Pioneers of Malayalam Cinema

The early years of Malayalam cinema were marked by the emergence of pioneers such as J. C. Daniel, who is considered the father of Malayalam cinema. His silent film Vigathakumaran, released in 1928, is considered the first Malayalam film ever made. However, it was not until the 1950s that the industry saw significant growth with the release of films such as Neelakuyil (1954), which went on to win the President’s Gold Medal.

The Golden Era of the 1960s and 1970s

The 1960s and 1970s were a golden era for Malayalam cinema, with the emergence of great filmmakers such as P. Bhaskaran, K. S. Sethumadhavan, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan. These filmmakers, along with talented actors like Prem Nazir, Sathyan, and Madhu, helped to establish Malayalam cinema as a serious player in the Indian film industry.

Innovative Approaches in the 1980s and 1990s

In the 1980s and 1990s, Malayalam cinema saw a new wave of filmmakers who brought a fresh and innovative approach to filmmaking. Directors such as Padmarajan, Bharathan, and I. V. Sasi made films that were realistic, socially relevant, and aesthetically pleasing. Actors like Mammootty and Mohanlal emerged as leading stars and went on to become some of the most respected and popular actors in India.

New and Exciting Talent in the 21st Century

In the 21st century, Malayalam cinema has continued to grow and evolve, with the emergence of new and exciting talent. Directors such as Lijo Jose Pellissery, Dileesh Pothan, and Aashiq Abu have gained international recognition for their bold and unconventional films. Actors like Fahadh Faasil, Nivin Pauly, and Parvathy Thiruvothu have become household names and are recognized for their versatility and depth.

Changing Audience Preferences

The growth of Malayalam cinema can also be attributed to the changing tastes and preferences of the audience. Today’s Malayalam cinema is characterized by its realism, strong narratives, and relatable characters. It is not just about entertainment, but also about addressing important social issues and sparking meaningful conversations.

Advancements in Technology

Moreover, the growth of Malayalam cinema has been supported by advancements in technology, which have enabled filmmakers to experiment with new and innovative techniques. Digital cameras, editing software, and special effects have helped to enhance the visual appeal of Malayalam cinema and take it to new heights.

The growth of Malayalam cinema over the years has been a remarkable journey, marked by the emergence of great filmmakers, actors, and technicians. It is a testament to the industry’s resilience and commitment to excellence. Today, Malayalam cinema has a global appeal and is recognized for its unique voice and perspective. It is a shining example of the power of cinema to entertain, educate, and inspire.

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Mollywood saw number releases before the lockdown and a few after that through OTT platforms. Here is a list of movies that did great this year and received audience accolades.

Anjaam Pathira

The thriller genre hit movie set us at the edge of the seats with a nail-biting story line. Kunchacko Boban as a psychologist helping Kerala police to track down a psycho serial killer is the basic story line. This movie deserves to be on top of this list of best of 2020.

Ayyappanum Koshiyum

The Prithviraj Biju Menon starrer revolves around the ego clashes between the two main characters Ayyappan and Koshi. The Sachi directorial is being remade into other languages.

Trance

The much-awaited Amal Neerad directorial is rich in technical brilliance and it open ups the manipulations done on basis of religions and Fahadh Faasil has played fabulously well throughout the movie.

Kappela

The movie that starts as a normal love story ends with a revelation of some ugly truths and confuse us and finally relieves us with the story. Anna Ben, Roshan Mathew and Sreenath Bhasi has given impressive credible performances.

C U Soon

The second Malayalam OTT release didn’t fail to amaze us with its crisp editing and the story line which goes entirely online. Darshana Rajendran and Roshan Mathew amaze us with their natural performances along with Fahadh.

Varane Avashyamund

The movie saw the comeback of iconic duo Shobhana and Suresh Gopi and Kalyani Priyadarshan and Dulquer Salmaan has added flavour to the movie all together.

