പെണ്മലയാളം – A few beautiful women from the land of small things
The contents of this article may not be suitable for young unmarried Indian men, who jump up and down hearing the word ‘mallu’
Keeping in mind, Navy Mama’s immortal statement
‘I have been with them from all over the world. But Ram, mark my words, Malayali women are THE BEST in bed.”
It is obvious that the title would attract many, drooling, for buxom, voluptuous, plump mallu sirens, and such hungry souls have two options. Login to youtube and type the magical ‘mallu’ keyword for an immediate outpour of ,among other fluids, videos of Shakeela, Babylona, Maria, Reshma and the likes. Others who have already done that and have had drained thousands of possible unborn children into well maintained deep sanitary pits, cuddle inside a thick blanket, to further ensure warmth push in a pillow or a warm iron box in compromising positions, and go to sleep.
Few others, indifferent and cast out enough to appreciate good cinema beyond its external glamour, can continue to discover with me these beautiful women, who made the malayali’s life and times evermore enjoyable. The Belle Epoque of malayalam cinema, long gone, amidst the mundane fare that illuminates the white screen, lets one wonder if Kasimir Malevich’s ‘White on White’ had one more meaningful dimension to it. 
It was an array of substance that created the beautiful cinema, that not far ago boasted the best film making team in India. Every other film was enjoyable. Scripts interesting, technique thorough and actors impeccable.
Then there were these women, five of them, who stole away the scene from anyone, even from the great Jagathy. Actors like Philomina, KPAC Lalitha, Sukumari , Meena and Kaviyoor Ponnamma represented a section of the panoramic talent pool that existed and supported Malayalam cinema not much less than a decade ago. Nearly a hundred strong extremely talented and qualified set of actors formed the backbone of what turned out to be visual spectacle. Mammootty and Mohanlal, shone as lead actors, but the others, who got impressive screen time, due to the elaborate and balanced scripts, created one beautiful ensemble, which in turn created histrionic symphony in the screen. Jagathy Sreekumar, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Janardhanan, Sukumaran, Siddique, Saikumar and scores of talented actors have repeatedly given fulfilling sumptuous cinematic ‘Sadhya’ for the audience.
Women, had unparalleled presence in kerala societal structure than anywhere else, maybe owing to the matriarchal bequeathing principle that existed amongst a major section of the population this side of the Sahyadhri. The complex cobweb of kerala’s caste system, did recognize, despite Arundhati Roy’s exaggerated allegations, and placed female sensuality and intellectual freedom at a relatively accessible level. Ms.Roy’s name has an uncanny knack of inciting trouble, leading to digression from point of focus. Hence, I leave her there and get back on track.
The art of acting and intellectual freedom of a person, are closely related. An odd great pretender , may get away with, masquerading gimmickry and blank faces for exceptional, understated and sublime performance. But, unless the performer has the intelligence and emotional quotient to realize the depth and reason of a particular expression, scene or action, it will show on the screen and the words hamming, blank-facedness, along with the phrases ‘no stretch of facial muscles’ or ‘really dumb acting’ come aptly into usage. The reason being, we do not see rocket science on the screen, unless you are watching something like ‘Love Story 2050′, its mostly pieces from our lives, slightly blown up in proportion through elements like sound and visual perspectives.
The intelligence that shone in the performance of these women, shows us deep understanding of the art, control of the medium and experience gained in living their worthy lives amongst us people.
Philomina, the grand old lady of malayalam cinema.
Memories of Anaparayil Achamma, and Odanavattom Omana make me smile and revere this irreverent and audacious actor, who was fearless in front of the camera. Philomina, was a firecracker on screen. Having hopped on at an early age, from a stage background, she ripened like a sweet smelling ‘aapoos’, alphonse, mango in the late 80’s and continue to spread her professional flavor over the next decade well in late 90’s. 
Inimitable sense of mature humor was her trademark, and was evident when she intently enquires her grandson , Sethumadhavan ‘How many people can you mow down?’ in ‘Kireedom’.
