Parisapparambil Kunjan Pillai Ramachandran Pillai (1930/1931 – 16 May 2023) was an Indian film producer, distributor, businessman, and actor who worked in the

Malayalam film industry 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 was the founder of film production company Shirdi Sai Creations and distributed films through Shirdi Sai Release. He is credited with producing eight of

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

's films in the 1980s, and is best known for producing ''

Chithram ''Chithram'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language screwball comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film was produced by P. K. R. Pillai under his production house Shirdi Sai Creations, and stars Mohanlal, Ranjini, Nedumudi V ...

''.

Biography

Pillai hailed from

Koothattukulam Koothattukulam is a town and municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinat ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and in his early years began a Bombay import business which grew to become Starnight Group of Industries. He was also active in politics and was a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. He maintained a close friendship with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was an ardent devotee of

Shirdi Sai Baba Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

, and had built a temple and an eponymous auditorium near his house in Koothattukulam. He owned a 26-horse race track. His first marriage was with Sarojam, who died in an accident. He had four children (Rajesh, Preethi, Saju, Sidhu) with his second wife Rama. His son Sidhu, an actor, died in 2018. Pillai's debut production was ''

Vepraalam ''Vepraalam'' is a 1984 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Menon Suresh and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. The film stars Sukumari, Adoor Bhasi, Lakshmi and Menaka in the lead roles. The film has musical score by K. V. Mahadevan. Cast * P. K. R. ...

'' in 1984, in which he also acted. He also appeared in his second film ''

Thathamme Poocha Poocha ''Thathamme Poocha Poocha'' is a 1984 Indian Malayalam film, directed by Balu Kiriyath and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. The film stars Rajkumar, Suhasini, Lalu Alex and Unnimary in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. B. Sreenivasa ...

'' (1984). Pillai died on 16 May 2023, at the age of 92.

Filmography

Production

#''

'' (1984) #''

'' (1984) #'' Ezhu Muthal Onpathu Vare'' (1985) #'' Puli Varunne Puli'' (1985) #'' Onathumbikkoru Oonjaal'' (1985) #'' Oru Yugasandhya'' (1986) #''

Shobhraj ''Shobhraj'' is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by J. Sasikumar and written by Vijayan Karote, starring Mohanlal and Madhavi. The film is a remake of the 1978 Hindi film '' Don'' written by Salim–Javed. Mohan ...

'' (1986) #''

Amrutham Gamaya ''Amrutham Gamaya'' , (translation: ''Path to immortality'') is a 1987 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. It features Mohanlal in the lead role, along ...

'' (1987) #''

'' (1988) #''

Vandanam ''Vandanam'' () is a 1989 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Priyadarshan, written by V. R. Gopalakrishnan, and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. The film stars Mohanlal and Girija Shettar, while Mukesh and Nedumudi Venu app ...

'' (1989) #'' Arhatha'' (1990) #'' Kizhakkunarum Pakshi'' (1991) #'' Aham'' (1992) #''

Rapid Action Force The Rapid Action Force (RAF) is a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force of India to deal with riot and crowd control situations. History RAF was raised on 11 December 1991 with headquarters in New Delhi. It became fully oper ...

'' (2000) #''

Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan ''Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan'' () is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film written and directed by Vinayan and produced by P. K. R. Pillai. It stars Jayasurya in his debut lead role, along with Kavya Madhavan. Kavya won the Asia ...

'' (2002) #''

Pranayamanithooval ''Pranyamanithooval'' ( ml, പ്രണയമണിത്തൂവൽ) is a 2002 Malayalam film directed by Thulasidas starring Vineeth Kumar, Jayasurya and Gopika (in her debut). This movie is a remake of 1999 Tamil movie '' Nee Varuvai Ena' ...

'' (2002)

Distribution

#'' Ezhu Muthal Onpathu Vare'' (1985) #'' Ayanum'' (1985) #'' Jaalakam'' (1987) #''

Vellanakalude Nadu ''Vellanakalude Nadu'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language political satire crime film directed by Priyadarshan, written by Sreenivasan and produced by Maniyanpilla Raju. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobhana, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, M. G. So ...

'' (1988) #'' Aey Auto'' (1990) #''

Vishnulokam ''Vishnulokam'' () is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Kamal, written by T. A. Razzaq, and produced by Sanal Kumar and G. Suresh Kumar. The film stars Mohanlal, Shanthi Krishna, Urvashi, and Murali. The songs fe ...

'' (1991) #'' Ennum Sambhavami Yuge Yuge'' (2001) #''

Achanurangatha Veedu ''Achanuragantha Veedu'' () is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Lal Jose and written by Babu Janardhanan. It stars Salim Kumar, Muktha, Samvrutha Sunil, and Indrajith Sukumaran. The film was released on 28 January 2006. F ...

'' (2006)

References

External links

* 1930s births Year of birth uncertain 2023 deaths Place of birth missing Malayalam film producers People from Ernakulam district {{India-film-bio-stub