The best 20 directors of Malayalam films.
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P. Padmarajan was an Indian author, screenwriter, and film director who was known for his landmark works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. Padmarajan was the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam, along with Bharathan, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed.
Padmarajan was born on 23 May 1946 in Muthukulam near Haripad in Alappuzha district as the sixth son of Thundathil Anantha Padmanabha Pillai and Njavarakkal Devaki Amma. After early schooling at Muthukulam, he studied at M. G. College and University College Trivandrum, graduating with a BSc in chemistry (1963). Subsequently, he learned Sanskrit from the scholar Cheppad Achyutha Warrier at Muthukulam. He then joined All India Radio, Trichur (1965), starting as a program announcer, and later settled at Poojappura, Trivandrum (1968); he would remain at All India Radio until 1986, when his busy involvement in films would prompt him to retire voluntarily.
His stories deal with deceit, murder, romance, mystery, passion, jealousy, libertinism, anarchism, individualism, and the life of peripheral elements of society. Some of them are considered as among the best in Malayalam literature, his first novel Nakshathrangale Kaaval (With only the stars as witness) won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award (1972).
He entered the world of Malayalam films by writing the screenplay for Bharathan's directorial debut Prayaanam (1975) to take first steps to be one of the most talented script writers to have graced Malayalam cinema.
He later began to direct films based on his own screenplays, beginning with Peruvazhiyambalam (The Street as a Choultry) (1979), which are greatly popular among the common people as well as intellectuals and film critics, while maintaining richness in artistic and thematic originality and excellence. Padmarajan was a great experimenter who explored all walks of life in his works. His screen plays had such hitherto-unheard of features and subjects - such as casting rain as a character in Thoovanthumbikal (Dragonflies in the Spraying Rain), friendship between two young school girls in Desadanakili Karayarilla (Migratory Birds Don't Cry), unusual climax (By traditional standards) in Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal (Vineyards for us to dwell) and Oridaththoru Phayalvaan (There Lived a Wrestler). Many of his films bear the mark of his romanticism.
He is celebrated for his possibly unparalleled attention to detail in his screenplays. Some of his scripts are arguably the smoothest narratives ever penned in the Malayalam language. They are also ample proof for his keen observation, acute perception, and astute portrayal of human relationships and emotions. Many of his films have stunning and haunting climaxes, most of them not commonly portrayed in Malayalam movies. His characters were portrayed with great sensitivity and intensity on the screen and many of the scenes are generously sprinkled with humor. The dialogues of characters are quite natural, in the language of the common man, and yet have a subtle lyrical quality.
Indeed, a just case may be made that his directorial merit flowed easily from his exquisitely crafted screenplays: he never directed a film based on a script written by someone else (unlike other Malayalam film directors of comparable stature, say, Bharathan and K. G. George), and rarely adapted his script from a story not his own. Consequently, he had an unusually intimate knowledge of the characters in his films in combination with his mastery of the script.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
K.S. Sethumadhavan was born in 1931 in Palakkad, Kerala, India. He was a director and writer, known for The Other Side (1990), Chattakkari (1974) and Nammavar (1994). He was married to Valsala. He died on 24 December 2021 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Ramu Kariat was born on 1 February 1928 in Engandiyur, Kerala, India. He was a director and writer, known for Chemmeen (1965), Minnaminungu (1957) and Nellu (1974). He died on 10 February 1979 in Trivandrum, Kerala, India.- Director
- Writer
- Composer
Govindan Aravindan was born on 21 January 1935 in Kottayam, Kerala, India. He was a director and writer, known for Esthappan (1980), Vasthuhara (1991) and Oridathu (1987). He died on 16 March 1991 in Trivandrum, Kerala, India.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
- Director