Sufiyum Sujatayum

The first OTT Malayalam release was a musical starring Aditi Rao and Jayasurya along with the new face Dev Mohan. The songs in the movie was a huge hit, it filled the social media and WhatsApp statuses for a long time.

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Nivin Pauly and Unni Mukundan will be seen sharing the same screen space as they are said to team up for the movie Mikhayel.  In a recent report, it said that movie will commence the shooting on August 22, 2018. The movie already had disclosed about Nivin Pauly playing the lead role of a family man, and until yesterday the news of Unni Mukundan joining the cast was kept as a secret. The duo had shared the screen space in the movie, Vikramadithyan in the year 2014,  with Dulquer Salmaan and Unni Mukundan in the lead role, while Nivin Pauly made a special guest appearance in the final moments of the film.

Popular South Indian actor JD Chakravarthy, Siddique, Kalabhavan Shajon, Shanthi Krishna will be seen handling some prominent roles in the movie. With many upcoming projects in hand, Nivin Pauly and Unni Mukundan have teamed up with the popular film-maker Haneef Adeni for Mikhayel

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Odiyan the upcoming movie of Mohanlal will be hitting the big screens by this October and is believed to break a quite number of records in the box office. The movie which s a big budget film has been creating a huge hype among the Malayalee audiences after a teaser of the movie was released a few weeks back.  The movie has been getting a good response before its release, mainly just because of the actors physical transformation for the film. The actor looks slim and younger in his character as Odiyan Manikyan. The film is directed by  V A Shrikumar Menon.

The films Hindi dubbed version has sold its satellite rights for a whopping 3.25 crores, the previous record for Hindi dubbing and satellite rights was held by the Mohanlal starrer Villain, which had graced the screens on October 2017.  Actors Prakash Raj, Manju Warrier, Siddique, Narien, Manoj Joshi, Innocent, Kailash, and others will be alongside Mohanlal in the film. The film which is said to release during the holidays is said to release in a record number of big screens.

Text Credit: Nikhil Wilson

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Text credits: Vishakha Menon

Crossing the boundaries and cutting the odds of fashion in Kerala, fashion designers and stylists are blooming their way into creating a strong vision. Fashion myths and traditions do not stand a chance in their way. Staying true to their roots, these designers have taken a leap beyond and are prepping for a national market. Here are three such Malayali designers experiencing a successful journey in the fashion industry.

MANTRA by Shalini James

Source: shalinijamesmantra

Shalini James, the label that made it to the Amazon Fashion Week, caters exquisite ethnic wear to modern and cosmopolitan women. Her journey is characterised by rejuvenating contemporary ethnic pret. The ethnic splendour that oozes in every piece of her brand is something that has given her a platform to reach out to a larger set of audience. A thought that started as a kid, seeing her mother handle her design and textile business, Shalini grew up in a house full of fabric rolls and embellishment packs. Nevertheless, to mention, she grew up into a successful entrepreneur. Her collection ‘Indian by choice’ inspired by the civil obedience movement when hailed at the Amazon India Fashion Week, 2014 became a turning point. Located in Cheranallur, suburban part of Ernakulam, this label is housed in a beautiful traditional Kerala home which reflects the image of the brand itself.

PRANAAH by Poornima Indrajith

Must be a cocktail hour! @poornima_i in Traditional block print drapes found in a cocktail voice of structure and construct, embellished with zardozi work on corduroy. More details: Call us 04842318111 Whatsapp us : 9847216666 Mail us : mail@pranaah.com #PranaahbyPoornimaIndrajith #Pranaah #Pranaahreadytowear #Pranaahhandsthatcreate

A post shared by PRANAAH (@poornimaindrajith) on Jun 1, 2018 at 11:09pm PDT

Pranaah is a celebrity designer boutique started by Kerala’s ever fashionista Poornima Indrajit. Her outbound approach in styling and makeover, as a part of her fashion beliefs, has taken Pranaah to greater heights. Started out as a boutique in Panampally Nagar, Kochi, catering to regional customers, has now turned out to be a label attracting celebrities from around the nation like Jacqueline Fernandez, Isha Talwar and more. Bringing out a personal style has been a requisite and a unique selling point at Pranaah. Making sure that each design gets a customised perfection and each customer gets a personalised attention, Pranaah has bettered its chances to reach out to a larger crowd.

