Shibu Chakravarthy is an Indian lyricist, screenplay writer and scriptwriter who mainly works in Malayalam cinema. He is the lyricist of around 200 songs. He has been the script writer for various films including Nair Saab, Manu Uncle, and Adharvam. He writes for new films in Mollywood. He wrote his first song for the movie Allimalarkkaavu in 1984, and he still works for the industry. He has worked for over 80 films.
Early life
Shibu Chakravarthy was born in Cochin on 17 February 1961, in Kaloor, Ernakulam District, to the late K. G. Das and Leela, a teacher. He did his schooling from St. George School, Edappally. He started writing poems at a very young age, inspired by his uncle, Eroor Vasudev.
Lyricist
At age 18 he started writing songs for Malayalam Basic albums. He was introduced to the Malayalam film industry by Rajan Prakash of Prakash Movie tone. His first film was Allimalarkkavu in 1984 at age 23, when he was doing his master's degree in philosophy in Maharajas College. He continued his studies and secured a diploma in journalism while working in the film industry. His famous hit was in the film Shyama with the song "Chembarathy Poovu", and he became a successful lyricist in the Malayalam cinema industry. He has penned about 250 songs in over 80 films and approximately 200 songs for festival/devotional albums. Chakravarthy contributed lyrics for the following films:
He has had quite a few hits with popular music directors, including M.K. Arjunan, Raghu Kumar, Shyam, Ravindran, Johnson, K.J. Joy, Kannoor Rajan, Jerry Amal Dev, M.G. Radhakrishnan, S.P. Venketesh, Mohan Sithara, M. Jayachandran Alphons, Deepak Dev, and Ousephachan. Ouseppachan Sibu Chakravorthy duo has created music par excellence and is well known in the film fraternity.
Scripts
He has written scripts for mainstream films as well as offbeat films, including:
Orkkapurathu, directed by Kamal in 1988
Manu Uncle, directed by Dennis Joseph in 1988, won the National Award
Adharvam, directed by Dennis Joseph in 1989
Nair Saab, directed by Joshy in 1989
Samrajyam, directed by Joemon in 1990
Abhayam, directed by Sivan in 1991
Ezharakoottam, directed by Karim.
Churam, directed by Bharatan in 1997
Commercials
He began his career at a very young age while continuing his studies in Maharajah College as a layout artist with Gayathri Artists & Designers, which was very popular in the film industry. That helped him to get associated with the art direction of two major cinemas, Nirakootte and New Delhi. He still continues his association with the advertising industry through jingles and innovative concepts. Many major advertisement jingles which we hear today are the contributions of Shibu Chakravarthy. He is the most preferred writer for national clients and agencies. Some of them are:
Alukas Jewellery
Al Bayan Water
Appachi Bikes
Alappat Jewellers
Karikkineth Textiles
Federal Bank
Handex
Documentaries and television
Chakravarthy is a multifaceted artist. He made a documentary covering all aspects of the UAE's traditions and culture, which is still maintained as the official reference for UAE tourism. He has also done the following:
Documentary about Cochin
Two major documentaries about Matha Amritanandamayi
On an invite from Mammootty in 2004, he went to work for Kairali TV. He was the programme head for almost five years.
A documentary on elephants and the various aspects of their lives in the wild
The reality shows of Kairali began under his leadership. The well-viewed popular programme Star Wars underwent a format change under his guidance.
Chakravarthy reinstalled the long-forgotten art form, 'Kathaprasangam', through a reality show.
He was associated with the branching of Kairali TV's channels – People TV and WE TV.
Chakravarthy has set up a co-operative society to bring about new concepts in animation. This is a non-profit organisation whose main motive is to bring about artistic excellence while enjoying their creations. The Society of Animators is a platform for budding animation artists to develop and implement their ideas. The society is not restricted to its members, and welcomes any individual who has new ideas about animation.
Personal life
Chakravarthy has four sisters. His wife Shiji works as a principal in Vijyana Sagar. He has a son, Santhanu., and a daughter, Malavika, who is a student at university of south Australia,Australia. Chakravarthy is an avid reader, and his interests are philosophy and psychology.