G Aravindan-Poetry on the Celluloid

Anil Kumar.R

G.Aravindan was one of the greatest film makers of Malayalam who has changed our sensibilities on cinema and crafted a new grammar for the art of film making. There was an element of deep spirituality running below the sub stratum in all his films. You can feel serenity in mind and a detachment from the vociferous world while viewing them. I had the fortune to see all his feature films made from 1974 to 1991, even though now I retains only a miniscule of the content in my memory, since I viewed most of them in 1980’s and about 25-30 years have been elapsed. The impact it generated in my mind was great and still its resonance remains.

Uttarayanam was his first film made in 1974.The main character was an un employed man and the film examines the prevailing social and political scenario. There were some funny dialogues such as “Have you read the last letter of Che guvera?” The reply is that “I do not have the have the habit of reading letters of others.”There are some beautiful songs also such as “Hridayathin Romancham Swara raga Gangayayi”. I do not remember inclusion of songs in his later films.

Kanchana Sita (1977) depicts the story of Uttrakanda of Ramayana. It was a totally different approach from Casting to Story line. The main characters including Rama were played by Tribals of Andhra Pradesh. The film emphasizes on the struggles of the inner conscience of Rama, His mental wars and his self ending in the river. Sita as a person was not shown in the film; instead she is depicted as the varying emotions of nature. For the daughter of earth it is quite appropriate. The conversations are very minimal but the visuals are stunning.

Thampu is the story of the monotonous life inside the circus ring. Even when they are entertaining people they themselves are following a dull and monotonous life.

Kummatti is film for Children based on a folk lore. Kummatti is a fictional character having magical powers and he is fond of playing with children. One while playing with the masks of different animals and birds, the children get transmigrated to the original animals and birds with their body. At the end of the play one of the children who became a dog could not obtain his original form and happens to live in the fashion for quite some time. Later when Kummatti visits the village again he was able to approach him and get his original self.

In Esthappan he discovers a new way of Storytelling. The life and times of an obscure man is being sketched using the narrative of the surrounding people. The miracles performed by him and his astute life. It is something like making a sculpture out of the minds of people.

Pokuveil is a story of a young man who loses everything from his life and ends up in mental asylum. The music of Hari Prasad Chaurasia (Flute) and Rjeev Tharanath(Sarod) are quite astounding. The camera is also remarkable.

Chidambaram is one of the most remarkable movies made in Malayalam. The visuals are stunning and it is poetry in celluloid. The original story was that of C.V.Sreeraman. Normally while converting the famous stories to films they lose their beauty. But here the effect is different. The film could provide more dimension to the theme than the original story. The film portrayed Smita Patil in the scenic surroundings of Mattuppetti a hilly, pristine area. The ending of the film shows Bharat Gopi the lead actor with heavily laden heart tortured by the sense of guilt visits Chidambaram temple where he meets SivaKami.

Oridathu is the Story of a remote village in Kerala. The inhabitants and events of the village before the arrival of Electricity and with the advent of electricity are portrayed in a very humorous manner.The actor Srinivasan along with Nedumudi Venu made a grand performance in this movie.

Unni was an English film in which a young man tries to make the forein vistors to make aquaintence them with the Culture and life of Kerala.

Vaastuhara(The Dispossessed) was his final film. The story was that of C.V.Sreeraman which was published in Malayalam .I had read the story one or two years before viewing the film. I felt that the emotional impact that the story could produce could not be felt in the film. The story revolves around the life of a woman and her daughter in West Bengal who happens to a meet a refugee officer from Kerala. The woman happened to be the wife of the maternal uncle of the refugee officer. The uncle had left home and came to Bengal in his early life and later died there itself. Aravindan tries to mix the pangs of refugees under partition, their lives and struggles for survival in the new environment.

There is no doubt that Aravindan will be one of the most remembered film makers in Malayalam who has shown a new path to Indian cinema