T. V. Chandran (born 23 November 1950) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Telicherry, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering into the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama "Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol" (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature "Krishnan Kutty" (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film "Hemavin Kadhalargal" (1985). Chandran came into prominence after "Alicinte Anveshanam" (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with "Ponthan Mada" (1993), his most famous film to-date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of "Kathavasheshan" (2004), "Vilapangalkappuram" (2008) and "Bhoomiyude Avakashikal" (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include "Mangamma" (1997), "Dany" (2001) and "" (2003).