South Asian cinema

Cinema of Kerala (or Malayalam cinema) refers to films made in the Indian state of Kerala in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or familial issues and as a result are considered more realistic (and highbrow) than Bollywood movies. The first 3D film produced in India, My Dear Kuttichathan, was made in Malayalam. The first Cinemascope film produced in Malayalam was Thacholi Ambu.

History of Malayalam Cinema

Early era

The first cinema hall in Kerala was established in Trichur by K.W.Joseph in 1907 and it had a manually operated film projector. The first electrically operated film projector too was established in Trichur by Jose Kattukkaran in 1913 and was called the 'Jose Electrical Bioscope'. Soon such cinema halls were established in other major cities of Kerala. At the initial stage only Tamil, Hindi and English films were exhibited in these theatres; it was, however, Tamil cinema, which dominated Kerala. The Malayalee audience welcomed Tamil films because of the cultural similarities between the two states.