Murali Gopy Completes 20 Years In Malayalam Cinema As Actor And Screenwriter

Velayudhan Pillai Gopynathan Nair Muralikrishnan, known professionally as Murali Gopy, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, producer, author, singer, lyricist, music composer and journalist. He recently completed 20 years in the Malayalam film industry.

He has written films such as Ee Adutha Kaalathu, Left Right Left, Tiyaan, Kammara Sambhavam and the highest-grossing Malayalam film Lucifer. He has won numerous awards including Filmfare Awards South and South Indian International Movie Awards.

Murali’s first acting role was that of the villain Kala Bhaskaran in Rasikan. He returned to the screen as Dr Alex Verghese in Bhramaram. His notable performances include the role of Ajay Kurien, an impotent and abusive husband in Ee Adutha Kaalathu, Che Guevara Roy, a partially paralyzed left-wing activist in Left Right Left, Father Michael Plathottathil, a young priest in Kanyaka Talkies, the dual role of Dr Hari Narayan and Ravi Narayan in the psychological thriller 1 by Two, the die-hard romantic Siddharth in Lukka Chuppi, Devassy Pappan, an 80-year-old patriarch in Pa Va, Mahashay Bhagavan, a self-proclaimed godman in Tiyaan, Madhava Das, the husband of Kamala Das (Madhavikkutty), in Aami, and Chellappan, the raw, rustic and retro character from the literary world of P Padmarajan in Kaattu.

Murali Gopy made his debut as a screenwriter, actor and singer in the Lal Jose film Rasikan (2004). The 2012 film Ee Adutha Kaalathu, for which Murali wrote the screenplay, is considered a landmark for Malayalam cinema as it offers an innovative method of interweaving storylines. Writer NS Madhavan described it as “the cinema of the 21st century”. He wrote his next screenplay for Left Right Left, also directed by Arun Kumar Aravind.

It is a social thriller set in three eras, the 60s/70s, the 80s/90s and the present. The film, which received excellent reviews upon its release, has since been considered a cult classic. The 2017 film Tiyaan, written by him, was notable for its bold subject matter, focusing on the current socio-political scenario in India.