The Hindu : Front Page : Dada Saheb Phalke National Award goes to Adoor

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Tuesday, Sep 06, 2005

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Dada Saheb Phalke National Award goes to Adoor

Staff Reporter

THE AWARD WINNER: "I would be happier if this award persuades more people to watch my films."

NEW DELHI: The seasoned Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has been selected for the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2004 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. He will be conferred the honour at the National Film Awards ceremony later this year.

Known for his distinctive style and panache for taking up important social issues through his films, Mr. Gopalakrishnan made his debut on stage as an actor at the age of eight. Later he trained in the art of filmmaking at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, before moving on to Kerala to set up the Chitralekha Film Cooperative in 1965.

His very first film, Swayamvaram, won him the National Award for best direction. From being acclaimed for his documentaries to getting recognition for his ability to portray complex problems in a simplistic way, the filmmaker has long been the inspiration for the country's new-age film directors.

Perhaps one of the few Indian directors to be conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award while still into active filmmaking, Mr. Gopalakrishnan has received recognition not just nationally but also in the international arena. From Cannes to Berlin, Venice, Rotterdam and Toronto, his films have travelled to prestigious international film festivals the world over.

His Elippathayam had won the British Film Institute Award for being the most original and imaginative film of 1982. He is also the only Indian director to have been awarded the International Film Critics Prize five times. The films include Mukhamukham, Anantaram, Vidheyan and Kathapurushan.

Agencies add:

Mr. Gopalakrishnan brought to South India the movement started by Satyajit Ray in Bengal in revolutionising Indian cinema during the 1950s. Swayamvaram (1972) pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala.

He refused to be swayed by the then movement in Kerala to make films based on classics, and instead carved a niche for himself.

Apart from his films, Adoor's major contribution towards introducing a new cinema culture in Kerala was the constitution of the first film society in the State, "Chalachitra".

The movement triggered a fresh wave of good films called "art films" by directors like G. Aravindan, P.A. Becker, K.G. George, Pavithran and Raveendran, among others. At one time this movement was so strong that even popular cinema had to synthesise with art cinema to create a new genre of films.

He has won the National Award for Best Director four times, and best script writer thrice.

His collection of essays, `The World of Cinema', was given the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema in 1984. The same year he was conferred with Padma Shri.

`Am too young'

Reacting to the news of his getting the Phalke Award, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said on Monday that it was a surprise as he was too young to get the award, earlier received by eminent personalities like Mrinal Sen.

``I am too young to get this award and it is too early in my life to get this. I am really happy,'' the jubilant filmmaker said.

Mr Gopalakrishnan said it was a great honour to have been selected for the greatest award in the Indian film world. ``The award is usually given to the doyens in the industry and I feel humble and honoured at being selected for it,'' he added.

``I am glad that I have been chosen for the honour. As a filmmaker, I consider the award as gratifying. I would be happier if this award persuades more people to watch my films,'' he said.

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