Mazhavilkavadi'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikad and written by Raghunath Paleri. It stars Jayaram, Sithara, Krishnankutty Nair, Urvashi, and Innocent in the lead roles. This is one of th ...
'', ''
Ramji Rao Speaking
''Ramji Rao Speaking'' is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-thriller film written and directed by the duo Siddique–Lal (in their directorial debut) and produced by Fazil, Swargachitra Appachan, and Ousepachan Vaalakuzhy. It stars Sai ...
'', ''
Thalayana Manthram
''Thalayana Manthram'' () is a 1990 Indian Malayalam comedy-drama film directed by Sathyan Anthikkad and written by Sreenivasan. The film stars Sreenivasan, Urvashi, Jayaram, and Parvathy. Urvashi's performance as Kanchana received widespread a ...
'', ''
In Harihar Nagar
''In Harihar Nagar'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film written and directed by Siddique-Lal. The film, set in the fictional locality of Harihar Nagar the story revolves around follows four unemployed bachelors and frien ...
'', and ''
Godfather'', and some of them went on to be remade by other directors in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and other languages. The success of ''
In Harihar Nagar
''In Harihar Nagar'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film written and directed by Siddique-Lal. The film, set in the fictional locality of Harihar Nagar the story revolves around follows four unemployed bachelors and frien ...
'' led to the production of a series of comedy films in the early and mid-1990s.
''
Swaham'' (1994), directed by
Shaji N. Karun, was the first Malayalam film entry for the competition in the
Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around t ...
, where it was a nominee for the
Palme d'Or
The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
.
Murali Nair
Murali Nair (born 10 January 1966) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has directed eight films since 1993. His film '' Marana Simhasanam'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival where it won th ...
's ''
Marana Simhasanam'' later won the
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week).
The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...
at the
1999 Cannes Film Festival
The 52nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 1999. Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg served as jury president for the main competition. Kristin Scott Thomas was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Belgian filmmakers ...
.
''
Guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
'' (1997), directed by
Rajiv Anchal
Rajiv Anchal (born 20 December 1956) is a film director, screenwriter, and sculptor who works in Malayalam cinema. In 1997, he made ''Guru'', India's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His first English ...
, was chosen as
India's official entry to the Oscars
India has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (formerly Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) since 1957, a year after the incorporation of the category. The award is given annually by the United St ...
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. Noted script writer
A.K. Lohithadas made his directorial debut with ''
Bhoothakkannadi
''Bhoothakkannadi'' (English:''Magnifying glass'') is a 1997 Malayalam psychological drama film written and directed by A. K. Lohithadas in his directorial debut. It tells the story of Vidyadharan (Mammootty), a clockmaker, and his inability to d ...
'', for which he won the
Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director
The National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Gold ...
.
2000s
The millennium started with a blockbuster hit ''
Narasimham'' starring
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
. In 2001 came the world's first film with only one actor in the cast,
The Guard. Slapstick comedy was the predominant theme of the films of this era. ''
C.I.D. Moosa'' (2003) by
Johny Antony
Johny Antony is an Indian film director and actor, known for making comedy films in Malayalam cinema. He is from Changanassery in Kottayam district, Kerala. He worked for about a decade as an associate to directors Thulasidas, Taha, Kamal an ...
, ''
Meesa Madhavan
''Meesha Madhavan'' () is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language action comedy film directed by Lal Jose and written by Ranjan Pramod. The film stars Dileep in the title role, while Indrajith Sukumaran, Kavya Madhavan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Harisree As ...
'' (2002) by
Lal Jose
Lal Jose is an Indian director, actor, producer, and distributor who works in the Malayalam film industry. He started his career as an Assistant director in the Malayalam cinema. His directorial debut was with the 1998 film '' Oru Maravat ...
and ''
Kunjikoonan
''Kunjikoonan'' () is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Sasi Shanker and produced by Milan Jaleel. The film's script was written by Benny P. Nayarambalam, based on his own stage play ''Vikalanga Varsham''. It star ...
'' (2002) directed by
Sasi Shanker
Sasi Shanker (1957 – 10 August 2016) was an Indian film director. He directed a total of twelve films including ten Malayalam films and two Tamil films. He won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues in 1993 for his direc ...
are examples. Sequels to a number of successful films were made. Some movies were examples of exemplary film making, such as ''
Meghamalhar
''Meghamalhar'' is a 2001 Indian Malayalam-language romance film written and directed by Kamal from a story by Iqbal Kuttippuram. It stars Biju Menon and Samyuktha Varma in the lead roles while Poornima Mohan, Sreenath, Shivaji, Siddique, a ...
'', ''
Madhuranombarakattu
''Madhuranombarakattu'' () is a 2000 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Kamal and written by Raghunath Paleri, starring Biju Menon and Samyuktha Varma. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. The film won the Kerala State Film Award ...
'', ''
Nandanam
Nandanam is a neighborhood in Chennai, India. It is located on the northern banks of Adyar River, on the other side of Kotturpuram, and is bound by Saidapet, T. Nagar and Teynampet. In addition to a number of institutions and companies, Nanda ...
'', ''
Perumazhakkalam
''Perumazhakkalam'' () is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Kamal and written by T. A. Razzaq. It stars Meera Jasmine, Kavya Madhavan, Dileep, Vineeth, and Biju Menon. The film's music was composed by M. Jayachandran. T ...
'', and ''
Kaazhcha
''Kaazhcha'' () is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language family drama written and directed by Blessy, in his directorial debut. The story revolves around the boy Pavan (Yash Gawli) who reaches Kerala after he loses everything in the 2001 Gujarat eart ...
''. In 2008, Malayalam movie artists came together in the multistar film ''
Twenty:20'' to raise funds for the AMMA.
The 2000-2003 period also saw witnessed the
Shakeela tharangam that resulted in the series of production of low budget
softporn films in Malayalam cinema. The continued failure of comedy films and the theater strikes in Kerala, that started in the early 2000s, were the major reasons behind the comeback of B-grade films in Malayalam. Around 57 of the total 89 films released in 2001 belonged to the soft-porn category and
Shakeela
C. Shakeela, known mononymously as Shakeela, is an Indian actress and politician who has predominantly acted in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Telugu language, Telugu language films. She is a member of Indian National C ...
featured in many of them''.''