As Paru Ammayi, in ‘Thalyanamanthram’ she displayed brisk pace in which an actor could establish her character, during her frequent short visits to Sukumaran’s house, Paru Ammayi, with her simple, cunning and stinging words, creates havoc in Kanchana’s world. ‘Thalayanmanthram’ and ‘Vengalam’ would never have been the same, without the brief presence of this versatile actor.
When Siddique-Lal must have thought of some one to stand up to the majestic gait of ‘Nadakacharyan ‘ NN Pillai, Philomina was the only choice. She held her own, seething fire and venom alike as ‘Anaparayil Achamma’. This versatile lady later went on to play, a rouge drama artist, an extremely funny Odanavattom Omana, who gets drunk and creates mayhem. She left us a couple of years ago, leaving behind some irreplaceable moments of screen presence.
KPAC Lalitha, versatility gets a name
Arguably, the best female actor in India at the moment. She can emote tears out of you, send you rollicking down the floor laughing your mass off or ever hold you at emotional ransom at the edge of the seat. When KPAC (Kerala People Arts Society) a leftist art movement, staged plays, malayalam cinema borrowed several gems as thought and kind. Lalitha was one such contribution. Script is still the king, but without proper actors, a masterly script and a master filmmaker can be bought down to their knees.
Lalitha is one performer, any director, including her late husband, Bharathan, could rely on eyes closed. If one person is to be held responsible for the success of Aniyathipravu, it is this woman. Compassion, disdain, authority and craving of a mothers heart, was evident when she gives away her daughter in the one good scene, the torture of a movie had.
Lalitha switches gear and fits the bill with such precise aptitude that we are left agape. Her performance as a voice actor in ‘Mathilukal’ invoked such an effective presence that even walls came to life. KPAC has the widest range among senior female artistes, she does a upside down turn from the domicile silent mother in ‘Sphadikam’ , Shantham’, or ‘Sanmanasullavarku Samadhanam’ to the fire-spitting characters including Pattalam Madhavi Amma of ‘Vietnam Colony’ and Malavika in ‘Aadhyathe Kanmani’. Both her National awards and State recognition speak very less of this talent powerhouse.
Sukumari, evergreen ever ready
Malayalam’s answer to Manorama ‘aachi’, this veteran has performed in around, a mind boggling, 2000 movies. She is ever present, and even played the lead role in a recent production ‘Mizhikal Sakshi’. 
She is versatile, in the sense that she has and can play any role with considerable ease and credible authenticity. Sukumari, is an expert along with a much younger Kalapna at slapstick and brash humor. Her appearances in Priyadarshan’s ‘Boeing Boeing’ and ‘Vandanam’ evoke fond memories of the Anglo-Indian lady, who can be annoying and nagging at all the time.
Her performances as the Brahmin mami have also been noteworthy for their authentic feel. Her motherly outings in ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’ and ‘Kilichundan Mambazham’ leave indelible images in a movie goers mind. She was a Priyadarshan regular, her timing and loud performances suited his comical commotions amply well, even in the recent ‘Kakkakuyil’ she had her moments of glory, if one can call them those.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma , the mother of all things
The Nirupa Roy of Malayalam filmdom, albeit a bit more versatile ,she could have played mother to every other actor. Again not any where near to Lalitha or Sukumari when one compares the spectrum bandwidth of performance. Ponnamma comes across as an artiste who realizes her limitations and delivers clear, consistent and correct performances.
Her performances in ‘Thaniyavarthanam’, ‘Kireedom’, ‘In Harihar Nagar’ and ‘Vietnam Colony’ were especially noteworthy. 
Given the monotony of the casting she has had to go through, it is extremely appreciable that she resists boredom more often than not. However, most of her outings have been with Mohanlal, as her son, and sometimes, its tiring to find the same mother all over again when the son shows up in different colours. Maybe it is to break this single dimensional roles, that she is donning the lead role of a violinist in ‘Meghatheertham’, a purported family drama whose already popular score is a carnatic music joyride by the ingenious Sharath.
