Malayalam Director

What is the controversy over film 'Empuraan' for which Mohanlal apologised?

Empuraan, second part of the 'Lucifer' franchise, has become a topic of hot debate over its critique of right-wing politics and the covert mention of the 2002 Gujarat riots

Mohanlal's Empuraan makes history in pre-sales, gears up for grand opening

Mohanlal's 'L2: Empuraan' trailer has already been released, and advance bookings are set to open from today, March 21, 2025, at 9:00 am. The official release date of Mohanlal's film is March 27

Malayalam film industry lost at least Rs 650 crore in 2024, say producers

Though Mollywood has produced a few blockbusters that received a pan-Indian release and reaped huge profit in 2024, only 26 of the 204 films released in the year got a rewarding collection, as per the figures released by the Kerala Film Producers Association. Of the 199 new films and five remastered versions of earlier productions released in theatres for which the industry spent around Rs 1,000 crore, only 26 films got a profit Rs 300-Rs 350 crore from theatres, KFPA secretary A Rakesh told PTI. The figures meant that the industry suffered a loss of Rs 650 crore to Rs 700 crore during the year, he said. All the stakeholders, including actors, should keep strict financial discipline in the Malayalam filmdom to sustain cinema industry, Rakesh said. Only 26 films released this year come under super hit, hit, and average hit categories. These films made a profit of around Rs 300 to Rs 350 crore, while other films could not make any impact in the theatres. He said more than 200 films

Legendary Malayalam writer, 'Jnanpith' awardee MT Vasudevan Nair dies at 91

Noted writer and Jnanpith award winner M T Vasudevan Nair, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital here following heart failure, has passed away, hospital sources said on Wednesday. He was 91. "MT has died," a hospital source told PTI without elaborating. The office of Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed receiving the information about MT's demise. He had been under the care of a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including cardiologists and critical care experts, since his hospitalisation last week.

Men too have 'pride and dignity', not just women: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to veteran actor-cum-director Balachandra Menon in a case accusing him of outraging the modesty of a female actor in 2007 during a film shoot, saying that men too have "pride and dignity" and not just women. The order and observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came while allowing the anticipatory bail plea moved by the actor against whom the case was lodged in September this year after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report. In his plea, Menon had contended that the complaint was made after a gap of 17 years from the date of the alleged incident in 2007 and the intention was to malign his image. The court said there was "force" in his arguments as it was an admitted fact that the alleged incident happened in 2007. "It is an admitted fact that the victim filed the complaint after 17 years of the alleged incident. It is an admitted fact that the petitioner (Menon) is a known cine artist. He directed about 40 fil

HC orders SIT to investigate drug-alcohol abuse in Malayalam film industry

The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the SIT investigating the sexual abuse allegations in the Malayalam film industry to probe the widespread use of alcohol and drugs on film shooting sets and other related work places. A special division bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha, hearing the PIL regarding the Justice Hema Committee report and related matters, directed that necessary steps should be taken, as and when required in the future, to prevent the rampant use of alcohol and drugs at shooting locations and other connected work sites, and said this was in violation of law. The bench directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter and take necessary action as per law. The Justice Hema panel was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry. Following allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation

SC grants interim protection from arrest to actor Siddique in rape case

The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim protection from arrest to Malayalam film actor Siddique in a rape case. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma issued notice to the Kerala government and the victim in the case during the hearing of a plea by Siddique challenging a Kerala High Court order which denied him anticipatory bail. At the outset, the top court asked senior advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the victim, about the reason for the delay in registering the complaint against the actor. The lawyer told the bench that the Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed the shocking harassment and sexual exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, has to be understood in the larger context. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Siddique, submitted that a complaint was lodged in 2024 after a lapse of eight years. On September 24, the high court had rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Siddique in the rape case, saying that in

No power group, but 'strong alliances' in film industry: FEFKA gen secy

B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), on Sunday said there were "strong alliances" in the cinema industry, but he was not aware of any "power group" as mentioned in the Justice K Hema Committee report. Unnikrishnan, speaking to a TV channel, said that it was an "undeniable fact" that there were "strong alliances" of some production houses with certain directors, writers and actors to make big films. "They often work together on several projects back-to-back and naturally, everyone would try to align themselves with them to get opportunities. However, such alliances are based on commercial interests," he said. He also said that such alliances were not confined to Malayalam cinema alone and were present in film industries everywhere. At the same time, he said that there cannot be a secret lobby of different cinema-related organisations which meet periodically to decide who should be isolated from films. "The industry will not be able t

