Malayalam Movie Review Christian Brothers - Cast & Crew

Shweta Mohan is a female playback singer in Indian cinema who is also the daughter of playback singer Sujatha Mohan. Like her mother, she also had sung in various languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. She was born on 19 November 1985 in Chennai.  In fact, earlier she was a bit hesitant to take up singing as her career. But as she sung, she enjoyed singing very much. Had not she been in singing, she could have opted for doing MBA and got settled other way. 

Kaviyoor Ponnamma is the evergreen mother of Malayalam cinema. Ever since she was just 22, she had been portraying effectively the mother role in Malayalam movies. Even after 55 years of her contribution in silver screen, she continues to play the “evergreen amma” character. Her first offer was in Thommante Makkal (1965) where she played mother to Sathyan and Madhu. After this role, the industry had heaped so much praise on her performance and there was no looking back at all. For her wealth of experience in the industry, she only gets love and acceptance from the viewers. That is why she finds playing mother role in cinema as honor. Actually, she wanted to become a singer in cinema, but her dream did not become true. While she sang songs for the dramas that were staged in Kerala, she could not get such film offers. She performed on stage when she was just 14 years old. Hence, she is always thankful to the theaters which taught her basic in acting. 

She has acted in over 1,000 films, and has won many state awards for her best supporting role in cinema (in the year 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974). She recalls very often that during her time, acting was taken up very seriously and it was just means of livelihood. But the present generation finds acting as passion and pastime job only. While there was some opposition from her mother in taking up acting as her career, it was her father who had supported her fully when she was a stage artiste performer in Kerala. It was just two years before that she had settled in Aluva after shifting from Chennai. In Chennai, she had stayed for 38 years. She also acted as grandmother and mother and appeared in some advertisement. Kaviyoor Ponnamma had acted in the mother role for the actors like Satyan and Prem Nazir. But people recognized her when she did the mother role for actor Mohanlal.

Kavya Madhavan is an Indian artist but shines in the Malayalam cinema. She made her debut in “Pookkalam Varavayi” in the year 1991 when she was a child. As a lead actress she made her appearance in Lal Jose’s “Chandranudikkuna Dikhil” on the silver screen in the year 1999. It was a great hit. She was crowned twice as the best actress for her outstanding performance in “Perumazhakkalam” & “Gaddama” in the year 2004 & 2010 respectively. She was born September 19, 1982 in Nileashwaram in city, Kasargod district in Kerala.

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian actress and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She was born on November 7 1970 in Bangalore, to Dr.Uma Gopalaswamy and M.K Gopalaswamy. She did Master’s Degree in Women’s studies. Her Mother Dr.Uma Gopalaswamy is a Scholar of music who lead Lakshmi to train and take Bharatanatyam as career. Lakshmi received the eminent Kerala State Film Award for the second best actress for her roles in 'Thaniye' in 2007, directed by Babu Thiruvalla. She even appeared in P. T. Kunju Mohammed direction movie 'Paradesi'. She was cast as a dancer possessed by an evil spirit in a dream role in 'Aptharakshaka' directed by P. Vasu, opposite Super Star Dr.Vishnuvardhan, an Indian superstar of more than 200 films in five different languages.  For her magnificent performance in ‘Aptharakshaka’, she has been praised by film goers and critics in the film industry.

She has acted in several Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil films. Lakshmi’s debut was against Malayalam superstar Mammootty in Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu, which also won her the best supporting actress award. Her next film 'Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal' also brought in much applauds for her acting abilities. Her success in Malayalam also got her offers from the Kannada film industry. Lakshmi Gopalaswamy like doing films that incorporate semi classical dance tracks in her movies. She has been performing since the age of twelve.

She was awarded the prestigious Madras Music Academy’s MGR award for Best Young Dancer. She has been presenting her dance performances on different stages worldwide.