Blessy was born in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. He is known for Thanmathra (2005), Kaazhcha (2004) and Pranayam (2011).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is India's most acclaimed contemporary filmmaker. Born in 1941 in Kerala, a state in south India, he belongs to a family with strong links to the performing arts, especially Kathakali, a highly-stylised form of dance drama. From the age of eight Adoor began acting for the stage, later producing and directing over twenty plays, several written by him. He is the author of two books on the theatre as well as a book on the cinema, "The World of Cinema", for which he won a national award in 1983. In 1962 Adoor enrolled in the Film and Television Institute in Pune and graduated in 1965 with a diploma in Scriptwriting and Direction. The same year he founded the Chitralekha Film Society of Trivandrum as well as the Chitralekha Film Cooperative. Both played a key role in the development of film culture in Kerala. In 1972 Adoor made Swayamvaram/One's Own Choice, his first full-length feature film. It launched the New Cinema in Kerala and became one of the major films of the Indian New Wave. He has since made seven more films (along with over 25 shorts and documentaries), all of which have won major national and international awards: Kodiyettam/Ascent (1977); Elippathayam/Rat Trap (1981); Mukhamukham/Face to Face (1984); Anantaram/Monologue (1987); Mathilukal/The Walls (1990); Vidheyan/The Servile (1993), and Kathapurushan/Man of the Story (1995). Elippathayam received the prestigious British Film Institute Award in 1982; Mukhamukham won the FIPRESCI prize in 1985; Kathapurushan was honoured in India in 1995 with the National Award for Best Film. Retrospectives of Adoor's films have been held in Pesaro, Helsinki, La Rochelle, Nantes, Munich, and New York. All of Adoor's films draw on the history and culture of his native Kerala. Kerala's transition from feudalism to modernity serves as a backdrop to his complex meditations on the psychology of power, the nature of oppression, the corruption of patriarchy, and the coexistence of the modern and the feudal in post-Independence democratic India. Elippathayam, his masterpiece, vividly captures the descent into paranoia of a man trapped within his feudal universe. In Mukhamukham, a study in failed idealism, a Communist leader gives up on revolution and decides to go to sleep instead. Vidheyan, a parable-like story, deals with the abuse of power, the plight of the outsider, and the nature of a master-servant relationship. The more recent films--especially Anantaram, Mathilukal and Kathapurushan--display a new concern with interiority and reflexivity, foregrounding time, memory, consciousness, and the nature of storytelling itself. Adoor's genius lies in his ability to create visually complex films that operate on multiple levels, that are culture-specific and yet universal in significance.- Director
- Art Director
- Writer
Bharathan was born on 14 November 1947 in Vadakkancheri, Trichur, Kerala, British India. He was a director and art director, known for Thevar Magan (1992), Prayanam (1975) and Thakara (1979). He was married to K.P.A.C. Lalitha. He died on 29 July 1998 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
T.V. Chandran was born on 23 November 1950 in Thalassery, Kerala, India. He is a director and writer, known for Dany (2002), Susanna (2000) and Ponthan Mada (1994).- Director
- Music Department
- Writer
Sathyan Anthikad was born on 3 January 1955 in Thrissur, Kerala, India. He is a director and writer, known for Njan Prakashan (2018), Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal (1999) and Thooval Kottaram (1996). He is married to Nimmi Sathyan.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
Sibi Malayil was born on 2 May 1956 in Alappuzha, Kerala, India. He is a director and assistant director, known for Bharatham (1991), Ente Veedu Appuvinteyum (2003) and August 1 (1988). He has been married to Bala Sibi since 1989.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
A.K. Lohithadas was born on 10 May 1955 in Chalakudy, Kerala, India. He was a writer and director, known for Thaniyavartanam (1987), Kasthuriman (2003) and Joker (2000). He was married to Sindhu. He died on 28 June 2009 in Kochi, Kerala, India.- Director
Fazil is known for The Interns (2012).- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kamal was born on 28 November 1957 in Thrissur, Kerala, India. He is a director and writer, known for Celluloid (2013), Megamalhar (2001) and Nammal (2002). He is married to Saburabi. They have two children.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
I.V. Sasi was born on 28 March 1948 in Kerala, British India [now India]. He was a director and writer, known for Eeta (1978), Itha Ivide Vare (1977) and Karimpin Poovinakkare (1985). He was married to Seema. He died on 24 October 2017 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Director
- Cinematographer
- Writer
A. Vincent was born on 14 June 1928 in Calicut, Kerala, India. He was a director and cinematographer, known for Prem Nagar (1974), Naam Pirandha Mann (1977) and Vayanadan Thampan (1978). He was married to Margret. He died on 25 February 2015 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lal Jose, a proficient Indian film maker, was born in Valapad in Thrissur district, Kerala to Jose and Lilly. Later the family moved to Ottapalam owing to personal commitments. Lal Jose did his schooling at NSS KPT School and NSS College Ottapalam. He is married to Leena. The couple has two daughters, Irine and Catherine. Initially he worked as an Assistant Director with Kamal (V) in 16 films, from Pradeshika Vaarthakal (1989) to Krishnagudiyil Oru Pranayakalathu (1997). He worked as an associate director to prominent filmmakers like Thampy Kannamthanam, _Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas_ , Harikumar, Vinayan, K. K. Haridas, and Nizar.
