50 Fun Facts About Malayalam Cinema

Which Mohanlal thriller about a cable TV operator was remade in Chinese as Sheep Without a Shepherd?

Drishyam was remade in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Sinhala before its Chinese version reached cinemas in 2019.

Which 1984 children's fantasy from Navodaya Studio was the first Indian film to be shot in 3D?

My Dear Kuttichathan, about three children who free a goblin from a sorcerer, returned to cinemas in Hindi in 1998 as Chhota Chetan, with new scenes, and was a hit all over again.

Which 1993 Fazil thriller inspired the remakes Chandramukhi in Tamil and Bhool Bhulaiyaa in Hindi?

Manichitrathazhu won Shobana the National Film Award for best actress for playing both Ganga and her alter ego Nagavalli.

Which 1989 Malayalam comedy, in which a ransom call reaches the wrong number, was remade in Hindi as Hera Pheri?

Ramji Rao Speaking was the first film by the director duo Siddique–Lal, and it was remade in eight languages, from Tamil and Telugu to Sinhala and Punjabi.

In Nadodikkattu, Dasan and Vijayan sail for Dubai but are tricked into landing in which Indian city?

Chennai is where the boatman Gafoorka drops the pair after promising them Dubai; they swim ashore, change into Arab robes and only then spot signboards in Tamil.

Which Malayalam star, known as the Evergreen Hero, holds a Guinness record for playing the lead in 720 films?

Prem Nazir holds a second Guinness record too: he played opposite the same heroine, Sheela, in 130 films.

Before becoming a film star, Mammootty spent two years in the Kerala town of Manjeri working as what?

A lawyer by training, Mammootty earned an LL.B. from a government college in Ernakulam and practised until films took over.

Which Bollywood actress played Meera in Harikrishnans, a film released with two different endings?

Juhi Chawla's Meera chose Mohanlal in one version and Mammootty in the other, so each star's fans could watch their hero win.

Manjummel Boys recreates a real 2006 rescue of a friend who fell into a deep pit at which Kodaikanal site?

Guna Caves take their name from Gunaa, the 1991 Kamal Haasan film shot there, which brought more tourists to the site.

Which actor, the son of Mammootty, made his screen debut in the 2012 crime film Second Show?

Dulquer Salmaan took a three-month acting course at the Barry John studio before Second Show, in which he played a gangster named Harilal.

Mohanlal won a National Film Award for Vanaprastham as a master of which Kerala dance-drama?

Kathakali runs through the film: Kunjikuttan is admired on stage yet disowned by his upper-caste father, and Vanaprastham also won the national award for best feature.

Kaliyattam, which won Suresh Gopi a National Film Award, retells which Shakespeare tragedy?

Othello becomes Kannan Perumalayan, a Theyyam artist, with the actor Lal as the scheming Paniyan in the Iago role.

In Jallikattu, India's entry for the 93rd Academy Awards, a village spends a day hunting which animal?

A buffalo slips its bindings before the village butcher can slaughter it, and the chase made Jallikattu the third Malayalam film India sent to the Oscars.

Mammootty won a National Film Award for playing which leader in an English-language biopic by Jabbar Patel?

Bhimrao Ambedkar was a part Mammootty hesitated to take, as it meant shaving off his moustache; once in, he promised director Jabbar Patel ten days a month until the film was finished.

Before acting took over, Mohanlal was the Kerala state champion of 1977 and 1978 in which sport?

Wrestling brought Mohanlal a state title around the time he shot his first film, Thiranottam, which took more than 25 years to reach a cinema.

Which 2019 film about four brothers in a fishing village near Kochi features Fahadh Faasil as Shammi?

Kumbalangi Nights made the pompous, chauvinistic Shammi a cult figure, and many of his lines became popular catchphrases.

Which 2015 romance follows Nivin Pauly's George from school to adulthood and introduced Sai Pallavi?

Premam was Sai Pallavi's first major film, and her turn as the college lecturer Malar won her the Filmfare award for best female debut.

Which 2014 Anjali Menon film follows three cousins, Arjun, Kuttan and Divya?

Bangalore Days was remade in Tamil as Bangalore Naatkal and, nearly a decade on, in Hindi as Yaariyan 2.

Which 2015 romance retells the real 1960s love story of Kanchanamala and her sweetheart from Mukkam?

Ennu Ninte Moideen ends with him dying while saving fellow passengers in a boat accident, and Kanchanamala moving into his home as his unmarried widow.

Which Mohanlal thriller about Stephen Nedumpally was Prithviraj Sukumaran's debut as a director?

Lucifer led to a sequel, L2: Empuraan, which Prithviraj again directed while also taking a starring role.

Which film about Karuthamma, a fisherman's daughter, first took the President's Gold Medal to South India?

Chemmeen paired Sheela's Karuthamma with Madhu's Pareekutty, and its songs were composed by Salil Chowdhury to lyrics by Vayalar.

Which maker of the silent film Vigathakumaran gives his name to Kerala's highest cinema honour?

J. C. Daniel produced, directed, wrote, photographed, edited and starred in Vigathakumaran, and is widely recognised as the father of Malayalam cinema.

Which director of Swayamvaram and Elippathayam received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2004?

Adoor Gopalakrishnan pioneered a new wave in Malayalam cinema with his 1972 debut, and his third feature won a British Film Institute award for originality.

In Mathilukal, Mammootty plays which real writer who falls for an unseen woman across a prison wall?

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer wrote the autobiographical novel behind the film, and his fellow inmate Narayani stays unseen from start to finish.

Which Malayalam action star died in 1980 when a helicopter stunt went wrong on the set of Kolilakkam?

