The 50 best Malayalam movies of all time.
by e-rakeshe | created - 13 Jun 2015 | updated - 17 Jun 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Piravi (1989)
110 min | Drama
Raghu, the only son of Raghava Chakyar was born late for him. So he poured his entire love and affection on him. Raghu, studying in an engineering college in a far away city has to arrive ... See full summary »
Director: Shaji N. Karun | Stars: Premji, Archana, Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, V.K. Sriraman
Votes: 294
2. Vanaprastham (1999)
119 min | Drama
An illicit relationship between a Kathakali dancer and a young woman from an upper caste family results in an illegitimate child. He faces hardships when she refuses to let him see their child.
Director: Shaji N. Karun | Stars: Mohanlal, Suhasini, Mattanoor Shankara Marar, Kalamandalam Gopi
Votes: 1,919
3. Report to Mother (1986)
115 min | Drama
The story revolves around the incidents following the death of a young Naxalite, upon whose death his friends travel to the village where his mother lives to inform her of the death of her only son.
Director: John Abraham | Stars: Kunhulakshmi Amma, Nilambur Balan, Harinarayan, Joy Mathew
Votes: 216
4. Rat-Trap (1982)
121 min | Drama
The protagonist is trapped within himself and is unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him.
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Jalaja, Karamana Janardanan Nair, Rajam K. Nair, Mavelikara Ramachandran
Votes: 567
5. Nizhalkkuthu (2002)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Kaliyappan, the last hangman of Travancore dynasty is dragging his remaining life by consuming alcohol and worshipping the Mother Goddess.
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Sukumari, Mallika, Thara Kalyan
Votes: 256
6. Chidambaram (1985)
103 min | Drama
Muniyandi (Sreenivasan), a laborer in the farm, believes and respects Shivakami (Smita Patil). Muniyandi brings Shivakami to the farm after marrying her. She soon befriends Shankaran (Gopi)... See full summary »
Director: Govindan Aravindan | Stars: Mohan Das, Bharat Gopy, Smita Patil, Sreenivasan
Votes: 169
7. Adaminte Variyellu (1983)
142 min | Drama
Aadaminte vaariyellu depicts parellel stories of three women who are subjected to various forms of patriarchy and exploitation by the men around them and the society at large, and how they try to literally break free from it.
Director: K.G. George | Stars: Srividya, Suhasini, Soorya, Bharat Gopy
Votes: 134
9. Vidheyan (1994)
112 min | Drama
Thommy is a loyal servant of Bhaskar Patel. But Patel is a ruthless tyrant. Thommy struggles between his moral sense and his professional sense. He is finally redeemed without compromising his duty as Patel's servant.
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Mammootty, M.R. Gopakumar, Tanvi Azmi, Sabitha Anand
Votes: 1,509
10. Vasthuhara (1991)
103 min | Drama, Romance
The story is told through the eyes of Venu, a Malayali government officer sent on a mission to rehabilitate refugees from Calcutta to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Director: Govindan Aravindan | Stars: Mohanlal, Neelanjana Mitra, Neena Gupta, Padmini
Votes: 164
11. Oridathoru Phayalvaan (1983)
128 min | Drama
The story of an impotent wrestler whose wife is driven to an extra-marital affair.
Director: P. Padmarajan | Stars: Ashokan, Dhanya, Jayanthi, Rashid
Votes: 113
12. Oridathu (1987)
112 min | Drama
The movie narrates the story of a remote village and the incidents pertaining to the electrification during the post-independence period of India.
Director: Govindan Aravindan | Stars: Nedumudi Venu, Sreenivasan, Vineeth, Sithara
Votes: 59
13. Nirmalyam (1973)
134 min | Drama
An ancient temple is neglected to ruins and is tended only by the Velichappadu 'village oracle'. When the priest goes on leave, a young man takes up his job and forms a relationship with Velichappadu's daughter.
Director: M.T. Vasudevan Nair | Stars: P.J. Anthony, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair, Sankaradi
Votes: 147
14. Akale (2004)
Drama
Margaret wants her daughter, who is differently abled, to get married. However, her dream shatters when she finds that the boy she chose for her daughter is already engaged.
Director: Shyamaprasad | Stars: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sheela, Geethu Mohandas, Tom George
Votes: 232
15. The Master Carpenter (1991)
140 min | Drama, History
Perumthachan, a legendary carpenter, follows the stringent social norms of his time. However, when Kannan, his son, grows up to rebel against those very norms, Perumthachan must deal with him.
Director: Ajayan | Stars: Jalaja, Manoj K. Jayan, T.P. Madhavan, Monisha
Votes: 418
16. Vaishali (1988)
133 min | Musical, Drama, Romance
Princess of a country long suffering from drought should please a saint living in distant hills to bring rain.
Director: Bharathan | Stars: Sanjay Mitra, Suparna Anand, Geetha, Babu Antony
Votes: 435
17. Mathilukal (1990)
120 min | Drama, Romance
Its a story of Basheer, an author who experiences his prison life. In it he finds friendship, loneliness, fear and finally love, but that remains questionable.
