Don of the big screen

Malayalam movie Moghul Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s visit to Sri Lanka:

Amalshan Gunerathne

Awards and Milestones

* 2010 – Honorary Doctorate from University of Kerala

* 2006- Padma Vibhushan – Second Highest civilian award from the Government of INDIA

* 2004 Dadasaheb Phalke Award – Lifetime Achievement Award in Film by the Government of India

* 1984- Padma Shri- Fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India

* 1984- Legion of Honour – French order, the highest decoration in France

* Wining International Film Critics Prize six consecutive times

* London Film Festival –Sutherland Trophy in 1982 for Elippathayam

* British Film Institute Award for most imaginative film in 1982

* Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by French Government 2003

* Life time Achievement at Cairo International Film Festival

Leading Malayalam film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan does not hesitate to call a spade a spade. He does not see the necessity to classify one form of cinema as artistic films and the other as commercial films. He says that film-makers do not see their creations as belonging to a certain category labeled either as artistic cinema or commercial cinema.

“It is a distinction between bad film and good films, people classify one as commercial and the others as artistic. When I make a film, it is for everybody. Everybody can enjoy my movies. You can enjoy the creation depending on your knowledge, your cultural background and if you are cultivated person but even if you are a common man, you will find many things that you can still enjoy in the movie,” he spelled out his formula of success.

Many productions do not hold the depth or embody the artistic ingredients to keep the audience engaged. Monotonous sequences, lacklustre action, slapstick comedy and glammed up sets have failed to create the intended impact on moviegoers. That is why fans still turn towards the golden oldies when someone asks the details of an outstanding film.

“Bollywood cinema has helped establish the attitude that Indian movies are all about a string of glamorous music and dance items. They have the impression that Indian movies are all about juvenile, romantic storylines. We have to fight against that notion. Some of those movies look very silly and amateurish. They claim to have invested so much money on such projects, but when you actually watch them, you begin to wonder what they have done with all the money,” the national award winning director, scriptwriter and producer opined.

Coming from Kerala, Gopalakrishnan was instrumental in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema. His creative adventures helped elevate the Malayalam reel and impose its identity in grand stature among Indian cinema community. His first movie, Swayanwaram (1972) gained instant recognition, winning four awards at the National Film Awards in 1973.

Moving on from there, his work took him to great heights with almost all of his movies being acclaimed and rewarded with national and international accolades.

His rise to glory was by no means an easy one. It is only after doing extreme studies on the subject that he burst in to the scene.

“I joined the Film Institute of India in 1962. I studied there for three years. There was a long period of seven years between my first film and the time I passed from the film institute. During that time, I made documentary movies. In all of those films, the camera work, the sound recording, editing and production were all done by me,” he recalled, traversing down memory lane.

His movies have been highlighted at many international film festivals for their originality. His creations are such that grand awards have almost become a benchmark to all of his films.

“Even if you have won so many awards, you can’t take things for granted. The awards depend on the quality of the movie. When I make a film, I don’t think about awards. Sometimes it comes and sometime it doesn’t,” he noted.

He believes that Asian film-makers have a lot to learn from Hollywood cinema industry.

“If we take Hollywood for instance, you can see that they make films for the whole world. Technologically they are a lot advanced than us. Even if you take a movie like Titanic, it is amazing the way in which they made the whole scene a very credible cinematic experience. It looked like someone actually resurrected the Titanic from the depth of the sea. Jurassic Park too falls into this class. They do it in such a creative way that most incredible things become credible,” he explained.

Moving away from Hollywood, Gopalakrishnan focused on the current trends of Sri Lankan cinema.

“Frankly speaking, I have not watched all the Sri Lankan movies that were shown at film festivals. However the films of Ashoka Handagama and Prasanna Vithanage have made a great impact in my heart. I also love Lester James Peries’ work. ”

Queried on his future plans he concluded the conversation with a witty remark.

“I don’t know. I have no idea about my future. I don’t think about the future at all. There is a very interesting saying from a play which notes that ‘the past is gone, future is unknown, so better celebrate the present’. That is my motto,” he added with a smile.