- Ramya Krishnan
Ramyakrishnan (also spelt Ramya Krishnan) (born: September 15, 1967) is one of the successful multilingual actresses in commercial Indian cinema. She has over 200 films to her credit. She also holds a rare record of acting in five languages, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. She has played such diverse roles as glam-doll, caring wife, devoted mom, arrogant vamp and goddess.
- Balan K. Nair
Balan K. Nair was a Malayalam language film actor from India. He appeared in the 1981 film "Elippathayam" (The Rat Trap), an allegory about the collapse of the feudal system in Kerala. He won a national award for the best actor in 1981 for the Malayalam movie Oppol. He was born on 4 April 1933 in Chemmencherry in Calicut, India. His father Raman Nair was a store owner and his mother Devaki Amma was a housewife.
- S. Janaki
S. Janaki (born April 23, 1938) is an Indian playback singer. She has sung in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Janaki is also a lyricist and a music composer. A devotee of Lord Krishna and Shirdi Sai Baba, she spends a lot of time praying and has also released devotional music cassettes on Meera.
- Anant Nag
Anant Nag is an actor and politician from Karnataka, India. In addition to Kannada movies, he has acted in Marathi, Malayalam and Hindi movies. He has also acted in Malgudi Days, directed by his younger brother Shankar Nag based on the stories by R.K.Narayan. His work was much appreciated by critics at that time. He is right now a politician.
- O. V. Vijayan
Ootupulackal Velukkuty Vijayan (July 2 1930-March 30 2005) was an Indian author and cartoonist, an important figure in modern Malayalam literature.
- Hariharan
Hariharan (born 3 April, 1955 in Puthan Theruvu (Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, & Telugu movies, an established "ghazal" singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music.
- G. Sankara Kurup
G. Sankara Kurup, (born June 3, 1901, Nayathode, Kerala, India - February 2, 1978, Trivandrum, Kerala), better known as Mahakavi G (The Great Poet G), was the first winner of the Jnanpith Award, the Government of India's highest literary award. He won the prize in 1965 for his collection of poems in Malayalam "Odakkuzhal" (The bamboo flute, 1950). With part of the prize money he established the literary award Odakkuzhal in 1968.
- Mukesh
Mukesh is a popular Malayalam film actor. Born in 1956 at Kollam. He entered the Malayalam film industry through the movie 'Balloon' in 1982. Since then, Mukesh has acted in numerous movies and has been successful in doing romantic roles blended with comedy, which continues to be well received by the audience. His popular movies include 'Godfather', 'In Harihar Nagar', 'Ramjirao Speaking' and 'Mannar Mathai Speaking'. Mukesh is the son of famous stage actor, …
- G Aravindan
Govindan Aravindan was a film director from Kerala, India. He was often credited as G. Aravindan.He was also a famous cartoonist. Aravindan directed films in Malayalam language. He won the National Film Award (Golden Lotus Award) for Best Direction in 1978, 1979 and 1987. His 1986 movie "Chidambaram" won the Award for Best Film.
- Shaji N. Karun
A graduate in cinematography from the FTII, Pune, Shaji N. Karun started working with notable directors like G. Aravindan, K. G. George and M. T. Vasudevan Nair as a cinematographer. His camera work, especially the films of Aravindan from Kanchana Seeta to Chidambaram, for some defines the look of Kerala's New Wave Cinema. Shaji made his directorial debut with the Malayalam film "Piravi" ("The Birth",1988), …
- Kamala Das
Kamala Suraiya, better known as Kamala Das, is a well-known female Indian writer writing in English as well as Malayalam, her native language. She is considered one of the outstanding Indian poets writing in English, although her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography. Much of her writing in Malayalam came under the pen name Madhavikkutty. She was born on March 31, 1934 in Malabar in Kerala, India.
- K. R. Narayanan
Kocheril Raman Narayanan (Malayalam: കോച്ചേരില് രാമന് നാരായണന്; 4 February 1921 - 9 November 2005), also known as K. R. Narayanan, was the tenth President of the Republic of India. He is the only Dalit and the only Malayali to have held the Presidency.
- Sathyan Anthikkad
Sathyan Anthikkad is a Malayalam film director known primarily for family based mainstream movies. He has created many hits, especially when working with Sreenivasan as the scriptwriter.
- Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan
Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan Malayalam തുഞ്ചത്തു് എഴുത്തച്ഛന് (commonly known as Thunjath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan) is considered as the "Father of the Malayalam language". He was born around 450 years ago in Malappuram district of Kerala, south India. His real name is not known; of the many names attributed to him, Ramanujan is the most popular.
- Cochin Haneefa
Cochin Haneefa is an Indian actor. He started his career in 1970's as a villain and turned to be one of the popular comedians of Malayalam film industry. He has done more than 300 films in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi.
- Amala
Amala Akkineni is a famous yesteryear South Indian film actress, who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Amala was born in Bengal to an Iirish Mother and Bengali Father. Her original name is Amala Mukherji. She has an elder brother and sister. She was educated in Kalakshetra, Madras. She was a Bharatanatyam dancer by profession. She made her debut in a Hindi horror film Cheekh in 1985, which was an average grosser.
- E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, (Malayalam: ഏലങ്കുളം മനക്കല് ശങ്കരന് നമ്പൂതിരിപ്പാട്) (June 13, 1909 - March 19, 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala.He was renowned as a socialist and a Marxist theorist. EMS was born on June 13 1909, the son of Parameswaran Namboodirippad, at Elamkulam, …
- Changampuzha Krishna Pillai
Changampuzha Krishna Pillai (1911-1948) was a writer of Malayalam poetry. He was from Kerala, India. He is most famous for his pastoral elegy "Ramanan", written in 1936, which sold over 100,000 copies. Changampuzha is popular in Malayalam. "Ramanan", written in the romantic tradition, remains a best seller. It is a long romantic poem based on the life of Changampuzha's friend Edappally Ragahavan Pillai.
- Madhavi
Madhavi Born in 1962 is a famous South Indian film actress, who played the heroine role for 17 years in five languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Director K. Balachander introduced her in a supporting role in his superhit Telugu film "Marocharithra" (1979). She repeated her role in the Hindi remake Ek Duje Ke Liye (1981), which became the top grossing hit of 1981.
- Bharath Gopi
Bharath Gopi (also spelled "Bharat Gopy") is a Malayalam language film actor and winner of India's National Film Award for Best Actor (known as Bharath award at that time) for "Kodiyettam". He was born in 1937 in Chirayankil, Thiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum), Kerala, India. His real name is V. Gopinathan Nair. His first movie was Adoor Gopalakrishnan's "Swayamvaram" in 1972. He has also acted in two Hindi movies, "Aghat" and "Satah se udta admi".
- Satchidanandan
K. Satchidanandan (born May 28, 1946) is a well-known Malayalam poet, whose works bring subtle poetic verses to a contemporary political context. He was born in Thrissur district of Kerala, India. There are more than 50 books including translations on his credit. Through his powerful translations, he introduced many of the international radical voices like Antonio Gramsci and Pablo Neruda to the readers of Malayalam literature.
- Kunchacko Boban
Kunchacko Boban is a popular Malayalam actor. He is the grandson of famous film producer Kunchacko of erstwhile Udaya Studios Alappuzha. He started his career through a superhit Malayalam film "Aniyathipravu" in 1997. His role in the film Harikrishnans made him one of the top actors of Malayalam industry. He married Priya Ann Samuel on 2 April, 2005. He has acted in about 30 films in Malayalam.
- Mano
Mano is an Indian playback singer. He sings in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi.
- Adithya
Adithya, born on 6 April, is an Indian movie actor who appeares in Tamil and Malayalam films.
- Manikuttan
Manikuttan is an upcoming South Indian actor. His first film appearance was in the Malayalam language film Boyfriend directed by Vinayan. Before entering the film industry he played the central role in a serial titled "Kayamkulam Kochunni".
- Jayasurya
Jayasurya is an upcoming South Indian actor. He started his career as a comedian and then turned to an actor. He had played several films in Malayalam and Tamil. His first film is "Oomapenninu Uriyaadapayyan" in Malayalam. He worked with great actors of Indian film including Kamal Hassan, Mammootty etc.
- V. Balakrishnan
V. Balakrishnan (b. in Katappattoor near Pala, 13 February 1932; d. at Pala, 2 August 2004) was a prolific Malayalam writer and translator of texts between Malayalam and English. He participated in the Indian independence movement, which resulted in his expulsion from college.
