Basil C J

Basil was born in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam district, Kerala. He began writing and composing songs from his high school years and started learning the flute during his college days.^[2] After completing a bachelor's degree in Commerce, he moved to Chennai to pursue further studies in music. In Chennai, he continued learning Carnatic flute and also began studying the piano. He completed a diploma in audio engineering from the SAE Institute and subsequently worked with various musicians in Chennai. He has been working as an independent music composer since 2014.^[2]

In 2012, Basil published 12 Little Piano Pieces, a piano score book comprising Western classical piano compositions. He made his debut as a film composer in 2014 with Oraalppokkam.

Basil composed the background score for Aattam (2023), directed by Anand Ekarshi, which won three National Film Awards including Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Best Editing.^[3] The film also won the Grand Jury Award for Best Picture at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) in 2023.^[3]

In 2025, he composed the songs and background score for Ithiri Neram, directed by Prasanth Vijay. He also wrote the lyrics for all the songs in the film.^[4][5]

He received a Jury Mention for Best Soundtrack at the 32nd Cinema Jove – Valencia International Film Festival in 2017 for the music of Sexy Durga.^[6]

In addition to his work as a composer, Basil is also a lyricist who has written lyrics for various Malayalam songs. His song "Neeyorikkal" from Ithiri Neram was noted for its poetic quality. His other lyric credits include "Nee Vasantha Kaalam" and "Indheevarangal", among others.^[5][7]