Maliampurackal Chacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

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 is the producer of '' Jeevithanauka'' (1951), starring

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri fr ...

Career

In 1947, he established Udaya Studio in Pathirappally, Alappuzha. In his early days, Kunchacko produced films under the banner of ''K & K Productions'', with the partnership of K. V. Koshy. The company produced 4 films: ''Vellinakshatram'', ''Nalla Thanka'', '' Jeevithanauka'' and ''Visappinte Vili''. ''Jeevithanauka'' (1951), starring

ran for 250 days. During the making of the film ''Achchan'', Kunchacko and Koshy parted ways and each started film-making under separate banners: Kunchacko under Udaya and Koshi under Filmco.weblokam.com
Profile
Kunchacko went on to produce ''Achchan, Avan Varunnu'' and '' Kidappadam'' under the banner of Udaya. '' Kidappadam'' was a commercial failure, and that caused Kunchacko to close down Udaya Studio. However, Udaya was opened within a few years with the help of his friend and Kerala state minister T. V. Thomas. In 1960, Kunchacko tried his hand in film direction with ''Umma'', which he followed with ''Neeli Saali'' and ''Seetha''. He went on to direct 40 films in his career of many genres including purana stories, ''vadakkan pattu'' stories, comedy films and social themed films. Some of his films are ''Bharya, Unniyarcha, Palattukoman, Sakunthala, Pazhassiraja, Mainatheruvi Kolacase, Ponnapuram Kotta, Anarkali'' and ''Kannappanunni''. His career in film direction went along with his career as film producer. He produced films directed by various directors such as M. Krishnan Nair (''Agni Mrigam, Thara, Kattuthulasi''), A. Vincent (''Gandharva Kshethram''), Thoppil Bhasi ('' Oru Sundariyude Katha, Ningalenne Communistakki''), K.S. Sethumadhavan (Koottukudumbam) and K. Raghunath (''Laura Neeyevide'').In 1976, Kunchacko died in

with musician K. Raghavan for the song recording of the film ''Mallanum Mathevanum''. ''Kannappanunni'' was the last film directed by him. His death occurred on the fifth death anniversary (15 June) of the veteran Malayalam actor Sathyan, who acted in many of his films. Kunchako's Udaya Studios faced heavy losses later, and stopped production.

Family

Kunchacko was born in a Syro Malabar Catholic family in Alappuzha, Kerala. He hails from the Maliampurakal family. His father, M. M. Chacko, started the first boat service in Kuttanadu. His brother M. C. Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan was known for his work 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 ...

, especially as the founder of Navodaya Studio. His son, Boban Kunchacko, was also an actor, director, and producer who was part of a few films produced by Udaya. His grandson,

Kunchacko Boban Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in the Malayalam film industry. He is referred to as Chackochan, and during the early 2000s, he was called "chocolate boy" because of his romantic image. He ...

is also a Malayalam film actor. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', 10 July 2004.

Filmography

Direction

*'' Kannappanunni'' (1977) *'' Chennai Valarthiya Kutty'' (1976) *'' Mailanum Mathevanum'' (1976) *'' Cheenavala'' (1975) *'' Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre'' (1975) *'' Manishada'' (1975) *'' Neela Ponman'' (1975) *'' Durga'' (1974) *'' Thumbolarcha'' (1974) *'' Pavangal Pennungal'' (1973) *'' Ponnapuram Kotta'' (1973) *'' Thenaruvi'' (1973) *'' Aromalunni'' (1972) *'' Postmane Kananilla'' (1972) *'' Panchavan Kadu'' (1971) *'' Dattuputhran'' (1970) *'' Othenente Makan'' (1970) *'' Pearl View'' (1970) *''

Susie Susie is a female name that can be a diminutive form of Susan, Susanne, Suzanne, Susannah, Susanna or Susana. Susie may refer to: Songs *"Susie", a song by Krokus from '' Painkiller'' *"Susie", a song by John Lee Hooker from the album '' ...

'' (1969) *'' Kodungalluramma'' (1968) *'' Punnapra Vyalar'' (1968) *'' Thirichadi'' (1968) *'' Kasavuthattam'' (1967) *'' Mainatharuvi Kola Case'' (1967) *'' Anarkali'' (1966) *''Jail'' (1966) *'' Tilottama'' (1966) *'' Inapravugal'' (1965) *'' Shakuntala'' (1965) *'' Ayesha'' (1964) *'' Pazhassi Raja'' (1964) *'' Kadalamma'' (1963) *''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'' (1963) *'' Bharya'' (1962) *'' Palattukoman'' (1962) *''Krishna Kuchela'' (1961/I) *''Unniyarcha'' (1961) *'' Neeli Sally'' (1960) *'' Seeta'' (1960) *'' Umma'' (1960)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunchacko Malayalam film directors 1976 deaths 1912 births Kerala State Film Award winners Malayalam film producers Film directors from Alappuzha district 20th-century Indian people Film producers from Kerala Indian Christians Indian Catholics