Label’M by Anu and Reshma

Source: labelmdesigners

Started by two sisters-in-law, Anu Tinu and Reshma Binu, Label’M is now the favourite fashion hub of Mollywood celebrities. Spotting top actresses like Bhavana, Miya George and Namitha Pramod across screenings and public events in ravishing Label’M ensembles, puts the brand further on a higher pedestal. Simple and contemporary ethnic silhouettes with soft-spoken attributes in colours giving a personalised feel to the customer have taken them a long way. Soon they opened their second boutique in Vytilla, Kochi exclusively for evening wear and bridal. No doubt the brand has become the talk of the town and wearing a Label’M is indeed something special for Malayalis.

Source: labelmdesigners

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Text credit: Charishma Thankappan

One of the most monumental personages in Malayalam cinema, Padmarajan left his mark upon an entire generation of films. The 1980s can hence be easily called the golden period of Mollywood, marked by the genius of Padmarajan, along with other luminous filmmakers such as Bharathan and Priyadarshan. His films are known for radiant women characters in bold roles never seen before and seldom seen since. Here’s a look at some of his scintillating films:

Shalini Ente Koottukaari (1980)

Source: YouTube

The film revolves around the life of Shalini, played by actress Shobha. Her story is narrated by her close friend Ammu, characterized by actress Jalaja. Shalini has been an emotional wreck, living under her unyielding father and her step-mother. She therefore gravitates towards her college life to seek solace. Her woe is aggravated by the suicide of her brother. She goes on to fall in love with a lecturer in her college, played by Sukumaran. But the nature of their relationship, that of a student and teacher causes a social stir. Despite ignoring the society, the lovers are never able to get married as Shalini passes away, succumbing to brain tumour.

Desatanakkili Karayarilla (1986)

Source: YouTube

Directed by Padmarajan, the film is the story about two schoolgirls who elope. The film has a sterling star cast of Mohanlal, Urvashi, Karthika, and Shaari. It is one of the first Indian films that explored womance on screen. The film was an instant hit and was welcomed by the audience.

Thoovanathumbikal (1987)

Source: projectedperspectives.wordpress.com

A film that generations of Malayali men grew up on and hold close to their heart, Thoovanathumbikal gifted the Malayali audience the sparkling character of Clara, who has perhaps been unrivalled by any other woman character in Mollywood. Written and directed by Padmarajan, it is considered one of his best creations. The film is a love triangle between Jayakrishnan (Mohanlal), his fiancé Radha (Parvathy), and Clara (Sumalatha), the escort with whom Jayakrishnan falls in love.

Moonnam Pakkam (1988)

Source: YouTube

Another gem written and directed by Padmarajan, this film is one of the classics of Malayalam cinema and showcases the true genius of the man. The film is a heart wrenching depiction of a grandfather’s unbearable loss of his grandson. Thilakan, who plays Thampi, delivers one of the most stellar performances of his career.

Njan Gandharvan (1991)

Source: YouTube

One of the most rare successful fantasy stories in Malayalam cinema, the film was heartily embraced by the audience. It is the story of a young girl Bhama (Suparna Anand) who is besotted with her obsessive love for a celestial lover (Nitish Bharadwaj). Her imagined sweetheart is one who appears only to her out of a wooden statue. The film also featured great music.

