The movie industry has been witnessing a sea of change over the years. Women, too, have been part of this change, breaking the glass ceiling in various categories in the industry. On this Women's Day, we take a look at some of the leading and upcoming Malayali women who are making giant strides working behind the camera.
As directors
Nirmala Vijayan may be the first woman director in the Malayalam industry, but it took a long time for others to follow her path. Actor Revathi was one of the few women directors to follow suit, though her first film was in English titled 'Mitr, My Friend'. She made her Malayalam directing debut with the anthology series 'Makal' in 2009. Among the list of women directors, Anjali Menon and Geethu Mohandas are probably the most popular. Anjali, whose first work was 'Manjadikkuru', went on to direct the commercially successful movie 'Bangalore Days' in 2014. She followed this with 'Koode' and 'Wonder Women'. Geethu Mohandas's works 'Liar's Dice' (Hindi) and 'Moothon' featuring Nivin Pauly went on to claim critical success, with the movies being shown at prestigious film festivals across the globe and winning laurels. 'Puzhu' director Ratheena made an impressive debut as a director with the Mammootty-starrer. Ananthini Bala, who is directing Honey Rose-starrer 'Rachel', is also attempting to make a mark with her debut film.
Screenwriters
Though Malayalam literature has no dearth of celebrated women writers, till Deedi Damodaran decided to write 'Gulmohar' and 'Naayika', the industry had no women screenwriter. Deedi, who is the daughter of the late screenwriter T Damodaran, began writing screenplays as she felt Malayalam movies were devoid of a women's perspective. Soon, directors like Anjali Menon started writing their scripts. Shalini Ushadevi, who won the national award for the movie 'Soorarai Pottru', recently co-wrote the script of the Netflix original documentary 'Curry and Cyanide'.
Film editor
Though Bollywood boasts of a handful of female film editors, including Renu Saluja and Aruna Raje, Mollywood still has to catch up in this department. Beena Paul, who debuted as an editor in a G Aravindan documentary in 1985, is celebrated for her work in films like 'Padippura' and 'Agnisakshi'. She has worked as an editor in over 50 films and documentaries to date. Shwetha Venkat Matthew is a Malayali film editor, but she works largely in Bollywood movies.
Poster designer
Though Rosemary Lillu worked as a poster designer in films like 'Love Action Drama' and 'Ellam Sheriyakum', she hit headlines last year following the theatrical success of the movie 'Neru' directed by Jeethu Joseph. The title poster won equal appreciation from cinephiles, who also loved the movie. Rosemary hails from Kannur and has been acknowledged as FEFKA's first official woman movie designer.
Art designer
Dundhu Renjeev entered the male bastion by becoming Mollywood's first art designer. She started her career as an assistant in films like '100 Days of Love', 'Rockstar', and 'Oru Mexican Aparatha', before getting her big break in the 2018 film 'Lilli'. Jayashree Lakshmi Narayanan is best known for the commercially hit film 'Charlie', followed by 'Double Barrel', among others. She recently worked as the art designer for the 2023 Telugu movie 'Kushi'.