2010s
After several years of quality deterioration, Malayalam films saw the signs of massive resurgence after 2010
with the release of several experimental films (known as
New Wave or New Generation films), mostly from new directors. New Wave is characterised by fresh and unusual themes and new narrative techniques.
These films differ from conventional themes of the 1990s and 2000s and have introduced several new trends to the Malayalam industry.
While the new generation's formats and styles are deeply influenced by global and Indian trends, their themes are firmly rooted in Malayali life and mindscapes.
The new generation also helped the Malayalam film industry regain its past glory.
Salim Ahamed
Salem Ahamed (born 6 July 1971) is an Indian film director, screen writer and producer. After working for a long time as a travel consultant, he joined as a creative director and script writer in a television channel. His directorial debut, ''Ad ...
's ''
Adaminte Makan Abu
''Adaminte Makan Abu'' () is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab, with Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Suraj Venjarammoodu, and Nedumudi Ve ...
'' was chosen as India's official entry to the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
s to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category in 2011.
''
Christian Brothers'' (2011) was released worldwide with a total of 310 prints on 18 March; it went to 154 centres in Kerala, 90 centres outside Kerala and 80 centres overseas, making it the widest release for a Malayalam film at that time. This record was later broken by ''
Peruchazhi
''Peruchazhi'' () is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language political satire film written and directed by Arun Vaidyanathan. The dialogues were co-written by Ajayan Venugopalan. Vijay Babu and Sandra Thomas produced the film for Friday Film House. ...
'' (2014), which released in 500 screens worldwide on 29 August. ''
Drishyam
''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal alongside Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Roshan Basheer and ...
'' (2013) became the first Malayalam film to cross the 500 million mark at the box office. The film was critically acclaimed and was remade in four languages.
[Rajaneesh Vilakudy (14 December 2014)]
"Is Drishyam, Malayalam cinema's biggest hit? Jeethu Joseph answers"
. ''Bangalore Mirror''. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Later, in 2016, ''
Pulimurugan
''Pulimurugan'' is a 2016 Indian Malayalam-language epic action thriller film directed by Vysakh and produced by Tomichan Mulakuppadam through Mulakuppadam Films. The screenplay was written by Udayakrishna —half of the duo Udayakrishna and ...
'' directed by Vyshak became the first Malayalam film to cross the 1 billion mark at the box office.
In recent years, Malayalam films have gained popularity in Sri Lanka,
with fans citing cultural similarities between
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese people (), also known as the Sinhalese or Sinhala people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They are the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, constituting about 75% of ...
and Malayalis as a reason.
In 2019,
''Lucifer'' became the highest grossing Malayalam film of all time. Lucifer became the highest grossing Indian film in Dubai. The film collected a final gross of 2000 million at the box office.
2020s
In November 2020,
Lijo Jose Pellissery
Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. His best works include ''Amen'' (2013), '' Angamaly Diaries'' (2017), '' Ee.Ma.Yau.'' (2018), ''Jallikattu'' (2019), '' Churuli'' (202 ...
's film ''
Jallikattu
Jallikattu (or Sallikkattu), also known as Eru Taḻuvuṭal and Manju-virattu, is a traditional event in which a zebu bull ('' Bos indicus''), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and many people attemp ...
'' was selected as India's submission for Oscar for best foreign language film making as third Malayalam film as entry. In 2020 a mid the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
lockdown,
Sufiyum Sujatayum
''Sufiyum Sujatayum'' () is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film. It is written and directed by Naranipuzha Shanavas, and produced by Vijay Babu under his production company Friday Film House. It stars Jayasurya in the lead rol ...
, starring
Jayasurya
Jayasurya (born 31 August 1978) is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Fi ...
and
Aditi Rao Hydari
Aditi Rao Hydari (born 28 October 1986) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Tamil cinema, Tamil, and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. Born into the Tyabji family, Tyabji–Hydari family, she made her acting debut with the Mal ...
, has become the first Malayalam film to be released on the
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
(
OTT) platform as theatres remain shut in Kerala due to the pandemic. In 2021, ''
Drishyam 2
''Drishyam 2: The Resumption'', or simply ''Drishyam 2'' is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. The film was produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas. A sequ ...
'', ''
Nayattu'', ''
Kala'', ''
Joji'', ''
The Great Indian Kitchen
''The Great Indian Kitchen'' is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeo Baby. The film tells the story of a newly-wed woman (Nimisha Sajayan) who struggles to be the submissive wife that her husband (Suraj ...
'' and ''
Malik
Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...
'' made their list in the highest rated 2021 movies in
Imdb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
.
Malayalam cinema's first ever original superhero
Minnal Murali
''Minnal Murali'' () is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language superhero film directed by Basil Joseph and produced by Sophia Paul, under the banner of Weekend Blockbusters. The screenplay is written by Arun Anirudhan and Justin Mathew. The film star ...
was released through
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
on 24
th December 2021.
Tovino Thomas
Tovino Thomas (born 21 January 1989) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film ''Prabhuvinte Makkal''. His breakthrough roles were in the films '' ...
as Minnal Murali which was directed by
Basil Joseph
Basil Joseph (born 28 April 1989) is an Indian film actor and director who works in the Malayalam film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director of Vineeth Sreenivasan in the 2013 film ''Thira''. He has directed three films ...
under
Weekend Blockbusters
Weekend Blockbusters is an Indian film production company based in Kollam, Kerala, India. It was established in 2014 by producer Sophia Paul. Its first production was the Malayalam film '' Bangalore Days'' (2014). In 2016, they produced two f ...
gained great reviews by critics and became top watched Non-English movie on Netflix. It broke all records of Malayalam cinema trailers on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
crossing 6 Million Views and 500K+ likes in 24 hours. in 2023, disaster film ''
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
'' was selected as India's submission for Oscar for best international film
Malayalam cinema enjoyed unprecedented box office success in early months of 2024, with worldwide box office collection of Malayalam films touching ₹900 crores in the first quarter. Malayalam cinema achieved its first calendar year ₹1000 crore worldwide gross by May. As of 24 May, total worldwide box office gross stood at ₹1030 crores, including ₹660 crores from India and ₹370 from overseas. The films that led the success story were ''
Manjummel Boys
''Manjummel Boys'' is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language Survival film, survival thriller film written and directed by Chidambaram S. Poduval, Chidambaram. It is produced by Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir and Shawn Antony under Parava Films. The film ...
