Thomas Berly

Thomas Berly Biography

Thomas Berly is a veteran cine personality associated with Malayalam cinema. A multifaceted personality, he is known as a film actor, director, producer, script writer and music composer. He also writes in English, and publishes his works; Beyond Heart, Fragrant Petals, O Kerala etc. He has appeared in 1953 Malayalam movie, Thiramaala as a child actor, and later returned to silver screen only in 2015, where he played a supporting role in Prithviraj starrer, Double Barrel which was a box office flop. He has scripted one Malayalam movie, Ithu Manushyano in 1973, produced and directed as well.

His name is also pronounced as Thomas Burleigh and his full name is Thomas Berly (Burleigh) Kurishingal. He was born in Fort Kochi, Kerala into a Christian family as the son of K. J. Burleigh and Annie. He was born in 1938. He is married to Sophy, and has three children - Tanya, Tarun and Tamina. His debut movie was Thiramala in 1953 in his teens. To pursue a career in film industry, he did acting course in University of California, Los Angeles. He stayed in US for a while, playing bit roles and uncredited roles in movies and television shows. Never So Few (1959) was one such, in which he appeared in an uncredited role. He produced an English movie, Maya for children.

He moved back to India in 1969. But he ventured into export business. Later he produced and directed one film, Ithu Manushyano in 1973 with some hit songs of M. K. Arjun like Sukhamoru Bindu. Vellarikkaappattanam in 1985 is his second film as a director. His other hobbies include - magic, violin, Madeleine instrumental music and painting.

Published: January 10, 2019

Updated: January 10, 2019