Meena , a commendable performer
Unlike the stalwarts , Meena, was not as versatile, but she scored all the same when it came to delivering the odd powerful performance. She on most parts played the impishly funny women, usually the bickering aunt, who wanted a bit more of everything. However, her skills at comedy sequences were distinctive and enjoyable at the same time In ‘Yodha’ the scenes where she pampers her son, Jagathy, tantalizing her husband, Oduvil, during the chess game are extremely well acted out by the team.
Her turn as Singapore return high society , exaggeratedly authoritative Gigi Daniel, came in as a commendable performance. .
She swept the audience off their feet, in arguably what was her best perfromance, as Bhanumathi in ‘Meleparambil Aanveedu’ with the extremely easy and in-depth portrayal of lone lady in an all-men house. Her pain was conveyed with extreme sensitivity and superb humor, that one would end up smiling at her travails.
I put a disclaimer at this place, to save ‘our souls’ the trouble pointing out the fact that the coverage of actors and their work is considerably incomplete and there are many more actors who must be included , or at least, deserve mention like the relatively younger Bindu Panikker. Yes Agreed, a mole hill has been written here about a mountain of talent.
Furthermore, Navy mama, I take the liberty to correct your aphorism, pardon my audacity. The first half of the statement is your experience, and I do not question or cast even a zilch worth of doubt on that part. This is for you, Navy Mama and other droolers, letchers, oglers out there still reading this one. All I want to add is ‘Malayali women are THE BEST ,amongst several other things, in bed’
Dedicated to the enriching and equally disturbing memories of one of the most prolific writers in Indian literary scene , Madhavikutty (Kamala Das/Suraiyya), who passed away on 31 May 2009, breaking free from the cage that encased that free spirit.
Tags: Kamala Das, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, KPAC Lalitha, Meena, Philomina, Sukumari
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
You have really paid a fair tribute to these ladies, who deserve a lot of applause of their contribution to Malayalam and even Tamil Cinema.
Many people write about Sheela, Shobhana and their ilk, but these supporting actors have alos played a great role.
I cannot forget Sukumari’s performance in Kalyanji Anandji, Talayanamantram and an array of other movies. She and her niece Shobana were among the best ever in Malayalam cinema
Ram sir, brilliant post
The title sucked me in.. the reason being am perhaps the biggest fan of ‘god of small things’ in the world :D
I always wonder how Sathyan anthikkad would make films after the times of Lalitha,innocent and mamukkoya ( oduvil is already no more..) Sure, no credit can be enuff for these inimitable veterans…
let me join in with u in paying my tributes to them.. superb post
@ Ram- certainly a good way to pay tribute to the these ladies who have probably shown the various shades of motherhood in Malayalam cinema.Inspite of the rot that has set in Malayalam cinema these days, it was impressive to see Sukumari in the main lead in Mizhikal Saakshi last year ( with Lal ettan more than willing to play a cameo as her son).Also impressive is the fact that all these artistes have got so deeply routed in the psyche of the malayalee film audience.I’m sure Bindu Panikker is also heading in that direction & would effortlessly move out of the chechi/ammayi character to the mother sometime soon.The very fact that in the last 2 decades not many hero’s ( apart from Jayaram,Suresh Gopi,Dileep and now Prithviraj ) have managed to get noticed in the Mammootty-Mohanlal wave but these women have alreadyleft a lasting impression is testimony to their acting prowess.
A big salute from my side to these women & a humble homage to Madhavikutty/Kamaladas/ Suraiyya.
@Ram,
Wonderful,awesome,brilliant,if this article was a movie i would have given it 5 stars.
Keep it up.One of the best articles on Malayalam cinema in net.
I still think Shobhana is the greatest actress India has ever produced. Absolutely the greatest. To me Shobhana is one actress who truly understands sensuality. And when I say sensuality I mean the kind that probably exists between frames…not just a moment of intimacy, but even when she whimpers, when she’s nervous, when she’s hurt, when she walks casually, when she looks at a man in anticipation. Shobhana was one actress who truly understands sensuality. Terrific actress..
