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 The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

winning Kannada film ''

Thaayi Saheba ''Thaayi Saheba'' () is an Indian Kannada language film released in 1997 directed by Girish Kasaravalli. The film was an adaptation of Kannada novel of same name written by Ranganath Shyamrao Lokapura. Plot summary The film is based on the stor ...

'' (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 Venu in ...

'' (2010), Isaac won the Best Music Director award at the

58th National Film Awards The 58th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema for the year 2010. The selection process started by ...

. Besides this, he won the

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Ch ...

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 Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia *Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County *Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County * Pala, Järva County, vil ...

, 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 Bangalore, India, founded in the memory of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta. The school has been described as "The Eton of the East". Th ...

. 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 Ravi Shankar Sharma (3 March 1926 – 7 March 2012), often referred to mononymously as Ravi, was an Indian music director, who had composed music for several Hindi and Malayalam films. After a successful career in Hindi cinema, he took a bre ...

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as the ...

and

S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one ...

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 insti ...

, 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 of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

(FTII) at

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. He obtained his postgraduate diploma in Film direction and screenplay writing. Subsequently, he began to assist

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmak ...

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 s ...

'' (1978), ''

Kummatty Kummatty is a 1979 Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Ramunni, Master Ashok and Vilasini Reema form the cast. Cast *Ambalappuzha Ravunni *Ashok Unnikrishnan *Kottara Gopalakrishnan Nair * Kuttyedathi Vilasini Soundtrack The mu ...

'' (1979) and ''

Esthappan ''Esthappan'' is a 1980 Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers ...

'' (1980).

Career

Isaac entered into film composing with the Kannada film ''

'' 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'' (1996), ''

Dweepa ''Dweepa'' () is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language film by Girish Kasaravalli, based on the novel of the same name by Na D'Souza. It stars Soundarya, Avinash and M. V. Vasudeva Rao in the lead roles. The film deals with the raging issue of build ...

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

Gulabi Talkies ''Gulabi Talkies'' is a 2008 Indian Kannada language film by acclaimed Indian director Girish Kasaravalli. It is based on a short story by the same name by Kannada writer Vaidehi. The film premiered at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and A ...

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

Margam Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the 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 larger and extending into ...

'', '' Sancharram'', ''

Kutty Srank ''Kutty Srank'' ( en, The Sailor of Hearts) is a 2010 Indian Malayalam arthouse film directed by Shaji N. Karun. Mammootty played the title role for the film. The film was produced by Reliance Entertainment under the banner of Big Motion Pictu ...

'', ''

Punyam Aham ''Punyam Aham'' is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Raj Nair. Prithviraj, Samvrutha Sunil and Nedumudi Venu play the lead roles in this film. Plot ''Punyam Aham'' is set in a small village in northern Kerala. The protagonist ...

'' and ''

'' and many others 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 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 Male film score composers 20th-century male musicians