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Text Credits: Wilbin Eapen 

Jeethu Joseph, known as one of Mollywood’s favourite thriller filmmakers, is about to leave his signature upon Bollywood too. The shoot of his maiden Hindi movie kicked off last Friday and Jeethu himself shared the news and pictures of the first day at the location through his official Facebook handle. Jeethu thanked everyone, especially the audience who supported him in his journey of becoming a director and he requested for prayers and support for his film. As a result, the audience is filled with much anticipation and chatter about the movie has already begun.

Jeethu has chosen the very talented Emraan Hashmi and the veteran Rishi Kapoor to portray the lead characters in the film. After the period thriller Baadshaho (2017) along with Ajay Devgn, the audience has been expectant about Emraan’s next venture. The actor also used his Facebook handle and posted a video announcement of the movie.

Jeethu has always had a fondness for thrillers. He even started his career with Detective (2007), an investigative thriller movie. His fourth movie Memories (2013) is still considered one of the best thrillers Mollywood has ever seen. It was the family drama-thriller Drishyam (2014) starring Mohanlal which catapulted Jeethu into being one of the prominent directors in the industry. As a filmmaker, Jeethu has utilised stalwarts of South Indian cinema, Mohanlal and Kamal Hassan to their best. His recent release was the action-thriller Aadhi, which saw the debut of Pranav Mohanlal. Jeethu has also announced a project starring the young Kalidas Jayaram, which will be pursued after the completion of the Bollywood film.

Source: Jeethu Joseph , allocine.fr

Jeethu’s untitled new flick is said to be inspired from the Spanish mystery thriller El Cuerpo/The Body (2012) in which a police inspector tries to unveil the mystery behind the death of a woman and her missing body from the morgue. Rishi will be playing the role of the cop while Emraan will be the husband of the dead woman. The movie will be shot in a single stretch through the months of May and June and the rest of the cast is said to be joining the sets soon. The film will be bankrolled by AZURE Entertainment and will reach the screen in the banner of Viacom18 Motion Pictures. It is not just Bollywood lovers but even the Mollywood audience will be eagerly waiting for more updates about the movie.

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Text Credits: Wilbin Eapen

Arguably, there isn’t perhaps another actor in Kerala who never failed to amaze Malayalis as much as Mohanlal. Mollywood’s favourite, Lalettan is turning 58 today. Fans all around the world are celebrating with the re-releases of his chartbuster movies and by conducting various programmes and functions. The social media handles are already overflooded with wishes as Malayalis commemorate the day of the actor whom they lovingly call ‘ettan’.

Source: Faebook/Mohanlal

Elanthoor, a small village in Pathanamthitta, Kerala is where Mohanlal was born. But he grew up in Thiruvananthapuram and earned a degree in commerce from Mahatma Gandhi University. Keralites saw Mohanlal for the first time on the screen through the directorial debut of Fazil in Manjil Virinja Pookkal (1980). Even though he was cast in the lead antagonist role, the young boy succeeded in obtaining a place in audience’s heart. It has been a legendary run for this veteran actor since then.

Not only from fans, wishes are pouring in from the members of the film fraternity, including legends such as Mammootty and many young stars as well. Mohanlal is always known as the coolest guy, whatever the situation. His friendly nature and the ability to control his reactions are probably the reasons why he is loved so much even from within the industry. In 2018, Mohanlal also completes the 38th year of his astonishing acting carrier.

Wishing Alladins favourite Genie our dearest Lalettan @Mohanlal a very happy birthday !!! pic.twitter.com/4RitIHemjG

— dulquer salmaan (@dulQuer) May 21, 2018

For a film lover, the 58 year old cannot be only limited to the boundary of an actor. Lal has always proved that he can handle all aspects of entertainment, be it in front of the camera including dancing, singing as well as action sequences way better than any actor of his generation. The dedication of Mohanlal towards cinema has always been praised. He is also one of the few high profile Malayali actors who are connected to his fans as well. The way Mohanlal treats his fans and praises his supporters has always been noticed.

