Malayalam screenwriter-director Dennis Joseph passes away

Malayalam screenwriter-director Dennis Joseph passed away on Monday evening at a private hospital in Kottayam.

He is the screenwriter of many all-time super-hit Malayalam movies. He has scripted several films that have rocked the theaters like Nirakoottu, Rajavinte Makan, New Delhi, Manu Uncle, No. 20 Madras Mail, Kottayam Kunjachan and Aakashadoothu. He has also directed films like Agrajan, Thudar Kadha, Appu, Atharvam, and Manu Uncle.


He was the screenwriter who changed the very nature of commercial cinema in Malayalam. The rise of superstars came through the films he scripted. Mammootty, Mohanlal, and Suresh Gopi rise to superstardom through the hit films of Dennis Joseph. Most of the films were scripted for director Joshi. These were all hits.

Dennis penned some of the biggest box office hits of Malayalam cinema, including New Delhi. The 1987 film had an ensemble cast, including Mammootty, Sumalatha, Suresh Gopi, Urvashi, B. Thiagarajan, Siddique, Vijayaraghavan, Mohan Jose, Devan, and Jagannatha Varma. It was one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of that year. And it even inspired remakes in Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi.

Babu Antony’s upcoming film Powerstar was touted as Dennis Joseph’s comeback. The fate of the film remains unknown at the moment.

He was born on October 20, 1957, in Ettumanoor, Kottayam district to MN Joseph and Eliamma Joseph. He did his schooling at Ettumanoor Government High School and graduated from Devamatha College, Kuravilangad. Manu Uncle, directed by Dennis Joseph for the first time, won the National Award for Best Children’s Film.

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker