Biography
Basil Joseph is an Indian film director and actor in Malayalam films. He received his secondary education at St. Joseph's English Higher Secondary School in Sultan Bathery, where he demonstrated his versatility as a student by actively participating in sports, choir, and drama.
During his time at the College of Engineering in Trivandrum, Joseph continued to develop his diverse interests through involvement in extracurricular activities and participation in competitions. After graduation, he began a successful career at Infosys, a leading software company.
While working at Infosys, Joseph made his first zero-budget short film, Priyamvadha Katharayano, a quirky love story, and was noticed by Mollywood (The Malayalam Film industry). He was only 22 then.
His passion for cinema led him to quit his job at Infosys and pursue a career as a full-time filmmaker and actor.
Joseph's style of filmmaking was heavily influenced by Tamil films, and he was inspired by notable directors like Karthik Subbaraj, Nalan Kumarasamy, and Balaji Mohan. He was also a patron of Western films and watched movies by Steven Spielberg, Charlie Chaplin, Guy Ritchie, etc.
Joseph started as an assistant director for Thira in 2013, and his first film as a director was Kunjiramayanam (2015) in 2015. The sports drama, Godha (2017), followed in 2017. His next directorial venture in 2021, Minnal Murali (2021), was about India's first-ever rural superhero in the Malayalam industry. Joseph received the best director award for Minnal Murali at the 2022 Asian Academy Awards. It was also the third Indian film to make it to the top 10 list of most-watched films globally in the non-English film category on Netflix.
The year 2022 marked a turning point in Basil Joseph's career, as he became a top actor with the release of the dramedy film, Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey (2022). This film provided him with the big break he had been seeking and tackled a relevant social issue with a unique blend of humor and storytelling. The film was a hit among Malayali audiences and managed to win over others, despite the language barrier. It was later dubbed in Hindi for release on an OTT platform. Despite its small budget of Rs 5 crore, the film generated impressive returns, estimated to be around Rs 40 crore initially, in Kerala and the GCC.
"Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey" is a satirical take on gender stereotypes and focuses on the story of a married woman who fights back against her physically abusive husband. The film sheds light on the issue of domestic violence and the impact it has on the lives of those affected.
