G. Aravindan

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G. Aravindan
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Occupations
  • Painter
  • Rubber Board officer
    • Years active1974–1991 (in film)
    SpouseKaumudi Aravindan
    ChildrenRamu Aravindan
    Parents
    • M. N. Govindan Nair
    • P. G. Thankamma

    Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter.[1] He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam.[2] He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmaking; he changed his cinematic forms consistently[3] and experimented in storytelling without regular narrative styles.[4]

    He studied at

    University College Trivandrum. Before venturing into the film field, he was an established cartoonist. He had also worked with documentaries and theatre. He also occasionally directed music for other filmmakers. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.[5][6]

    Biography

    G. Aravindan was the son of comedy writer M. N. Govindan Nair.[7] Aravindan started his professional life as a cartoonist for the journal Mathrubhumi. He established himself as a cartoonist in the early 1960s with his cartoon series Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum[8] which dealt with the social encounters of its central characters, Ramu and Guruji, mingled with political and social satire.[4] After that series ended in 1973, he drew cartoons for other journals but these were very sporadic. At one point, Aravindan diverted his attention to theatre and music. He played a major role in establishing theatre and music clubs Navarangam and Sopanam. He became associated with eminent theatre figure Kavalam Narayana Panicker which accelerated his activities in the field of professional play. They created several plays like Kaali and Avanavan Kadamba.[7] Aravindan was working as an officer in the Rubber Board when he got associated with artist Devan, playwright Thikkodiyan and writer Pattathuvila Karunakaran. The early works of Aravindan were influenced by the group; for example, the spiritualism factor which can be seen in his early works can be attributed to satirist Sanjayan and mystic paintings of K. C. S. Paniker.[4]

    The first film directed by Aravindan,

    Quit India movement, but now a corrupt contractor.[9] The film garnered wide critical praise and several awards, including five Kerala State Film Awards upon release.[10]

    Aravindan's second film

    Rama Chenchu tribal people (or Koyas), who claim lineage to the mythological Rama. Upper-class Hindu groups accused of Aravindan of blasphemy for casting tribals in the role of Hindu epic heroes but Aravindan never heeded saying that the Rama Chenchus have classical features and are marvellous actors.[11]

    While Kanchana Sita dealt with mythology, Aravindan's next film Thampu (1978) dealt with realism and told the story of suffering in a circus troupe. It was shot in black and white in a direct documentary mode. Aravindan won the award for Best Director at both National Film Awards and Kerala State Film Awards.

    His 1979 films

    Balachandran Chullikkadu
    .

    His next film

    Bharath Gopi, Smita Patil, Sreenivasan
    and Mohandas play the lead roles.

    In 1986 Oridathu can be seen as a continuation of Aravindan's earlier film Thampu and his cartoon series Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum (The Small Man and the Big World). The story is about the problems faced by the people of a hamlet with no electricity, when electric supply finally reaches them.[12] The film reaches a conclusion that life is better without electricity. Though the film is discussing a serious issue, the treatment of it is very simplistic. Humour and intensity characterise the film that is set in the mid-fifties. The film is different from many of Aravindan's earlier works in that it deals with a broad range of characters and lacks a clear-cut linear story. The theme of Oridathu demanded a caricature treatment so Aravindan made it that way. When asked about this deviation, Aravindan stated, "There is an element of caricature in all the characters. A little exaggeration and lot of humour was consciously introduced to make effective the last sequence, which is the explosion. In fact the whole film moves towards the climax — the clash on the day of the festival and the breaking out of the fire." The film is complex in that it has many characters and many incidents and therefore does not have a single motif. Hence, Aravindan had to use a number of shots in the film. The usual type of music is also absent. Instead, the sounds of the incidents are used to the maximum. In the film, different characters speak different dialects of Malayalam, for example the villagers speak pure Valluvanadan Malayalam of South Malabar, the overseer uses the Trivandrum Malayalam the fake Doctor uses Travancore Malayalam etc.[13]

    In this period Aravindan did a number of documentaries and short films. He composed music for films like

    Aaro Oral, Piravi and Ore Thooval Pakshikal. Aravindan's 1989 feature film Unni was an international co-production loosely based on experiences in Kerala of a group of American students, who played themselves. Aravindan's final project Vasthuhara (1991) about refugees in Bengal was based on C. V. Sreeraman's short story in the same name. The film had Mohanlal and Neena Gupta
    in major roles.

