Happy Birthday Adoor Gopalakrishnan: Three movies of the veteran filmmaker you must watch right away

Adoor Gopalakrishnan or Adoor as he is affectionately referred to is a filmmaker who has put Malayalam cinema on the map of world cinema. It has been 48 years since his debut feature film ‘Swayamvaram’ was released, but even after four decades, you can still connect to the characters and the situations, as his movies are nothing but a slice of life. Adoor’s movies are rich with soulful characters, the social significance of the period, intricate frames and visual grammar. His characters speak more through visuals and expressions rather than dialogues. As the 16 times National Award winning legendary filmmaker is turning 79, here’s taking a look at some of his magnificent creations you must watch right away. These include ‘Swayamvaram’, ‘Elippathayam’ and ‘Mathilukal’.

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One should start examining Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s movies right from its title. ‘Swayamvaram’, the Malayalam word means one’s own choice or will. Released in 1972, the movie speaks about unemployment and how a woman, her husband, whom she herself has selected, copes up with that. Adoor was highly influenced by the new wave movement, and the movie has traits of it. Madhu and Sharada played the leads of Vishwam and Sita respectively in the movie. Adoor also happens to be the first filmmaker from India to use sound as a leitmotif in the movie. The black and white movie will draw you into the day and when the movie ends, Sita has lost her husband and has no way to feed her newborn baby. The knock at the door and the Goddess’ poster on the wall are interchangeably shown, and the filmmaker doesn’t spoon-feed the audience but asks them to think what her choice would be. The movie has also won the National award for best film.

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As the title reads, life is nothing but a rat trap for the family of three sisters and their aged brother Unni. Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, Rajam K. Nair, and Soman are the actors who played the lead parts. The end of feudalism has weakened the family. The movie is rich with metaphors including the rat trap and Adoor picturizes what the four of them choose for life. As the movie also happens to be the first movie of Adoor shot in color, he has used the colors to distinguish his characters. Sridevi, the younger sister, is full of energy and she wears bright colors including red. Sridevi never fell in the rat trap as she elopes with her lover, for a better life. The protagonist wears white and is a dying, hopeless, patriarchal man, who would not let his beliefs change. While Rajamma, wears blue, and she desires to get married off to a family, but she is too submissive and dutiful for her brother Unni, and so won’t say anything. Rajamma sees the outer world of the house only when she is ill. Rajamma seeing the outer world is shown through the shadows and lights she moves through. The movie is full of imagery and it’s a loss if you haven’t watched the movie yet.

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Based on the autobiographical novel by the same name by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, ‘Mathilukal’ is a poignant watch. As the title sounds, the movie is about the walls or limits. Writer Basheer is in prison and how he communicates with a lady in the women’s cell through a wall and which later blossoms into love forms the crux of the movie. Mammootty essayed Basheer and his lady love Narayani’s voice is dubbed by KPAC Lalitha. Basheer, who is a writer, is well treated inside the prison. He is a man, who has wide thoughts on life and happens to hear a woman’s voice from the other side of the prison’s wall. He tries to communicate with her and which later blossoms into love. From sharing rose plants to snacks, their communication goes on. Throughout the movie, one can’t see Narayani, similarly, even Basheer cannot, but can only hear her. Later on a day, Basheer unexpectedly gets a notice that he is free to go, and he can see Narayani signaling on the other side of the wall to talk. Unable to say a word or communicate that he is leaving the jail, Basheer has to leave. The movie won four National awards, and it is one of the best movies in Mollywood so far.

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