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The spirit of experimenting

“It is not the language but the theme and the way of presentation that will draw viewers all over the world.”

Director K.P. Kumaran believes in breaking the formula and experimenting in Malayalam cinema.

G. Prabhakaran meets the filmmaker prior to the release of his latest venture.

An outspoken critic of entrenched social biases, K.P. Kumaran has been at the vanguard of the parallel cinema movement in the State for over three decades.

The films of this renowned director reflect a deep social commitment, particularly to women empowerment. All his films, right from the landmark Athithi (1974) to the national award winning Rugmini (1988) and Thotram (2000) have women protagonists.

Kumaran made a mark with his fiery plays on social evils as part of the organised literary movement in the Sixties. His latest film Akashagopuram (castle in the air) which is to hit the screens on August 22, is an adaptation of The Master Builder, a widely read play by Henrik Ibsen. This film is set in contemporary suburban London. Kumaran says his attempt is a genuine effort to seek new frontiers to Malayalam cinema in its production, marketing and use of advanced technology. “Though there is a proliferation of new Malayalam films, most of them cannot boast of any innovative talent and in almost all cases there is a repetition of themes, dialects and process of production. Even the star cast is highly mechanical and the real sufferers are the viewers,” he says. While attempting this theme and going in for a big budget, he mentally refuted all pre-conceptions. It took a lot of courage to think that local themes and local cinemas can be marketed globally. But, there are instances of foreign films shot in remote villages being widely marketed. In India, Tamil films are drawing viewers all over the country, he says. “It is stupid to think that Malayalam cinema cannot do the same when a few Malayalam films have been widely recognised in international film festivals,” he says. “It is not the language but the theme and the way of presentation that will draw viewers all over the world.”

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