Shahi Kabir – Talented Malayalam screen writer with ‘Joseph’ and ‘Officer on Duty’ to his credit

Shahi Kabir is an extremely talented screen writer and director associated with Malayalam screen. He is best known for writing thrillers. He first came into spotlight after writing the screenplay of highly acclaimed Joseph (2018) directed by M. Padmakumar. Later he scripted Nayattu (2021), Ela Veezha Poonchira (2022), and Officer on Duty (2025). “Ela Veezha Poonchira” was his debut work as a director. All his scripts were well acclaimed and well received. His gripping tales have a separate fan base, and loved on OTT platforms as well, by different language speaking audiences. Soon after his debut script earned appreciation, I wrote one biography about him. You can read it here.

A civil police officer with the Kerala Police

Shahi Kabir was born on September 28, 1978, in Alappuzha, Kerala. He is married to Sabeena A since July 8, 2007, and they have two children. He works with Kerala police department, and his scripts also hold the same vibes. Most of his scripts are investigation thrillers or police stories. He ventured into screenwriting in 2018 with the highly appreciated Joseph (2018) starring Joju George. The movie played a magnificent role in establishing Joju’s career as a lead actor. He began his career as a police constable in 2005.

An ardent movie buff since childhood

He loved movies since childhood, and in his opinion, movies give him relief from the harsh facets of being a policeman. When he scripted his debut film, Joseph (2018), he was already 40 years, and posted with district headquarters of Kerala Police in Kottayam. Cinema and story writing liberated him to a great extent. His father was very active in the amateur drama circle, and he used to take young Kabir to theatre to watch films.

While he was writing the script of Joseph, actor Tovino Thomas introduced him to Dileesh Pothen, and Kabir got opportunity to work as his assistant director for the highly acclaimed, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, which was also a police story. But that time he realized that direction is not his cup of tea, and very soon met director Padmakumar and Joseph was on track.

His debut work Joseph placed him among top writers of Malayalam cinema

It’s pure talent, and a little bit of luck to get recognized for the debut work. Shahi Kabir struck gold with his debut project, and there was no turning back. He went on scripting Nayattu (2021), Ela Veezha Poonchira (2022), and Officer on Duty (2025), which were all well-received. All his films gained a wider audience post-theatrical release, once they were released on OTT.

His police story ‘Ela Veezha Poonchira’ fetched him the Best Debut Director award at the Kerala State Film Awards 2022. He won the award from a list of 19 debut filmmakers. It was his debut film as a director. He is working on a directorial project, featuring Roshan Mathew and Dileesh Pothan, and has recently completed filming. The film is not titled yet. As a screenwriter, his recent work Officer on Duty was widely praised.

For him, his self-discovery as a writer came very late. His colleagues used to enjoy his short stories, and then only realisation came he could write stories of his own. He has worked at different police stations at different points of time. That experience has helped him a lot in scripting his stories. One of the best instances is the lonely police station, which he used in Ela Veezha Poonchira. He is currently on a five-year leave from the police department. 

Shahi Kabir – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. He marked his debut as a screenwriter at the age of 40, and wrote some top-class scripts since then.

2. His debut script Joseph faced backlash from a section of the medical community. His script was based on misuse in organ donation, which brought some kind of controversies.

3. Shahi worked as an assistant director to Dileesh Pothen in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. He also played a brief role in the film.

4. He wrote two scripts for Kunchakko Boban – Nayattu (2021) and Officer on Duty (2025). Both were well received. While “Officer on Duty” is not a direct sequel to “Nayattu”, both the movies have been compared for their narrative, lead actor and the screenwriter.

5. In 2015, he wrote and directed a short film In? Glorious Life. People who worked in front of and behind camera were all policemen at the AR camp. The short film earned 6 awards.

6. He wanted to direct an offbeat film with a dark subject while he was working on Joseph. A few years later he scripted and directed ‘Ela Veezha Poonchira’.

7. His favourite film is Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare. Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Kandahar influenced him as a cine buff. It was after watching this film, he started thinking, films can be used this way also.