Abhilash Pillai Biography

Abhilash Pillai is an Indian theatre director, actor, screenwriter, and pedagogue of contemporary Indian theatre. After working in theatres for so many years, he launched his film debut in the Malayalam language with the 2022 movie Night Drive. Subsequently, he penned the screenplay for the Tamil premiere of "Cadaver" and made his debut in Tamil language as well. He was honoured with various awards for his work in theatre, including the Dr. Taranikanta Roy Award, the Badal Sarkar, the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka, and the National Sanskriti Award.

Personal Life

Abhilash Pillai was born to S. R. K. Pillai and Sarada Pillai on May 17, 1969, in Thiruvananthapuram. He graduated with a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts in 1991 from the Institute of Calicut, where he ranked third. He also graduated with honours from the National School of Drama in New Delhi, where he pursued a three-year postgraduate diploma in drama with a focus on design and directing. In 1998, Pillai graduated with honours from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London with a two-year diploma in theatre development and stage administration.

Career

At the Abhinaya Theatre and Research Institute in Trivandrum, Kerala, Abhilash Pillai began his stage journey in theatre as the artistic director. From 1999 to 2001, he was employed there. Pillai then attained the position of associate professor at the National School of Drama in New Delhi, and from 2008 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2021, he held the position of administrative dean. He is reportedly a visiting professor and playwright at numerous institutions in India and overseas. Additionally, Abhilash serves as the head of the Arnav Art Trust since 2011 and a member of the Natrang Pratishtan Council in New Delhi.

The screenplay for Vysakh's 2022 Malayalam film "Night Drive" was penned by Abhilash. From there, he started his film career, and in 2022, he supplied four blockbuster movies. He made his Tamil language debut with the movie "Cadaver," whose screenplay was well acclaimed and for which he won a lot of recognition and accolades for the work he put in. Malikappuram, a pan-Indian film for which he developed the screenplay and gained notoriety, is his best-known project. And his final screenplay was written in 2022 for the M. Padmakumar-directed film Pathaamvalavu, which also starred Indrajith Sukumaran.