But I love all the four that you have mentioned here as well.. Mina comes up for special mention.. The way she says “Mwaano?” in Yodha. Amazing actress..
Enjoyed this post. I started reading it a certain way and it went tangential suddenly. Nice one
Awesome article. I have always believed that when it comes to acting Malayalam industry had the best performers. When it comes to lead roles, Mohanlal and Mamooty are miles ahead of the so-called super stars of other languages (I dont mean to insult them). I wonder if any actresses in the screen today can match energy of Nadia or charm of Meera Jasmine or comic timing of Urvashi or dance movies of Shobana or the expressive eyes of Manju Warrior. It is a shame that with such wonderful actresses in the state, people know Malayalam movie actresses by the performance (or rather lack of it) of Shakeela, Reshma, Asin and Nayantara.
Malayalam movie similarly has been blessed with extremely talented supporting actors. Jagathy, Thilakan, Oduvil, Inoocent, Cochin Haneefa, Soman to name a few. So are ladies you have listed in the blog.
@Sreehari
While I absolutely love Shobana, if I had to pick one actress it would be Manju Warrior.
She did very few movies, but she left a lasting impression. I dont think we have seen a perfromance like “Kanmadan” on the Indian silver screen. People still wish that it was Dileep who quit acting after marriage.
http://crazyscribbling.blogspot.com/2008/11/best-indian-actresses.html
Agnostic Indian,
Manju Warrier was a very good performer, agreed. But I still believe that her performances either fall in the ‘powerful’ bracket(Kanmadam) or the ‘vulnerable’ bracket(Pranayavarnangal types). I loved her the most in ‘Ee Puzhayum Kadannu’. But otherwise, it’s very easy when u have such a clear-cut demarcation for your roles. One on level, you are letting caricaturisation work to your own advantage.
But to do something like a Nadodikkattu, something like a Pavithram…. when ur character walks a very nondescript route and yet when u bring to them an amazing amount of grace, you deserve a bigger applause. Like I said, when Sobhana looks at a man in anticipation, she conveys so much, when she’s just nervous she conveys so much, when she’s started…with such economy of resources.. That is ingenuity.
started = startled
@ Agnostic Indian,Sreehari-
Wow! its certainly amazing to discuss about Shobana & Manju Warrier.I certainly feel Manju Warrier was quite versatile.Liked her in all the movies mentioned by you guys like Kanmadam, Ee Puzhayum Kadannu, Pranayavarnangal ( the music was a rage back then ) and even in movies like
Kannezhudi Pottumthottu – a movie which she literally carried on her shoulders even though there were others like Thilakan, Biju Menon etc.
And yes how do I forget even a commercial movie like Summer in Bethlehem where she was full of life.
Having said that I feel Shobana is equally brilliant if not better.With movies like Innale or a Manichitrathazhu ( just 2 examples because she has a brilliant filmography ) she has shown her brilliance.I certainly do miss leading ladies like these 2 and to some extent Revathy in Malayalam cinema.
Currently Malayalam cinema is facing a drought of leading ladies.With Gopika and Kavya Madhavan also married ( Meera Jasmine has become an outcast in the industry )and out of India and with others like Navya Nair and Bhavana doing movies in the other South Indian languages too, the next wave of actresses is what I’m waiting for in Malayalam cinema.
@ Agnostic Indian- please do not bracket Asin and Nayanthara with Shakeela and Reshma, its a completely unfair thing to do so.
@Arjun Narayanan
Thanks…these women deserve a lot more…
@Rahul Surendran
Thanks..The title and initial flourish was a brief insight into how the world, outside kerala, perceive malayalam cinema and women
@Sethu..
