T. K. Pareekutty

Pareekutty was born in Fort Kochi in 1909. He began his career in the coir trade and owned a fleet of boats before moving into the film business.^[2] In 1952, Pareekutty started a film distribution company under the name Chandrathara Pictures. His first major success was Neelakuyil (1954), co-directed by Ramu Kariat and Bhaskaran. The film is often described as a landmark in Malayalam cinema.^[3] It became the first South Indian film to receive the President’s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film. Several of his productions won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, including Mudiyanaya Puthran (1961), Thacholi Othenan (1964) and Kunjali Marakkar (1967).^[4] Beyond film production, Pareekutty also invested in exhibition. He built the Saina Theatre in Fort Kochi, which later became known as Koker’s Theatre, remembered as Kerala’s first 70 mm theatre. Pareekutty died on 21 July 1969.^[5]