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Mammootty, Thilakan, Karamana Janardanan Nair, Murali
Votes: 1,656
18. Anubhavangal Palichakal (1971)
133 min | Drama
An amoral, hypocritical worker with Communist leanings learns the consequences of his callousness and redeems himself.
Director: K.S. Sethumadhavan | Stars: Sathyan, Prem Nazir, Sheela, K.P.A.C. Lalitha
Votes: 67
19. Paadha Mudhra (1988)
144 min | Drama
Paadha Mudra is a family film where an emotional battle happens to a son due to his father. Mohan Lal plays dual roles, one is a worker in the quarry, while the other is a home business owner.
Director: R. Sukumaran | Stars: Mohanlal, Mala Aravindan, Kalasala Babu, Jagadish
Votes: 174
20. Thoovanathumbikal (1987)
151 min | Drama, Romance
Jayakrishnan falls in love with two girls, Radha and Clara, and fights his confusion about whom he should marry and spend his life with.
Director: P. Padmarajan | Stars: Mohanlal, Sumalatha, Parvathi, Ashokan
Votes: 4,999
21. Yavanika (1982)
147 min | Drama, Mystery
An infamous tabla player of a touring drama group goes missing. Later on, Sub-inspector Jacob Eeraly investigates the case.
Director: K.G. George | Stars: Bharat Gopy, Nedumudi Venu, Mammootty, Venu Nagavalli
Votes: 871
22. Chemmeen (1965)
Not Rated | 140 min | Drama, Romance
Karuthamma, the daughter of a Hindu fisherman, falls in love with a Muslim fish trader. However, social prejudices seem to ruin their love life and invite the wrath of their communities.
Director: Ramu Kariat | Stars: Sathyan, Sheela, Madhu, Kottarakkara Sridharan Nair
Votes: 543
23. Kanchana Sita (1977)
90 min | Drama
Rama, who doubts about the chastity of Sita at last finds his own children and went for salvation.
Director: Govindan Aravindan | Stars: Ramdas, Venkateswarlu, Chinnapuliah, Keshav Panicker
Votes: 123
24. Pulijanmam (2006)
87 min | Drama, Fantasy
Director: Priyanandanan | Stars: Murali, Sindhu Menon, Vineeth Kumar, Samvrutha Sunil
Votes: 44
25. Kutty Srank: The Sailor of Hearts (2009)
127 min | Drama
Kutty Srank is a short-tempered, lonely, but law-abiding boatman whose work leads him to travel the back waters of Kerala. One day, when the local police station discovers an unidentified ... See full summary »
Director: Shaji N. Karun | Stars: Mammootty, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Meena Kumari Perera, Padmapriya
Votes: 656
26. Guru (1997)
136 min | Drama, Fantasy
Situations turn a man who believes in secularism into an extremist. He plots to bomb a monastery where the survivors of a riot take refuge.
Director: Rajiv Anchal | Stars: Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Madhupal, Kaveri
Votes: 3,507
27. Kodiyettam (1978)
137 min | Drama
Sankarankutty, a village simpleton, lives a carefree life, indulges in childish pursuits, lives off the money given to him by his sister (working elsewhere as a servant), and eats quite ... See full summary »
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Bharat Gopy, K.P.A.C. Lalitha, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Azeez
Votes: 126
28. Kathapurushan (1996)
107 min | Biography, Drama
Against the history of Kerala, we see a young man grow up without a father, relate to the working class people employed in his feudal household, become an intellectual, land in prison, and find a cure for the stuttering that afflicts him.
Director: Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Stars: Vishwanathan, Mini Nair, Aranmulla Ponnamma, Urmila Unni
Votes: 134
29. Uppu (1987)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
Old patriarch Moosa Meleri arrives in a quiet Kerala village with his adopted son Abu and daughter-in-law Amina. He has lost all his money in litigation. Despite their hardships they are ... See full summary »
Director: V.K. Pavithran | Stars: P.T. Kunju Muhammad, Vijayan Kottarathil, Sadiq, Mullanezhi
Votes: 10
30. Garshom (1999)
Drama
Garshome is a melodrama which deals with the effects of economic migration on individuals and their families. Intellectual Nazrudden spends several years in the oil-rich Arabian Gulf to ... See full summary »
Director: P.T. Kunju Muhammad | Stars: Murali, Urvashi, Madhu, Siddique
Votes: 25
31. Bioscope (2008)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
Diwakaran meets DuPont who holds bioscope shows. He gets fascinated by the machine and buys it from DuPont in order to hold bioscope shows in his village. But later he gets superstitious about it.
Director: K.M. Madhusudhanan | Stars: Nilambur Ayisha, Ramgopal Bajaj, T.V. Gangadharan, Nedumbram Gopi
Votes: 24
32. Agni Sakshi (1999)
100 min | Drama
Unni accepts Devaki as his wife and brings her into the fold of his Namboothiri illam. Bound by a plethora of traditional beliefs, customs and rituals that constitute life within four walls... See full summary »
Director: Shyamaprasad | Stars: Rajit Kapoor, Madampu Kunjukuttan, Madhupal, Omana Ouseph
Votes: 71
33. Ponthan Mada (1994)
119 min | Drama
Set in 1940s, the low-caste Ponthan Mada bonds with his colonial landlord Sheema Thampuran, who was expelled to British India from England during his youth for supporting the Irish Republican Army.