Thanks..They have played mother roles most other time..but the performance range of these actors does go well beyond portrayal of motherhood…
Bindu Panikker is definitely a joy to watch
@Cinemausher…Thank you very much..too good a compliment
@Sreehari…
Shobana is probably the best, she is gifted, with the most beautiful and expressive eyes..Only drawback would be her using dubbing artistes to provide voiceovers to her characters…She could try a bit harder
An regarding the post…initial part was what and who mallu women are perceived as..and second part is definitely tangentially opposite, what they really are…
@Agnostic Indian
I wholly agree that malayalam cinema is blessed with brilliant talented actors..it is obvious when even scene by scene remakes in other languages fail to create the same effect..best example is ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’ where every single malayalam actor in orginial ‘Manichitrathazhu’ was miles ahead in terms of performance, taking the who premise of the movie to a different level altogether…
And yes Manju was an excellent actor..but she left prematurely before seasoning her talent…Apart from Kanmadam and Pathram
..I loved her most in ‘Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu’..an excellent performance..
you sucker!!
why did you leave out Srividya?
Agreed she is not a mallu, but wasnt she the backbone of support for many a mallu movie?
Nicely written article!! KPAC lalitha and Sukumari have contributed immensely to thamizh movie scene as well!! KPAC lalitha’s last scene act in Fazil’s Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai(remake of Aniyathi Piraavu, with some moving Raaja BG score) is still being talked about in thamizh film circles
For a moment I thought , I better watch my back before opening this article. I now have a mirror installed in my office cube thanks to you!! :-)
@VPJ…Srividya was very much in the limelight in her heydays..inside and out of Kerala..that was one reason why I had decided not to include her or much of the younger actress, inlcuding Shobana, Manju, Karthika (excellent actress), Shobha or Meera…
Agreed she was very much the back bone…I have even included a proper disclaimer in the post for handling such allegations..
And God only knows..why you have installed a mirror…to watch out or to watch it :-)
@Sethumadhavan
)
I didnt bracket Nayanthara, Asin with Shakeela and Reshma in the sense that they do similar movies. But if you ask anyone who doesnt know much about Malayalam movies to name few “Mallu” actresses, they will name Shakeela, Reshma, Nayantara and Asin in the same breath. Apologies. Didnt mean to offend anyone. (Sorry Shakeela and Reshma
I have to agree with what you mentioned about the new crop of heroines. They can hardly emote in front of the camera. But then the quality of Malayalam movies is nothing like what it used to be.
I think it is unfair to compare Manju with Shobana. One being a veteran of so many movies of all genres and other who called it a day prematurely.
@ Agnostic Indian-
Understood your point mate.For that matter ask most people about Malayalam cinema and they will only think in terms of soft porn movies or the so called art movies of Adoor or Aravindan.But then thats how naive most of the people generally are.
@ Jai-
Srividya would always be remembered more for the leading roles she’s done in Malayalam cinema
( she’s done plenty of them ) and not so much for the character roles ( like mother ).I think she’s done a lot more character roles in Tamil cinema and in Malayalam Television ( she had literally settled in Trivandrum due to her T.V work )- but yes certainly a versatile actress.
Guys,
i w’d like to bring to your notice one actress who’s still present in the malayalam film industry who i think is better than most of the above mentioned actress except KPAC.
she’s geethu mohandas… i w’d call her a female version of mohanlal as she can act really well, underplay emotionans and she can subtly vary her facial expressions and has a gr8 body language too..
too bad she did not kick off that well in todays generation. akale was a treat to watch…
comments pls
@Ram…Geethu is a good actress…maybe she did not get enough opportunities to her liking or to prove her mettle…I heard she is soon planning to venture into film direction too…Her performances apart from ‘Akale’ were commendable in ‘Nala Damayanthi’ and ‘Raapakal’…
Ram, nice article. I wish you’d used another picture of Sukumari though, undoubtedly the best-looking of all the actresses covered in your article. She can look majestic (remember her cameo as the panchayat head in Thenmavinkombathu) as well as pitiable. As Mohanlal says in Chithram, she is sundari, sumukhi, subhashini :D