Malayalam Movie Review Mikhael - Cast & Crew

Stephy Zaviour is one of the top Malayalam film industry costume designers. She was born and brought up in Wayanad, Kerala, India. Wayanad is a small district in Kerala so she was not much familiar with cinema but she was fascinated by the film industry and costumes. She went to Bangalore for her Higher education and there she met some industrial experts.

Manjima Mohan is an Indian film actress who has mostly worked in Malayalam cinema. She did her first movie when she was just five with the movie Kaaliyoonjal in 1998. She did her secondary education from Nirmala Bhavan Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Versatile and talented, Shanthi Krishna is an actress who is also one of India’s leading Bharatha Natyam dancers. She is most popular for her exceptional work in the Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada movie arena, having also won the prestigious Kerala State Film Award for best actress in 1994.

Born to parents R. Krishan and Sharada in Mumbai, her Tamil Brahmin roots only strengthened her foray in to Malayalam movies where she earned several accolades. Her career with the movie industry began with the Malayalam movie Shalini Ente Kootukaari.  Her success was also seen in movies including Chaoram, Ennum Nanmakal, Pakshe, Visa, Ithu Njangalude Katha, Saagaram Santham, Mangalam Nerunnu  among others.

Her career has spanned nearly 32 years, from 1980 with her Malayalam Debut in Shalini Ente Koottukari, to her last movie in 2012, Karppoora Deepam and has included Pandu Pandoru Rajakumari, Sriman in Malayalam; Lalli in Kannada; and Nerrukku Ner, Manal Kayiru, Panneer Pushpangal, and others in Tamil.

She has acted opposite several of the leading actors in the south including Mohan lal, Srinath, Siddique, Mammootty, Srinath, Venu Nagavally, Balachandra Menon, and Devan. She is however, remembered most for her pairing against her ex-husband Srinath.

She is a trained classical dancer, and performs in various events in temples, and other concerts. She currently works with her husband as the Director for Cultural Activities at the Rajiv Gandhi Group of Institutions where she promotes Indian dances and programs. She has won several awards of note as an artist, but as an actress, she won one award for her role in Chakoram, where she won the Best Actress Award in 1994. She also won the Second Best Actress award for her role in the movie Savidham.

Haneef Adneni was born on 30th June in the year 1987 in Thrissur, Kerala, India. Haneef is an Indian film director and screenwriter in Malayalam cinemas. He currently lives in Kochi, Kerala, India. Haneef did his schooling from his hometown itself. Haneef started his career in the year of 2017 as is shining till the date.

Anto Joseph is famous for producing spectacular films in the Malayalam cinema. He is the founder of the film making company called ‘Anto Joseph Film Company.’ He recently produced the film ‘Take Off’ which gained immense popularity. The movie showcased the ordeal of Indian nurses from the city of Tikrit in Iraq. The movie is hard-hitting and has a strong social message attached to it and that is what helped it to do a business of about 30 crores. Anto Joseph has produced a number of films and most of the time the list of films he produced in a year went over two movies.

Nivin Pauly is predominantly a Malayalam actor. Born on 11 October 1984, his debut film was Malarvaadi Art Club. The direction of this film was by Vineeth Sreenivasan and production by Dileep. Some of the other films of Nivin Pauly include Bangalore Days, Thattathin Marayathu, Premam, Oru Vadakkari Selfie etc..The films 1983 and Bangalore Days fetched him the Best Actor Award from Kerala State Film Award. Nivin holds a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. He is happily wedded to Rinna Joy since 2010, and they are blessed with a boy. Before taking up acting as his profession Nivin was working in Infosys for two years.

