Which Malayalam actress has acted in Bollywood movies?

 List of Malayalam actress who has acted in Bollywood movies

1. Nayanthara

Nayanthara has debut in bollywood film Jawan starring Shahrukh Khan and Vijay Sethupathi

2. Asin Thottumkal

Though Malayali background, she is very popular in Tamil and Hindi films

She has acted with mega stars actor in Ghajini (2008) Aamir Khan, Ready (2011) Salman Khan and Khiladi 786 and Housefull 2 Akshay Kumar

3. Shobana

One of the versatile malayalam actress and also dancer Bharatanatyam in 90s time legendary . National award won actress, primarily known for her prolific work in Malayalam Tamil and Telugu cinema. However, she has made notable contributions to Hindi films throughout

In bollywood film industry, her debut film was Classic Amar Prem (1972) as a child artist

Other main lead as an adult actress Mitr My Friend (2002), Apna Asmaan (2007), Mere Baap Pehle Aap (2008)

4. Parvathy Thiruvothu

Parvathy Thiruvothu has starred in two prominent Bollywood films: the romantic comedy Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017) and the mystery thriller Kadak Singh (2023)

5. Nithya Menon

(starred in Mission Mangal, 2018 space mission film, main lead actor Akshay Kumar

6. Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan was born in the Palakkad district of Kerala. However, she is of Tamil descent, belonging to a Tamil Brahmin (Palakkad Iyer) family, and was raised primarily in Mumbai. Her most of the films are bollywood films especially romantic and versatility role, content driven roles.

Her notable film Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Dirty Picture, Mission Mangal

7. Lena

Many of you might unnotice her, she has acted in Airlift (2016) starring Akshay Kumar, her role was Deepti Jayarajan

She portrayed the wife of George Kutty (played by Prakash Belawadi), a conservative and initially complaining Malayali expatriate couple trapped in war-torn Kuwait during the 1990 Gulf War.

Many outsider from other states do not know about Lena, but she is very popular in Malayalam film industry, known for supporting cast, brave character roles.

8. Malavika Mohanan

Malavika Mohanan debuted in Bollywood with Majid Majidi’s critically acclaimed film Beyond the Clouds (2017). She recently expanded her Hindi film presence with the action-thriller Yudhra (2024), where she starred alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi. She primarily acts in Tamil, Malayalam films.

8. Anaswara Rajan

She has acted in Yaariyan 2, main lead actress, She is just New Gen actress from Kerala and has Youth Fan base, Debuted in 2017, Malayalam film Udaharanam Sujatha. Anaswara Rajan has long way to go to showcase her acting skills,

9. Priya Prakas Varrier

Priya Prakash Varrier plays a character named Devi in the 2023 coming-of-age drama film Yaariyan 2, Hindi remake of the Malayalam hit Bangalore Days (2014)

10. Priyamani

Her notable Hindi projects include a key supporting role in Shah Rukh Khan's blockbuster Jawan (2023), a significant part in the true-story drama Maidaan (2024), and the critically praised film Article 370 (2024).

She has appeared in cameo song in Chennai Express Movie (2013)

11. Keerthy Suresh

Though leading Kollywood actress despite Malayali background Keerthy Suresh made her Bollywood debut in the action-thriller Baby John (2024), where she starred alongside Varun Dhawan. The film, which is an official remake of the Tamil hit Theri (2016)

12. Pearly Maaney

Pearle Maaney's only Bollywood movie is the 2020 dark comedy crime film Ludo Directed by Anurag Basu, she played the role of Sheeja Thomas in the film, starring alongside an ensemble cast that included Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, and Pankaj Tripathi. It released on Netflix.

She has acted in Several Malayalam film and other job profile is lyricist, television presenter.

Did Raj Kapoor sing in any of his films?

 Raj Kapoor had always been interested in music. He even learnt to play the tabla, harmonium, sitar etc. In fact, he came in the industry with the ambition of becoming a music director.

In the year 1947, two of his films had songs rendered by the legend himself. Raj Kapoor sang, “O duniya ke rehne walo” in the film Dil Ki Rani.

He plays a famous poet in the film who sings on radio. In fact, the film starts with Raj Kapoor's song on the radio. Same year, Raj Kapoor also sang, “Piya Milne Naveli” in the film Jailyatra.

The following year, Aag was released and as time passed Raj Kapoor eventually realised that his films were elevated by the voice of Mukesh who became his primary on-screen voice.

