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 ...

in Kerala, India. He has a younger brother

P. Sukumar P. Sukumar ISC is an Indian cinematographer, director, producer and actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He is known for directing the film, Swantham Lekhakan, and handling the camera for over 65 films such as '' Twenty:20'', ''A ...

. He was schooled at Rajas School in Kollengode. P. Kunhiraman Nair 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. 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'' (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 ''Adipapam'' () is a 1988 Indian Malayalam-language erotic film directed and filmed by P. Chandrakumar and produced by R. B. Choudary. It is based on the Old Testament and features Vimal Raja and Abhilasha as Adam and Eve, respectively. Upon rel ...

'', an erotic film 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

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