Nivin’s selection for the Malarvaadi Arts Club was not that easy. He was not one among the shortlisted actors for the audition, but when one person eventually left, Nivin was provided with a chance. Later he became an actor. From then on, Nivin worked in the movies Sevenes and Metro and some short roles in Spanish Masala and Traffic. He also worked in the music video Nenjodu Cherthu. This was a great hit in YouTube. It was the 2012 flick Thattathin Marayathu which was a turning point in Nivin’s career. It was a great hit and he was labeled the present youth sensation. Directors like Sathyan Anthikad, Aashiq Abu, Rajesh Pillai and Shyamaprasad directed Nivin. Neram was the debut film of Nivin in Tamil. Later he acted in some Malayalam films, including Bangalore Days.

The beard is a regular in some of Nivin’s films. Nivin has worked with his colleague Dileep in several Malayalam films. Nivin confesses that he was good at knowing dialogues of films by heart and telling them just like the original. Before taking up acting Nivin had no stage experience and he knew only to dance. Nivin focuses on giving his best to his films.

The Pauly Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)

Vishnu is a successful Indian cinematographer with his base in the Malayalam movie industry. His career spanning over a long period, has churned out films such as Mikhael and Valatty. He has also worked in many Bollywood movies as an assistant camera person, like Jagga Jasoos, Sanju, Tamasha, Heartbeats ( a Hollywood musical) and, a plethora of regional films. Vishnu Panicker has slowly stepped up his quality of work to reach his current status. He has been under the tutelage of senior cinematographer Ravi Varman. Under his guidance, Mr. Panicker has worked in cult Bollywood movies such as Tamasha and Sanju which, have been synonymous with success. He is also a specialist in using CGI and VFX as and when required in a film.

The precious icon of the Indian music industry, Gopi Sundar has composed his soulful music for more than fifty movies to date. In 2014, he composed the songs & background score for the Malayalam movie "1983" and was awarded the National Award.the movie got a good critic rating of 3.5 out of 5.abrid shine, the debut director of the movie was awarded the Kerala State Awards in the category of the best debut director. Alongside the film bagged two more awards for the category of best & second best actor in the same award ceremony of 2014. He was born in Kochi & opted for joining the music industry for his career. Gopi has a good knowledge of instruments like Tabla & keyboard & has worked as a keyboard programmer in some of Bollywood hit films.

Hari Narayana is a film director by profession. He mainly directs South Indian movies in Tamil language. He has also worked as a lyricist in many Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam movies. Hari made his debut in the South Indian Film Industry as a director with the film Nandhuni in the year 2010. The movie was in Malayalam language. This movie was not a big hit and received mixed reviews from both the viewers and the critics as well.

Dhanush Nayanar started his career doing an advertisement for Medimix. He was the first child of his parents, Dr. Sunil and Rajani. Dhanish was an average performer in academics. He never knew that one day he would make an excellent career as a sound effects editor and get work for a great movie like Kabali. Firstly, Dhanush Nayanar did BSc. in Visual Communication from Hindustan College, Coimbatore and later finished his studies as Sound Engineer from LV Prasad Film and TV Academy, Chennai. He worked under an efficient sound engineer Mr. Raja Krishnan as a trainee.

Ajith has 25 years of expertise in the field of audio engineering and has worked as a mix engineer or sound designer on several films in a variety of languages. In addition to serving as a consultant at SJCC College of Communication, the first multimedia institute in Kerala, he played a virtual role in the establishment of the KR Narayanan National Film Institute in Kottayam, Kerala, the third National Film Institute in India. His fields of study include sound engineering, sound mixing, and sound design. He has held the position of Technical and Operational Head at Trivandrum's Vismayas Max Studio Complex. This was Kerala's first fully functional post-production facility. He played a crucial role in creating the Cochin studio division and making the studio the finest in Kerala.

Santhosh Raman is an Indian Art Director predominantly working in South Indian Film Industry. He primarily works on Malayalam and Tamil films. His famous works are Take Off (2017), Njaan (2014) and Aayan Njanalla (2015). Santhosh was born in Thalassery, a rural area of Kannur in India. Santhosh was passionate about films from childhood. He used to bunk classes and went to watch films with his friends in local cinema halls. He was talented in the art and drawing. That is why the art direction aspect of the films inspired him. After completing 12th from his village school, he attended Govt. College of Fine Arts in Thrissur and completed graduation in the field of Applied Arts.

