''Kattukkaran Varunny Joseph'' (Known as also Jose Kattookkaran and shortly, Kattukkaran Varunny) who is known as "Father of Malayalam cinema and theater industry" was an industrialist who established the former film exhibiting company in Kerala named Royal Exhibitors. He started Jose Theatre in

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 ...

which is the first permanent theatre in

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 Ca ...

and Davison Theatre in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...

under Royal Exhibitors. He had established the first electrically operated film projector ''Jose Electrical Bioscope'' at

Ollur Ollur is a major suburban area and an old commercial town in the city of Thrissur of Kerala state, South India. It is about away from Swaraj Round on old National Highway 47 (India) towards Kochi. From ancient time onwards, Ollur was a major bu ...

city in 1913.

Early life

Varunny was born on 26 November 1871 to a Syrian Christian family in

a suburban area of

, Kerala, India. He died on 26 May 1925.

History of film exhibition

Varunny purchased the first projector and a few movies from railway officer Vincent Paul who bought the setup from a French exhibitor, and had the first showcase in Thrissur, under the banner -Jose Bioscope In early 1907. His first exhibition was in

Thekkinkadu Maidan Thekkinkadu Maidanam is situated in the middle of Thrissur city of Kerala state in India. This hillock which seats the Vadakkumnathan Temple, is an open ground in the centre of the Thrissur city which is under the custody of the Cochin Devas ...

a connection with

Thrissur Pooram The Thrissur ''Pooram'' is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) Temple in Thrissur every year on the ''Pooram'' (pronounced ) day—the day when the moon rises with the ''P ...

at the same year. And, he used a manual projector and a tent that could fit around hundred people at a time, showcasing videos of blooming flowers, horse races and the life of Christ with unrelated narrations that nevertheless astounded the crowd. He toured all of south India with Jose Bioscope and eventually established the first electrically operated film projection named Jose Electrical Bioscope, with the advent of electricity, in 1913. An unprecedented disaster struck when he lost his bioscope to a storm, when sailing from Mangalore after an exhibition. Not one to give up, K W Joseph, founded Royal Exhibitors company, in partnership with a few others. He also eventually founded Babysun Talkies, laying the foundation for film exhibition in Kerala.

References

External links

Kattukkaran Trust

* [https://www.chethas.com/%E0%B4%B8%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%A8%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%AF%E0%B5%81%E0%B4%9F%E0%B5%86-%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%B7%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%9F%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B5%80%E0%B4%AF%E0%B4%82/ സിനിമയുടെ രാഷ്ട്രീയം] {{DEFAULTSORT:Kattookkaran, Jose 1871 births 1925 deaths Film people from Kerala Businesspeople from Thrissur Film exhibitors