Filmmaker and cinematographer Shaji N. Karun
| Photo Credit:
Mathew Joseph@Kochi
Noted filmmaker and cinematographer Shaji N. Karun passed away on Monday evening in Thiruvananthapuram. He was 73 and had been battling with cancer for a long time.
A graduate in cinematography from the Films and Television Institute of India (FTII), Shaji N. Karun was instrumental in bringing recognition to Malayalm films both on national and international forums. His directorial debut was Piravi which earned a Camera d’Or – Mention d’honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
The films Piravi, Swam, produced in 1994, and Vanaprastham in 1994 were selected for the Canes official section. Piravi was screened at over 70 international film festivals and won 31 awards, while Swam was nominated for the Palm d’Or at Cannes. He also earned other honours such as the National Film Award for Best Director for Piravi, three national awards for Best Feature Film and multiple Kerala State Film awards.
He was also honoured with JC Daniel Award, the highest award in Kerala in 2023, recognising his lifetime contribution to cinema.
He was the founding chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the first academy for film and television in the country and the executive chairman of International Film Festival of Kerala from 1998 to 2001. He also served as the chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation.
It was Shaji N. Karun who spearheaded the state government’s initiative of its own OTT platform C-Space to foster a cultural movement with the objective to protect and archive culturally significant films. He spoke to businessline in March on C-Space, saying that the government’s sole intention was to bring home high-quality artistic and cultural movies. C-Space was launched to support producers and directors by helping them recover their investments through crowd funding.
Published on April 28, 2025
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