Joshiy

Films and plays both ran at the cinema theatre Joshiy's family kept in Varkala, the town where he was raised. Born on 18 July 1952, he left Sree Narayana College, Cherthala, before finishing his degree and went to Chennai, where he assisted directors including M. Krishnan Nair, J. Sasikumar and Crossbelt Mani. Malayalam has been his main field, though he has also directed in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, some of those films remakes of his own Malayalam work. Tiger Salim (1978) was his first film as director. Moorkhan (1980) was the breakthrough, with Raktham and Ithihasam after it, and Aa Rathri (1983) was his first film with Mammootty. From 1985, starting with Nirakkoottu, he made a run of films from Dennis Joseph's scripts, among them Nyayavidhi, Shyama and Veendum. In Hindi, Dharm Aur Qanoon (1984), starring Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra, brought him national attention, and he later directed Itihaas (1987) with Raaj Kumar. New Delhi (1987), made for Jubilee Productions with Mammootty, became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of its time. He is credited with shaping the film noir and action thriller in Malayalam cinema, across a career that now spans more than four decades.