Raai Laxmi or Lakshmi Rai is a famous South Indian actress and model. She was born on 5 May, 1989, in Bangalore, Karnataka. She did many ad-films before entering films. She worked as model for Fair & Lovely, Bru Coffee, Sarvana stores, etc., A director saw her talent and gave her a chance to act in a Tamil film. Hence, Raai Laxmi debuted with a Tamil film called Karka Kasadara. After the film she got many film chances and acted in numerous Tamil films. She acted in various genre movies like comedy, drama, and action, simultaneously. She played a comedy role in her next film, Kundakka Mandakka, and her other important films in Kollywood are Dharmapuri, and Nenjal Thodu. Her role as a lawyer in the movie, Dhaam Dhoom, directed by Jeeva, gained her critics appreciation. She won a Filmfare for the same film.

Joshiy is an Indian film director known for his work in the Malayalam Industry.  He has directed more than 80 movies. Joshiy was married to Sindhu. They had a daughter Aishwarya who died in a car accident in 2011 in July in Chennai. The couple has a son named Abhilash, who was married to Varsha. Joshiy was born in Thiruvananthapuram district of Varkala. He started to get related with cinema through the cinema theatre that was owned by their family. In 1969, he completed his first degree and then he went to Chennai for trying his career in cinema. He began his career while working as an assistant for ‘M. Krishnan’. He made his directorial debut with the film “Tiger Salim” that got released in 1978. After that he directed the movie “Moorkhan” and later “Raktham”.

Dr. A.V. Anoop is a Tamil and Malayalam movies producer and actor, and he is the Managing Director of the AVA Group as well as that of AVA CHOLAYIL HEALTH CARE PVT. LTD and AVA PROPERTIES PVT. LTD. He is the director of AVA GULF TRADING FZCO, Dubai, UAE as well. He is also the chairman of MAAC POWER RENTING A EQUIPMENTS LLC, Abu Dhabi, UAE. He was born on 30th April 1962 (57 years) in Thrissur, Kerala. He is a brilliant actor and businessman. He has received a total of 2 National Awards, 3 State Awards, 7 Business Awards and, 3 Social Service Awards.

Siby K Thomas is famously recognized as a producer, screenplay, and dialogue and story writer by profession in the Malayalam film industry. He is best known for his works with Udaykrishna in the Malayalam cinema. Most of their works come under the category of the slapstick comedy genre. They collectively wrote the scripts of the films like Mattupetti Machan in 1998, Udayapuram Sultan in 1999, Dhosth in 2001, CID Moosa in 2003, Runway in 2004, Kochi Rajavu in 2005, Thuruppu Gulan in 2006, Twenty:20 in 2008, Pokkiri Raja in 2010, Christian Brothers in 2011 and Mayamohini in 2012.

Udaykrishna was born in Kerala, India. He is a professional screenwriter. Udaykrishna preferably works for the Malayam industry. He started his career as an assistant screenwriter A.R.Mukesha. By his efforts and skills, he was later promoted to work as an sub-director under Ali Akbar, K. Madhu, A Venu, B. Nair, and Balu Kiriyath. He wrote two scripts for Hitler Brothers and Mayajalam for Sandhya Mohan and Balu Kiriyath. Udaykrishna even acted in his first film as a thief. Both were a flop in the industry. Soon, after working hard upon the piece of work he made it for Mattuppetti Machan, which was directed by Jose Thomas. The next was Udayapuram Sulthan. Then cames the movie Sundrapurushan, which was a so-called success.

Anil Nair is an Indian-Cinematographer. He primarily works in the Malayalam Film Industry. He also wants to get into the Tamil and the Telugu Film Industry. He is a hardworking, and a dedicating person. He has worked in some of the hit movies which are named as Chila New Gen Nattu Visheshangal, and Sootharakkaran. He has developed a passion for Cinematography from his childhood.

Deepak Devraj Komath is the original name of Deepak Dev, an Indian music director. He has composed songs predominantly in Malayalam cinema. His music is flawless in terms of sound quality. His music has a distinct quality in it and this has created a new trend in Mollywood. Deepak has several superhit songs to his credit.

