Dileesh Philip (born 19 February 1980), also known as Dileesh Pothan is an Indian film director, actor and producer, who works in
Malayalam cinema
Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
. He made his directorial debut with the 2016
comedy drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film ''
Maheshinte Prathikaaram'', starring
Fahadh Faasil
Abdul Hameed Mohammed Fahad Fazil (born 8 August 1982), professionally known as Fahadh Faasil, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Malayalam films. Noted for his diverse portrayals, Fahadh is among the highest-paid and most ...
. The film received the
Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the
64th National Film Awards. Pothan also won the
Best Director Award at the
64th Filmfare Awards South
The 64th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema
Cinema of South India, refers to the cinema of the four major film industries in South India; primarily engaged in making feature ...
.
Pothan began his career as an associate director to the 2010 film ''
9 KK Road''. He served as an assistant director under
Aashiq Abu
Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indian film director, producer, cinematographer, actor, and distributor, who works in Malayalam cinema.
He is best known for his films such as '' Daddy Cool'' (2009), '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), '' 22 Female ...
, assisting in five of Aashiq's films. He made his acting debut as a film director in one scene in Aashiq Abu's 2011 film ''
Salt N' Pepper''. His second directional was ''
Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum
''Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum'' () is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language crime drama film directed by Dileesh Pothan and written by Sajeev Pazhoor. The film stars Fahadh Faasil, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and Nimisha Sajayan in lead roles, with Al ...
'' (2017), which was also a critical and commercial hit.
''Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum'' won the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award as well at the
65th National Film Awards.
His third and latest film ''
Joji'', also starring Fahadh Faasil, released to highly positive reviews on the
OTT platform of
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
in April 2021. ''Joji'' won the best International Film Award at the Swedish International Film Festival (SIFF 2021).
Personal life
Dileesh Pothan was born in
Manjoor,
Kottayam
Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...
. He did his schooling at Emmanuel's High School,
Kothanalloor. After
pre-degree from Kuriakose Elias College, Mannanam, he pursued a
BSc degree at
St. Philomena's College, Mysore
St. Philomena's College, established on 9 October 1946, was the first 'First Grade College' in Mysore, India. It was opened by His Highness, Maharaja of Mysore. Its motto "Caritas in Scientia" was chosen by The Pope. The college has introduced t ...
. Due to his keen interest in drama and cinema, he followed up with an
M.A. in
Theatre Arts
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...
at
Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit
The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a Sanskrit university in India established in 1993 When Indian Union Muslim league leader Sri. ET Muhammed Basheer was the. Education minister of Kerala in Kalady, Kochi, Kerala. The founda ...
,
Kalady
Kalady or Kaladi is a town located between Angamaly and Perumbavoor, east of the Periyar river, near to Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India, not far from Cochin International Airport. It is notable as the birthplace of 9th ce ...
and an
M.Phil. in Theatre Arts from
Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. Pothan married Jimsy in December 2012 at St. Thomas Church, Kuruppanthara. They have a daughter and a son.
Film career
Pothan started his film career as an assistant director in the film ''
9 KK Road'' (2010). Later on he became an associate director to
Aashiq Abu
Aashiq Abu (born 12 April 1978) is an Indian film director, producer, cinematographer, actor, and distributor, who works in Malayalam cinema.
He is best known for his films such as '' Daddy Cool'' (2009), '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), '' 22 Female ...
. He assisted Aashiq Abu in films like ''
22 Female Kottayam'' (2012), ''
Da Thadiya'' (2012), and ''
Gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
'' (2014).
He was the chief associate director in
Dileesh Nair
Dileesh Nair (born 23 July 1981) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. He started out as a 2D animator. He made his script writing debut with '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011) along with Syam Pushkaran. He debute ...
's 2014 film ''
Tamaar Padaar''.
His first appearance in front of a movie camera was as a junior artist in the movie
Chandranudikunna Dikkil (1999) directed by Lal Jose. Later his first proper role as an actor was in Salt N' Pepper. He has also acted in small roles mostly in Aashiq Abu's films, ''
Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), ''
22 Female Kottayam'' (2012), ''
Idukki Gold'' (2013), ''
Gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
'' (2014), ''
Iyobinte Pusthakam'' (2014), and ''
Rani Padmini'' (2015). He has acted in several films since then.
Pothan ventured into film production by forming the film production company
Working Class Hero in 2018, partnered by
Syam Pushkaran
Syam Pushkaran (born 6 September 1984) is an Indian scriptwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his collaboration with directors Aashiq Abu and Dileesh Pothan. He made his debut with '' Salt N' Pepper'' (2011), co-written wit ...
. Their first movie was
Kumbalangi Nights.
Filmography
*''All films are 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 ...
language unless otherwise noted''.
As director
As producer
As actor
As associate director
* ''
3 char sau bees'' (2010)
* ''
22 Female Kottayam'' (2012)
* ''
Da Thadiya'' (2012)
* ''
5 Sundarikal'' (2013)
* ''
Idukki Gold'' (2013)
* ''
Gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Tamaar Padaar'' (2014)
Awards
Filmmaking style
Pothan's filmmaking style―flirting with molecule level details, imbuing vibrance; one of its kind and stamping touches of
sensationalism
In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...
, is from the
KG George school. But Pothan is also singularly distinctive in his approach, which is a delectable medley of native roots (classy old-school) and modern kerala. In ''
Maheshinte Prathikaram'', Pothan charts a ''
butterfly effect
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
The term is closely associated w ...
'' idiom through remarkable attention for detail and sensational film language, using every medium―song, sky, rain, space, place and drama with consummated precision.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pothan, Dileesh
Malayalam film directors
1981 births
Film directors from Kochi
Male actors from Kochi
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Indian male film actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Indian film producers
Living people
Artists from Kerala