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Master of his art
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The celebrated film-maker, Adoor Gopalakrsihnan, talks to Anand Haridas about his films, documentaries and his love for theatre.
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Adoor Gopalakrishnan: 'All my films are connected with the social and political history. For any film to be relevant, it should necessarily be a comment on social history.'
ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN is yet to get the hangman out of his mind. He has been living with the protagonist of his latest film Nizhalkoothu (The Shadow Kill) for quite long. "It takes some time to get away from it," he says.
There are more reasons for this celebrated film-maker not to start working on new projects. "The film is quite alive. It is still being shown at various film festivals and is being released in France, Switzerland and the U.S." Right now, he is working out the details of releasing the film in metros.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan was in the city on a brief personal visit and took a break to speak about his films, documentaries and his love for theatre. First, about his films. In a career spanning over three decades, he has made nine films. And, there is a pattern in the themes that he has selected for his works. Or so, it was thought, until Mr. Gopalakrishnan countered it.
From his debut film Swayamvaram (One's Own Choice), made in 1972 to Anantaram (Monologue) in 1987, Mr. Gopalakrishnan had been speaking mostly about personal traumas and angst. There was a loud effort to place his characters before a political backdrop in Mukhamukham (Face to Face) made in 1984, though.
From Mathilukal (Walls) onwards, his characters were firmly placed in the context of the political history of the State. "That is not true. All my films are connected with the social and political history. In fact, I used the footage of a political leader's actual speech in Swayamvaram. For any film to be relevant, it should necessarily be a comment on social history."
Mr. Gopalakrishnan then went on to demonstrate how his films are related to the social and political history of the land. Each one of them, in their chronological order.
"In social history, there are two sections — one, contemporary history and then the history of yesterday. Some of these films are about the immediately past yesterday. It is a choice of convenience, for, you can reflect upon it more deeply," he says.
But then, films like Kodiyettam (The Ascent) and Anantaram are about individuals. "The protagonist in Kodiyettam gets individuated out of his interaction with life, situations and people around him. Even though Anantaram does not make a direct social comment, it speaks about duality of perception in our daily life. It is set against the background of the middle class morality," he says.
The talk about an umbilical connection of his films with society led us to the issue of the film society movement. "I don't think the movement has waned off. The effect is very much there. Many personalities, who would not have entered film industry otherwise, were here because of this movement. Even in this year, films that refuse to compromise have been made. Film society has never been a mass movement, it will never be."
He pointed an accusatory finger at the television medium for aggressively promoting films made for the market. "Songs and comedy scenes supported by the glamour of actors are all they need to promote a film. They approach film as a multi-cultural show."
Even while acknowledging that television was actively involved in the promotion of his new film, through panel discussions in which he took an active part, Mr. Gopalakrishnan stressed that mediocrity had set in. "Art is a reflection of the times we live in. A sign of our underdevelopment."
For someone with so much of social commitment, Mr. Gopalakrishnan has not made a political documentary film. In his repertoire, there are more than 20 non-feature films, though. "My statements as an artiste are there in my feature films. For quite sometime now, I have been doing documentaries on the performing arts alone."
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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