Ace filmmaker Shaji N Karun, whose craft of cinematic realism earned global acclaim, passed away at his residence ‘Piravi’ in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. He was 73.
Shaji had been battling cancer for some time. He had received the JC Daniel Award for lifetime contribution to Malayalam cinema on April 16. He was later admitted to a private hospital and was brought home two days ago. The cremation will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. He is survived by wife Anasuya Warrier and sons Appu Karun and Karun Anil.
A recipient of Padma Shri and French honour ‘Order of Arts and Letters‘, Shaji was the chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation. Born in 1952, Shaji started his career as a cameraman and he wielded the camera only for legendary filmmaker G Aravindan for a long time. He won the national award for best cinematographer for ‘Thampu’ in 1979.
Shaji also worked with directors KG George, Hariharan and MT Vasudevan Nair before emerging as a director with ‘Piravi’ (1988), which received several national and international accolades. His films ‘Swaham’ (1994) and ‘Vanaprastham’ (1999) also earned national and international recognition. Shaji was instrumental in the development of KSFDC and Kerala Chalachitra Academy as major institutions of repute.
“Throughout his career, Shaji consistently upheld the principles of realism in his films… He approached cinema as a fundamentally visual art form, believing that images, more than words, should carry the weight of storytelling,” cinematographer Santhosh Sivan said.
