THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Music composer and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has been selected for the Swaralaya-Kairali-Yesudas award for the year 2017. Veteran lyricist Bichu Thirumala is selected for the award for lifetime contribution to Malayalam film music. The awards carry a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a citation, and a sculpture each. They were selected by a jury headed by former Minister of Culture M A Baby. Music composer M Jayachandran, poet Prabha Varma, filmmaker Lenin Rajendran, Hindustani musician Abhradita Banerjee and Swaralaya chairman G Rajmohan were the other members of the jury. The awards will be presented in Thiruvananthapuram in March.

Vishal Bhardwaj, a four time winner of the national award, is a multi-talented artiste, who has proved his mettle in filmmaking, music direction, and script writing. Bhardwaj made his debut as a music composer with the children’s film Abhay and received wider recognition with his compositions in Gulzar’s Maachis .

Bhardwaj made his directorial debut with the children’s film Makdee (2002), for which he also composed the music. He garnered critical acclaim and several accolades for writing and directing the Indian adaptations of three tragedies by William Shakespeare.