From chit fund with 10 people to business interests across South India – who is Gokulam Gopalan, Empuraan producer facing ED heat?

He has been a businessman for the last five decades, and his interests are spread over the health, education, cinema, media, hospitality, logistics and transport sectors. His chit fund company has around 450 branches across the country.

Belonging to the Hindu Ezhava community, Gopalan was a prominent leader of the community organisation, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) Yogam. However, he walked out of the organisation over a decade ago owing to a disagreement with SNDP’s general secretary Vellappally Natesan – the patron of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, a political party that allies with the BJP-led NDA in Kerala.

Gopalan later formed a group called the Sree Narayana Dharma Vedi in opposition to Natesan, but that did not make much of an impact.

A native of Vadakara in Kozhikode, Gopalan moved to Chennai with dreams of becoming an actor after graduating in mathematics in the late 1960s. However, he became a medical representative after he was offered the job by a doctor he met in the city.

In 1969, Gopalan launched his own chit fund with 10 people, putting Rs 60 a month. His native Vadakara was already known for having a history of successful chit funds.

Later, he started educational institutions in Kerala and in the Middle East. In 2009, he produced a blockbuster Malayalam movie, Pazhassi Raja, starring Mammootty.

He also invested in Malayalam TV channels, Flowers TV, and its news venture, 24News. He has a chain of hotels across South India and also runs a logistics and transport firm under the Gokulam banner. The group currently employs 11,000 people.

Empuraan, the film in the centre of a row, was co-produced by Gopalan along with Antony Perumbavoor, Mohanlal’s close aide, and Lyca Productions’ Subaskaran Allirajah. Gopalan was a late entrant into the production, when the film’s release was delayed over financial troubles faced by Lyca Productions.