Kunchacko

Late Kunchacko was an Indian Film director, writer, and producer.  He was born in the year 1912 in an Indian island village, Pulinkunnoo, in the Kuttanadu region of Alappuzha, Kerala. He predominantly worked in the Malayalam film industry. Kunchacko was married to Annamma Chacko. As a writer, he is known for Avan Varunnu and Kidappadam. He established the oldest film production studio in the Malayalam film industry, Udaya Pictures, in the year 1947 along with the well-known film distributor, K.V. Koshy. The movies Vellinakshatram, Nalla Thanka, and Visappinte Vili were produced by the same company under the banner K & K Productions.

The movie Jeevithanauka (1951), starring  Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Born in the Travancore state of Nagercoil, Thikkur >> Read More... , was produced by Kunchacko.  Kunchacko and Koshy parted ways and started film-making under separate banners (Kunchacko under Udaya and Koshi under Filmco). Kunchacko then produced Achchan, Avan Varunnu, and Kidappadam under the banner of Udaya. The failure of Kidappadam caused Kunchacko to shut down Udaya Studio, his childhood dream. Within the next few years, Udaya reopened with the assistance of the then Kerala state minister, T. V. Thomas.

Kunchacko has produced and directed more than 40 films in the industry. The first movie that he directed was Umma in the year 1960. Kunchacko has directed cinemas from several genres, from Purana and Vadakkan Pattu stories to comedy and social themed films.  Some of the cinemas in which Kunchacko has worked are Neeli Saali (1960), Seetha (1960), Bharya (1962), Unniyarcha (1961), Palattukoman (1962), Sakunthala (1965), Pazhassi Raja (1964), Mainatharuvi Kola Case (1967), Ponnapuram Kotta (1973) and Anarkali (1966).  Kannappanunni was his last film as a director. The talented producer-director died at the age of 64, on 15th June 1976 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.