Santhosh Echikkanam

Santhosh Aechikkanam is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature and a screenwriter in Malayalam cinema. He is known for his short stories, which include Komala and Biriyani. He also wrote screenplays for films such as Annayum Rasoolum and Bachelor Party.

Biography Santhosh Aechikkanam was born in 1971 in a farmer's family in Bedadka, in Kasargod district of the Indian state of Kerala to A. C. Chandran Nair and Shyamala. After graduating in Malayalam and literature, he secured a post graduate diploma in Journalism and mass communication from Kerala Press Academy. He has worked as a teacher at Durga Higher Secondary School, Kanhangad and was also associated with Akashvani. His famous short story Biryani sparked controversy amid allegations that it was part of a deliberate effort to create an anti-Muslim collective consciousness through its narrative.

Aechikkanam received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story for his short story Komala (2008). He has also received several other honours, including Padmaprabha Literary Award, Karur Award, Pravasi Basheer Award, Abudhabi Sakthi Award, Cherukad Award, V. P. Sivakumar Keli Award, Kolkata Bhasha Sahithya Parishad Award, Delhi Katha Award and Kerala State Television Award for best story. The family lives in Ayyanthole in Thrissur district.