'', ''
Aadujeevitham
''Aadujeevitham'' (English: ''The Goat Life'') is a 2008 Malayalam-language novel by Indian author Benyamin. Its transliterated English version is also known as ''Goat Days''. It is about an abused Malayali migrant worker employed in Saudi Ar ...
'', ''
Premalu
''Premalu'' ( Telugu word; ) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Girish A. D. and produced by Bhavana Studios, Fahadh Faasil and Friends, and Working Class Hero. The film stars Naslen and Mamitha Baiju, ...
'', ''
Aavesham'' and ''
ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between ...
'', all of which earned over ₹100 crores at worldwide box office. The success is attributed to wide critical acclaim, themes that resonated with the audience and tapping into other state markets. In 2025, ''Marco'' is the first Malayalam film set to be released in South Korea.
Pioneering film-making techniques
''
Newspaper Boy'' (1955), a
neorealistic film, was inspired by
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism (), also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They p ...
.
''
Padayottam Padayottam may refer to:
* ''Padayottam'' (1982 film), an Indian Malayalam-language epic period drama film
* ''Padayottam'' (2018 film), an Indian Malayalam-language black comedy film
{{disambiguation ...
'' (1982) is India's first indigenously produced
70 mm film
70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...
.
''
My Dear Kuttichathan
''My Dear Kuttichathan'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language children's fantasy film directed by Jijo Punnoose and produced by his father Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D format. Wi ...
'' (1984) is India's first
3D film
3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. 3D films were prominently featured in the 1950s in American cinema and later experienced a worldwide r ...
.
''
O' Faby
O' Faby is a 1993 Malayalam-language film. It was Asia's first full-length live-action/animation hybrid feature film. Directed by Sreekumar Krishnan Nair. Lists of Malayalam films It stars Nagesh, Thilakan, Roque Tharakan, Manoj K. Jayan and ...
'' (1993) is India's first
Live action
Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...
/
animation
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
hybrid film.
''
Amma Ariyan
''Amma Ariyan'' () is a 1986 Malayalam-language experimental film directed by avant-garde filmmaker John Abraham. The story revolves around the incidents following the death of a young Naxalite, upon whose death his friends travel to the vill ...
'' (1986) is the first Indian film to be funded through public contributions. It was produced by Odessa Collective, founded by the director
John Abraham
John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
and friends. The money was raised by collecting donations and screening
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
's film ''
The Kid The Kid or The Kids may refer to:
Fictional characters
* The kid (''Blood Meridian''), a character in Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel ''Blood Meridian''
* The Kid (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film series
* The Kid (''The Stand'' ...
''.
''
Kaalapani
''Kaalapaani'' () is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language epic historical drama film written by T. Damodaran and directed by Priyadarshan. Set in 1915, the film focuses on the lives of Indian independence activists incarcerated in the Cellular Ja ...
'' (1996) is the first Malayalam film to feature
Dolby Stereo
Dolby Stereo is a sound format made by Dolby Laboratories. It is a unified brand for two completely different basic systems: the Dolby SVA (stereo variable-area) 1976 system used with optical sound tracks on 35mm film, and Dolby Stereo 70mm nois ...
sound.
''
Indraprastham'' (1996) is the first Malayalam film to feature
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3 (see below), is the name for a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, it is lossy compression (except for Dolby Tr ...
sound.
''
Moonnamathoral
''Moonnamathoral'' () is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language supernatural horror mystery thriller film directed by V. K. Prakash and written by Rajesh Jayaraman. It stars Jayaram, Vineeth, Samvrutha Sunil, Sherin Shringar, and Jyothirmayi.
...
'' (2006) is the first Indian film to be shot and distributed in
digital format.
[History of Malayalam Cinema](_blank)
. Cinemaofmalayalam.net. Retrieved on 29 July 2013.
''
Jalachhayam
''Jalachhayam'' is the first Indian film, & the second in world cinema, which was shot entirely on a camera phone (Nokia N95) in the Malayalam-language, produced and directed by Sathish Kalathil under the banner of 'The People's Films'. The film ...
'' (2010) is the first Indian feature film shot entirely on a
camera phone
A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...
. It was also an
experimental film
Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...
directed by
Sathish Kalathil
Sathish Kalathil is an Indian film and documentary director and producer in Malayalam. His experimental works are well known and appropriately discussed in Malayalam Cinema industry and his debut movie '' Jalachhayam'' (2010) was well discussed ...
, who previously directed ''
Veenavaadanam'' (2008), India's first
documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
shot using the same medium.
''
Villain
A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
'' (2017) is the first Indian film to be shot entirely in
8K resolution
8K resolution refers to an image or display resolution with a width of approximately 8,000 pixels. 8K UHD () is the highest resolution defined in the Rec. 2020 ( UHDTV) standard.
8K display resolution is the successor to 4K resolution. TV m ...
.
''
Vazhiye'' (2022) is the first
found footage film in Malayalam cinema.
Notable personalities
Directors
Malayalam cinema's directors have included
J. C. Daniel, the director and
producer of the first Malayalam film, ''
Vigathakumaran
''Vigathakumaran'' () is a 1928 (or possibly 1930) Indian silent film written, produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the movie. The lead actress P. K. Rosy was a Dalit who played an upper-caste Nair woman, which c ...
'' (1928). Unlike other Indian films at that time, most of them were based on the
, he chose to base his film on a social theme. Though it failed commercially, he paved the way for the Malayalam film industry and is widely considered the "''father of Malayalam cinema''". Until the 1950s, Malayalam film didn't see many talented film directors. The milestone film ''
Neelakuyil
''Neelakuyil'' () is a 1954 Malayalam film jointly directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramu Kariat. It is a neo-realistic melodrama and was based on a story written by Uroob who co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues along with P. Bhaskaran. It sta ...
'' (1954), directed by
Ramu Kariat
Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the Malayalam cinema. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' ...
and
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
, shed a lot of limelight over its directors.
Ramu Kariat went on to become a celebrated director in the 1960s and 1970s. P. Bhaskaran directed a few acclaimed films in the 1960s. The cameraman of ''Neelakuyil'',
A. Vincent
Aloysius Vincent (14 June 1928 – 25 February 2015) was an Indian cinematographer and director known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu and Hindi language, Hindi language films. From the mid-1960s on, he ...
, 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
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
and
G. Aravindan. People like
John Abraham
John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
and
P. A. Backer gave a new dimension to Malayalam cinema through their political themes. The late 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 PN Menon,
I. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1948 – 24 October 2017) was an Indian film director who made over 110 films predominantly in Malayalam, in addition to Tamil and Hindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest a ...
,
P. G. Viswambharan,
K. G. George, Bharathan and
Padmarajan
Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan (23 May 1945 – 23 January 1991) was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. He was the founder of a ...
.
Out of the 40
National Film Award for Best Direction
The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Bro ...
given away till 2007, Malayalam directors have received 12. The directors who have won include
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
(1973, 1985, 1988, 1990, 2007),
G. Aravindan (1978, 1979, 1987),
Shaji N. Karun (1989),
T. V. Chandran (1994),
Jayaraj
Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj (born 31 May 1960), is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry.
He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berli ...
(1998, 2017) and Rajivnath (1999). There are several recipients of the
Special Jury Award as well:
Mankada Ravi Varma
Mankada Ravi Varma (4 June 1926 – 22 November 2010) was an Indian cinematographer and director who worked in Malayalam cinema. He is exclusively known for his association with renowned film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has associated with ...
(1984),
John Abraham
John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...
(1987),
Shaji N. Karun (1995) and Pradeep Nair (2005).
Film music
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
, which refers to
Playback singer
A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...
in the context of
Indian music
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk, rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several ...
, forms the most important canon of
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
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
Malayali
The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, occupying its south ...
eagerly followed
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film songs, and that habit has stayed with them until now. The history of Malayalam film songs begins with the 1948 film ''Nirmala'' which was produced by artist P. J. Cherian who introduced play-back singing for the first time in the film. The film's music composer was P. S. Divakar, and the songs were sung by
P. Leela,
T. K. Govindarao, 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. By the middle of the 1950s, the Malayalam film music industry started finding its own identity. This reformation was led by the music directors Brother Laxmanan,
G. Devarajan,
V. Dakshinamoorthy,
M. S. Baburaj
Mohammad Sabir Baburaj (3 March 1929 – 7 October 1978) was an Indian music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film music. Baburaj has rendered music to many evergreen Malayalam film songs.
Earl ...
and
K. Raghavan along with the lyricists
Vayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma (25 March 1928 – 27 October 1975), also known as Rama Varma Vayalar and simply Vayalar, and was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam literature, Malayalam language. He was known for his poems, including ''Sargasangeetham ...
,
P. Bhaskaran
Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was an Indian Malayalam language poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed ...
,
O. N. V. Kurup
Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...
and
Sreekumaran Thampi
Sreekumaran Thampi (born 16 March 1940) is an Indian lyricist, music director, film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He also writes poetry and is a recipient of the Vallathol Award. In 2017, he w ...
.
Major playback singers of that time were
Kamukara Purushothaman
Kamukara Purushothaman (4 December 1930 – 26 May 1995) was an Indian singer. He was a noted playback singer in Malayalam cinema during its early years. He has recorded over 170 songs in 68 movies in various South Indian languages.
Early l ...
,
K. P. Udayabhanu,
A. M. Rajah
Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah (1929–1989), was an Indian playback singer and music director.
Early life
A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Ramapuram village, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father die ...
,
P. Leela,
Santha P. Nair,
Ayiroor Sadasivan, Lalitha Thampi,
C. S. Radhadevi,
A. K. Sukumaran
A.K. Sukumaran (1938 – 17 May 2018) was an Indian playback singer who worked mainly in Malayalam cinema.
Early life
Sukumaran was born in 1938 in Thalapp, Kerala. He is best known for the song "Mani Mukile" with S. Janaki from a movie from 1 ...
,
B. Vasantha
Boduppalli Vasantha (born 29 March 1944) is a South Indian playback singer. She has received two state level awards, the Kalaimamani (Tamil Nadu) and the Ugadi Award (Andhra Pradesh).
Early life
B. Vasantha was born on 1944 March 29 in Mach ...
,
P. Susheela,
P. Madhuri and
S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely referred to as Janaki Amma and Nightingale of India(nightingale of South) . She is one of the greatest playback singers in the history ...
. Despite that, these singers got high popularity throughout Kerala and were part of the Golden age of Malayalam music (1960 to 1970).
In the later years many non-Malayalis like
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey (; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. He had a classical music background, being part of the Bhendibazaar gharana, Bhendibazaar Gh ...
,
Talat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered as one of the greatest and most popular Indian male film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a g ...
,
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...
,
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...
,
Hemlata
Hemlata is a feminine given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the othe ...
,
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...
,
Mahendra Kapoor
Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as ''Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono'' ( Gumrah) and ''Neele Gagan ...
and
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), commonly known as SPB or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is widely regarde ...
sang for Malayalam films. This trend was also found among
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
s to an extent, with film composers from other languages including
Naushad
Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of ...
,
Usha Khanna
Usha Khanna (born 7 October 1941) is an Indian music director in Hindi cinema. She is the third female music director to enter the Hindi film industry, after Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi and is one of the most commercially successful music d ...
,
M. B. Sreenivasan
Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries.
He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 Sept ...
,
Ravi
Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...
,
Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include:
;Shyam
*Shyam (actor) (1920–1951), Indian Hindi film actor
*Shyam (composer) (born 1937), an Indian music composer from Kerala
*Shya ...
,
Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...
,
Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). In their career span stretching from 1963 to 1998, they composed music for about 750 movies, wo ...
