Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan (6 February 1924 – 23 April 2012) was an Indian film producer, director and entrepreneur. He is best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, especially as the founder of

Navodaya Studio Navodaya Studio is an Indian film studio headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. It is one of the earliest film studios in Kerala, established in 1976 by Navodaya Appachan. Navodaya is known for producing some of the landmark films in Indian cinema. His ...

. Appachan was born to the Maliampurackal family at

Pulinkunnoo Pulincunnoo or Pulinkunnoo (Churuli) is an island village in the Kuttanadu region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. The Pampa river in Pulincunnoo is one of the most favored routes of the houseboats tourism operators in Ku ...

and was an alumnus of St. Xavier's College,

Palayamkottai Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani river, with the exception of its downtown area, wh ...

. Movies he produced include '' Manjil Virinja Pookkal'' and ''

My Dear Kuttichathan ''My Dear Kuttichathan'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy film directed by Jijo Punnoose and produced by his father Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was the first Indian film to be filmed in 3D format. With screenplay ...

''. The latter was the first

3D movie 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...

made in India and released as ''Chota Chetan'' in Hindi. He is the founder of

. He created ''

Bible Ki Kahaniyan ''Bible Ki Kahaniyan'' (English: ''Stories from the Bible'') is an Indian Hindi language, Hindi-language television program based upon scriptures from the Bible. The production aspired to complete both Old Testament and New Testament narratives ...

'' on Doordarshan. He first became involved in the film industry with his brother

Kunchacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madra ...

, at Udaya Studio. The first Cinemascope film in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

was directed by him, and the Malayalam '' Padayottam'', which was the first indigenously shot

70mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wi ...

movie in South India, was produced by him. He founded

Kishkinta Kishkinta was a theme park located in Chennai, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous d ...

, India's first

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. He was given the 2011 J. C. Daniel Award for contributions to Malayalam cinema.

Death

Appachan died aged 88 on 23 April 2012 at Lakeshore Hospital in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, due to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Filmography

Awards

*He won Filmfare Award for Best Film - Malayalam - ''

Chamaram ''Chamaram'' is a 1980 Malayalam film written by John Paul Puthusery and directed by Bharathan, starring Nedumudi Venu, Zarina Wahab, Prathap Pothan and Ratheesh. The story is about the tumultuous affair between a student and his college lect ...

'' (1980)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appachan, Navodaya 1930s births 2012 deaths J. C. Daniel Award winners Kerala State Film Award winners Producers who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award Film producers from Kerala Malayalam film producers Malayalam film directors Film directors from Kerala 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian businesspeople People from Alappuzha district Filmmaking pioneers Odia film directors Deaths from cancer in India