Mahesh Narayanan is an Indian writer and film editor, popular amongst the regional audience for his work in movies like Take Off (2017), Traffic (2011), Vishwaroopam (2013), and Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015). Mostly known for his predominant involvement in Mollywood movies and Malayali TV shows, he has been working in the film industry for more than ten years now.

Ronex Xavier is one of the rising makeup artist working in the Malayalam film industry. It has not been much of time that Ronex started working in the industry, but he managed to steal all of his hearts by his makeup skills and techniques. In the span for less than a decade, Ronex had worked in the Malayalam films including, Carbon, Aadu 2, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Maheshinte Prathikaram, and The Great Father to the latest Maradona.

Born on the 22nd of September, 1987, Unni Mukundan is the son of M Mukundan Nair and Roji Mukundan. He was born in Villadom in Trichur, but grew up in Ahmedabad. Unni made his foray into the film industry after the completion of his Plus Two in commerce, and is currently pursuing his B.A. in English from the Prajyothi Nietan College, Thrissur. Unni is a firm believer in having a good education, and is usually found to be busy with his classes when he is not shooting for his movies, even quoting “I believe that I am in a space where I can fix my dates”, showing his confidence in his ability, and also in his belief that a good education is absolutely essential.

Known as the “Muscle Aliyan” of M-Town, Unni made his debut in the Tamil movie Seedan in 2011, which was an adaptation of the Malayalam Nandanam, as the main lead. His debut Malayalam movie was Bombay March 12 alongside the veritable Mammootty. He also played a supporting role in Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty.

His versatility saw him reprise roles in movies such as Ezham Suryan, Bangkok Summer. He also played the title role in Mallu Singh alongside Kunchacko Boban, which turned out to be a box office hit. His other movies include Theevram, I Love Me, Ithu Pathiramanal, D Company, Orissa, The Last Supper, Rajadhi Raja and Vikramadhityan.

He has gained popularity for his role in Vikramadhityan, where he plays the role of the son of a cop and is placed against Dulquer Salman who plays the role of the son of a thief. Both the boys become classmates in school and the movie then proceeds to show their journey into adulthood.

For his role in Bombay March 12, Unni won several awards including the Asianet Film Award: Best New Face of the Year 2011, the Asiavision Movie Awards: 2011 Best New Face of the Year, The Jaihind TV Best Newcomer of the Year 2011, the Amritha TV Best Debut Award  and the South Debut Actor for South Indian International Movie Awards.

Kalabhavan Shajohn is one of the most well-known comedian, actor, and mimicry artist in the Malayalam cinema industry. He is renowned for his role as a villain in the award winning Malayalam suspense thriller movie, ‘Drishyam’ which came out in the year 2013.

Siddique, who is a Malayalam film actor, producer, and a television host started his film career initially with comedy roles, and later he continued performing a variety of roles. Born at Edavanakkad, in Ernakulam Kerala, Siddique is the youngest child with two other siblings. Completing his primary schooling in his hometown, Siddique later took Diploma in Electrical Engineering. He worked as an Electrical Engineer at Kerala and worked for a few more years in Saudi Arabia. Later he quit his job and started exploring his inner talents. He started his artistic career as a mimicry artist. Married to Seena, Siddique has two sons. Shaheen Siddique is his eldest son from previous marriage, and he made his debut in the movie Pathemari.

Sudev Nair is an actor well known for his award-winning performance in the Malayalam film, ‘My Life Partner’. He was born on 14th April 1985 in Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra. He completed primary education from Sulochanadevi Singhania High School in Thane. He did his higher secondary education from V. G. Vaze College of Arts Science and Commerce situated in Mulund, Maharashtra.

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.