T. Damodaran

T. Damodaran Biography

T. Damodaran was a famous screenwriter associated with Malayalam cinema, who has contributed some of the blockbusters of the industry in the 1980s and later. He teamed up with ace filmmaker I. V. Sasi in the 1980s and later to produce some of the biggest action thrillers, predominantly with Mammootty playing leading roles. His big hits include Angadi, Eee Nadu, Vartha, Avanazhi, Inspector Balram, 1921, Adimakal Udamakal, and Balram vs. Taradas. He also teamed up with director Priyadarshan to write some of the big action hits of Mohanlal’s career; Aryan, Advaitham, Abhimanyu, and Kala Pani to mention a few. His daughter, Deedi Damodaran, is a young screenwriter of Malayalam cinema. Damodaran also played brief cameos in a few movies.

He was born in Kozhikode in 1935. He was fondly called Damodaran Master by his close friends and well-wishers. He was a physical trainer at school by profession, who started screen writing in the 1970s. But he was active in theatre field since late 1960s, mostly for writing slapstick comedy for actor Kuthiravattam Pappu for their comedy plays. It was Hariharan who asked him to join film industry as a screenwriter, and by the late 1980s, he rose to fame with a string of powerful scripts he wrote for Malayalam cinema.

He wrote around 50 screenplays for I. V. Sasi alone, apart from writing for other directors. Jayan starrer Angaadi in 1980 gave him the big break he was waiting for. Meen, Kanthavalayam, and Karimbana – a string of hits in the early 1980s with the same director established him as a leading story teller of the industry. He also wrote plays during this period, though he was active in cine world. He reduced his work in the late 1990s. His last release was Yes Your Honour. He died on 28 March 2012 in Kozhikode aged 72.

Published: N/A

Updated: June 28, 2018