Thiruvananthapuram: The multifaceted Sreekumaran Thampi, the lyricist who shone as bright as the triumvirate of P. Bhaskaran, Vayalar and O.N.V. Kurup and one of Malayalam cinema’s most prolific scriptwriters, has been chosen for the J.C. Daniel award, 2017.
Mr Thampi is the 25th recipient of the state's highest film honour. The award was announced by culture minister A.K. Balan here on Wednesday. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, citation and a plaque. Mr Thampi was selected by a jury headed by actor Madhu, a former recipient. The jury also included filmmaker Sathyan Anthikkad, producer Siyad Kokker, and Chalachithra Academy chairman Kamal.
Mr Thampi is a rare breed, a jack of all trades who had mastered all that he had touched. He began as a lyricist in Kaattumaalika (1966), a time when stalwarts like P. Bhaskaran, Vayalar and O.N.V. Kurup were ruling the roost. His lines turned out to be so popular that some of his blockbuster lines like Chandrikayil Aliyunnu Chandraka-ntham were mistakenly considered Vayalar’s. No less a person than P. Bhaskaran has stated that Thampi’s lyrics were the closest to poetry in Malayalam cinema.
In fact his towering fame as a lyricist (Thampi's songs were a rage in campuses across the state during the 70s) unfairly overshadowed his myriad other capabilities.
He is perhaps the most prolific scriptwriter in Malayalam, penning for nearly 80 films. Thampi has also directed 29 films, the 80s being his most productive phase. His hugely popular musical Ganam, which he wrote, directed, produced and composed music for, is widely considered the first Malayalam film to take the prevalent caste issue head on. Ganam won him the state award for the most popular film with aesthetic appeal in 1981. Many of his directorial works like Puthiya Velic-ham, Ganam, Idimuz-hakkam, Nayattu (a remake of Zanjeer) and Bandhukkal Shath-rukkal, were blockbusters.
But as a producer, tragedy stalked him. Most of the 29 films he had produced had failed at the box office. The then superstar Prem Nazir had famously stated that he was willing to act in 100 films, all for free, if it was directed by Thampi.