Director: T.V. Chandran | Stars: Janardanan, Salu Koottanad, Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Mahesh
Votes: 1,016
34. Kaalapani (1996)
178 min | Action, Drama, History
Govardhan, a doctor by profession, is wrongly accused of bombing a train and is jailed by the British in Cellular Jail, also known as Kala Pani, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He witnesses the sufferings of hundreds of Indian prisoners there.
Director: Priyadarshan | Stars: Mohanlal, Amrish Puri, Prabhu, Tabu
Votes: 4,597
35. Sadayam (1992)
147 min | Drama, Thriller
Sadayam follows the final days of a condemned prisoner, for murdering two little girls.
Director: Sibi Malayil | Stars: Mohanlal, Augustine, Janardanan, Kaveri
Votes: 1,021
36. A Northern Story of Valor (1989)
168 min | Drama, History
The film offers an alternative version of the fight between two legendary Chekavars from Chanthu's perspective.
Director: T. Hariharan | Stars: Mammootty, Madhavi, Devan, Suresh Gopi
Votes: 6,321
37. Peruvazhiyambalam (1979)
118 min | Drama
This is a National award winning and critically acclaimed film by P Padmarajan, based on his novel of the same name. The film explores the angst of a teenage mind remorseful of murder and the changes life brings in the aftermath.
Director: P. Padmarajan | Stars: Ashokan, Azeez, Adoor Bhawani, Geetha
Votes: 96
38. Thinkalazhcha Nalla Divasam (1985)
126 min | Drama
Two sons and their families get together to celebrate their mother's 60th birthday in their ancestral house. But problems develop when the younger son reveals his plan to sell the house for money and put the mother in an old age home.
Director: P. Padmarajan | Stars: Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Mammootty, Karamana Janardanan Nair, Srividya
Votes: 167
39. Shantham (2001)
95 min | Drama
In the midst of a raging political strife, a group of individuals learn some life values.
Director: Jayaraj | Stars: Sima Bisvas, Kalamandalam Gopi, Madampu Kunjukuttan, K.P.A.C. Lalitha
Votes: 37
42. Kireedam (1989)
Not Rated | 124 min | Action, Drama
The life of a young man turns upside down when he intervenes in a dispute in order to rescue his father (a cop) from a ruthless local outlaw.
Director: Sibi Malayil | Stars: Mohanlal, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Parvathi
Votes: 8,555
43. The Play of God (1997)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama
An adaptation of "Othello" set in the south Indian state of Kerala.
Director: Jayaraj | Stars: Suresh Gopi, Lal, Manju Warrier, Biju Menon
Votes: 326
44. Manichithrathazhu (1993)
Not Rated | 169 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
When a forbidden room in an old bungalow is unbolted, the spirit of a vengeful dancer is unleashed.
Director: Fazil | Stars: Shobana, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Vinaya Prasad
Votes: 12,319
45. Daya (1998)
150 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
The film is set in the middle-East in the pre-Islam period. Daya, a very intelligent and brave slave girl tries to help the son of her master, after he loses all his wealth due to his lavish life.
Director: Venu Isc | Stars: Manju Warrier, Nedumudi Venu, K.P.A.C. Lalitha, T.P. Madhavan
Votes: 174
46. Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal (1986)
137 min | Romance
A man falls in love with his new neighbor but then finds that her family life is difficult.
Director: P. Padmarajan | Stars: Mohanlal, Shari, Thilakan, Vineeth
Votes: 2,567
47. Sandesham (1991)
Not Rated | 138 min | Comedy, Drama
A satire on contemporary Kerala politics where brothers turn local leaders of rival parties, leading to distress for their aged and once-proud parents.
Director: Sathyan Anthikad | Stars: Sreenivasan, Jayaram, Thilakan, Maathu
Votes: 5,157
48. Varavelpu (1989)
Not Rated | 144 min | Comedy, Drama
Murali returns to his home in Kerala after working in Dubai for seven years. He decides to do social service for the people in his hometown, but fails due to the local politicians.
Director: Sathyan Anthikad | Stars: Mohanlal, Revathi, Murali, Sreenivasan
Votes: 2,016
49. Thanmathra (2005)
160 min | Drama
Will an unexpected turn of events change Rameshan's life forever and prevent him from witnessing his dream where his son becomes a reputable IAS Officer?
Director: Blessy | Stars: Mohanlal, Meera Vasudevan, Arjun Lal, Nedumudi Venu
Votes: 4,803
50. Vadakkunokkiyantram (1989)
120 min | Comedy, Drama
A man with a serious case of inferiority complex is married to a beautiful girl. Soon, his love and care turns into suspicion.
Director: Sreenivasan | Stars: Sreenivasan, Parvathi, Innocent Vareed Thekkethala, K.P.A.C. Lalitha
Votes: 2,201
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