Shaji N. Karun

Camera

Shaji N. Karun

Born January 1, 1952

Died April 28, 2025 · aged 73

Shaji Neelakantan Karunakaran (1 January 1952 – 28 April 2025), better known as Shaji N. Karun, was an Indian film director and cinematographer. His debut film Piravi won the Caméra d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. He was the inaugural chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, the first academy for film and TV in India and was also the executive chairman of the In…

Known For

Kutty SrankKutty Srank · 2010
Kutty Srank
4.92010
MovieDrama
Kutty Srank is a short-tempered, lonely, but law-abiding boatman whose work leads him to travel the back waters of Kerala
Neram PularumbolNeram Pularumbol · 1986
Neram Pularumbol
7.01986
MovieRomanceDrama
Arappatta Kettiya GraamathilArappatta Kettiya Graamathil · 1986
Arappatta Kettiya Graamathil
5.81986
MovieActionDrama
Three friends, Sakharia, Gopi and Bilal go to a brothel for enjoyment. They find a girl who was forced into prostitution and decide to save her.
Meenamasathile SuryanMeenamasathile Suryan · 1986
Meenamasathile Suryan
5.81986
MovieDramaAction
Four bachelors struggle to overcome obstacles that come their way when they fight against the British to attain India's independence.
SwapaanamSwapaanam · 2014
Swapaanam
2014
MovieDrama
Swapaanam (Malayalam: സ്വപാനം) (English translation: The Voiding Soul) is a Malayalam film directed by Shaji N. Karun and produced by M. Rajan for Horizon Entertainments. The film features Jayaram and Kadambari in the lead roles,[1] alongside Siddique, Vineeth, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy in supporting roles. The cinematography was held by Saji Nair and music was composed by Sreevalsan J Menon, while the script was written by Harikrishnan and Sajeev Pazhoor, based on Shaji’s own story.[2] The film was screened in the Dubai International Film Festival.[3] The film released with Auro 3D sound in selected theatres, becoming the third Indian film to employ the technology after Vishwaroopam(Tamil) and 1- Nenokkadine (Telugu).[4]
Lekhayude Maranam Oru FlashbackLekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback · 1983
Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback
6.11983
MovieDrama
Lekha is an aspiring actress who becomes successful and very popular. One day, she commits suicide! Why?
Koodevide?Koodevide? · 1983
Koodevide?
7.51983
MovieDrama
Alice is a teacher at a boarding school in Ooty. A prodigal and unruly son of a Member of Parliament Xavier Puthooran, Ravi Puthooran joins the school in Alice's class. Alice manages to mentor him into a good student.
PanchagniPanchagni · 1986
Panchagni
8.01986
MovieCrime
The movie revolves around Indira, who is serving life sentence in the jail. She has been charged for the murder of Avarachan, a landlord who killed a young tribal woman after raping her.

