P. Chandrakumar is an Indian film director, cinematographer, and film distributor who worked 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' ...

Early life

Chandrakumar hails from Kollengode,

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

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 has a younger brother P. Sukumar. He was schooled at Rajas School in Kollengode.

P. Kunhiraman Nair Panayanthitta Kunhiraman Nair (4 October 1905 – 27 May 1978), also known as Mahakavi P, was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. He was known for his romantic poems which detailed the natural beauty of his home state of Kerala in South Ind ...

taught at the school during the time. His father, Kumaran Nair worked in the Police department and also as a ''visha vaidyan'' (venom doctor). After his father received transfer to Parambikulam, Chandrakumar took the job as a ''visha vaidyan'' when he was yet to turn 14 years. He also learned and used to perform

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

in front of tourists in the

Kollengode Palace Kollengode Palace is a palace situated in Thrissur town of Thrissur district, Kerala state, India. History The Raja of Kollengode, Vasudeva Raja, constructed this palace in 1904 and gave it to his daughter. The original Kollengode palace(kal ...

. Vasu Menon, the founder of Vasu Films company and Vasu Studio once received treatment from him for snake bite. Vasu identified Chandrakaumar as the Kathakali performer he saw at the Kollengode Palace and invited him to film industry. It was a turning point in his life.

Career

At the age of 14, he began his film career as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

P. Bhaskaran Pulloottupadathu Bhaskaran alias as P. Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 25 February 2007), was a Malayalam poet, lyricist of Malayalam film songs, and filmmaker. He penned more than 3000 songs for about 250 films. He also directed 44 Malayalam fea ...

-directed ''

Ummachu ''Ummachu'' (''Beloved'') is a Malayalam novel written by Uroob in 1954. ''Ummachu'' along with '' Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum'' are considered the best works by Uroob and are ranked among the finest novels in Malayalam. In ''Ummachu'', Uroob e ...

'' (1971). It was on the sets of ''Ummachu'' he met

Madhu Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English '' mead''. Metaphorical use ''Madhu'' has been used for millennia si ...

, who would later produce six films and act in 29 films directed by Chandrakumar. After ''Ummachu'', he worked under 13 directors. He debuted as a director at the age of 19 with the 1977

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film ''

Manassoru Mayil ''Manassoru Mayil'' is a 1977 Indian Malayalam film, directed by P. Chandrakumar. The film stars Vincent, Jayabharathi, Pattom Sadan, Sankaradi and Raghavan, Jayan in the lead roles. The film has musical score by A. T. Ummer. Cast *Vincent ...

'' which was a moderate box office success. His second film '' Jala Tharangam'' (1978) starring Madhu also performed moderately. His third film was the first production of Madhu's Uma Studio, which was a major commercial success. ''

Anubhoothikalude Nimisham ''Anubhoothikalude Nimisham'' () is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by P. Chandrakumar, written by Thoppil Bhasi, and produced by R. S. Prabhu. The film stars Soman, Jayan, Sharada, Adoor Bhasi and Sreelatha Namboothiri. The f ...

'' was also a major commercial success. In 1980s, he founded a company for distributing English films. In 1988, he directed '' Adipapam'', an

erotic film Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religious groups or hav ...

based on the bible, which became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time. It is regarded as the first superhit softporn film in Malayalam cinema. The success of the film kick started a trend of softporn films in Malayalam cinema for a while.

Personal life

He is married to doctor Jayanthi and the couple has two children—Kiran Kumar and Karishma. His younger brother P. Sukumar is a popular cinematographer, actor and

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 ...

in Malayalam.

Filmography

References

External links

* Living people Film directors from Palakkad district Malayalam film directors People from Palakkad district 20th-century Indian film directors 1954 births {{India-film-director-stub