#books
A Life in Cinema,
by Gauthaman Bhaskaran.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is arguably the greatest film maker in Malayalam.
A recipient of the highest honour given by the State Government, the J C Daniel award, Adoor is ranked second only to Satyajit Ray, among the galaxy of Indian film directors.
He changed the way Malayalam films were made, with his film “Swayamavaram” in 1971, and paved the way for other directors like G Aravindan, KG George, Bharathan, and Padmarajan.
Adoor is also the most internationally decorated film maker from Kerala.
He is the pioneer of the film society movement in Kerala as one of the founders of the Chithralekha Film Society in Thiruvanathapuram in the 1960s.
Everyone has a favourite Adoor movie. Mine is “Elippathayam”.
What impressed me is his diehard commitment to good films and his courage to speak out whenever necessary.
I reccommend the biography by Gouthaman Bhaskaran, and the documentary made by eminent Hindi film director, Kumar Shahani, to know more about the life and times of this great movie maker.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
