Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Kerala’s claim to fame in world cinema, is 80

By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “We shouldn’t ignore the fact that there’s a new crop of movies coming up in Malayalam which are mature and good attempts, signifying promising talent. We need to support such genuine cinematic ventures,” Adoor Gopalakrishnan had once shared his vision with TNIE of supporting budding young filmmakers in Malayalam through the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).

The internationally-acclaimed filmmaker who turned 80 on Saturday has been Kerala’s claim to fame in the world of parallel cinema movement. A legendary filmmaker, Adoor has been the auteur of some excellent works like Elippathayam, Kodiyettam, Anantharam and Swayamvaram.Set in rural Kerala, Adoor’s Elippathayam was one of the most original creations that Malayalam cinema had seen until then. The film portrayed the state’s changing socio-economic reforms through the eyes of the protagonist, named Unni, portrayed by Karamana Janardanan Nair.

With each of his movies, Adoor brought his viewers a step closer to parallel cinema. If Mukhamukham was his best acclaimed political movie, others proved a social mirror to Malayalis. Adoor has 12 feature films to his credit.He has been the state’s link to world cinema for a long time. A pioneer of the film society movement in Kerala, Adoor has played a key role in urging Keralites towards world classics as well as in shaping their appreciation towards cinema. 

The Chithralekha Film Society run by Adoor with some other like-minded people has set the tone for good cinema in Kerala society. A Padma Vibhushan awardee, Adoor has won numerous state, national and international awards including the Dadasaheb Phalke award, Legion of Honour – French order, Lifetime achievement award at Cairo International Film Festival in addition to being honoured at the London Film Festival and the British Film Festival Awards. Like always, his 80th birthday too was not an occasion for major celebrations for Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The veteran filmmaker got wishes from his well-wishers from across the globe while others visited him at his residence at Akkulam on Saturday.

FITTING TRIBUTE
A graphic video posted by actor Mammootty, wishing the filmmaker, has gone viral on social media. Mammootty who has played key roles in several Adoor films, posted a video with caricatures of characters in Adoor films. The video begins with Adoor’s debut movie Swayamvaram (1972) which pioneered the new wave in Malayalam cinema, and goes on to touch upon all his works including masterpieces like Kodiyettam, Elippathayam, Mukhamukham, Anantharam, Mathilukal, Vidheyan and ends with Pinneyum in 2016. The two-minute video ends with the note ‘Adoor — a door to cinema’. The video is conceptualised by Sudheer P Y and Krishnan Balakrishnan while background score is set by P V Unnikrishnan.