As time passed, Raj Kapoor got more deeply involved in acting, producing and directing films.

Image(s) Courtesy: Google

Why do films featuring Naseeruddin Shah, like "A Wednesday," often become sleeper hits despite not being mainstream blockbusters?

 Naseeruddin Shah has always given sleeper hits in his career. Nasser, Smita, Shabana and Om Puri were the four pillars of parallel cinema in the 70s and 80s and they gave many acclaimed films some of which also became hits not because of the promotions or star power but by word of mouth. At the very least these films starring Naseer etc ensured that the producers will recover their investment.

Aakrosh (1980): The debut film of Govind Nihlani as a director, Aakrosh is deeply disturbing film with an ending that people may or may not agree with. The film is grim and carried by terrific performances by Naseeruddin Shah Om Puri and Amrish Puri. The film not only won 6 Filmfares and a National award but earned good money at the box office due to terrific word of mouth.

Hum Paanch (1980)- The film was made by a flop producer who was in a debt of 19 lakh rupees. The film had a star cast of largely art cinema (Naseer, Shabana, Deepti Naval) alongside hardly known or new actors (Gulshan Grover, Raj Babbar with Sanjeev Kumar and Mithun as the only known mainstream actor). The result was a critically and commercially successful film. The story was based on Mahabharata and the film received a lot of acclaim translating into commercial success as the film earned 1.90 crores at the box office.

Masoom (1983)- The film went empty screens for 6 days and was removed from one theatre but then on the 7th day the audeonce started walking in due to word of mouth and by the end of its run the film became highly successful film at the box office launching the career of director Shekhar Kapoor and winning a best actor Filmfare for Naseeruddin Shah.

Jaane bhi Do Yaaro (1983)- The film was made on a shoestring budget of just 7 lakhs (for reference Amitabh Bachchan’s Coolie released in the same year was made on a budget of 3 crores). Naseeruddin Shah was the highest paid star of the film who got 15000 for the film. The film was funded by NFDC who paid 6 lakhs to make the film and rest was paid by the makers. The film was highly acclaimed and is considered one of the best comedy films of Indian cinema. The film earned 29 lakhs at the box office despite being released with no publicity and promotion and made some profit for the makers.

Ardh Satya (1983)- Ardh Satya was largely an Om Puri film and Naseer only played a small role. Ardh Satya is one of the most successful art film which was made on a budget of 16 lakhs, sold for 21 lakhs and earned 50 lakhs at the box office. Nobody expected an art film to cross 50 lakhs and therefore it was hailed as a milestone for parallel cinema.

Paar (1984)- The commercial success of Paar was hailed not only because it was a dark film and get succeeded but also because it was released primarily in Bengal territory where it did stupendous business. At that time films were generally considered a success based on their business in the Bombay circuit but the film Paar had a regional flavour and was made by a Bengali maker Gautam Ghose and therefore it responded well with the Bengali audience. The film also gained collections because both the lead pair Shabana and Naseer won National awards for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively which helped in its commercial business.

Another major reference of his sleeper hit must be Jalwa (1987) which became an unexpected hit because nobody expected Naseeruddin Shah to do a mass commercial film with songs and fights and yet deliver a hit. The film became a success collecting 1.75 crores and established Naseer in the commercial cinema as well.

Another film that I would like to mention is Chakra (1981) a very underrated film which fetched Smita Patil a National award for Best Actress and she defeated Rekha for Umrao Jaan to win the Best Actress Filmfare Award as well. Naseeruddin Shah didn't take bath for many days to play a slum dweller and won a best actor Filmfare for his performance. The film won National awards in 1980 which helped the film to attain commercial success when it released in limited screens. Unfortunately the director of the film passed away soon and never made another film.

What are the biggest wardrobe fails in major films?

 In my opinion, there are several significant errors. One error, which stems from modern social conventions, concerns the portrayal of natives from tropical regions.

It's common to see native women in those films wearing bikini-style garments that cover their chests. Historically, this didn't happen in any culture I'm aware of.

In ancient times in tropical areas it was usual to either go bare-chested or use a type of poncho or blanket over them, but not triangular pieces of cloth over the breasts.

It was also much more common that if a genital covering was worn, it did not cover the rear.

In many cultures, men went completely naked, as did unmarried women.

What we see in movies is a sanitized image according to what is considered normal in Western culture (covering the breasts, genitals and intergluteal area).

Depending on the region where the film takes place, there are different examples of what would be considered authentic attire, for example below.

