Deepu Karunakaran – Malayalam filmmaker with ‘Crazy Gopalan’, ‘Winter’, ‘Teja Bhai & Family’ etc to his credit

Deepu Karunakaran is a hit filmmaker of Malayalam cinema, though he has done only a few movies. Dileep starrer Crazy Gopalan (2008) was his first theatric release, followed by his delayed movie, Winter (2009). He also directed Prithviraj starrer comedy hit film, Teja Bhai & Family in 2011, followed by Mammootty starrer Fireman (2015) and Manju Warrier starrer Karinkunnam 6S (2016). All his films received rave reviews from critics, and most of them fared well at box office too. Noted Malayalam actress Suchitra Murali, who played numerous lead roles in the 1990s, is his elder sister.

He registered hits in different genres of filmmaking

Deepu Karunakaran was born in Thiruvananthapuram in 1977 into a family with filmy background. His father Karunakaran, a navy officer by profession has produced around 70 movies. Like his father and elder sister he too reached film world and worked as an assistant director under ace filmmaker Priyadarshan for many years before making his first full-fledged film in 2008. His first movie was Jayaram starrer Winter. But the movie got a delayed release, and Crazy Gopalan got released first. As of now he has directed 5 Malayalam movies, exploring different themes. All of them got connected with audiences easily. Screen chemistry of Prithviraj and Suraj Venjaramoodu in Teja Bhai & Family was well received by audience.

Deepu Karunakaran – Some interesting and less-known facts

Deepu Karunakaran with his wife Archana Mohan

1. His movie Fireman starring Mammootty was based on a real-life incident, and first Malayalam movie based on the profession of firemen. The movie was a super hit.

2. His first movie, Winter, a horror thriller took four years for a theatric release.

3. His movies like Crazy Gopalan, Fireman and Teja Bhai & Family registered big success at box office. Yet he didn’t get too many offers from Mollywood.

4. Telugu actress Sunitha Varma marked her Malayalam debut through Deepu’s Crazy Gopalan, where she played female lead.

5. He along with a friend had earlier planned a movie based on the theme of volley ball. The title coined then, Karinkunnam 6S was later used for another movie based on same sport.