K. R. Sachidanandan (25 December 197218 June 2020), professionally credited as Sachy, was an Indian screenwriter, director, and film producer 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 ...

. Initially, he co-wrote films with Sethu as a writer duo known as

Sachi-Sethu Sachi-Sethu was a former screenwriter duo of Sachy and Sethu who worked in Malayalam cinema. The pair wrote a total of five films, beginning with ''Chocolate'' in 2007 and ending with '' Doubles'' in 2011, after which they worked as independent ...

, their works include ''Chocolate'' (2007), ''Robinhood'' (2009), ''

Makeup Man ''Makeup Man'' is a 2011 Malayalam comedy film directed by Shafi. The film stars Jayaram, Sheela, Siddique and Suraj Venjarammoodu in the lead roles, with Prithviraj and Kunchacko Boban appearing in guest roles. Vidyasagar composed the music ...

'' (2011) and ''Seniors'' (2012). He made his independent debut as a screenwriter with the 2012 film '' Run Baby Run'' and his directorial debut with ''Anarkali'' (2015). He co-produced the film ''

Chettayees ''Chettayees: Lovable Rascals'' is a 2012 Malayalam comedy film written by Sachy and directed by Shajoon Kariyal. The film is produced under the banner of Thakkaali Films, a production house launched by a group of friends – actors Biju Menon ...

'' (2012) under his company Thakkali Films. It was followed by '' Ramaleela'' (2017), ''

Sherlock Toms ''Sherlock Toms'' is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by Shafi and written by Sachy. The film stars Biju Menon, Miya, Srinda Arhaan, Salim Kumar, and Kalabhavan Shajohn. It was produced by Prem Menon under his Global Uni ...

'' (2017), and ''

Driving Licence A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

'' (2019). His last film was '' Ayyappanum Koshiyum'' (2020). He died on 18 June 2020 at

Jubilee Mission Hospital Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute is a private, non-profit Christian minority medical college, hospital and research institute located at Thrissur in Kerala, India. The establishment is administered by the Jubilee Mission H ...

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

, aged 47. He was posthumously awarded the

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1 ...

in 2022 for his last film Ayyappanum Koshiyum, which also won three national awards in 2022.

Early life

Sachy was born on 25 December 1972 at

Kodungalloor Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Th ...

in Thrissur district of

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 ...

, India. He completed his bachelor's degree in commerce from Sree Narayana Mangalam College, Maliankara and LLB from Govt. Law College, Ernakulam. He practised as a lawyer in

Criminal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

and

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

for eight years in the

High Court of Kerala The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

. During his time at college, Sachy was active in his college film society and theatre, directing several plays.

Film career

Sachi-Sethu duo

He started off his venture in Malayalam Industry by collaborating with writer Sethunath. Their debut movie ''Chocolate'' was a success which led them to pair up for several movies. The next work together was ''Robin Hood'' which was directed by Joshiy, and later they teamed up for another comedy ''

'' in 2011 directed by

Shafi The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...

. They were successful again with comedy-mystery ''Seniors'' directed by

Vysakh Ebbey Abraham (born 1 June 1980), better known by his stage name Vysakh, is an Indian film director who works in Malayalam films. He began his career as a television anchor and later as an associate director to Joshiy and Johny Antony. He debut ...

, but the duo split after ''Doubles'' (2011) failed to do well at the box office.

Independent works

After his split with Sethu in 2011, Sachy continued his career as an independent writer, debuting with the thriller ''Run Baby Run'' (2012) directed by Joshiy, which became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of that year. He later teamed up with director

Shajoon Kariyal Shajoon Kariyal is an Indian film director and producer working in Malayalam cinema. Life Shajoon started his film career in 1984, at the age of 21, as an assistant director to I. V. Sasi. He worked as the assistant or associate director ...

for ''

'' (2012) starring Biju Menon, Suresh Krishna, Miya and

Lal Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

which was not successful at the box office . After ''

'' Sachy associated with

for the comedy thriller film ''

'' starring Biju Menon which also was a failure. Later, Sachy collaborated with debutant director Arun Gopy for '' Ramaleela'' starring

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, and businessman who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has acted in more than 150 films and has won several awards, inc ...

that became a major commercial success at the box office. In 2019, Sachy collaborated with Lal Jr. to make another blockbuster hit Driving License.

Production and direction

Sachy co-founded the film production company Thakkali Films with his friends Biju Menon,

Shajoon Karyal Shajoon Kariyal is an Indian film director and producer working in Malayalam cinema. Life Shajoon started his film career in 1984, at the age of 21, as an assistant director to I. V. Sasi. He worked as the assistant or associate director ...

, P. Sukumar and Suresh Krishna, and produced the comedy film ''

'' in 2012. He made his directorial debut with the 2015 romantic drama ''Anarkali''. It starred Prithviraj, Biju Menon, and Mia George. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success at the box office. It was followed by the action thriller, '' Ayyappanum Koshiyum'', in 2020, for which Sachy received the

, posthumously. It was a huge blockbuster at the box office, and the last successful Malayalam film, right before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

hit the world. It also led to a remake in Telugu, ''

Bheemla Nayak ''Bheemla Nayak'' is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film directed by Saagar K Chandra from a screenplay by Trivikram Srinivas. It is an official remake of the 2020 Malayalam film '' Ayyappanum Koshiyum''. The film stars Pawan K ...

'', starring

Pawan Kalyan Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Babu; 2 September is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and politician. His films are predominantly in Telugu cinema. Kalyan is the younger brother of actor-ex.politician Chiranjeevi, and made his debut in the 1996 ...

in Menon's role, and Rana Daggubati in Prithviraj's role. A Hindi language remake is also in the pipeline, rumored to be starring

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor, film producer, writer and former model working in Hindi films. He has won a National Film Award and received five Filmfare nominations. After modelling for advertisements and companies, ...

and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

Death

Sachy died on 18 June 2020 following a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

Filmography

Sachy-Sethu works

Independent works as writer

As Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachy Indian male screenwriters Film producers from Kerala 1972 births 2020 deaths People from Thrissur district Best Director National Film Award winners