- K. G. Balakrishnan
Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan ("Malayalam language": കൊനകുപ്പക്കാട്ടില് ഗോപിനാഥന് ബാലകൃഷ്ണന്, b. at Thalayolaparambu, near Vaikom, in Kottayam, Kerala, 12 May 1945) known as K. G. Balakrishnan, is the thirty-seventh Chief Justice of India. He is the only Dalit and the only Malayali to become the Chief Justice of India.
- Clemente Peani
Clemente Peani, also known as Clemens Peanius and Clemens di Gesù, was a member of Congregatio de Propaganda Fide who was involved in the preparation of "Alphabetum grandonico-malabaricum sive samscrudonicum", published in 1772 by the congregation's press. Clemente spent several years in Kerala where he devoted himself to mission work and a study of Malayalam, a Dravidian language.
- Oyyarathu Chandumenon
Oyyarathu Chandumenon (also known as O. Chandumenon) (1847-1899) was a Malayalam novelist who wrote "Indulekha" in 1889, the first Malayalam fictional work which met with all the requisite characteristics typical of a novel according to a widely accepted Malayalam literary convention. It is not the first novel per se, as Kundalatha (a much inferior work) by Appu Nedungadi pre-dates it by a year.
- K. Ravindran
K. Ravindran is a noted Malayalam film maker, travel writer and critic. He directed three feature films: Harijan (in Telugu), Iniyum Marichittillatha Nammal, Ore Thooval Pakshikal (in Malayalam) and more than six award winning documentaries. He published seven travelogues and a book on film which bagged the Kerala state award for the best writing on film. He is one of the most respected culture and media critics in Malayalam.
- Hameed Chennamangaloor
Hameed Chennamangaloor is a progressive Muslim intellectual, writer in Malayalam language and contributor to Malayalam magazines in Kerala, India. He is a critic of religious fundamentalism and fanaticism. Born to Areepattamannil Abdul Salam of Chennamangallur and Katheeshumma of Perumanna in 1948, Hameed Chennamangaloor had his early education at Chennamangallur and Mukkam. After getting his B.A. and M.A. degrees, he began his career as a probationary officer in State Bank of Travancore.
- Baburaj
Mohammad Sabir "Baburaj" was a Malayalam music composer. He is often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music.
- Kanika Subramaniam
Divya Venkatasubramaniam (born 3 July 1982) is a Tamil actress. Her screen names include Kanika in Tamil & Malayalam (also misspelt as "Kaniha, Kaniga" or "Kanihaa") and Shravanthi in Telugu & Kannada. She completed her engineering degree at BITS Pilani during which she acted her first two movies. She became a full time actress thereafter. She has acted in Telugu Malayalam and Kannada movies, …
- Pisharoth Rama Pisharoty
Pisharoth Rama Pisharoty (Malayalam: പിഷാരത്ത് രാമ പിഷാരടി ;February 10, 1909 - September 24, 2002) was an Indian physicist and meteorologist, and is considered to be the father of remote sensing in India.
- Baby Halder
Baby Halder (or Haldar) (born 1973 or 1974 in West Bengal) is an Indian housekeeper and author whose autobiography "Aalo Aandhari" or "A Life Less Ordinary" (ISBN 81-89013-67-X) describes her harsh life. Abandoned by her mother at age 7, raised by a neglectful father and married off at age 12, …
- Manya
"Manya" is a South Indian actress. She started her career through Kannada films and was introduced to Malayalam by famous director Lohitadas in Joker opposite Dileep. She had acted a number of films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
- Savad Rahman
P.K. Savad Rahman is the winner of Development Journalist of Asia Award from Asian Development Bank Institute. Mr. Savad was born in 1979 in Kerala, India. His focus is on human rights and environmental issues. Savad Rahman is working as a subeditor of "Madhyamam" the Malayalam daily newspaper.
- V. T. Induchoodan
V.T.Induchoodan (d. 2002) was the son of Rama Varma and Nanikutty Amma of Thaiparambil House of Vadasserry near Kodungallur, Trissur District, Kerala, India. He was the son-in-law of the Great Malayalam Poet Vallathol Narayana Menon (Mahakavi Vallathol). He was an ardent Communist and was the Editor of "Desabhimani", official news paper of the Party for some time. Later he left the Communist Party. He was a famous writer in Malayalam and English.
- Ravisankar
Ravisankar (Malayalam: ര&;#3381;ിശന്ക൪) is an Indian playback singer. He has about 100 recorded songs to his credit in Malayalam. With his sweet and romantic voice, he has been creating memorable music for several years.