Rajamani is a late music director who had been associated with music in every form right from his childhood. Music had run in his generation, and his father and grandfather too were renowned musicians in Malayalam industry. Not many know he is associated with over 700 movies in providing background score and has recorded in more than ten language movies. 

Nikhil Mathew is an Indian playback singer, who usually works for Tamil and Malayalam films and is known for his award winning hit song , Azhanlinte Azhangalil. Born to a Christian family on 23rd October 1983, he hails from Kottayam, Kerala. In 2006, he won the Airtel Super Singer on Vijay, which earned him his breakthrough song Enayudhire, under music composer Harris Jayaraj for the Tamil film Bheema. Nikhil Mathew’s parents are Dr. A.V. Mathew and Saly Mathew who currently live in Kottayam. He married Meena, who comes from a Brahmin family, and lives with her in Chennai. Mathew completed his school and graduation in Kerala before moving to Chennai for MBA at Satyabhama Deemed University. Mathew was passionate about music from a very young age and had a habit of memorizing Tamil songs.

Ranjith is a very famous and versatile south Indian singer. He has a vibrant personality and can make the crowd tap their feet with his energetic songs, can make them emotional with his soothing voice and is a mass entertainer. He was born on February 21, 1977. He is a very well-known playback singer and has worked for many films. He is mainly working for the Karnataka, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam film industries. Ranjith was born in a Malayali family, in Chennai. His family belongs to a small town, Kalluvazhi, Kerala. Ranjith grew up listening to various types of music he stayed in a society where social-programmes were a trend. The localities used to participate in these programmes. Once, a family friend suggested training Ranjith for classical music.

Shankar Mahadevan, a well-renowned, talented and famous music composer, and singer. An accomplished musician in Tamil cinema, he is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that provides music to Bollywood and other International films. He has won various Indian and multiple National Film Award. His most famous albums include, “Breathless“- Album that first gave him fame, including the song, "Breathless," in which he sings throughout the whole song without pausing to breathe and “Nine” - Nine is Shankar's most recent album. Each song is a representation of a "mood," including joy, sadness, love, etc. He was also invited by UNESCO and the US State Department to perform at the UN General Assembly Hall for the finale of the International Jazz Festival on 30 April 2012 which is a thing of pride. Shankar has always considered himself as a restless student wanting to learn more every time. He says he’s thirsty and want to learn every time and experiment with something new. He wants to be a perfectionist. Shanker also feels that Karnatak music is the most powerful form of music and he himself started with Karnataka classic which he says is the best to create a prominent base for music. Music is the thing which excites Shanker the most, and he would always be attached to it. Personal Life: Shanker Mahadevan was born in Chennai to a Tamil family but was later brought to Mumbai and was raised there. Being born into a Tamil family and later raised in Mumbai, he knows both Hindi and Tamil language but is not well versed with Tamil and Malayalam. He finished his schooling from OLPS High School in Chembur and his engineering in computer science from R.A.I.T (D Y Patil, Navi Mumbai). His wife, Sangeeta is Maharashtrian and oldest son Siddharth Mahadevan. Also, a singer, made his debut on the 2013 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’s song, Zinda. Shankar’s youngest son, Shivam Mahadevan, also a singer made his debut in 2013 in the movie Dhoom 3’s song, Bande Hain Hum Uske. Mahadevan is fluent in Marathi, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and English.

An award-winning celebrity who belongs to the South-Indian cinematic universe, Ranjan Abraham is known for his work in many highly acclaimed Malayalam films. Having edited over a hundred Malayalam movies, several of his works have won numerous awards at the national level. The respected filmmaker has thousands of fans all across Kerala as well as most of the South-India. Born in 1977, Thuruppugalaan, Kerala, India he has played the role of producer & director on more than a few occasions. He has been an active member of the Malayalam film industry since 1999.

