G. Aravindan

G. Aravindan
Born Govindan Aravindan
January 21, 1935(1935-01-21)
Kottayam, Kerala, India
Died March 15, 1991(1991-03-15) (aged 56)
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Occupation Director, Screenwriter, Musician, Cartoonist, Rubber Board Officer
Years active 1974 - 1991 (In film field)
Parents M. N. Govindan Nair

Govindan Aravindan (Malayalam: ഗോവിന്ദന്‍ അരവിന്ദന്‍; born 21 January 1935 in Kottayam — died 15 March 1991 in Trivandrum) who was popularly known as G. Aravindan was a national award winning film director, screenwriter, musician and cartoonist from Kerala, India.[1] He was known for his unorthodox way of film-making; he changed his cinematic forms consistently[2] and experimented in story telling without regular narrative styles.[3] Before venturing into film field, he was an established cartoonist. He had also worked with documentaries and theatre.

Contents

Biography

G. Aravindan was the son of famous comedy writer M. N. Govindan Nair.[4] Aravindan started his professional life in as a cartoonist in Mathrubhumi journal. He established himself as a noted cartoonist in early 1960s with his cartoon series Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum[5] which dealt with the adventures of the central characters Ramu and Guruji, mingled with political and social satires.[3] The series was preceded by two more cartoon series namely Ramuvinte Sahasika Yathrakal and Guruji featuring the central characters of Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum. He has also worked in other journals as cartoonist. At one point of time, Aravindan diverted his attention to theatre and music. He played a major role in establishing theatre and music clubs namely 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.[4] Aravindan was working as an officer in revenue board when he got associated with artist Devan, playwright Thikkodiyan and writer Pattathuvila Karunakaran.

The first film directed by Aravindan, Uttarayanam(1974) came out as a product from this group; the film was produced by Karunakaran and the story was written by Thikkodiyan. The early works of Aravindan was 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.[3] Aravindan's second film Kanchana Sita was released three years later in 1977. The film was retake on the Ramayana. This film is credited with formation of a new stream of filmmaking called independent filmmaking.[4] 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. His 1979 films Kummatty and Esthappan were also ran through different streams. His next film Pokkuveyil(1981) starred poet Balachandran Chullikkad. From this film to his next film there was a gap of 4 years. The 1985 film Chidambaram was produced by Aravindan himself under the banner Suryakanthi. In 1986 Oridathu came which handled the problems faced by the people of a hamlet where electricity in unavailable, when electric supply finally reaches there.[6] In this period Aravindan also did a number of documentaries and short films. He also composed music for some films like Aaro Oral, Piravi and Ore Thooval Pakshikal. Aravindan's 1989 film Unni had a starcast mainly consisting of foreigners. Aravindan's final project Vasthuhara(1991) about refugees in Bengal was based on C. V. Sreereman's short story in the same name. The film had Mohanlal and Neena Gupta in major roles. Even before the release of Vasthuhara, Aravindan died on 15 March 1991.[7]

Awards

National Film Awards
Kerala State Film Awards

Filmography

Direction

Year Title English Title Writer Type
1974 Uttarayanam Throne of Capricorn Yes Feature film
1977 Kanchana Sita The Golden Substitute Feature film
1978 Thampu The Circus Tent Feature film
1979 Kummatty The Bogeyman Feature film
1980 Esthappan Stephen Yes* Feature film
1981 Pokkuveyil Twilight Yes Feature film
1985 Viti --- 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 Interchange Yes Television film
1988 Anadi-Dhara --- Documentary film
1988 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 Aaro Oral Pavithran Composer
1980 Esthappan Himself Composer, editor
1988 Piravi Shaji N. Karun Composer
1989 Ore Thooval Pakshikal [8] K. Ravindran Composer

References

  1. ^ Obituary Variety, March 25, 1991.
  2. ^ The Hindu: Remembering Aravindan
  3. ^ a b c cinemaofmalayalam.net: G. Aravindan profile
  4. ^ a b c Weblokam profile
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ IFFI Aravindan Retrospective
  7. ^ "Aravindan, film-maker of poetic vision, dead". The Times of India. cscsarchive.org. March 17, 1991. http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/94ff8a4a35a9b8876525698d002642a9/c7693440bca3c3d7652572d000265e53/$FILE/A0190092.pdf. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
  8. ^ "Ore Thooval Pakshikal". British Film Institute. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/466080. Retrieved 2011-01-21. 

External links

Feature films directed by G. Aravindan
1968–1980
1981–2000
2001–present