Jayan was hanging from the helicopter's landing skids during a retake when it lost balance and crashed.

Which singer, who debuted in Kalpadukal, has won the National Award for best male playback singer eight times?

K. J. Yesudas, known to admirers as Gaanagandharvan, has recorded more than 50,000 songs, and no other male singer has won that national award as often.

Which comic actor won the National Film Award for best actor as Abu, a poor attar seller longing to make Hajj?

Salim Kumar hosted the television comedy show Comicola before entering films, and Adaminte Makan Abu also won the national award for best film.

Which actress made a 2014 comeback in How Old Are You after a long break that began with her marriage?

Manju Warrier first came back as a dancer, performing a Kuchipudi recital at the Guruvayur temple two years before the film.

Which 1989 film stars Mohanlal as Sethumadhavan, whose constable father wants him to be a police inspector?

Kireedam takes its title from the metaphorical crown the villagers of Ramapuram bestow on Sethumadhavan after he takes on the thug Keerikadan Jose.

Which 1995 film stars Mohanlal as Aadu Thoma, a quarry owner at war with his headmaster father?

Spadikam cast Thilakan as the father, who has a teacher fail the boy on purpose in the belief that low grades will make him study harder.

In Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, which stolen item does Fahadh Faasil's thief swallow on a bus?

A wedding chain is the whole case: it belongs to the newlywed Sreeja, who meant to sell it with her husband to pay for a borewell on their land.

Mammootty plays which CBI investigator in a film series that includes Jagratha and Nerariyan CBI?

Sethurama Iyer is said to have been modelled on Radha Vinod Raju, a police officer who later became the first chief of India's National Investigation Agency.

Which Fazil romance gave Kunchacko Boban and Shalini their first lead roles?

Aniyathipraavu was remade in Hindi as Doli Saja Ke Rakhna and in Tamil as Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, with Shalini reprising her part opposite Vijay.

Which 1991 satire has two brothers from rival political parties wreck their retired father's peace?

Sandesam was written by Sreenivasan, who also plays the elder brother, a staunch leftist whose party has just lost the state election.

Which Mammootty film retells a Malabar folk legend so that Chandu, traditionally a cheat, is a good man?

Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha won four National Film Awards, including best actor for Mammootty and best screenplay for M. T. Vasudevan Nair.

Which Padmarajan romance has Mohanlal's Jayakrishnan torn between his relative Radha and the escort Clara?

Thoovanathumbikal was based partly on Padmarajan's own novel Udakappola, and its title means dragonflies in the spraying rain.

Which singer, called Vanambadi in Kerala and Chinna Kuyil in Tamil Nadu, has won six National Film Awards?

K. S. Chithra won the second of those awards for a song in the 1986 film Nakhakshathangal, composed by Bombay Ravi.

Which 1980 romance, Fazil's debut as a director, introduced Mohanlal as the sadistic Narendran?

Manjil Virinja Pookkal was a film of first times: it also introduced the actress Poornima and the composer Jerry Amaldev.

A. R. Rahman's second film as a composer, after Roja, was which Mohanlal adventure set in Nepal?

Yoddha signed Rahman while he was still at work on Roja, after his music for a candy commercial had impressed the director, Sangeeth Sivan.

In the romantic comedy Premalu, Sachin leaves Kerala for a GATE course and falls for Reenu in which city?

Hyderabad was a detour for Sachin, who had planned to move to the UK before tagging along to a friend's exam coaching course.

Which superhero film stars Tovino Thomas as Jaison, a village tailor who dreams of a career in America?

Minnal Murali gives Jaison his powers through a lightning strike, and the story unfolds in the 1990s in the village of Kurukkanmoola.

Which Blessy survival drama stars Prithviraj as Najeeb, a migrant worker left herding animals in a desert?

Aadujeevitham adapts Benyamin's best-selling 2008 novel, which is loosely based on the experience of a real Malayali worker in Saudi Arabia.

Which 1991 comedy about the feuding Anjooran and Aanappara families ran for over a year in one theatre?

Godfather was remade in Telugu as Peddarikam and, thirteen years after its release, in Hindi as Hulchul.

Which Alappuzha studio, founded in 1947 by the producer Kunchacko, was revived by his actor grandson?

Udaya Studios released its first film, Vellinakshatram, in 1949, and Kunchacko Boban brought the banner back in 2016 after a 30-year gap.

Which 1938 film, made by Salem's Modern Theatres, was the first Malayalam film to be released with sound?

Balan was only the third feature in the language, following the silent films Vigathakumaran and Marthanda Varma.

Padayottam, a 1982 Malayalam epic about a betrayed prince, is partly based on which Alexandre Dumas novel?

The Count of Monte Cristo earned Dumas a story credit on the film, which was shot in CinemaScope and then blown up to 70 mm with six-track stereo sound.

Which Mohanlal fantasy, set where everyone is blind, was the first Malayalam film India sent to the Oscars?

Guru had its background score recorded entirely outside India, a first for an Indian film, though the Academy did not nominate it.

Which actress is heard but never seen as Narayani, the woman on the far side of the jail in Mathilukal?

KPAC Lalitha took her initials from the Kerala People's Arts Club, the theatre collective where she began, to set her apart from another actress called Lalitha.

Which Shaji N. Karun film about a father waiting for his missing son won a Caméra d'Or mention at Cannes?

Piravi cast Premji as the father, Raghava Chakyar, and collected at least 31 awards as it travelled the festival circuit.

Which 1961 Eastmancolor drama, directed by T. R. Sundaram, was the first Malayalam film made in colour?

Kandam Becha Kottu was meant for another director until Sundaram chose to shoot in costly colour and took over the direction himself.