16 Facts About Thoppil Bhasi

Thoppil Bhaskara Pillai, known as Thoppil Bhasi was an Indian Malayalam-language playwright, screenwriter, and film director.

Thoppil Bhasi was associated with the communist movement in Kerala and his play Ningalenne Communistakki is considered to be a groundbreaking event in the history of Malayalam theatre.

Thoppil Bhasi graduated securing the Top Rank in the Vaidya Kalanidhi Examination.

Once a staunch supporter and activist of the Indian Congress party, Thoppil Bhasi soon distanced himself from the same on matters of principles and found his direction in the neo movement of Communism via the Communist Party of India.

Thoppil Bhasi was associated with the communist movements that took place in Kerala during the 1940s and 1950s.

Thoppil Bhasi was later acquitted, and went on to contest the first Panchayat elections in Kerala.

Thoppil Bhasi won, becoming the first president of the Vallikunnom panchayat.

Thoppil Bhasi was elected twice to the state assembly contesting the State elections, from Bharanikkavu in 1954 against Pushpathadom Raghavan a prominent congress leader and close associate to Jawaharlal Nehru and Pathanamthitta in 1957.

Thoppil Bhasi had written his first One-act play Munnettam while on the run from the state, and based on the feedback received from the underground collective, had revisited, refined and re-energised the plot from a different perspective, creating the historical Ningalenne Communistaakki, both under his pseudonym Soman, for fear of revealing his true identity.

Thoppil Bhasi wrote the play Ningalenne Communistakki while in hiding in connection with the Sooranad case, which resulted from a revolt by agricultural workers against a landlord.

Thoppil Bhasi recalls Udaya studio's Kunchacko asking her to buy him a new shirt as he was fed up of seeing Thoppil Bhasi in the same shirt every time.

Thoppil Bhasi seems to have famously remarked, "Chackochen, I have 8 shirts of the same colour and type, and all eight have the same 'beedi-burn' patch at the left side of my breast-pocket".

Thoppil Bhasi was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film for directing Sarasayya in 1971 and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Story for Mooladhanam in 1969.

Thoppil Bhasi was prolific in terms of his creative output during his active years in theatre and movies.

Thoppil Bhasi authored 16 full-length plays, screenplays for over 100 movies, directed 16 movies and his autobiography was titled, Oliviley Ormakal.

Thoppil Bhasi was a regular contributor to the Janayugom Magazine and short stories to various publications which are yet to be collated and archived.