Pavithran

Pavithran was famous Malayalam film director of yester-years. His daughter Eva is a film actress in South Indian films

After completing his graduation Pavithran made an unsuccessful attempt to get admission at the FTII, Pune. This failure made him join a Law College nearby the film institute at Pune. He used this opportunity to befriend the institute students and understand cinema closely. His friendship with director P A Backer led to the making of the film Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol, which he produced. His first directorial venture was with Yaro Oral for which Aravindan composed the music. Later he made a shift in his form of filmmaking with Uppu, where he adopted the middle-stream cinema model. His later films are Uttaram (1989), Bali (1991) and Kuttappan Sakshi (2000).

elected Filmography

Yaro Oral - 1978

Pavithran's debut film introduced to Malayalam a genre of personal cinema, which is deliberately anti-realist. Gynaecologist Malathi is childless. To remedy this she divorces her husband and marries his friend Ravi. At the end of the film she gives birth to a child just before she commits suicide. Her former husband finds salvation in religion, while the second husband dies shortly after her death.

Direction & Screenplay: PavithranCast: Ravi, Prothima, A C K Raja, VarmaCinematography: Madhu AmbatMusic: Aravindan

Uppu - 1986

Meleri Moosa ruined himself with obsessive litigation migrates to a new area with his daughter Amina and her husband Abu. At the new place the wealthy Moidutty claims Amina as his wife ignoring Abu's protest. Twenty years later Amina is alone while her father still indulges in litigations, her son leads a dissolute life and her daughter elopes with the chauffer.

Direction: PavithranScreenplay: K M A RahimCast: P T Kunjumohammad, Vijayan Kottarathil, C V Sreeraman, JayalalithaCinematography: Madhu AmbatMusic: Saratchandra Marathe

Kuttappan Sakshi - 2002

Kuttappan Saakshi begins in the pre-independence era when the communist movement was coming up in Kerala and inspiring poor peasants and other workers to raise their voice against the feudalism and the exploitation of the Nampoothiris.

Kuttappan, whose job is to light the roadside lamps, is a sympathizer of the poor and the downtrodden and even, helps them in their cause to a great extent. Beginning there, the film journeys through time bringing alive on the screen moments and events from Kerala's history, like the Freedom struggle, the Liberation Movement etc. and ends in the present.

In the course of time, Kuttappan's lamp and lamppost give way to electric lights and posts and Kuttappan becomes a mute witness to changing times and the historical process. In the modern era, Kuttappan finds himself as outdated as his old lamp and lamppost.

Direction & Screenplay: PavithranCast: M R GopakumarCinematography: Diwaker MenonEditing: Venugopal

External links

* [http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/pavithran.html malayalam cinema]
* [http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/27/stories/2006022710850400.htm The Hindu news]