K.B. Maju

K B Maju is an Indian Director and Writer who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry and is more commonly known as Manju. He was born in 1983 and raised in Kochi in the state of Kerala. His father was a farmer and not significantly educated. Although K.B. Maju had a passion for watching movies when he was younger, he never considered making a movie himself. K.B. Maju initially spent over ten years in the Arabian Gulf, where he worked in a Travel Consultancy. 

Despite being away from his home, K.B. Maju never missed out on a Mollywood movie release. K.B. Manju developed a serious interest in Lijo Jose Pelliserry’s style of direction and went to visit him during one of his vacations in Kerala. After spending ten days on the set of ‘Ee. Ma. Yau’ in Chellanam, K.B. Maju directed his first short- ‘Kaaliya’, in order to gain first-hand knowledge about direction. The short was only nine minutes long but received so much appreciation that it gave K.B. Maju the courage to take on more significant projects. 

In 2018, K.B. Maju made his debut as a writer and director with the movie ‘French Viplavam’. The film is a satirical take on the counter-intuitive 1996 Arrack ban in Kerala, which highlights the consequences of the law on society. After this, K.B. Manju released the film- ‘Appan’ in 2022, which is a critique of patriarchy and toxic masculinity. As a director, K.B. Manju has chosen to make movies that are of social importance. This has earned him a significant fan following and respect among his audience.