Liju Krishna is an Indian screenwriter, filmmaker and film director, who works mostly in the Malayalam entertainment industry.
Wiki/Biography
Liju Krishna was born on Sunday, 23 February 1992 (age 30 years; in 2022), and he hails from Maloor, Kannur, Kerala. His zodiac sign is Pisces. He attended Mambaram Higher Secondary School, Mambaram, Kerala. He attended the School of Drama & Fine Arts, University of Calicut, Thrissur, Kerala, where he pursued his Bachelor of Theater Arts and Master of Theater Arts. He also obtained a Diploma in Design & Digital Filmmaking from College of Visual Arts, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Family
His father’s name is V Balakrishnan, and his mother’s name is PV Radhamani.
Relationships/Affairs
Allegedly, Liju Krishna had a romantic relationship with a film crew who allegedly raped her in 2022. Liju met the woman through social media and had a live-in relationship with her. The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) Facebook page featured the testimony of a rape victim, who stated that the crew member became pregnant in January 2021, but she suffered a miscarriage due to ongoing sexual violence.
Career
Liju Krishna is the founder and artistic director of Saga Entertainment, a Thrissur-based cultural troupe that she founded in 2013 while attending the School of Drama & Fine Arts. The group was formed by young students of theater arts with the objective of creating innovative content in theater and film in Kerala. He started his journey as a screenwriter and director with an indie short film titled ‘Photogenic’ (2012). The film went on to win many awards at the National Documentary and Short Film Festival (2013).
In 2014, Liju came into limelight when he designed, wrote and directed the Malayalam drama ‘Moment Just Before Death.’ A theatrical production of Saga Entertainment and Sunny Wayne Productions, the play was screened at JT Pac in Tripunithura, Kochi. The play showcases the memories of a dying man with an aspect to portray the traditions and life of North Kerala in a contemporary light. The lack of intimate theater spaces (like black boxes) makes it difficult to stage plays convincingly across Kerala. Despite the lack of infrastructure, the 75-minute drama was performed at various festivals including the eighth Theater Olympics and the Best Indie Film Festival (Ibestff) in 2018. The drama won nominations in six categories and won two awards, in the Best Actor and Best Designer categories, at the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Awards (META) 2014.
In June 2017, he released another independent Malayalam short film ‘Ima,’ produced by Saga Entertainment and featuring veteran actor Pratap Pothen. The critically acclaimed short film tells the story of a middle-aged couple, Madhavan and Radhu.
Liju Krishna made her directorial debut in Mollywood with the 2022 political drama film ‘Padavettu,’ starring Malayalam actor Nivin Pauly. He is also the scriptwriter of the film. In 2022, when ‘Padavettu’ was still in post-production, Liju was arrested by the police for alleged rape.
Controversy
On March 6, 2022, Liju Krishna was arrested in Kannur, Kerala, after being accused of rape by the crew of Liju’s film ‘Padavettu.’ Reportedly, the director assaulted the woman several times over a period of six months, starting from June 21, 2020, before she finally decided to file a complaint. Following a complaint filed by a woman at the Infopark police station in Kakkanad, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) demanded that Liju Krishna be barred from the film industry pending its decision. On March 8, 2022, police revealed that Liju Krishna had incriminated himself during preliminary interrogation.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Received the 2011-12 Young Artist Award from the Ministry of Culture
- Won the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Award (2014) in the Best Stage Design category for the play ‘Moment Just Before Death’
Liju Krishna receives the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Award (2014)
- Received a memento in 2015 from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi / International Theater Festival of Kerala (ITFOK) for the play ‘Moment Just Before Death’
Liju Krishna received a memento from the International Theater Festival of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akkademi Kerala (ITFOK) in 2015
- Received a memento from the Government of Kerala—Department of Information – Public Relations at the National Theater Festival for the play ‘Moment Just Before Death’ in 2015
Liju Krishna received a memento from the Government of Kerala—Department of Information – Public Relations at the National Theater Festival for the play ‘Moment Just Before Death’ in 2015
Favourite
- Musician: Balabhaskar (violinist)
- Filmmakers: KG George, Satyajit Ray
- Folk Singer: CJ Kuttappan
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, while talking about his joint endeavors in film and theater, he said,
Cinema and theater have two languages, and when you understand both, you will grow stronger in your creative capacity.”
- After completing his higher studies, the director returned to his native place and starred around a thousand residents of Maloor in his debut film, Padavettu (2022). He also provides acting training for six months to junior artistes in Maloor. Some of them also used their own clothes as costumes for the film.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