,
Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Malayalam films, Malayalam films. ...
,
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...
,
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian filmmaker, music composer, and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of nine National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bhardwaj made his debut as a mu ...
and
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
scoring music for Malayalam films.
This can be attributed to the fact that film music in
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
had a parallel growth pattern with many instances of cross-industry contributions. The late 1950s through the mid-1970s can be considered as the golden period of Malayalam film music in its own identity. Along with the leading music directors, the likes of
M. B. Sreenivasan
Manamadurai Balakrishnan Sreenivasan (19 September 1925 – 9 March 1988), or MBS, was a South Indian music director who worked mainly in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries.
He was born to an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family on 19 Sept ...
,
M. K. Arjunan
Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan (1 March 1936 – 6 April 2020) was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as ''Arjunan Master''.
Early life
Arjunan was ...
, Pukezhenty Vellappan Nair,
M. S. Viswanathan
Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. Popularly known by the sobriquet "Mellisai Mannar" (), he ...
,
A. T. Ummer
Anjukandy Thalakkal Ummer (10 March 1933 – 18 October 2001) was a Malayalam music composer from Kerala, India. He is known for composing many soft melodies for 174 Malayalam movies.
Born in Anjukandy in Kannur district on 10 March 1933, as th ...
,
R. K. Shekhar,
Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Malayalam films, Malayalam films. ...
and lyricists like
Thirunainar Kurichi Madhavan Nair,
Mankombu Gopalakrishnan
Mankombu Gopalakrishnan (1947 or 1948 – 17 March 2025) was an Indian film lyricist, poet and scriptwriter in the Malayalam film industry.
Gopalakrishnan wrote more than 700 songs for about 200 Malayalam movies. He also did story, screenplay ...
and Bharanikkavu Sivakumar, numerous everlasting and hit songs were delivered to the music lovers. The soft melodious music and high quality lyrics were the highlights of these songs.
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...
, who debuted in 1961, virtually revolutionised the Malayalam film music industry and became the most popular Malayalam singer ever along with
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...
. The trio of
Vayalar
Vayalar is a village in Cherthala taluk, Alapuzha district, Kerala state, India.
Location
Vayalar is 5 km from Cherthala, Kerala. Vayalar is bounded on the east by the Vayalar kayal which is a part of the famous Vembanad backwat ...
,
G. Devarajan and Yesudas also made unforgettable songs like the earlier trio of Kamukara, Tirunainaarkurichy and Brother Laxmanan. Yesudas became equally popular with classical music audience and people who patronised film music. He along with
P. Jayachandran gave a major face-lift to Malayalam playback singing in the 1960s and 1970s.
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...
debuted in 1979, and by the mid-eighties, she became the most sought after female singer in
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
.
By the late 1970s, the trends in music started changing and more rhythm oriented songs with a western touch came with the dominance of music directors like
Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include:
;Shyam
*Shyam (actor) (1920–1951), Indian Hindi film actor
*Shyam (composer) (born 1937), an Indian music composer from Kerala
*Shya ...
, K. J. Joy, and
Jerry Amaldev
Jerome Thomas Veleeparambil, more popularly known by his stage name Jerry Amaldev (born 15 April 1939) is a three-time Kerala State Film Awards winning Indian composer of film scores who has given music to some of the most important motion pict ...
. The lyricists were forced to write lyrics according to the tune in these days and were often criticised for quality issues. However, from 1979 to 1980, the revolutionary music director
Raveendran
Madhavan Raveendran (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more tha ...
along with
Johnson
Johnson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Johnson (surname), a common surname in English
* Johnson (given name), a list of people
* List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters
*Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...
and
M. G. Radhakrishnan led the second reformation of Malayalam film music by creating melodious and classical oriented music with the soul of the culture of Kerala. Lyricists like
Poovachal Khader
Poovachal Khader (25 December 1948 – 22 June 2021) was a Malayalam lyricist from Kerala who worked mainly in Malayalam film industry. His first movie as a lyricist was ''Kaattuvithachavan'' (1973) but his first released movie was ''Chuzhi'' (1 ...
,
Kavalam Narayana Panicker
Kavalam Narayana Panikkar (1 May 1928 – 26 June 2016) was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's ''Vikramorvasiy ...
and
Bichu Thirumala
Bhaskaran Sivasankaran Nair, popularly known as Bichu Thirumala (13 February 1942 – 26 November 2021), was an Indian lyricist and poet. He is known for creating the style of arranging beautiful words in Malayalam film songs. In Malayalam cinem ...
in the 1980s and
Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri
Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, popularly known as Kaithapram, is a Malayalam lyricist, poet, music director, actor, singer, screenwriter, music therapist and performer of Carnatic music. He debuted with the movie Ennennum Kannettante in 19 ...
,
V. Madhusoodanan Nair and
Girish Puthenchery in the 1990s were part of this musical success. Contributions from
Kannur Rajan
Kannur Rajan (24 June 1940 – 7 April 1995) was a music composer from Kerala, India. Though his songs are less in numbers, they are noted as emotional and nostalgic in the Malayalam film songs. He was the father-in-law of celebrated music d ...
,
Ravi
Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...
,
S. P. Venkatesh,
Mohan Sithara
Mohan Sithara (born 30 May 1959) is an Indian music composer. He received the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Music Director (2009) for the songs in Priyanandan's ''Soofi Paranja Kadha''. Since 1986 he has been an active musician in the Mal ...
,
Ouseppachan
Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Fil ...
,
Sharath, Vidyadharan, Raghukumar and
Vidyasagar
Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to:
People
*Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-)
*Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar
*Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director
* C ...
were also notable in this period.
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...
and
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...
and singers like
M. G. Sreekumar,
G. Venugopal
Gopinathan Nair Venugopal (born 10 December 1960), popularly known as G. Venugopal, is an Indian playback singer known for his works in Malayalam films. He started his singing career in the film '' Odaruthammava Aalariyam'' (1984). Since then ...
,
Radhika Thilak
Radhika Jayathilakan (1969 – 20 September 2015), known by her stage name Radhika Thilak, was an Indian playback singer who predominantly worked in the Malayalam film industry. She sang 70 songs for Malayalam films.