4 actors face sexual abuse allegations, Malayalam film industry in turmoil

A female actor in Malayalam cinema levelled sexual abuse allegations against four prominent male actors, including M Mukesh, on Monday, causing further upheaval in the film industry already reeling from the Justice K Hema Committee's explosive findings of harassment and abuse of women professionals. Hours after the actress levelled the allegations against Mukesh, a CPI(M) MLA, in interviews with news channels, workers from Yuva Morcha and Mahila Congress organised separate marches towards his residence in Kollam, demanding that a case be registered against him and that he resign as a legislator. The Kollam MLA has not responded to the allegations. The female actor also levelled sexual abuse allegations against three other prominent actors in the Malayalam film industry. Meanwhile, actor Maniyanpilla Raju has called for an investigation into the allegations surfacing in the Malayalam film industry. He told reporters that many more revelations will come out, and there will be multipl

Hema committee report fallout: Actor Siddique, director Ranjith resign

Kerala govt forms special team to probe atrocities faced by women in film industry

'Code names for women': Hema committee report shakes Malayalam cinema

The Hema committee, appointed by the Kerala government, highlighted issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, including unwanted physical advances even before commencing work

National Awards: Malayalam movie 'Aattam: The Play' is best feature film

Malayalam film "Aattam: The Play" won the award for best feature film and Sooraj R Barjatya was judged best director for the Hindi movie "Uunchai" in the National Film Awards announced on Friday. The best actress award was shared by Nithya Menon, who got it for the Tamil film 'Thiruchitrambalam', and Manasi Parekh for the Gujarati movie "Kutch Express". The award for best actor went to Rishabh Shetty for the Kannada hit "Kantara". Neena Gupta was best supporting actress for 'Uunchai' and Pawan Malhotra best supporting actor for the Haryanvi film "Fouja". Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee starrer "Gulmohar" won the award for Hindi film. Bajpayee also got a special mention. A R Rahman won the National Film Award for best music director (background music) for his work in Mani Ratnam's "Ponnyin Selvan-Part 1", which was also named the best Tamil film. Pritam got the award for best music director (songs) for "Brahmastra-Part 1". The awards were announced by feature film jury head Rahu

Malayalam cinema gets a new home outside Kerala: Is this boom sustainable?

Its share of the Indian box office has already risen to three times the average for the last many years

No Malayalam film will be given to PVR-owned screen or theatre: FEFKA

The Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) on Saturday said that no Malayalam film will be given to any PVR owned screen or theatre till it compensates producers from the southern state for the loss suffered by them due to the multiplex company not showing films made by them across India. FEFKA general secretary Unnikrishnan B announced the decision at a press conference held here where noted producers like Blessy Ipe Thomas and Vineeth Sreenivasan were also present. Unnikrishnan said that there was an ongoing dispute between PVR and the film producer's association on the issue of virtual print fee (VPF) charged by the multiplex company. The producers' association decided not to give any films to PVR's new screen at Forum Mall till the dispute was resolved, he said. "As a countermeasure, PVR, with a cartel-like strategy, decided not to show any Malayalam film on any of the theatres or screens owned by them across India. This has caused a significant financial loss as well as .

Bramayugam box office collection Day 5: Mammootty's movie collects 30 cr

Mammootty's movie gained highly positive reviews from both audiences and critics. Bramayugam has done phenomenal business worldwide collecting over Rs 30 crore

Oscar 2024: India's official entry '2018' fails to make it to final 15

Malayalam film "2018: Everyone is a Hero", India's official entry in the international feature film category at the 2024 Academy Awards, is out of the Oscars race. The Jude Anthany Joseph-directed film failed to make it to the shortlist of 15 films for the category, which was announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Friday. Jonathan Glazer's historical drama "The Zone of Interest" (UK), Denmark's "The Promised Land", starring Mads Mikkelsen, and "Perfect Days" from Japan are being billed as the frontrunners of the category. The shortlist also includes Amerikatsi (Armenia), The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan), Fallen Leaves (Finland), The Taste of Things (France), The Teachers' Lounge (Germany), Godland (Iceland), Io Capitano (Italy), Totem (Mexico), The Mother of All Lies (Morocco), Society of the Snow (Spain), Four Daughters (Tunisia) and 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine). Films from 88 countries were eligible in the category. The shortlisted movies will advan

Achani Ravi, producer of classic Malayalam movies, dies at 90: Report

Veteran award-winning Malayalam movie producer and industrialist K Ravindranathan Nair, who produced several classic and art house movies, died following age-related ailments, family sources said. He was 90. Popularly known as Achani Ravi in movie circles, Nair was the producer of iconic films directed by legendary filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G Aravindan, P Bhaskaran, A Vincent and so on. An advocate of the New Wave movement in Malayalam films, he was also a recipient of the national and state awards multiple times. After taking over the family cashew business following the death of his father, Ravi, a hardcore movie fan, established a production banner under the name "General Pictures" in 1967, which played a significant role in the Malayalam cinema in the later decades. Sathyan-starrer "Anweshichu Kandethiyilla" was the first film came out under his illustrious movie banner. During 1970s and 80s, Ravi laid a mark in the industry by producing a series of critical

Malayalam director P Ramdas passes away

Malayalam director P Ramdas passes away