Ramasimhan (born Ali Akbar; 20 February 1963) is an Indian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, screenwriter, and lyricist who works in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

. He directed more than 20 Malayalam movies, including ''Grama Panchayath'', ''

Bamboo Boys ''Bamboo Boys'' is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film written and directed by Ramasimhan. It stars Kalabhavan Mani, Cochin Haneefa, Harishree Ashokan, and Salim Kumar. The film was released on 11 October 2002. Plot Four tribal men fr ...

'', ''

Junior Mandrake ''Junior Mandrake'' is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by Ramasimhan aka Ali Akbar and written by Benny P. Nayarambalam from a story by Arun Kudamaloor. The plot revolves around the carriers of a mysterious bust named Juni ...

'', ''

Kudumba Vaarthakal ''Kudumba Vaarthakal'' () is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by Ali Akbar and produced by Milan Jaleel. The film stars Jagadish, Jagathy Sreekumar, Innocent, Kalabhavan Mani and Kalpana in the lead roles. The film has mus ...

'' and ''Pai Brothers''. In 2020, Ramasimhan announced a new movie to be produced through

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

, titled ''1921: Puzha Muthal Puzha Vare'', based on the 1921 Malabar rebellion. Ramasimhan received the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director The Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have bee ...

in the year 1988 for the movie ''

Mamalakalkkappurathu ''Mamalakalkkappurathu'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Ramasimhan. The film stars Manoj K. Jayan, Anil, Elias and Kilimol in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Mohan Sithara. The film won ...

''.

Politics

Ramasimhan has contested in 2014 parliament elections from Koduvally constituency. He contested in the election to the

Kozhikode Corporation The Kozhikode Corporation, is the municipal corporation that administers the city of Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala. Established in 1962, it is in the Kozhikode parliamentary constituency. The first mayor was H. Manjunatha Rao. Its four assembly c ...

as a

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

candidate.

Personal life

Ramasimhan is married to Lucyamma and the couple have two daughters. In 2015, Ramasimhan said that he was a victim of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

, he was abused by an ''usthad'' (teacher) at his

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

Meenangadi Meenangadi is an old town situated on the highway NH 766 between Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad District, in Kerala, India. This place is one among the Provinces where the existence of Dolmens provide an historical evidence of earlier ci ...

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

when he was eight years old. Long being a critic of Islam, in December 2021 Ramasimhan announced that he and his wife had decided to embrace Hinduism, and chose to be named as Ramasimhan.

Filmography

Awards

* 1988 -

- ''

Maamalakalkkappurath ''Mamalakalkkappurathu'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Ramasimhan. The film stars Manoj K. Jayan, Anil, Elias and Kilimol in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Mohan Sithara. The film won ...

'' * 1996 - 44th

National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film The National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. ...

- ''Rabia Chalikkunnu''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akbar, Ali 1963 births Living people Malayalam film directors Malayalam screenwriters Malayalam-language lyricists People from Wayanad district 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors Film directors from Kerala Screenwriters from Kerala Converts to Hinduism from Islam Indian former Muslims Indian Hindus