Malayalam films cater to people living in the South Indian state of Kerala and emigrants from it. The total population of Malayalees, as they are called, is around 4 crore. As of 2002, most Malayalam films were made with a budget of less than Rs 1 crore. (0.25 million USD)[10] Despite the apparent budget constrains, Malayalam cinema has pioneered various technical, thematic and production techniques among films in India and South India. Such films include:
- Marthanda Varma (1933): The first Indian historical drama film. The film was based on the life of Marthanda Varma, the Maharajah of the Indian princely state of Travancore in the mid 18th century. Marthanda Varma was film adaptation of a novel in the same name by C. V. Raman Pillai, making it one of the first Indian film adaptations from literature other than the puranas.
- Newspaper Boy (1955): India's first neorealistic film. The film drew its inspiration from Italian neorealism and was released a few months before Satyajit Ray's debut film Pather Panchali, another neo-realistic film.
- Thacholi Ambu (1978): South India's first CinemaScope film.
- Padayottam (1982): India's first indigenously produced 70 mm film.
- My Dear Kuttichathan (1984): India's first 3-D film.
- Amma Ariyan (1986): The first film made in India with money collected from the public. The film was produced by Odessa Collective, founded by the director of the film John Abraham and friends. The fund was raised by collecting donations and screening Charlie Chaplin's film The Kid.
- O' Faaby (1993): India's first live-action/animation hybrid film.
- Moonnamathoral (2006): First Indian film to be shot and distributed in digital format.
From wikipedia