Career
Some of her songs a ...
,
Unni Menon
Nambalatt Narayanankutty Menon (born 2 December 1955), known better by his stage name Unni Menon is an Indian film playback singer. He has recorded over 4000 songs in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu lang ...
and
Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan is a renowned Indian playback singer known for her contributions to a wide range of Indian film industries, particularly in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. Over her decades-long career, she has also recorded songs in other ...
were also active then. A notable aspect in the later years was the extensive of classical
carnatic music
Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha.
It is o ...
in many film songs of the 1980s and 1990s. Classical Carnatic music was heavily used in films like ''
Chithram
''Chithram'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film was produced by P. K. R. Pillai under his production house Shirdi Sai Creations, and stars Mohanlal, Ranjini, Nedumudi V ...
'' (1988), ''
His Highness Abdullah
''His Highness Abdullah'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, Sreenivasan, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Mamukkoya. The ...
'' (1990), ''
Bharatham
''Bharatham'' is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu, Lakshmi, and Murali. The film was produced by Mohanlal through his pro ...
'' (1991), ''
Sargam'' (1992), ''
Kudumbasametham
''Kudumbasametham'' is a 1992 Malayalam film written by Kaloor Dennis and directed by Jayaraj. The film was produced by Mumthaz Basheer under the banner of Simple Productions. It stars Manoj K. Jayan, Madhu, Monisha and Kaviyoor Ponnamma in ...
'' (1992), ''
Sopanam
Sopana Sangeetham is a form of Indian classical music that developed in the temples of Kerala in south India in the wake of the increasing popularity of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda or Ashtapadis.
Etymology
The name derives from two Malayalam or ...
'' (1993) etc.
At present, the major players in the scene are composers like
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
,
M. Jayachandran,
Bijibal
Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. In a career spanning more than twenty years, he has composed for more than 150 feature films, several television commercials and a few d ...
,
Deepak Dev
Deepak Devraj Komath (born 30 April 1978), better known as Deepak Dev, is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema. He started his career in the film Industry through the movie '' Chronic Bachelor'' (2003) ...
,
Rex Vijayan
Rex Vijayan (born 26 April 1983) is an Indian composer, guitarist, singer, record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Kerala. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist for the alternative Malayali rock band Avial. He started out hi ...
,
Jakes Bejoy,
Rahul Raj
Rahul Raj is an Indian music composer. He has composed and produced Film score, scores and soundtracks predominantly for Malayalam language, Malayalam movies. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Berklee College of Music and holds a postgraduat ...
,
Prashant Pillai
Prashant Pillai (born 8 September 1981) is a music producer and composer from India.
Early career
After completing his Sound engineering in Chennai, he went on to work with A.R.Rahman. After a short stint with him, he moved on and settled in ...
,
Shaan Rahman
Shaan Rahman (born 30 December 1979) is an Indian composer and singer, best known for his compositions in the Malayalam film industry. Shaan made his debut as a music director in the 2009 film '' Ee Pattanathil Bhootham'' directed by Johny An ...
,
Sushin Shyam
Sushin Shyam is an Indian music composer, instrumentalist, and singer primarily associated with Malayalam cinema. He is also a founding member of the folk metal band The Down Troddence. He is known for his contributions to the films '' Varatha ...
,
Gopi Sundar
Gopi Sundar C. S. (born 30 May 1977) is an Indian music director, Programming (music), programmer, playback singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works in the Malayalam, Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil film industries.
...
,
Alphons Joseph
Alphons Joseph is an Indian music director and playback singer who works in Malayalam film industry. He debuted with 2003 movie ''Vellithira (2003 film), Vellithira''. Alphons is also noted for singing "Aaromale" from the film ''Vinnaithaandi V ...
,
Rajesh Murugesan
Rajesh Murugesan (born 14 May 1988) is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema for films like '' Neram'' and '' Premam''.
Personal life
Murugesan was born in Nagercoil and he completed his schooling at Coc ...
,
Jassie Gift
Jassie Gift is an Indian cinematic music composer and playback singer. He composes songs and sings for Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films. He became famous after the release of the song "Lajjavathiye" from the film '' 4 The People''.
...
,
Shahabaz Aman
Shahabaz Aman (born 27 December 1969) is an Indian playback singer and composer. He was born in Malappuram, Kerala, India. He is also a stage performer of Ghazal music. Shahabaz is known for his soulful, romantic voice and unique style of singin ...
,
Vishnu Vijay
Vishnu Vijay is an Indian music composer and a prolific flautist who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. His film music career began with the 2016 Malayalam film ''Guppy''. His other works include '' Ambili'' (2019), '' Thallumaala'' (2022 ...
, lyricists
Rafeeq Ahamed
Rafeeq Ahamed (born 17 December 1961) is an Indian poet, lyricist and novelist. He has won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and is a six-time winner of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics. With more than 600 songs to his cr ...
,
Anwar Ali, B. K. Harinarayanan,
Vinayak Sasikumar
Vinayak Sasikumar (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian lyricist, who works in Malayalam cinema. Famous for his works in Aavesham, Romancham etc
Personal life
He was born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to S. Sasikumar and Asha Sasikumar. At the age ...
,
Sarath and
Anil Panachooran
Anil Panachooran (20 November 1969 – 3 January 2021) was an Indian lawyer, poet and lyricist, who worked in the Malayalam film industry.
While undergoing treatment for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, he died on 3 January 2021, ...
, and singers
Vineeth Sreenivasan
Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian actor, director, producer, dubbing artist, screenwriter, playback singer and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He is the eldest son of actor and screenwriter Sreeniva ...
,
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...
,
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...
,
Vijay Yesudas
Vijay Yesudas (born 23 March 1979) is an Indian playback singer and actor. He has sung over 1000 film songs. Vijay works predominantly in the South Indian film industry, mostly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. He is the son of ...
,
Shweta Mohan
Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs for films and albums in all the four south Indian cinema namely Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada, besides few Hindi films and has established hersel ...