Representation of a Malabar couple (India)

Representation of ancient Taino indigenous people

Representation of Tupinamba indigenous people

Aboriginal people of Australia

Representation of Selknam indigenous people of Patagonia

Guarani Indigenous people

Clothing styles of Mesoamerican tribes

Which Indian actor has more than 1,000 films?

Most answers, of course correctly, has mentioned the living legend of Telugu cinema Brahmanandam garu. To the best of my knowledge there is only one other actor - in fact actress - who had achieved this feat many years ago, and is believed to have acted in 1350 films in a career spanning over five decades.

“Aachi” Manorama with the Thespian Sivaji Ganesan in a still from the 1968 Tamil film “Thillana Mohanambal” - she was sometimes referred to as “Female Sivaji” in recognition of her acting prowess and versatility. She had acted with actors of five generations starting from Sivaji Ganesan and MGR to Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth to Ajith,Vikram and Suriya. She has acted along with all the iconic comedians of Tamil like K.A.Thangavelu, Chandra Babu, Nagesh, Thengai Srinivasan, Surulirajan, “Cho” Ramaswamy to Goundamani, Vadivelu and Vivekh. She has the distinction of having been associated with four chief ministers of Tamil Nadu - C.N.Annadurai, M.Karunanidhi, M.G.Ramachandran and Jayalaithaa and one chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh - N.T.Rama Rao Garu. Apart from doing comedic and character roles Manorama has also been a singer and sung nearly 300 songs in films.

Considering that the female actors have limited shelf life in the male dominated film industry, Manorama’s longevity and the legendary status she commanded were indeed incomparable.

Manorama (Tamil actress) - Wikipedia

She acted in small roles in a few Vairam Nataka Sabha dramas. One time she went to see a drama of S. S. Rajendran , who was residing at Pudukkotai , in Tamil Nadu , and P.A. Kumar introduced her to Rajendran. She showed her skill in dialogue delivery and was offered a job in the S.S.R. Nataka Mandram company and played in hundreds of stage productions all over the district: The dramas included Manimagudam , Thenpandiveeran and Pudhuvellam . She credits her work in Manimagudam as where she was first recognized as an actress. [ 9 ] She then took part in an unfinished film starring S. S. Rajendran and Devika . She migrated from dramas to the silver screen with the role of a heroine in the 1958 Tamil film Malayitta Mangai : Kannadasan was the one to give her the lead role there. [ 10 ] The first film in which she played as an heroine was Konjum Kumari . [ 11 ] From there moving onto comedy in the 60s. In this period she would be given equally challenging roles alongside the well-known comedian Nagesh in 50 films. When asked in an interview as to how she got into films, she quoted: "It's all because of Kannadasan. It was he who changed my life by casting me in the film Maalayitta Mangai in 1957. It was a comical role, and he trusted me so much and said that I will be able to pull it off. I was very doubtful about it, but he told me, "If you are going to act in films only as a heroine, people here will throw you out of the industry after three or four years, but doing such roles will take you places. And you have the talent, too, to reach higher peaks." That is when I got confidence and continued doing comedy roles." [ 8 ] The first time Manorama stood before the camera was for a Sinhalese film named Sukumali in 1957, in which she played a friend of the main hero. [ 12 ] Her dance master Suryakala recommended her to the director Masthaan to play the role. She has acted predominantly in Tamil films since 1958, but also acted in Telugu , Hindi , Malayalam and Kannada movies as well. Her on-screen pair with Tangavelu was appreciated in the film Vallvanakku Vallavan . Her on-screen pair with Nagesh was very popular in the 60s, then with Cho in the 1970s and 80s and later with Thengai Srinivasan , Vennira Aadai Moorthy, and Surali Rajan in the 70s and 80s. [ 13 ] She had done playback singing for 300 songs, mostly centered on herself, in Tamil films. The first song that she sang was in a film called Magale Un Samathu , composed by G. K. Venkatesh [ 14 ] and she got this opportunity due to the producer P.A. Kumar. She has sung a classical-based song with TM Sounderajan in the film Dharshinam (1970), where she was paired with Cho. Manorama would also perform with L.R. Eswari in a song named Thaatha thaatha pidi kudu . Her career's biggest hit songf was Vaa Vaathiyaare Uttaande composed by music director V. Kumar for the film '' Bommalattam ", which was centered around her and Cho. She also sang for M. S. Viswanathan and A. R. Rahman . Some of her best Tamil f

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manorama_(Tamil_actress)

https://web.archive.org/web/20121110132732/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/01/31/stories/2009013152800800.htm

Six decades of Manorama

We take a brief look at Aachi's illustrious career and numerous co-stars over the decades.

https://www.thehindu.com/specials/in-depth/Six-decades-of-Manorama/article60218882.ece

What are some examples of films in India that sparked major controversy and how were they handled?

