Amal Neerad

Early and personal life

Amal Neerad was born in Kollam, Kerala. He attended school and college in Kochi. He was the college union chairman of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam during two consecutive terms, 1992–93 and 1993–94. He married actress Jyothirmayi on 4 April 2015.

Career

Amal joined the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in 1995. He is a winner of the National Film Awards for best cinematography. After his graduation from the institute he worked as a cinematographer with Ram Gopal Varma's production company for films such as James, Darna Zaroori Hai and Shiva. His debut movie in Malayalam as cinematographer was Black, directed by Ranjith.

In 2007, he made his directorial debut with Big B starring Mammootty and Shereveer Vakil. Even though the movie was an average grosser at the box office, the stylish narrative and technical brilliance that the film possessed apparently gave the movie an iconic stature and cult following. His next film was Sagar Alias Jacky starring Mohanlal, a sequel to the 1987 film Irupatham Noottandu. In 2010, he directed Anwar with Prithviraj in the lead role.

Amal Neerad launched his production company Amal Neerad Productions through the 2012 film Bachelor Party directed by himself. In 2013, he produced the anthology film, 5 Sundarikal. Amal directed the segment Kullante Bharya which starred Dulquer Salmaan and handled camera for the segment Aami, directed by Anwar Rasheed. He directed and co-produced (with Fahad Faasil) the period thriller Iyobinte Pustakam starring Fahadh Faasil, Lal, and Jayasurya in 2014. In 2017, he produced and directed Comrade in America starring Dulquer Salmaan. He later directed Fahadh Faasil starred Varathan in 2018. The movie was jointly produced by Neerad and Fahadh Faasil. Amal joined hands with Anwar Rasheed again as a cinematographer for the movie Trance, starring Fahadh Faasil. Later, he joined Mammootty again after 15 years for the movie Bheeshma Parvam which emerged as one of the biggest hits in Mollywood industry.

Controversies

In a post on the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council's Jagratha Commission Facebook page, it was claimed that Amal Neerad's blockbuster film Bheeshma Parvam offended Christian sentiments. The KCBC Jagratha Commission alleged that the portrayal of drug use, homosexuality, alcohol, and adultery among key Christian characters was a deliberate attempt to depict them negatively. A formal complaint was also filed against the song "Sthuthi" from the Malayalam film Bougainvillea, directed by Amal Neerad. The complaint said that the song offends religious sentiments by misusing sacred Christian hymns. According to the complainants, the combination of a devotional hymn with modern music is seen as disrespectful and offensive to religious beliefs.

Filmography

• All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted.

Awards and recognitions

; 2014 Kerala State Film Awards

• Best Cinematography: Amal Neerad

;2014, Asianet Film Awards.

• His film Iyobinte Pustakam bagged best film in 2014 at Asianet Film Awards. 2024, 55th Kerala State Film Awards

• Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay (Adapted)

• Award Shared with Lajo Jose

References

References

1. "യഥാര്‍ഥ ചിത്രങ്ങള്‍, Interview – Mathrubhumi Movies".
2. Aswin J Kumar. (11 April 2011). "The 'Maharaja' is poor at maths". The New Indian Express.
3. (6 April 2015). "Amal Neerad marries Jyotirmayi". Rediff.
4. "പാപം ചെയ്യാത്തവരുടെ കല്ലെറിയല്‍, Interview – Mathrubhumi Movies".
5. (3 December 2017). "Mammootty's 'Big B': Revisiting Malayalam cinema's cult action film".
6. (13 February 2020). "Mammootty's Bilal: Here's an Exciting Update on the Star Cast of the Project!".
7. (13 April 2017). "10 years of Big B: "Mammootty changed our lives" says Amal Neerad".
8. "Big-B".
9. (13 April 2017). "10 Years of Mammootty's Big B: Here Are the Film's Big Contributions to the Industry!".
10. (12 September 2019). "High expectations over 'Trance'". The Hindu.
11. (14 March 2022). "Religious intolerance: Filmmakers in Kerala feel heat of declining artistic freedom".
12. (30 September 2024). "Hurting christian beliefs: Viral song from 'Bougainvillea' lands in trouble". English.Mathrubhumi.
13. Nagarajan, Saraswathy. (5 May 2017). "The crossing". The Hindu.
14. "Dulquer Salmaan's connection to Che Guevara in Comrade in America revealed – Times of India". The Times of India.
15. (10 August 2015). "State Film Awards: Nazriya, Nivin, Sudhev bag top honours". Malayala Manorama.
16. [[17th Asianet Film Awards]]
17. "Kerala State Film Awards 2025: 'Premalu' is Best Popular Film, 'Manjummel Boys' adjudged Best Film".