The first cinema hall in Kerala,
with a manually operated film projector, was opened in Thrissur by Jose
Kattookkaran in 1907. In 1913, the first
permanent theatre in Kerala
was established in Ollur,
Thrissur city by Jose and was called the Jose Electrical Bioscope
now known as Jose Theatre
in Thrissur city. The first film to be made in Malayalam was Vigathakumaran. Production started in 1928, and it was released in
Trivandrum Capitol Theatre on 23 October 1930. It was produced and directed by J.
C. Daniel, a businessman with no prior film
experience, who is credited as the father of Malayalam cinema. Daniel founded
the first film studio, The Travancore National Pictures Limited, in Kerala. A
second film, Marthanda Varma, based on a novel by C. V. Raman Pillai,
was produced by R. Sundar Raj in 1933. However, after only being shown for four
days, the film prints were confiscated due to a legal battle over copyright.
The first talkie in Malayalam was Balan, released in 1938. It was directed by S. Nottani with a
screenplay and songs written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. It was produced at Chennai (then Madras) in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
Balan was followed by Gnanambika in 1940 which was directed by S. Notani. Then
Prahlada came in 1941 directed by K. Subramoniam of Madras and featuring Guru
Gopinath and Thankamani Gopinath. Until 1947 Malayalam films were made by Tamil
producers. Artist P. J. Cherian was the first Malayali producer to venture into
this field and the trend then changed. He Produced Nirmala in 1948 with Joseph
Cherian, Baby Joseph his son and daughter-in-law in the lead roles as hero and
heroin; and many other family members in other roles breaking the taboo that
noble family people do not take up acting. Thus 'Nirmala' became the first film
produced by a Malayali setting many firsts for introducing play-back singing,
cinema with a social theme where the entire family could sit together and watch
it. Artist P.J. Cherian was the first cinema producer to explore the
possibility of music and songs in cinema; and thus became the pioneer to
introduce play-back singing in cinema. The lyrics of the film penned by the
legendary Malayalam poet G.Shankara Kurup became so popular that song-dance
sequences became essential ingredients of Malayalam cinema. Vellinakshatram
(1949) was the first movie to be made in Kerala and it took shape at the Udaya
Studios at Alleppey.
