Director Sachy: An accomplished lawyer who made cinema his stage

Director, producer and scriptwriter Sachy, who passed away on Thursday, entered his dream world of cinema after discarding a very successful career as a high court lawyer.

Sachy quit the legal profession on a high note. He had argued for an accused in a case that had garnered a lot of media attention and had managed to get the sentence reduced to one life-term from double life-terms. The day of the verdict was his last day as a lawyer.

For an advocate, that verdict was a great career boost. But he had only one thing on his mind: cinema. He handed over his cases and other legal responsibilities to his juniors and entered the film world as a scriptwriter. He ended up being an integral part of Malayalam cinema.

He and Sethu, whom he knew from the high court days, delivered a few hits as scriptwriters. Sachy had said that he had entered the film world with the intention of becoming a director.

His first script was for the movie called Robin Hood. Sachy and Sethu had decided to direct the movie, which was to feature Atul Kulkarni and an actor named Arun in the lead roles. The pooja for the movie was also done, but it never got completed due to differences with distributors. Then some friends told the duo to first establish themselves as scriptwriters and then dabble in direction.

The first film with the Sachy-Sethu credit to be released in theatres was Chocolate, starring Prithviraj, in 2007. They then wrote the scripts for Makeup Man, Seniors and Doubles.

The two then decided to split and chart their own course. They had said they were breaking up as their tastes and views concerning cinema differed.

Sachy then directed the hit movie Anarkali, demonstrating that he was good with direction, too. Movies such as Driving Licence (starring Prithviraj, 2019) and Ayyapanum Koshiyum (Biju Menon and Prithviraj, 2020) established him as a star scriptwriter.

He was active in theatre in school and college, Sachy said. He was also part of the Film Society movement. Sachy had directed about 30 amateur dramas and had given over100 stage performances.

Sachy had said the Film Society movement gave him the opportunity to watch many world classic movies. That was the beginning of his interest in movies. He used to write too, but movie direction was what he was keen on. He wanted to study at the Film Institute in Pune, but his brother did not let him go.

He gave in to his brother’s demand to pursue CA to get a job in a bank.

While he was doing his CA, he joined the LLB course. That is how he ended up practising at the high court. In just three years of practice, he set up his own office. It was during his practice at the high court that he got acquainted with Sethu. The two would spend many evenings discussing movies and scripts, Sachy said. That is how they ended up writing Robin Hood.

The films he had directed and the scripts he had written have been dictated by money. Such films were never on his mind, he used to say. Those movies were financed by people who wanted their money back. That is what made them continue their association with commercial cinema.

He would do the film he had on his mind when he found a producer who wouldn’t worry about getting back his investment, Sachy had said. The movie would be about politics, he had said.

He had 3-4 projects under consideration for direction, including a Dulquer Salman movie and another one set in the backdrop of the Emergency.