In 1998, he made his debut as an independent director with Oru Maravathoor Kanavu (1998), which starred P.I. Mohammed Kutty (Mammootty) and was scripted by _Sreenivasan (I)_, which turned out be a blockbuster. The huge success of Oru Maravathoor Kanavu earned him a highly dignified reputation. The film was critically and commercially lauded. His next venture was Chandranudikkunna Dikhil (1999), with Dileep as hero, which did well at the box office. In 2001, Lal Jose directed Randam Bhavam (2001) starring Suresh Gopi. In later years, it was widely acclaimed later as one of the best action films in Malayalam.
In 2002 Lal Jose directed Meesha Madhavan (2002) which was a milestone in his career as well as for Indian Cinema. Meesha Madhavan was the biggest hit in Malayalm cinema at that time. Later in 2005, Lal Jose directed _Chathupottu(2005)_, the huge box-office success of which took Lal Jose's career to new heights. In 2006, Lal Jose brought out Achanurangatha Veedu (2006), a hugely critically acclaimed film with a strong message that shook the audience and film lovers alike.
Lal Jose created an obsession in Kerala in 2006 with Classmates (2006), which broke all the collection records in the Malayalam cinema industry till date. In 2007, he did a political film named Arabikkatha (2007), with Sreenivasan in a leading role. Arabikkatha was critically and commercially a big hit. Lal Jose then directed Neelathamara (2009), written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, the receipent of maximum number National Awards in Best Screenplay, and it was a remake of the 30-year-old movie with the same name. It was accepted well by the critics and the masses. He directed a story with Mammootty as lead in Kerala Cafe (2009) in 2010. He then directed the hit film Elsamma Enna Aankutty (2010) without multistars.
In 2012 Lal Jose made Diamond Necklace (2012) which was the debut film of his production house LJ Films and was well received by the critics and film-goers alike. His next film, Ayalum Njanum Thammil... (2012) was very well received by critics and won the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Director for that year; it did well at the box office, too. He teamed up with Mammooty again for Immanuel (2013).
In 2014 he made a commercial blockbuster named Vikramadithyan (2014) and in 2015 he has already made a heroine centric critically acclaimed film named Neena (2015).
Lal Jose is one of the top Indian film makers hugely noted for the kind of films he make and project. He is considered as the innovative film maker who revolutionized the pattern of narration and versatilitily in Indian Cinema.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Ranjith is known for Pranchiyettan and the Saint (2010), Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (2009) and Indian Rupee (2011).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
K.G. George was born on 26 May 1946 in Changanacheri, Kerala, British India [now India]. He was a director and writer, known for Yavanika (1982), Ee Kannikoodi (1990) and Lekhayude Maranam: Oru Flashback (1983). He was married to Selma George. He died on 24 September 2023 in Kakkanad, Kerala, India.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Hariharan entered the Malayalam film industry in 1965, and has so far directed more than 60 films, many of which were highly successful both commercially and critically. His movies have mostly explored the complexities of social issues and human relationships, set in the backdrop of Kerala's rich cultural heritage. His films such as 'Valarthumrugangal', 'Panchagni, 'Nakhakshathangal', 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha', 'Sargam', 'Parinayam' and 'Ennu Swantham Janakikutty' have entered the Indian Panorama of International Film Festival. He has also been honored with a Diploma by the Pyongyan Film Festival of North Korea for 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha'. In 1993, 'Sargam' won him the State Award for the Best Director and also National Award for wholesome and popular entertainment. The film also received special honor at the Fukuoka and Swiss film festivals. His following film, 'Parinayam', won the National Award for social issues and took part in about 7 film festivals across the world. 'Ennu Swantham Janakikutty' was the inaugural film at the Korean film festival (2000), and it also took part in the London film festival(2000).
Apart from these recognitions he has also won the Filmfare and the prestigious Ramu Kariat Awards for his works on multiple occasions.
His latest film, 'Pazhassi Raja', is his most ambitious project yet. It is based on the life of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, the first revolter against the British East India Company. This historical epic, written by one of the most gifted writers of India, 'Jnanapeeth' M.T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by Gokulam Gopalan, will be released on the 15th of August.