Srikumaran Thampi – A multi-faceted personality in film world
Srikumaran Thampi has donned many roles in the cultural arena of the state. He is known as a lyricist, a director, a producer, a screenwriter, a musician, and a novelist. Due to the romantic nature of the songs written by him, he is fondly called as the Poet of Love Songs. His lyrics are marked for their musical quality and artistic beauty.
Introduction
Srikumaran Thampi is a multi-faceted personality who has created his own style of writing in Mollywood, the Malayalam film industry. He is a lyricist, a director, a producer, and a screenwriter in the film industry. The volume of his contribution can be gauged from the statistics available with us. Till date, he has produced about 22 movies, directed 29 films, and wrote the dialogue scripts for about 78 films. Apart from these contributions, he has penned 3000 lyrics for songs in different Malayalam movies. He is also the author of another work by the name "Prem Nazir Enna Premaganam". Other works of this great personality are "Cinema - Kanakkum Kavithayum" and Mohiniyattom. The former work bagged him the national award, and the latter helped him secure the state award.Personal Life
Srikumaran Thampi was born on March 16, 1940 in a place called Haripad in Alappuzha district of central Kerala. His parents were Kalarikkal Krishna Pillai and Karimpalayathu Bhavaniamma Thankachi. His mother had connection with the royal family of Haripattu Koikkal. His siblings are P. Vasudevan Thampi and P. Gopalakrishnan Thampi. Both of his brothers have created their own identities in the state. P. Vasudevan Thampi is a renowned novelist who has written the novel "Sreekrishnaparinthu". This novel was later adapted into the celluloid medium. His second brother, P. Gopalakrishnan Thampi, is an established advocate. He got retired from the state government service as the Director General of Prosecutions. He is married to Raji Thampi. They have two children from their marriage. His daughter Kavitha is also fully involved in the field of arts and culture like her father. On the other hand, his son Rajkumar Thampi was a former associate of the ace director Priyadarshan. Later Rajkumar Thampi tried to establish his own identity in the film industry by directing few Telugu films, before his untimely death. Career in Movie Industry
Srikumaran Thampi was introduced into the Malayalam film world by P. Subramaniam to write lyrics for songs in a Malayalam movie "Kaatumallika". Since his dream entry into the film world, he never looked back. To his credit, he has directed 29 movies, written scripts for 78 movies, and produced about 22 movies. He is also a good lyricist. Over the years, he has penned lyrics for over 3000 songs. In fact, the people of the state and film industry fondly call him "Hrudaya Ragangalude Kavi" (Poet of Love Songs). He got this name mainly due to the romantic nature of his songs.
He is also an accomplished musician. Because of his exposure to music, many of his song compositions are melodious and heartwarming to hear. This was observed by few music directors who happened to work with him in different film units. Some of his evergreen songs are still hummed by the people of all age groups, transcending the physical borders of the states. It is worthwhile to recollect the songs such as "Chandrikayilaliyum Chandrakantham", "Swanthamenna Pathathinenthartham", etc. in this context. He stood strongly for the creativity and application in his creations. Hence, all his songs were able to blend with the scene and scenery of the movie sequence.
He has also directed some of the commercial hits in the past. Some of the examples of such commercial hits are Mohiniyattom, Jeevitham Oru Gaanam, Chandrakaantham, Maalika Paniyunnor, etc. As a producer, he has made commercially hit movies such as Idimuzhakkam, Aakramanam, Naayattu, etc. Just like his brother P. Vasudevan Thampi, he is also a noted novelist. In his lifetime, he has written four novels such as "Kadalum Karalum", "Kaakkathampurati", "Njaan Oru Kadha Parayaam", etc. He is known for his obstinate and uncompromised stands on his creations. Whenever, somebody wanted to alter his creations, he never allowed that to happen.
He is also a poet. There is a collection of poems written by him. These poems were written by him at different points in time. A collection of songs written by him titled "Hridaya Sarasu" has become so viral in the market that it went into three editions in the last two years.Conclusion
Sreekumaran Thampi is a multi-faceted personality in the cultural arena of the Kerala state. To his credit, he has directed, produced and written scripts for many movies. He is also a novelist, a musician, and a poet. He has penned over 3000 songs, directed 29 movies, and produced 22 movies. He has also written scripts for about 78 movies in his lifetime. A collection of songs written by him has become a hit in the market. Hence, it has undergone three editions in last two years. If one looks at the some of the box-office hits in the past, he gets convinced that the films got the recognition due to quality scripts penned by him.
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