[1] Despite facing a temporary decline in the 1990s, the genre's popularity grew after the successful release of Kinnara Thumbikal (2000), which starred Shakeela.

In Malayalam B-grade films, male roles were functionally supplementary, with the heroine and her sexuality emphasised.

[7] Malayalam and Tamil actress Revathi criticised the concept of B-grade films, saying: "Why are we so obsessed with women’s bodies anyway?

[6] Several actresses launched their career through the Malayalam softcore pornographic films, including Abhilasha, who is considered one of the forerunners of this genre.

[8] Silk Smitha, who had gained success with dance numbers in the early 1980s, also became an integral part of the industry.

[10] These actors became well known within the genre, and included Prameela, Unni Mary, Disco Shanti, Anuradha, Madhuri, Jyothilakshmi, Kuyili, T. G. Ravi and Ratheesh.

Maria transitioned to the genre after acting in mainstream Malayalam films such as Nirnayam, Pallavoor Devanarayanan, Megham and Chandranudikkunna Dikkil.

In the early 2000s, the genre also featured actresses such as Sindhu, Rajini, Devika, Roshni, Sharmili and Alphonsa.

[15] The film involves a man who is unable to have sex with his wife because she appears to him as his mother each time they attempt to consummate their relationship.

Though currently regarded as a cult movie with a strong social message, the film was considered and marketed as pornographic, especially to non-malayali audience, when it was released.

Later, he inserted additional sex scenes and released the movie through his own firm, distributing it only in isolated towns and villages; the film became popular due to word-of-mouth promotion.

Gopalakrishnan then made the 1986 films Pidikitapulli and Karinagam, which featured several sex scenes and nudity that were not shown to the censor board.

The sex scenes were absent when the censor board confiscated a print of Pidikitapulli, but present when it played in a suburban Trivandrum theatre two weeks later.

[20] The 1989 film Layanam, starring Silk Smitha in the lead role, was also a big success at box office.

[24] In March 2000, Kinnarathumbikal, a low budget softcore pornographic film starring Shakeela, was released.

[25] The success of Kinnarathumbikal triggered a series of similar low-budget softcore pornographic films produced in Malayalam.

At one time, posters with Shakeela's half-naked body, a single name and a large "adults only" emblem were widespread in Kerala.

[5] Actresses such as Reshma, Maria, Sindhu and Alphonsa, who arose with or after Shakeela, became an integral part of the industry.

[33] The Malayalam heroine has been referenced in popular erotic comics that portray married female characters as the targets of sexual fantasies, such as Savita Bhabhi and Velamma.