Isaac Thomas Kottukapally (1948/9 – 18 February 2021) was an Indian film score composer, music director and script writer working mainly in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He scored music for several English documentaries and commercials. Isaac debuted as a composer into the film industry with the National award winning Kannada film '' Thaayi Saheba'' (1997) directed by

Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...

. For his background score in the film ''

Adaminte Makan Abu ''Adaminte Makan Abu'' () is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab, with Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Suraj Venjarammoodu, and Nedumudi Ve ...

'' (2010), Isaac won the Best Music Director award at the 58th National Film Awards. Besides this, he won the Kerala State Film Awards five times for his score in various Malayalam films.

Early life

Isaac was the son of former Member of Parliament George Thomas Kottukapally and was a member of the Kottukapally family of Pala, Kerala. His childhood activities were predominantly into arts and music. He did his schooling at the

Bishop Cotton Boys' School Bishop Cotton Boys' School is an all-boys school for boarders and day scholars in Bengaluru, India, founded in the memory of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta. The school is bordered by Residency Road, St Mark's Road, L ...

. At home in Pala, he was exposed to an extensive collection of music and literature. His fascination with the works of composers like C. Ramachandra, Bombay Ravi, Madan Mohan and S. D. Burman pushed him towards music composition. He was interested in ballets and operas and also began to write scripts. While doing his graduation at the

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

, he decided to enroll himself at the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

(FTII) at

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. He obtained his postgraduate diploma in Film direction and screenplay writing. Subsequently, he began to assist G. Aravindan for films like ''

Thampu ''Thampu'' () is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, V. K. Sreeraman, Jalaja and the artistes of the ''Great Chitra Circus'' form the cast. The film deals with the roving st ...

'' (1978), '' Kummatty'' (1979) and ''

Esthappan ''Esthappan'' is a 1980 Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Aravindan also co-composed the music and edited the film. Rajan Kakkanadan, Krishnapuram Leela, Sudharma and Shobhana form the cast. It won the Kerala State Film Award ...

'' (1980).

Career

Isaac entered into film composing with the Kannada film '' Thaayi Saheba'' released in 1997. The film was received well by the critics and the music was appreciated. This paved the way for a long association of Isaac with the director

. He went on to score Kasaravalli's future films such as ''

Kraurya ''Kraurya'' () is a 1996 Indian Kannada language drama film directed by Girish Kasaravalli, based on a story written by T. N. Seetharam about an old woman who has to deal with complex relationships with people of different generations she is put ...

'' (1996), '' Dweepa'' (2002), '' Naayi Neralu'' (2006) and ''

Gulabi Talkies ''Gulabi Talkies'' is a 2008 Indian Kannada language drama film by acclaimed Indian director Girish Kasaravalli. The film stars Umashree in the title role, M. D. Pallavi and K. G. Krishna Murthy. It is based on a short story by the same name by Ka ...

'' (2008). In Malayalam, he composed for many films such as ''

Margam Margam is a suburb and community (Wales), community of Port Talbot in the Wales, Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being l ...

'', '' Sancharram'', '' Kutty Srank'', '' Punyam Aham'' and ''

'', which won him Kerala State Awards and National film award. His score for the ''1:1.6 An Ode to Lost Love'' (2004) was also appreciated at the Panorama at the International Film Festival of India.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Many landmarks to his credit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kottukapally, Isaac Thomas 1940s births Year of birth uncertain Date of birth missing 2021 deaths Film musicians from Kerala People from Pala, Kerala Indian male songwriters Indian songwriters Kannada film score composers Malayalam film score composers Kerala State Film Award winners Best Background Score National Film Award winners Indian male screenwriters Hindi film score composers Madras Christian College alumni Film and Television Institute of India alumni 20th-century Indian musicians Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male musicians