Padma Shri Awardee and Renowned Filmmaker Shaji N. Karun Passes Away.
Obituary
In April 2025, eminent filmmaker and cinematographer Shaji Neelakandan Karunakaran, popularly known as Shaji N. Karun, passed away at the age of 73 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was born in 1952 in Kandanchira, located in the Kollam district of Kerala.
- He gained national and international acclaim for his directorial debut film, Piravi (1988), which won him the National Film Award for Best Director and the Camera d'Or – Mention d'honneur at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
- Shaji N. Karun began his illustrious journey in cinema as a cinematographer. Over a career spanning five decades, he directed only six films but worked as a cinematographer on nearly 30 others. His technical expertise and aesthetic sensibility significantly shaped Indian parallel cinema.
- His 1994 film Swaham became the second Indian film ever to be selected for the competition section at the Cannes Film Festival. Another major directorial achievement, Vanaprastham (1999), premiered at Cannes and went on to win National Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Actor, and Best Editing.
Main Point :- (i) Shaji N. Karun played a pioneering role in the development of India's film infrastructure by becoming the founding Chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy—the first film and television academy in India. His leadership laid the foundation for many initiatives to support filmmakers.
(ii) He also led the Kerala government's efforts to launch its OTT platform, C-Space, which aimed to protect, promote, and archive films of cultural and artistic importance. This was a landmark step in preserving India’s rich cinematic heritage.
(iii) Shaji N. Karun received several prestigious awards throughout his career. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2011 for his contribution to the arts. In 2019, he was awarded the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. In 2023, he was honored with the JC Daniel Award, Kerala's highest recognition for lifetime achievement in cinema.
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