Malayali by birth, Suresh Gopinath, also known as Suresh Gopi, is a homebound film actor and also shows keen in music, and is a singer by profession too. Suresh was born into a Hindu Nair family. He was born in Kollam to Gopinathan Pillai and Gnanalakshmi Amma. Suresh has featured in about 200 Malayalam Films. The movie Kaliyattam in the year 1997 had got him the National Film Award for the best actor category. Later on, he became the host of the show named Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran, which was aired on Asianet.

When Babu Antony (real name Bob Anthony) holds up his report card it looks to be a very impressive one and more than his 175 plus movies in 6 different languages, what stand out are his other attributes in the nonfilm and academic domains. Apart from a degree in English Literature and a Masters in HRM, he was also captaining the University Volleyball and Athletic teams, justifying all of his six ft. Plus height and 185 lbs build and teaching martial arts as well in college days. It was Bharatan, one of the successful directors of that time who got him into films in 1986, launching him with “Chilampu” on an impressive career with several hits and critically acclaimed films, including some that got recognition in international forums. Being basically from Kerala his prime focus has obviously been Malyalam films, and he has an impressive record to boot. Out of the 31 movies chosen to showcase 75 years of Malayalam movies, two of Babu’s movies (“Vaishali” and “Sayahnam”) were also chosen alongside so many other big names in the industry. Coincidentally both the films had a mythological basis, the former being based on the Mahabharata, while the latter is in the Old Testament. He has had several hits to his name and that too in several languages, including action movies like “Chanda”; “Hathya” etc. and multi-lingual versions like “Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal” made in Hindi as well as 4 Southern languages. He had a brief respite from films in between, but soon made a comeback through the 2012 film “Grandmaster” featuring the famous Mohanlal as his co-star. However, in his own estimation it was “Aparahnam” which gave him maximum satisfaction. Here he portrays the role of a terrorist who is suffering from a dilemma about his purpose in life. Some of his later hits include the double version “Kanchana” in Tamil and Telugu, as well as “Ek Deewana Tha” in Hindi, amongst many others. And finally, he is also giving free rein to his versatility by taking up the direction of a Malayalam film entitled “Piano”.

The tall, dark and handsome Biju Menon started his acting career from the small screen. He acted in serials like Mikayelinte Santatikal and Ningalute Swantam Chandu. Mikayelinte Santatikal focused on the life of a family and their complex relationships. 

 In movies, he started with villain roles, second hero roles, and character roles and then graduated to main hero roles. Biju Menon married actress Samyukta Varma, and they have a son Daksh. Biju and Samyukta have acted together in a couple of movies during which they developed a likeness for each other. After the marriage, Samyukta decided to quit her acting career to become a full-time homemaker. Biju Menon resides with his family at Trichur. Their love and relationship is going strong day by day. 

Born in September 1974, Biju is the fifth son of PNB Pillai and Malathi. He had an inclination towards arts since early childhood. He did suffer a brief setback in his career towards the late nineties and early years of 2000, but he slowly found his own place in the industry through unique roles. The combination of Biju Menon and actor Kunchacko Boban has been a hit in the industry. Some of Biju’s recent successful movies include Velli Moonga, Bhaiya Bhaiya, Mannar Mathai Speaking (double role), Kalimannu, Romans, and Chettayess. He has also performed in Telugu and Tamil movies. Biju Menon’s strong and masculine voice is a unique trait which sets him apart from his colleagues.

Dileep was born in Kerala as Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai in the year 1968. His career started as an assistant director to Kamal. He was named as Dileep through the character he performed in his debut movie. His debut movie as a hero was in the year 1994 through Manathe Kottaaram as Dileep. Sallapam and Punjabi House made him get popularity among the Malayalam audience. Before his film entry, Dileep was a mimicry artist. He worked in Kalabhavan too.