,
Karthik,
Naresh Iyer
Naresh Iyer (born 3 January 1981) is an Indian playback singer. Born in Mumbai, Iyer is fluent in Tamil, Hindi and Marathi. Naresh Iyer has rendered 2000 film songs in several Indian languages and has several chart hits to his credit. His r ...
,
Manjari,
Haricharan
Haricharan Seshadri, known mononymously as Haricharan (born 20 March 1987), is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, playback singer, and musician who predominantly works in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravi ...
,
Shahabaz Aman
Shahabaz Aman (born 27 December 1969) is an Indian playback singer and composer. He was born in Malappuram, Kerala, India. He is also a stage performer of Ghazal music. Shahabaz is known for his soulful, romantic voice and unique style of singin ...
, Sithara Krishnakumar,
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (born 7 October 1981) is an Indian playback singer from Kerala, India. She is an expert in a rare musical instrument called Gayatriveena. She won special jury mention for her much appreciated work in the 2013 film ''Cellulo ...
, K. S. Harisankar,
Sayanora Philip
Sayanora Philip is an Indian playback singer who works in Malayalam and Tamil film industry.
Early life
Sayanora was born in Kannur.
She did her schooling in St. Teresa's Anglo Indian Girls High School and degree from S. N. College, Kannur. ...
,
Benny Dayal
Benny Dayal (born 13 May 1984) is a UAE-born Indian playback singer. He is a prominent singer in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi and more languages films.
He is a member of the band S5, launched by ...
and
Jyotsna Radhakrishnan
Jyotsna Radhakrishnan (born 5 September 1986) is an Indian playback singer. She predominantly works in 12 languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. She has sung more than 1000 songs. She is based in Thrissur, Kerala.
Jyotsna ga ...
, along with stalwarts in the field.
Young composers like
Deepak Dev
Deepak Devraj Komath (born 30 April 1978), better known as Deepak Dev, is an Indian music composer, best known for his compositions in Malayalam cinema. He started his career in the film Industry through the movie '' Chronic Bachelor'' (2003) ...
,
Rex Vijayan
Rex Vijayan (born 26 April 1983) is an Indian composer, guitarist, singer, record producer and multi-instrumentalist from Kerala. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist for the alternative Malayali rock band Avial. He started out hi ...
,
Rahul Raj
Rahul Raj is an Indian music composer. He has composed and produced Film score, scores and soundtracks predominantly for Malayalam language, Malayalam movies. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Berklee College of Music and holds a postgraduat ...
,
Jakes Bejoy,
Sushin Shyam
Sushin Shyam is an Indian music composer, instrumentalist, and singer primarily associated with Malayalam cinema. He is also a founding member of the folk metal band The Down Troddence. He is known for his contributions to the films '' Varatha ...
, and
Prashant Pillai
Prashant Pillai (born 8 September 1981) is a music producer and composer from India.
Early career
After completing his Sound engineering in Chennai, he went on to work with A.R.Rahman. After a short stint with him, he moved on and settled in ...
are not only known for their catchy tunes, but also for bringing in a lot of electronics, digital sound and a variety of genres in Malayalam film scores and songs.
The
National Award-winning music composers of Malayalam cinema are
Johnson
Johnson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Johnson (surname), a common surname in English
* Johnson (given name), a list of people
* List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters
*Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...
(1994, 1995),
Ravi
Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (rapper) (born 1993), a Sou ...
(1995),
Ouseppachan
Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Fil ...
(2008),
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...
(2010),
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally (1948/9 – 18 February 2021) was an Indian film score composer, music director and script writer working mainly in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He scored music for several English documentaries and commercials. ...
(2011),
Bijibal
Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. In a career spanning more than twenty years, he has composed for more than 150 feature films, several television commercials and a few d ...
(2012) and
M. Jayachandran (2016). Until 2009, the 1995 National Award that Johnson received for the
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
of ''Sukrutham'' (1994) was the only instance in the history of the award in which the awardee composed the
Soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
rather than its
Playback singer
A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...
. He shared that award with Bombay Ravi, who received the award for composing songs for the same film. In 2010 and 2011, the awards given to film scores were won by Malayalam films: ''
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja () (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805), also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah, was the '' de facto'' head of the Kottayam Kingdom in the Malabar region of Kerala between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the ...
'' (
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...
) and ''
Adaminte Makan Abu
''Adaminte Makan Abu'' () is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab, with Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Suraj Venjarammoodu, and Nedumudi Ve ...
'' (
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally (1948/9 – 18 February 2021) was an Indian film score composer, music director and script writer working mainly in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He scored music for several English documentaries and commercials. ...
).
Raveendran
Madhavan Raveendran (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), also known as Raveendran Master, was a South Indian music composer and playback singer from Kerala. He composed songs for more tha ...
also received a
Special Mention in 1991 for composing songs for the film ''
Bharatham
''Bharatham'' is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu, Lakshmi, and Murali. The film was produced by Mohanlal through his pro ...
''.
The
lyricists who have won the National Award are
Vayalar Ramavarma
Vayalar Ramavarma (25 March 1928 – 27 October 1975), also known as Rama Varma Vayalar and simply Vayalar, and was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam literature, Malayalam language. He was known for his poems, including ''Sargasangeetham ...
(1973),
O. N. V. Kurup
Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...
(1989) and
Yusufali Kechery
Yusufali Kechery (Yūsaphali Kēccēri; 16 May 1934 – 21 March 2015) was a poet, film lyricist, film producer and director from Kerala, India. He wrote during the modern era of Malayalam poetry and won the Odakkuzhal Award, the Kerala Sahi ...
(2001). The
male singers who have received the National Award are
K. J. Yesudas
Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...
(1973, 1974, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2017),
P. Jayachandran (1986) and
M. G. Sreekumar (1991, 2000). Yesudas has won two more National Awards for singing in
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
(1977) and
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India
** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language.
* Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
(1983) films, which makes him the person who has won the most
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a male playback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within the Indian film industry. The awar ...
, with eight. The female singers who have won the
award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An award may be d ...
are
S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely referred to as Janaki Amma and Nightingale of India(nightingale of South) . She is one of the greatest playback singers in the history ...
(1981) and
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...
(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 Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within the Cinema of India, Indian fi ...
awards, six times.
