Jeo Baby
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Jeo Baby is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who works in Malayalam films. His family drama film The Great Indian Kitchen (2021) won the 51st Kerala State Film Award for Best Film and he received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay.
Early life
He studied cinema at St. Joseph College of Communication, Changanacherry. During his final year, he directed the 2007 short film Secret Minds which discussed same-sex relationships. He, along with three other students (the producer and actors), were suspended and later expelled from the college, which alleged the film had "obscene scenes which were capable of misleading young minds" and that they had not gotten permission to shoot it on campus. However, Jeo Baby later stated that the film "did well at international film festivals".
Career
Jeo Baby started his career in the entertainment industry by writing for Television sitcoms in 2010. He was involved in scripting the initial episodes of popular television sitcoms Marimayam, 'Uppum Mulakum' and 'M80 Moosa'.
He made his directional movie debut through the Malayalam movie '2 Penkuttikal' which was released in 2016. His second movie Kunju Daivam was released in 2017. In 2020 he directed Kilometers and Kilometers which has Tovino Thomas playing the lead role. The movie didn't get a theatrical release due to COVID-19 pandemic & premiered directly on Malayalam satellite channel Asianet followed by an OTT release on Netflix.
His fourth Malayalam film, The Great Indian Kitchen, which has Suraj Venjaramoodu & Nimisha Sajayan playing the lead roles, was directly released on 'NeeStream' OTT platform on 15 January 2021. The movie was later officially released on Amazon Prime. The film was successful, with a Tamil remake being released in 2023 and a 2024 Hindi remake Mrs. (film).
Jeo Baby stated that it had given him the confidence to take more risks for his own 2023 film Kaathal – The Core. Starring Mammootty (who also financed the film and decided to collaborate with Jeo Baby after watching The Great Indian Kitchen) and Jyothika in the lead roles, the film has been praised as a serious and sensitive drama about a panchayat candidate navigating societal reactions and his relationships after his wife outs him as gay to end their loveless marriage.
Short film
[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Secret Minds | Screenwriter | 1.Screened in Queer LGBT Film Festivals, Bangalore 2. Screened in International Queer Film Festival, Rice University, Houston |
Television
Sitcoms
| Year | Title | Role | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Marimayam | Screenwriter | Mazhavil Manorama |
| 2014 | M80 Moosa | Media One | |
| 2015 | Uppum Mulakum | Flowers TV |
Filmography
As director and screenwriter
| Year | Title | Credited as | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Actor | ||||
| 2016 | 2 Penkuttikal | Yes | Yes | No | —N/a | |
| 2017 | Kunju Daivam | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2020 | Kilometers and Kilometers | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2021 | The Great Indian Kitchen | Yes | Yes | No | —N/a | |
| 2022 | Freedom Fight | Yes | Yes | Yes | Anthology film; segment: Old Age Home | |
| Sreedhanya Catering Service | Yes | Yes | Yes | Siby | ||
| 2023 | Kaathal – The Core | Yes | No | Yes | Kuttayi's stepfather |
As actor
This is a list of films that he only worked as an actor.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Ain | ||
| 2019 | Edakkad Battalion 06 | Villager | |
| 2021 | Varthamanam | Advocate | |
| Kho-Kho | Meenakshi's father | ||
| 2022 | Chera | ||
| 2023 | Purusha Pretham | ||
| Kolla | S.I. Victor Sebastian | ||
| Pulimada | Agustine | ||
| 2024 | Mandakini | Sagar | |
| Swakaryam Sambhava Bahulam | Raveendran | ||
| Jai Mahendran | Harichandran | SonyLIV web series | |
| 2025 | Maranamass | Jessy's father | |
| Kerala Crime Files 2 | Aashraya Incharge | JioHotstar web series | |
| Meesha | |||
| Kammattam | Samuel Oommen | ZEE5 web series | |
| Ithiri Neram † | TBA | ||
| Krishnashtami: The Book of Dry Leaves † | TBA | Shooting in progress |
As presenter
- Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai (2025; Tamil)