India, Feb. 22 -- Malayalam cinema, celebrated for its outstanding accolades at the annual National Film Festivals, has carved a remarkable niche in the Indian film industry. This success story first took flight with Adoor Gopalakrishnan's critically acclaimed 1972 film, Swayamvaram. And this happened in Kerala, a Malayalam-speaking, 35 million-strong Indian state. The state's tiny size notwithstanding, Malayalam films have not only dominated the national film landscape but have also garnered global recognition. Adoor Gopalakrishnan's receipt of the British Film Institute's Sutherland Trophy in 1982, serves as a testament to this. Satyajit Ray is the only other Indian filmmaker to share this distinction. Other significant luminaries of the era include Aravindan and John Abraham. This volume looks at the efforts of all these auteurs who were instrumental in the renaissance of Malayalam cinema during the 1970s and 1980s....