Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas

Udayakrishna and Siby K. Thomas are an Indian screenwriter duo known for their work in Malayalam cinema.^[1] Most of their works are in the comedy genre with films such as Mattupetti Machan (1998), Udayapuram Sulthan (1999), Dhosth (2001), C.I.D. Moosa (2003), Runway (2004), Thuruppu Gulan (2005), Twenty:20 (2008), Pokkiri Raja (2010), Christian Brothers (2011) and Mayamohini (2012); all turning out to be big commercial hits.^[2]

The duo started their career as assistant directors and wrote their first screenplay in 1997, for Hitler Brothers. They got their break through Mattuppetti Machan (1998) but it was Udayapuram Sulthan (1999) that made them bankable screenwriters. They made memorable films with directors including Joshiy, Johny Antony, Jose Thomas and Sandhya Mohan.

The duo are often criticised for the lack of content in their screenplays, their continuous association with superstars. But most of their films were big hits owing to the elitist nature of the industry.^[3] The duo part away in 2015, Udayakrishna to continue as a scriptwriter while Sibi K. Thomas as a filmmaker. Udayakrishna penned his first Independent script Puli Murugan in 2015 and is scripting for Sibi's first directorial debut.^[4]

Career

Both Siby and Udayakrishna started their career as assistant directors. Siby assisted Balu Kiriyath and Sandhya Mohan while Udayakrishna assisted A.R.Mukesh(film script writer), Ali Akbar, K. Madhu and Venu B. Nair.^[5] It was actor Manoj K. Jayan who prodded them into a reel partnership and agreed to star in their directorial debut.^[5] However, that project did not work out. Subsequently, they wrote their first script, Hitler Brothers (1997), for Sandhya Mohan, followed by Mayajalam for Balu Kiriyath. Both films failed at the box office.^[5] The duo's first hit came through Mattuppetti Machan directed by Jose Thomas, and was followed by the Dileep-starrer Udayapuram Sulthan by the same director.^[5] Then came Sundrapurushan starring Suresh Gopi which was a moderate success. It was followed by Rajasenan's successful movies, Dileep-starrer Darling Darling and Jayaram-starrer Malayalimamanu Vanakkam. C.I.D. Moosa, directed by Johny Antony and starring Dileep was a notable success in the duo's career. They associated with Johny Antony in most of his directorial ventures thereafter including the commercially successful Kochi Rajavu and Thuruppu Gulan.

They worked with veteran director Joshiy in Dileep-starrers Runway, Lion and July 4, and in the landmark Malayalam film Twenty:20. Twenty:20 was produced by Association of Malayalam Movie Artists in association with Dileep's Grand Productions and starred almost all major actors of Malayalam cinema. The film became the highest grossing Malayalam film of all time and brought several appreciations for Siby and Udayakrishna.^[6] Twenty:20 was followed by the Mammootty-starrer children's film Ee Pattanathil Bhootham, which was panned by the critics and became an average grosser. In 2010, they made a comeback with another Mammootty-starrer Pokkiri Raja, which went on to become a big success and the highest grossing film of the year.^[7] However, critical responses for Pokkiri Raja were mostly mixed. In the same year, they also scripted debutante Thomson K. Thomas's Kaaryasthan, another Dileep starrer. Despite negative reviews from critics, the film closely followed Pokkiri Raja in collection records of the year.^[7] Their only film in 2011 was Christian Brothers, another multi-starrer with Joshiy, which went on to become a huge success.^[8][9] They scripted two films in 2012, Mayamohini and Mr. Marumakan, both starring Dileep. The former was a tremendous success and was amongst the highest grossing films of the year while the latter, despite receiving heavy criticism from film critics, managed to become an average hit. The latest release in their combination is Dileep-starrer SringaraVelan.

Style

Most of their films are in the comedy genre. They are known for heavy usage of slapstick comedy in all the films. The protagonists of their films often hail from rich Christian and Hindu families and often the film itself revolves around the family ties or rivalries between two families.^[10]

The duo are often criticised for the lack of content in their screenplays and for the continuous association with superstars. They justifiy:

Filmography

References

External links

• Udayakrishna at the Internet Movie Database
• Siby K. Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• "Interview: Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas". Varnachithram. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
• "Video interview: Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas". Indiaglitz. 14 April 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2011.