 Bhakta Vidhur (1921): The First Movie That Was Banned In India Because The Main Character Resembled Mahatma Gandhi. Britishers showed their ‘loyality’ towards Gandhi

The first film in Indian Film ever to face a ban is 'Bhakta Vidur' in 1921. When the film was first shown to the heads of administration, they quickly picked that the actor playing the character of Vidur in it has appeared exactly like Mahatma Gandhi.

In this film, Vidur was played by actor Dwarka Das Nana Das Sampat and he also wore the same clothes as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The government believed that these films could create resentment among people. So the censor board banned the film saying "We know what you are doing. It is not Vidur. We cannot allow it to be released."

The film was made just after the strict “Rowlatt Act” was taken into action by the Britishers. This act legally a d morally allowed the British to arrest Indians without a trial.

A a result, the makers and characters of the film were arrested and were temporary banned for making or acting in films. The film was never shown in India on a large scale, but you could see many theatre acts all over India, ofcourse, after many modifications.

What are some of the best scary films that have been made in recent years? (2010 and onward)

 WARNING: THERE’S PROBABLY A BUNCH OF SPOILERS:

I’ll give a few scary movies from 2010 and on that I adore:

The Babadook (2014):

Some people hate this movie, others love it.

I love it :)

This is one of those modern movies that are actually really scary. There’s a lot of garbage nowadays but this film is scary in several ways. It’s got the scary pop-outs, creepy-looking villains, and ominous music but it’s pretty psychologically damaging. The concept of the movie is that a monster released from a children’s book torments a family (a mother and her young son) and tries to kill them from the inside out. The Babadook’s plan is to possess the mother, murder the dog, and then strangle the son. It’s pretty messed up. I hate mother killing children stories. That f’s my mind up.

How about the fact that the acting is frighteningly accurate too?

The acting in this film is purely amazing!

These actors deserve Oscars for their performances. The amount of screaming, fear, crying, feelings of pure terror, sleeplessness, anger, regret, and different emotions involved in this movie is impressive. They put on a damn good show!

Also, this part is creepy as hell:

The mother has been tormented over and over again by this demon and at this point she just wants to sleep a little bit.

Hell no, she’s not getting that!

At this point, she knows The Babadook’s plan but can’t do anything because it continually possesses her and makes her try and kill her son.

She sits down on the couch to watch some TV and flips to the news channel. There’s a story about a mother who recently murdered her son with a kitchen knife. The camera crew shows the exterior of HER house. They say the mother went crazy and killed her young boy and murdered the dog too, then showing her name on the screen.

If that isn’t creepy enough, the camera zooms into the window, showing her own face creepily staring out:

Seeing a report from the future that you killed your own son is horrifying, then seeing your face looking out the window. What the actual…

Next,

The Conjuring (2013)/ The Conjuring 2 (2016):

I’m not going to go into much detail other than these movies disregard all of the shittiness of modern paranormal movies and make them good again.

They’re both extremely scary and really good films with tons of twists, great characters, and interesting adaptations of ghost stories.

Check them out if you want modern scary.

Next,

You’re Next (2011):

I wouldn’t say this is very scary but it is a great modern horror movie.

It involves a family at a cottage/house for a reunion/vacation when a group of masked hitmen start picking them off and terrorizing them.

It seems like a typical modern movie but these filmmakers are geniuses as they include many twists and deny the modern horror trope of foolish, hopeless victims. The main protagonist is a very intelligent woman who actually takes the bull by the horns in this situation and fights back smart.

This is a great modern horror movie.

Lastly,

Hush (2016):

I saw this on Netflix one night and became extremely intrigued.

This film is about a deaf writer living alone in a house in the woods while a masked killer terrorizes her in her home.

I wouldn’t say this film is too scary either but the concept of being hunted by a killer and not being able to hear is pretty cool.
I will say, you won’t see a movie like this any time soon. It is creative in its concept, interesting, and very fast-moving.

The best part of the movie is that it brings up many more questions than answers and creates hope in the horror genre.