Other films which achieved global acclaim include Chemmeen (1965), which received a Certificate of Merit at the Chicago International Film Festival, and a gold medal at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Cinematography.[4] Swaham (1994) won the Bronze Rosa Camuna at the Bergamo Film Meeting in Italy.[5][6][7][8] The first 3D film produced in India, My Dear Kuttichathan (1984), was made in Malayalam.[9] The first CinemaScope film produced in Malayalam was Thacholi Ambu (1978).[10]
The first film made in Malayalam was Vigathakumaran. Production started in 1928, and it was released at the Capitol Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram 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.[11] Daniel founded the first film studio, The Travancore National Pictures Limited, in Kerala.[11] A second film, Marthanda Varma, based on a novel by C. V. Raman Pillai, was produced by R. Sundar Raj in 1933. However, after only being shown for four days, the film prints were confiscated due to a legal battle over copyright.[11]
The first talkie in Malayalam was Balan, released in 1938.[12][24][25] It was directed by S. Nottani with a screenplay and songs written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. It was produced by Modern Theatres at Salem in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. 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[26] was the first Malayali producer to venture into this field after JC Daniel. 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. Thus Nirmala set many firsts for introducing play-back singing. P.J. Cherian introduced play-back singing in Malayalam cinema. The lyrics of the film written by G. Sankara Kurup became popular.
During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Kunchacko made significant contributions to Malayalam cinema, both as a producer and as director of some notable movies. He started Udaya Studios in Alleppey (Alappuzha) in 1947, reducing the travel to Madras (Chennai) for film crew and actors. This boosted Malayalam film production in Kerala.[citation needed]
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's first film, Swayamvaram (1972), brought Malayalam cinema to the international film arena. In 1973 M. T. Vasudevan Nair, who was by then recognised as an important author in Malayalam, directed his first film, Nirmalyam, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. G. Aravindan followed Adoor's lead with his Uttarayanam in 1974. K. P. Kumaran's Adhithi (1974) was another film 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 for Swayamvaram (1972), P. S. Nivas for Mohiniyattam (1977), and Shaji N. Karun for Thampu (1979). John Abraham, K. R. Mohanan, K. G. George, and G. S. Panikkar were products of the Pune Film Institute who made significant contributions.[citation needed]
In 1981 Fazil directed Manjil Virinja Pookal the film also introduced then Romantic star Shankar (actor) and later actor Mohanlal to the world. Adoor Gopalakrishnan made Elippathayam in 1981. This movie won the British Film Institute award.[citation needed] The year 1981 also saw the rise of actor Mammootty through the movie Sphodanam directed by P. G. Viswambharan .
In the 1980s Padmarajan made some of the landmark motion pictures in Malayalam cinema, including masterpieces like Oridathoru Phayalvaan (1981), Koodevide (1983), Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam(1985), Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil (1986), Namukku Parkkan Munthirithoppukal (1986), Thoovanathumbikal (1987),Moonnam Pakkam (1988), Innale (1989) and Season (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 visualized to the celluloid version.
The mid of 80s 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.[30]
Some examples are Mathilukal (1990) directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Kattukuthira (1990) directed by P. G. Viswambharan, Amaram (1991) directed by Bharathan, Ulladakkam (1992) directed by Kamal, Kilukkam (1991) directed by Priyadarshan, Kamaladalam (1992) by Sibi Malayil, Vidheyan (1993) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Devaasuram (1993) by I. V. Sasi, Manichitrathazhu (1993) by Fazil, Ponthan Mada (1993) by T. V. Chandran, Spadikam (1995) by Bhadran, Commissioner(1994) The King (1995) by Shaji Kailas, Hitler (1996) by Siddique and Desadanam (1997) by Jayaraj. Due to a series of comedy films produced between the late 1980s and late 1990s made actors like Jagadish, Siddique, Mukesh, Sreenivasan and Jayaram 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 and Siddique-Lal, like Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu, Mazhavilkavadi, Ramji Rao Speaking, Thalayana Manthram, In Harihar Nagar, 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 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, where it was a nominee for the Palme d'Or. Murali Nair's Marana Simhasanam later won the Caméra d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.[31] Guru (1997), directed by Rajiv Anchal, was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars to be considered for nomination in the Best Foreign Film category for that year, making it the first film in Malayalam to be chosen for Oscar nomination. Noted script writer A.K. Lohithadas made his directorial debut with Bhoothakkannadi, for which he won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director.[citation needed]
The millennium started with a blockbuster hit Narasimham starring Mohanlal. 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, Meesa Madhavan (2002) by Lal Jose and Kunjikoonan (2002) directed by Sasi Shanker are examples. Sequels to a number of successful films were made. Some movies were examples of exemplary film making, such as Meghamalhar, Madhuranombarakattu, Nandanam, Perumazhakkalam, and Kaazhcha. In 2008, Malayalam movie artists came together in the multistar film Twenty:20 to raise funds for the AMMA.[32]
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 (2014), which released in 500 screens worldwide on 29 August.[40] Drishyam (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.[41] Later, in 2016, Pulimurugan directed by Vyshak became the first Malayalam film to cross the 1 billion mark at the box office.
In November 2020, Lijo Jose Pellissery's film Jallikattu was selected as India's submission for Oscar for best foreign language film making as third Malayalam film as entry.[43] In 2020 a mid the COVID-19 lockdown, Sufiyum Sujatayum, starring Jayasurya and Aditi Rao Hydari, has become the first Malayalam film to be released on the Amazon Prime Video (OTT) platform as theatres remain shut in Kerala due to the pandemic. In 2021, Drishyam 2, Nayattu, Kala, Joji, The Great Indian Kitchen and Malik made their list in the highest rated 2021 movies in Imdb.
Amma Ariyan (1986) was the first film made in India with money collected from the public. It was produced by Odessa Collective, founded by the director John Abraham and friends. The money was raised by collecting donations and screening Charlie Chaplin's film The Kid.[49]
Film score, which refers to Playback singer in the context of Indian music, forms the most important canon of popular music in India. The film music of Kerala in particular is the most popular form of music in the state.[59] Before Malayalam cinema and Malayalam film music developed, the Malayali eagerly followed Tamil and Hindi 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.[60]
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