Movies

Kutty SrankKutty Srank · 2010
Kutty Srank
4.92010
MovieDrama
Kutty Srank is a short-tempered, lonely, but law-abiding boatman whose work leads him to travel the back waters of Kerala
Neram PularumbolNeram Pularumbol · 1986
Neram Pularumbol
7.01986
MovieRomanceDrama
Arappatta Kettiya GraamathilArappatta Kettiya Graamathil · 1986
Arappatta Kettiya Graamathil
5.81986
MovieActionDrama
Three friends, Sakharia, Gopi and Bilal go to a brothel for enjoyment. They find a girl who was forced into prostitution and decide to save her.
Meenamasathile SuryanMeenamasathile Suryan · 1986
Meenamasathile Suryan
5.81986
MovieDramaAction
Four bachelors struggle to overcome obstacles that come their way when they fight against the British to attain India's independence.
SwapaanamSwapaanam · 2014
Swapaanam
2014
MovieDrama
Swapaanam (Malayalam: സ്വപാനം) (English translation: The Voiding Soul) is a Malayalam film directed by Shaji N. Karun and produced by M. Rajan for Horizon Entertainments. The film features Jayaram and Kadambari in the lead roles,[1] alongside Siddique, Vineeth, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy in supporting roles. The cinematography was held by Saji Nair and music was composed by Sreevalsan J Menon, while the script was written by Harikrishnan and Sajeev Pazhoor, based on Shaji’s own story.[2] The film was screened in the Dubai International Film Festival.[3] The film released with Auro 3D sound in selected theatres, becoming the third Indian film to employ the technology after Vishwaroopam(Tamil) and 1- Nenokkadine (Telugu).[4]
Lekhayude Maranam Oru FlashbackLekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback · 1983
Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback
6.11983
MovieDrama
Lekha is an aspiring actress who becomes successful and very popular. One day, she commits suicide! Why?
Koodevide?Koodevide? · 1983
Koodevide?
7.51983
MovieDrama
Alice is a teacher at a boarding school in Ooty. A prodigal and unruly son of a Member of Parliament Xavier Puthooran, Ravi Puthooran joins the school in Alice's class. Alice manages to mentor him into a good student.
PanchagniPanchagni · 1986
Panchagni
8.01986
MovieCrime
The movie revolves around Indira, who is serving life sentence in the jail. She has been charged for the murder of Avarachan, a landlord who killed a young tribal woman after raping her.
ChidambaramChidambaram · 1985
Chidambaram
7.51985
MovieDrama
Chidambaram is based on a short story by noted Malayalam writer C. V. Shriraman. The film is a deeply symbolic exploration of the man-woman attraction leading to betrayal and eventually to the purgatory of guilt.
EsthappanEsthappan · 1980
Esthappan
5.81980
MovieDramaFantasy
Esthappan is a fisherman, who lives in a seashore colony. His story unfolds through narrations by other fishermen about his miraculous acts. Through the contradictory statements of these people, a mystical figure of Esthappan unfolds.
PokkuveyilPokkuveyil · 1982
Pokkuveyil
6.61982
MovieDramaMusic
A young artist lives with his father, a radical friend and music loving young woman. His father dies, the radical friend leaves him and the woman is taken away by her family to another city.
KummattyKummatty · 1979
Kummatty
6.31979
MovieFamilyFantasy
A stranger who may be the trickster magician Kummatty comes to a village in Malabar, India.
Kanchana SitaKanchana Sita · 1978
Kanchana Sita
6.51978
MovieDrama
The film interprets a story from the Uttara Kanda of the epic poem Ramayana, where Rama sends his wife, Sita, to the jungle to satisfy his subjects. Sita is never actually seen in the film, but her virtual presence is compellingly evoked in the moods of the forest and the elements. The film retells the epic from a womens' liberationist perspective, and is about the tragedy of power and the sacrifices that adherence to dharma demands, including abandoning a chaste wife.
Journey into Sato TadaoJourney into Sato Tadao · 2025
Journey into Sato Tadao
2025
MovieDocumentary
Sato Tadao is a giant of film criticism with over 150 published works to his name. He adored Asian cinema and referred to one Indian film, Kummatty, as his treasure. The director sets out on a journey in search of that treasure.
A Dream Takes Wings: G. AravindanA Dream Takes Wings: G. Aravindan · 2000
A Dream Takes Wings: G. Aravindan
2000
MovieDocumentary
An exploration of the multi-faceted personality of the filmmaker of international repute G. Aravindan.
The Circus TentThe Circus Tent · 1978
The Circus Tent
6.71978
MovieDrama
The arrival of a travelling circus sends ripples through the inhabitants of a remote Keralan village.
ManjuManju · 1983
Manju
7.01983
Movie
Set in Nainital, Manju is about Vimala Devi, a teacher in a boarding school, who waits in hope for the winter of her discontent to vanish. Another important character is Buddhu, who waits for his Englishman father to return to Nainital. Loneliness and endless waiting are recurring motifs in the film.
VanaprasthamVanaprastham · 1999
Vanaprastham
7.81999
MovieDrama
Kunhikuttan, a famous Kathakali dancer, meets Subhadra, a woman from an upper caste family, who falls in love with his character rather than himself.
Rays of HopeRays of Hope · 1974
Rays of Hope
1974
MovieDocumentary
The documentary film is about the Film and Television Institute of India including the views expressed by students, staff and Ex-Director Shri Jagat Murari. The filmmakers from the institute are 'Rays of Hope' for the alternative or New Indian Cinema.
And There Was a Village...And There Was a Village... · 1987
And There Was a Village...
8.01987
MovieDrama
In the 1950s a village in Kerala is preparing itself to be included in the nation's electric grid. Things are looking up for villagers and everyone is optimistic about the progress that electrification will bring. However soon some trouble brews starting with petty quarrels on trees being felled for the power lines. A series of unfortunate events follow the electrification as the village comes into terms with rapid modernization.
Panchavadi PalamPanchavadi Palam · 1984
Panchavadi Palam
8.51984
MovieComedyDrama
A henpecked politician wants his name attached to a new bridge, even if that means destroying another, perfectly serviceable bridge.
PiraviPiravi · 1989
Piravi
6.61989
MovieDrama
When his son fails to arrive home to attend his daughter's engagement ceremony, aging patriarch Raghava Chakyar waits daily for him at the bus stop. He soon comes to learn that his son, Raghu, was taken into police custody for political reasons and tries to get to the bottom of this.
NishadNishad · 2002
Nishad
9.02002
MovieDrama
A mistaken call from a young boy who is trying to reach his mother disrupts the peace of a couple, Gopi and Sati.
SheShe · 2019
She
5.72019
MovieFantasy
Olu is the tale of a girl who gets gang raped and sunk to the bottom of the backwaters where she can mysteriously survive and live for the next nine months -until she delivers her ‘baby from rape’.

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