# Shahi Kabir
**Shahi Kabir** (ഷാഹി കബീർ; born 1978) is an Indian screenwriter, director, and actor in [Malayalam cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/malayalam-cinema) who worked as a Civil Police Officer in the [Kerala Police](https://www.edgepedia.org/kerala-police) before turning to filmmaking. He is known for police procedurals and crime-investigation films, having written *[Joseph](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-2018-film)* (2018), *Nayattu* (2021), *Officer on Duty* (2025), and *Unmadham* (2026), and directed *Ela Veezha Poonchira* (2022) and *Ronth* (2025).[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) He won the National Film Award for Best Original Screenplay for *Nayattu*.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/69th-national-film-awards-nayattu-writer-shahi-kabir-honored-for-best-original-screenplay/articleshow/104498970.cms)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Shahi K M, known professionally as Shahi Kabir; born 1978 in Alappuzha, Kerala[3](https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/malayalam/screenwriter/shahi-kabir) |
| Police career | Served as a Civil Police Officer (CPO) in Kerala before entering cinema[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) |
| Screenplays | *Joseph* (2018), *Nayattu* (2021), *Officer on Duty* (2025), *Unmadham* (2026)[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) |
| Directed films | *Ela Veezha Poonchira* (2022), *Ronth* (2025)[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) |
| National award | Silver Lotus Award for Best Screenplay (Original) for *Nayattu*, 69th National Film Awards (2023)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9909582/awards/) |
| State award | Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director, for *Ela Veezha Poonchira*[5](https://www.inkl.com/news/kerala-state-film-awards-shahi-kabir-s-journey-from-the-police-department-to-an-award-winning-debut) |
| Upcoming | A film with Mohanlal in development, without artificial "mass" moments[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) |
## Police background and entry into cinema
Kabir began his career as a police officer, and his screenwriting draws on that service. He has said that serious thoughts about cinema took hold around 2013 and 2014, when he began writing scripts.[5](https://www.inkl.com/news/kerala-state-film-awards-shahi-kabir-s-journey-from-the-police-department-to-an-award-winning-debut) *Joseph* was not his first script; an earlier effort was dropped, but it helped him make industry connections, and a director attached to that project suggested he write an investigation story instead, which became *Joseph*.[6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/malayalam/interviews/2023/Mar/29/shahi-kabir-the-artist-behind-the-khaki-41707.html)
His police experience shapes both content and reception. He has observed that audiences often assume a degree of authenticity accompanies his "cinematic" creations because of his background.[6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/malayalam/interviews/2023/Mar/29/shahi-kabir-the-artist-behind-the-khaki-41707.html) Commentators note that his films draw on his own life and experiences, giving them a level of detail about everyday police work that earlier Malayalam cop films, which tended toward larger-than-life heroes, did not offer.[7](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/interviews/2025/Jun/19/shahi-kabir-reliving-your-traumas-is-the-biggest-challenge-of-being-a-policeman)
## Screenwriting career
**Joseph (2018).** Kabir's debut screenplay, directed by M. Padmakumar, was an investigative thriller whose stated aim was to avoid the usual clichés of the genre.[6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/malayalam/interviews/2023/Mar/29/shahi-kabir-the-artist-behind-the-khaki-41707.html) The film's plot, involving an inquest into the death of a former lover, tied the investigation to the protagonist's past.[8](https://www.manoramaonline.com/movies/movie-news/2025/03/01/shahi-kabir-malayalam-cinema.html) It earned him the Vanitha Film Award for Best Script Writer in 2019.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9909582/awards/) Kabir later recalled with regret that some viewers took the fiction as fact: he was told the film's influence caused a decrease in organ donation and panic among organ-transplant patients.[6](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/malayalam/interviews/2023/Mar/29/shahi-kabir-the-artist-behind-the-khaki-41707.html)
**Nayattu (2021).** Directed by [Martin Prakkat](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-prakkat), this film about a manhunt entangled in India's social and political fault lines won Kabir the National Film Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 69th [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards).[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/69th-national-film-awards-nayattu-writer-shahi-kabir-honored-for-best-original-screenplay/articleshow/104498970.cms) He has said the film was interpreted in ways he had not imagined.