    Aravindan died on 15 March 1991, before the release of Vasthuhara. The cause of death was a heart attack.[14] He was aged just 56 when he died.[15]

    Kerala Chalachitra Film Society facilitates Aravindan Puraskaram every year in the memory of G. Aravindan for the best debutant director in Indian languages.[16][17]

    Awards

    Civilian awards

    National Film Awards

    Kerala State Film Awards

    Kerala Film Critics Association Awards

    Filmography

    Direction

    Year Title English Title Writer Type
    1974 Uttarayanam Throne of Capricorn Yes Feature film
    1977 Kanchana Sita The Golden Substitute Yes Feature film
    1978 Thampu The Circus Tent Yes Feature film
    1979 Kummatty The Bogeyman Feature film
    1980 Esthappan Stephen Yes* Feature film
    1981 Pokkuveyil Twilight Yes Feature film
    1982 VT V.T. Bhattathiripad Documentary film
    1985 The Seer Who Walks Alone --- Documentary film
    1985 Chidambaram --- Yes Feature film
    1985 The Brown Landscape --- Short film
    1986 The Catch --- Documentary film
    1986 Oridathu At a Place Yes Feature film
    1987 Contours of Linear Rhythm --- Documentary film
    1988 Marattam Masquerade Yes Television film
    1988 Anadi-Dhara --- Documentary film
    1989 Unni --- Feature film
    1990 Sahaja Spontaneous Short film
    1991 Vasthuhara The Dispossessed Yes* Feature film

    Notes

    • He also wrote the story of Esthappan and dialogues for Vasthuhara.

    Other contributions

    Year Title Director Role
    1978
    Yaro Oraal[19]
    		 V. K. Pavithran Composer
    1980 Esthappan Himself Composer, editor
    1988 Piravi Shaji N. Karun Composer
    1989 Ore Thooval Pakshikal[20] K. Ravindran Composer

    References

    1. ^ Obituary Variety, 25 March 1991.
    2. ^ Srikanth Srinivasan (12 October 2013). "Outtakes: G. Aravindan". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
    3. ^ "The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Remembering Aravindan". www.hindu.com. 14 September 2006. Archived from the original on 14 September 2006.
    4. ^ a b c "cinemaofmalayalam.net". www.cinemaofmalayalam.net.
    5. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
    6. ^ "Aravindan: Anew and again". Frontline. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
    7. ^ a b c "Weblokam profile". Archived from the original on 26 January 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
    8. ^ "Mathrubhumi Books | EBook - Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum". Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
    9. ^ Directorate of Film Festivals (1981). The New generation, 1960–1980. Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. p. 48.
    10. ^ "G. Aravindan: Uttarayanam". Cinemafmalayalam.net. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
    11. ^ Khalid Mohamed (16 March 1991). "Aravindan, film-maker of poetic vision, dead" (PDF). The Times of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
    12. ^ "IFFI Aravindan Retrospective" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
    13. ^ Jayaram, S. B. (1992). Aravindan and his films. Chalachitra. pp. 1–36.
    14. ^ "Film maker G. Aravindan dies of heart attack". India Today. 16 September 2013 [15 April 1991].
    15. ^ "Aravindan, film-maker of poetic vision, dead" (PDF). The Times of India. 17 March 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
    16. ^ "Kerala film society to remember iconic director G Aravindan". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
    17. ^ "Malayalam director Zakariya wins Aravindan Award for 'Sudani from Nigeria'". www.thenewsminute.com. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
    18. ^ a b c "കേരള ഫിലിം ക്രിട്ടിക്‌സ് അവാര്‍ഡ് 1977 - 2012". Kerala Film Critics Association (in Malayalam). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
    19. ^ Yaro Oraal (1978) - IMDb, retrieved 8 April 2023
    20. ^ "Ore Thooval Pakshikal". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.

    External links

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