Harisree Ashokan is a well-known Mollywood Actor, who is known for his comical roles in movies. Before taking the step to act in Films, Harisree first joined the Kalabhavan of Cochin, as a mimicry artist. The legendary Actor Jayaram was also a part of the Kalabhavan. Ashokan’s birth name is Babu, and he was born in Thrissur, in Kerala. He studied till his Tenth Standard in Ernakulam and then went to Cochin to complete his schooling. He came back to Thrissur to gain a Diploma in the field of Telecom Engineering.

Jagathy Sreekumar, a famous Indian film actor known for his comedy roles. His original name is Sreekumar Achary known by his screen name Jagathy. Sreekumar was born in 1951 in Jagathy, Trivandrum.His father was a drama artist, and he worked for all India radio. He did his schooling in Trivandrum and completed his graduation from Mar Ivanious College Trivandrum. He first started his career as a medical representative and due to his immense passion towards the film, he turned to the film industry and became an actor.

During his school and college days itself, he acted in dramas and play and became a theater artist. He started his film career in the movie Chattambi Kalyani directed by J Sasikumar in 1975.After that, he did small roles, and later he became popular for his comedy roles. In 1976 after his after Jagathy married to Mallika Sukumaran and Jagathy at that time was at the starting stage of his career. Mallika was a lead actress in the industry also. Later they got separated, and Jagathy continued with his acting. Jagathy mentions his father as a strict person and in interviews, he always mentions about his father.Jagathy film journey continued and in 1979 he again married Kala, and the couple had a daughter Sreelakshmi. Later in 1984, the relationship ended with a divorce. Kalpavriksham, Madalasa, Ethoruswapnam, Pappu, Munettam, Adipan, Yavanika, Ayityham, Jaalakam, Shikkar, Naayika, Udayananu Taram, etc. were his famous hits. In 1984, Jagathy again married Shobha and has one son and daughter.

Jagathy directed two films in Malayalam Kalyanaunnikal and Annakutty Kodambakkam Vilikunu. 1990's Jagathy Kalpana combination was a hit and almost all films the pair joined. He wrote the screen play for the movie champion Thomas in 1990.Apart from all these Jagathy also tried his luck as a playback singer and sung almost five songs in Malayalam.

Jagathy got many awards for his performance, and he is in Guinness book of world records for completing 1500 films .he got 5 Kerala state film award,2 Kerala film critics award, Bahadoor Award in 2003, Prem Nazir ward in 2005, etc. He got The Kochi Times Film Award for his negative role in the movie Urumi.

During the peak point of his career in 2012 Jagathy met with an accident while returning to his house after film shoot. Jagathy was hospitalized over 1 year and is still recovering from his injuries. There is only one Jagathy in Indian cinema and nobody can ever replace his place.   The name Jagathy Sreekumar echoes in the mind of every malayalee audience and all are waiting for his comeback.

Salim Kumar is a person who deserves the title of a film legend. He was born on 1969 in Kerala to parents Gangadharan and Kausalya. He has worked in nearly two hundred and fifty films, mostly in Malayalam and is a very popular public figure in Kerala. He did his higher education in BA from Maharajas College in Ernakulam, which has a reputation for nurturing budding artists. During his course at Maharajas, he had won the University title for mimicry three years in a row.

Sooraj Venjaramoodu was born on 30th June, 1976 in Kerala. He is an Indian actor, television presenter, and comedian. He has acted in over 250 films. His father is a retired soldier and, his mother is a housewife. Sooraj began his career as a stand-up comedian. He was successful in this and was most famous for his mockery of the Thiruvananthapuram accent. At first, when he started his acting career, he was not well- accepted by the audience.

Suresh Krishna is a noted actor in the South Indian Film and movie industry who mostly works in Malayalam and Tamil TV serials and movies and is known for his portrayal of strong negative characters. Suresh Krishna was born on April 5 to Balakrishna Panicker and Parvathy who hails from Guruvayur also known as Dwarka of South in Kerala, India. Suresh Krishna was born, brought up and educated in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.

Bio coming soon...