Belraj Kalarickal

Belraj Kalarickal came from the Kalarickal family of Manimala in Kottayam district, Kerala. He was the son of G. Suresh and Smitha. According to Deshabhimani, his father is a former district committee member of the Karshaka Sangham farmers' organisation and a member of the CPI(M) Vazhoor area committee, and his mother works with the Vellavoor cooperative bank. His sister is K. S. Soja. His exact date of birth was not made public; reports gave his age at death as 27 (Cinema Express, Moneycontrol, The Times of India) or 28 (Manorama News, Asianet News, Deshabhimani). Malayalam TV9 also referred to him by the name Chegu.

Details of Belraj Kalarickal's schooling, college education or formal film training were not made public in the reports published after his death. Coverage instead stressed that he built his skills on film sets, spending several years as an assistant and associate director before directing a series of his own.

Belraj worked for several years as an assistant director and associate director in Malayalam cinema. His reported credits include Nizhal, Madhuram and Dakini, and Cinema Express reported that he assisted filmmaker and actor Rahul Riji Nair on Dakini, Keedam and Kho Kho.

He was one of the founding members of First Print Studios, the production house associated with the award-winning feature film Ottamuri Velicham and the web series Kerala Crime Files. Rahul Riji Nair described him as the powerhouse of the studio's creative team.

His first independent directing project was Kaapi Squad (also spelled Kappi Squad or Kaappi Squad), a Malayalam comedy drama web series for JioHotstar. Created by Srikanth Mohan and produced by Rahul Riji Nair under First Print Studios, it stars Rinosh George, Anagha Ajith, Diya Deepan, Joel Joseph and Abhirami Dayanandan, with Rahul Riji Nair and Sreejith Babu, and follows four young people and their entrepreneurial dreams. Adithya Thejas and Subin George wrote the story, screenplay and dialogue, and Sidhartha Pradeep composed the music. The first four episodes premiered on 15 October 2026, with new episodes scheduled every Thursday, and all 36 episodes had already been shot.

In September 2026 Belraj married Athira Bindu Sabu after a relationship of six years. Reports differ on the exact wedding day. On 29 September 2026 he shared photographs from their wedding reception with the caption, as quoted by The Sunday Guardian, "Six years ago, I replied to a message and ended up hitting the jackpot. Finally we made it." It was reported as his last social media post. At the time of his death he was staying in Kakkanad, Kochi, with Kaapi Squad show director Srikanth Mohan while working on the series.

Belraj Kalarickal's personal political or religious views were not made public. What colleagues did describe was his commitment to the craft. First Print Studios spoke of his dedication to filmmaking and his boundless passion, saying they had shaped both the studio's work and the people in it. Asianet News reported that he was one of the administrators of Movie Street, a Facebook community for discussing films, a sign of how closely he was engaged with Malayalam film culture beyond his own sets.

Belraj's death two days after the premiere of his first series, and about a month after his wedding, shocked the Malayalam film industry. His legacy is Kaapi Squad, a 36 episode series whose shoot he completed before his death, and his years of work behind the camera on films such as Nizhal, Madhuram, Dakini, Kho Kho and Keedam. First Print Studios said his legacy and spirit would live on in their hearts, and JioHotstar Malayalam said he would be forever remembered for bringing Kaapi Squad to life.

No individual awards for Belraj Kalarickal were reported. He was a founding member of First Print Studios, the production house associated with the award-winning feature film Ottamuri Velicham. After his death he was honoured with public tributes from JioHotstar Malayalam, First Print Studios and the FEFKA Directors' Union.

Directing: Kaapi Squad (JioHotstar web series, premiered 15 October 2026).

Assistant or associate director (as reported): Dakini, Kho Kho, Nizhal, Madhuram, Keedam.

Official trailers for Kaapi Squad were released by JioHotstar Malayalam in the weeks before the premiere. His death was covered by Malayalam television and digital outlets including News18 Kerala, Manorama News, Asianet News, Malayali Life and Marunadan Daily, and by English outlets including Cinema Express, Onmanorama, The Times of India, Moneycontrol and Filmibeat.

Belraj Kalarickal died on Saturday 17 October 2026 in Kakkanad, Kochi, Kerala, two days after Kaapi Squad began streaming. Most outlets reported that he was found dead in a hotel room after repeated doorbell rings went unanswered; Deshabhimani reported that he was found unconscious at an apartment near the Padamugal Satellite Township where he was staying with colleague Srikanth Mohan, and that friends took him to hospital, where he died. Metro Vaartha reported that he had felt physical discomfort on the shooting set shortly before and had returned to rest. His body was taken to Sunrise Hospital and moved for a postmortem.

Preliminary reports suggested a heart attack, but the exact cause of death had not been officially confirmed. According to Deshabhimani, his body was kept at the TMM Hospital mortuary in Kodungoor and will be brought to the family home in Manimala on the evening of Sunday 18 October 2026, with the funeral to be held at the family home compound at 11 am on Monday 19 October 2026.