The fabulous artiste is a recipient of five National Awards, several State and Filmfare awards, and the Padma Shri. In 2008, Mohanlal became the first actor ever to receive the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel by Territorial Army.

The actor who looks way younger than his actual age has got several big budget, much awaited movies in his kitty. Here’s wishing the ‘Complete Actor’ a very happy birthday and several more years of active screen presence.

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Text Credits: Wilbin Eapen

It’s going to be a festive season soon at Mollywood as Malayalam cinema’s superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty get ready to unveil their latest films. It’s been a while since Malayalis have been waiting to see Mohanlal on screen. After Mathew Manjooran in Villain, we are now about to see Mohanlal as Sunny George in Neerali. Close on his heels, Mammootty’s Abrahaminte Santhathikal is getting ready to hit the screens soon.

Source: Mohanlal

Neerali, which is a drama thriller, is the first release of Mohanlal in 2018. Apart from the distinguished actor, Neerali has a couple of other reasons to grab much attention among movie enthusiasts. It will be filmmaker Ajoy Varma’s first movie in Malayalam. But above all, Malayalis are waiting to see the magical combo of Nadiya Moidu and Mohanlal on screen again. The official teaser of the movie went viral with over 3.2 million views within hours after being released by Mohanlal through his Facebook page. A motion poster and a couple of other posters also went out which show Mohanlal in a completely different look and attire in the movie. The film is set to release on June 14.

Source: Mammootty

Mammootty is back again in the role of a police officer through the movie Abrahaminte Santhathikal, directed by debutant Shaji Padoor.  Derick Abraham IPS is the character Mammootty will be playing in this action thriller and the expectations are already high. Few official posters of the movie were shared by Mammootty himself, that were widely popular across social media. Three days ago, a video song was also released by the officials and the song is already on the hit chart. Even though the release is expected in June itself, no official confirmation has been made yet.

But if rumours are to believed, Mollywood will be witnessing another epic battle in box office between the undisputed kings of Malayalam film industry.

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Text Credits: Wilbin Eapen

Prithviraj has grown into one of the most promising actors in Mollywood from the teen boy Malayali has witnessed in Nandhanam to an enlightened recluse in Tiyaan. He does not like to limit his boundaries just as an actor. In March 2018, Prithviraj announced the launch of his production house Prithviraj Productions along with his wife, Supriya.”We have always wanted to give back to the cinema and we couldn’t possibly think of a better way to do that than facilitate films which we believe will make Malayalam cinema proud.” , Prithviraj wrote in his social media handles during the launch of his production house. Now the first venture of Prithviraj productions along with Sony Pictures India, Nine is in it’s shooting periods.

Nine, is filmmaker Jenuse Mohamed’s second project after his widely discussed one 100 days of love.  Nine is going to be the first ever sci-fi movie produced in Mollywood, starring Prithviraj. Prithviraj is said to be playing the role of a scientist and the movie is all about incidents which take place in nine days. Music will be handled by the famous and talented Shaan Rahman who has a good following amongst the youth. No information till now has been revealed about the heroine of the film.

Source: Prithviraj Sukumaran

By the end of April, the first schedule of the movie was finished in Kerala and Prithvi updated the next schedule will be at the foothills of the great Himalayas. First look poster and a motion poster has been released by Prithvi himself through his social media handles which has created much anticipation in audiences. The motion poster showed the images of polar lights, mighty Himalayas, a shooting star as well as the hero, who is like a lone wolf in the night, trying to tear the darkness with a torch in his hands. The motion poster reveals the thriller nature of the film and everyone is eagerly waiting to know about next updates of the movie.

Not only with Nine, Prithvi is generating much more anticipation in audiences, since he has announced his directorial debut, Lucifer starring Mohanlal and through his next films like Ranam, My Story, Aadujeevitham, an Anjali Menon directorial, and Kaaliyan which will be a periodic film.

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