[9](https://www.theweek.in/theweek/leisure/2023/09/16/shahi-kabeer-talks-about-nayattu-and-his-life-experiences-that-influenced-his-scripts.amp.html)
**Officer on Duty (2025) and Unmadham (2026).** Kabir has said that leftover ideas from earlier scripts spawned films including *Ronth* and *Officer on Duty*.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) *Unmadham*, which he describes as his most personal script, is about a police officer-turned-writer who loses his mind; he notes that audiences saw it as an investigative thriller rather than the portrait of a breakdown he intended. The film, starring [Kunchacko Boban](https://www.edgepedia.org/kunchacko-boban) and directed by the editor Kiran Das in his directorial debut, streams on SonyLIV.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/)
## Directing
Kabir made his directorial debut with *Ela Veezha Poonchira* (2022), a murder mystery involving two policemen set at Ilaveezhapoonchira in Kerala's Kottayam district, about 3,200 feet above sea level, where Kabir had once been stationed; he recreated those days in the film.[9](https://www.theweek.in/theweek/leisure/2023/09/16/shahi-kabeer-talks-about-nayattu-and-his-life-experiences-that-influenced-his-scripts.amp.html) It won him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director.[5](https://www.inkl.com/news/kerala-state-film-awards-shahi-kabir-s-journey-from-the-police-department-to-an-award-winning-debut)
His second film, *Ronth* (2025), stars [Dileesh Pothan](https://www.edgepedia.org/dileesh-pothan) and [Roshan Mathew](https://www.edgepedia.org/roshan-mathew) as two police officers on night patrol. Kabir has described it as not a thriller but a film about two people and how things unfold between them in a single night.[10](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/interviews/2025/06/08/ronth-movie-interview-shahi-kabir-dileesh-pothan-roshan-mathew.amp.html) It was shot in a single schedule in Iritty, Kannur, and produced by Rathish Ambat, Renjith EVM, and Jojo Jose under the banner Festival Cinemas.[11](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2024/Aug/27/shahi-kabirs-next-with-roshan-mathew-and-dileesh-pothan-begins)
## Current projects
Kabir has confirmed he is writing a story for Mohanlal, one of Malayalam cinema's biggest stars, and has said the film in development will not feature artificial "mass" moments.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/) An earlier announced project, *Writer*, a collaboration with [Jayasurya](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayasurya) to be directed by debutant Ravisankar, was announced in 2022 and its status remains unknown.[11](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2024/Aug/27/shahi-kabirs-next-with-roshan-mathew-and-dileesh-pothan-begins)
## References
1. [Shahi Kabir breaks down real story, climax of Unmadham, The Indian Express (SCREEN)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/shahi-kabir-interview-unmadham-kunchacko-boban-mohanlal-film-10860067/)
2. [69th National Film Awards: Nayattu writer Shahi Kabir honored for Best Original Screenplay, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/69th-national-film-awards-nayattu-writer-shahi-kabir-honored-for-best-original-screenplay/articleshow/104498970.cms)
3. [Shahi Kabir Biography, NETTV4U](https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/malayalam/screenwriter/shahi-kabir)
4. [Shahi Kabir – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9909582/awards/)
5. [Kerala State Film Awards: Shahi Kabir's journey from the Police department to an award-winning debut](https://www.inkl.com/news/kerala-state-film-awards-shahi-kabir-s-journey-from-the-police-department-to-an-award-winning-debut)
6. [Shahi Kabir – The artist behind the khaki, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/amp/story/malayalam/interviews/2023/Mar/29/shahi-kabir-the-artist-behind-the-khaki-41707.html)
7. [Shahi Kabir: Reliving your traumas is the biggest challenge of being a policeman, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/interviews/2025/Jun/19/shahi-kabir-reliving-your-traumas-is-the-biggest-challenge-of-being-a-policeman)
8. [Beyond Stereotypes: The Realistic Policemen of Shahi Kabir's Films, Malayala Manorama](https://www.manoramaonline.com/movies/movie-news/2025/03/01/shahi-kabir-malayalam-cinema.html)
9. [Nayattu was interpreted in ways I had not even imagined, says Shahi Kabir, The Week](https://www.theweek.in/theweek/leisure/2023/09/16/shahi-kabeer-talks-about-nayattu-and-his-life-experiences-that-influenced-his-scripts.amp.html)
10. [He's my mentor, but he made it easy: Shahi Kabir on directing Dileesh Pothan in Ronth, Onmanorama](https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/interviews/2025/06/08/ronth-movie-interview-shahi-kabir-dileesh-pothan-roshan-mathew.amp.html)
11. [Shahi Kabir's next with Roshan Mathew and Dileesh Pothan begins, The New Indian Express](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2024/Aug/27/shahi-kabirs-next-with-roshan-mathew-and-dileesh-pothan-begins)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screenwriters and television writers › Film screenwriters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license