Landmark films
Kerala State Film Awards
The Kerala State Film Awards are given to motion pictures made in the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
language. The awards have been bestowed by
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Kerala State Motion Picture Academy is an autonomous non-profit institution based in Trivandrum, working under the Department of Cultural Affairs (Kerala), Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.
History
It was founded in Augus ...
since 1998 on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the
government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
. The awards were started in 1969. The awardees are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs. The jury usually consists of 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 before deciding the winners. The awards intend to promote films with artistic values and encourage artists and technicians.
International Film Festival of Kerala
The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is held annually in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
, the capital city of Kerala. It was started in 1996 and is organised by
Kerala State Chalachitra Academy
Kerala State Motion Picture Academy is an autonomous non-profit institution based in Trivandrum, working under the Department of Cultural Affairs (Kerala), Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.
History
It was founded in Augus ...
on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the State Government. It is held in November/December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading film festivals in India.
Film studios
Today most of the film studios are located in
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
where majority of the pre and post film production works are conducted. All the major film production companies in the Malayalam film industry including
Aashirvad Cinemas
Aashirvad Cinemas is an Indian film production company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 1999 by Antony Perumbavoor, since then, it has produced over 30 Malayalam films, starring Mohanlal. Since 2009, the company co-operates with th ...
,
Friday Film House
Friday Film House Pvt Ltd is an Indian film production company based in Malayalam film industry owned by Vijay Babu (actor, born 1976), Vijay Babu who is an actor as well as a producer and is one of the most talked about production houses in th ...
,
Kokers Media Entertainments,
Maxlab Cinemas and Entertainments,
Prithviraj Productions
Prithviraj Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Kochi, Kerala. It was established in 2017, by actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, and his wife, Supriya Menon. Since then, it has produced and distributed over 10 fil ...
are located in
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
.The Travancore National Pictures was the first film studio in Kerala. It was established by
J. C. Daniel in 1926 in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
, which was then a part of
Travancore
The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...
. Producer-director
Kunchacko
Maliampurackal Chacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from it ...
and film distributor K. V. Koshy established
Udaya Studios
Udaya Studios is one of the oldest film studios in the Malayalam film industry of India. It was established in 1947 by director-producer Kunchacko (1912–1976) and film distributor K. V. Koshy in Pathirappally, Alappuzha in Kerala. The stud ...
in
Alappuzha
Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...
in 1947. The studio influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
to Kerala. In 1951,
P. Subramaniam
Padmanabha Subramaniam (19 February 1910 – 4 October 1979) was an Indian film producer, film director, distributor, theatre owner, and mayor. He is the founder of Merryland Studio (established in 1951), the second film studio in Kerala.
Fr ...
established
Merryland Studio
Merryland Studio is an Indian film studio based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was established in 1950 by former Thiruvananthapuram mayor and businessman P. Subramaniam. He produced 70 films, 59 of them directed by himself. He was active b ...
in
Nemom
Nemom is a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India.
It is surrounded by Thirumala in the north, Malayinkeezhu in the north-east, Balaramapuram in the south-east, Kovalam in the south and Thiruvallam in the west. Nem ...
,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
. The other major studios are Sreekrishna (1952,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
), Ajantha (1958, Keezhmadu – now extinct), Chithralekha (1965,
Aakkulam
Aakkulam is a region in Thiruvananthapuram city, the capital of Kerala state in India. It is about 10 km from Thiruvananthapuram city center. situated where the Akkulam Lake joins the sea.
Akkulam Tourist village and Akkulam Boat Club ar ...
,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
), Uma Studio (1975,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
),
Navodaya, Kochi
(1978,
Thrikkakkara,
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
) and
Chitranjali Studio
Chitranjali is a film production studio located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country b ...
(1980,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
).
Organisations
The
Association of Malayalam Movie Artists
The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, abbreviated as AMMA, is an Indian organization of film actors and actresses working in the Malayalam cinema, formed in 1994.
Governing body
The governing body serves for three years. It includes a Pre ...
(A.M.M.A) is an association of Malayalam film actors and artists based in
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
is an organisation formed by artists of Malayalam cinema. 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, funds for research, pensions, and education loans for the children of the members. The organisation ventured into film production in 2008 with ''
Twenty:20'' to raise funds for its activities.
Organisations such as Kerala Film Producers Association, Kerala Film Distributors Association, Kerala Cine Exhibitors Federation, Hyperlink Film Club and Kerala Film Exhibitors Association have coordinated work stoppages.
See also
*
List of highest-grossing Malayalam films
Malayalam cinema is a part of Indian cinema, based in Kerala and dedicated to the production of films in the Malayalam-language. This ranking lists the highest-grossing Malayalam films based on conservative global box office estimates as report ...
*
List of Malayalam film actors
This list outlines the names of notable male lead film actors, who previously worked or are currently working in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry, based in Kerala, India. The list is ordered by the year of their debut as a leading acto ...
*
New generation (Malayalam film movement)
New generation films is a Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film movement developed in the early 2010s, characterized by fresh and unusual themes and new narrative techniques. Films of the new wave differ from conventional themes of the past two decades ...
*
Malayalam softcore pornography
Malayalam softcore pornography was a popular genre of softcore pornography produced in the Indian state of Kerala in the Malayalam, Malayalam language. Popularly known as Mallu porn films or B-grade films, they are mostly recognised as low-qua ...
*
Cinema of South India
Cinema of South India, refers to the cinema of the four major film industries in South India; primarily engaged in making feature films in the four major Dravidian languages of the region, namely Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. They ...
*
List of cinema of the world By continent
*Cinema of Africa
*Cinema of Asia
**Cinema of Central Asia, Central Asia Cinema
**East Asian cinema
**South Asian cinema
**Southeast Asian cinema
**Middle Eastern cinema
*North American cinema, Cinema of North America
*Cinema of Latin ...
*
Lists of Malayalam films
*
:Film production companies of Kerala
*
K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts
K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA) is an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala at Thekkumthala, Chengalam East Village in Kottayam District of Kerala state as a training-cum-resear ...
References
Sources
*
External links
{{Kerala topics, state=collapsed
Indian film industries