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Adoor Gopalakrishnan

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In this Indian name, the toponymic surname is Adoor. It is not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Gopalakrishnan.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Born
Mouttathu Gopalakrishnan Unnithan

(1941-07-03) 3 July 1941 (age 83)
Mannadi, Adoor, Pathanamthitta district, Travancore, British India
(present day Adoor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India)
Other namesAdoor
Alma materFilm and Television Institute of India[1]
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
Years active1965–present
Spouse
Sunanda
​
(died 2015)​
Children1
Awards
Websiteadoorgopalakrishnan.com

Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film Swayamvaram (1972), Gopalakrishnan pioneered the new wave in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s.[2] In a career spanning over five decades, Gopalakrishnan has made only 12 feature films to date. His films are made in the Malayalam language and often depict the society and culture of his native state Kerala. Nearly all of his films premiered at Venice, Cannes and Toronto International Film Festival. Along with Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, Gopalakrishnan is one of the most recognized Indian film directors in world cinema.[3][4]

For his films, Gopalakrishnan has won the National Film Award 16 times, next only to Ray and Sen. He also won the Kerala State Film Awards 17 times. He was awarded the State honours Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004 for his valuable contributions to Indian cinema.[5] In 2016, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have established an archive and research center, the Adoor Gopalakrishnan Film Archive and Research Center, at their Peck School of Arts where research students will have access to 35 mm prints of the eleven feature films and several documentaries made by Gopalakrishnan.[6]

Biography

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Gopalakrishnan was born on 3 July 1941 in the village of Pallickal (Medayil Bungalow) near Adoor, present-day Kerala.[citation needed]

After securing a degree in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration in 1961 from the Gandhigram Rural Institute,[7] he worked as a Government officer near Dindigul in Tamil Nadu. In 1962, he left his job to study screenwriting and direction at the Film and Television Institute of India Pune. He completed his course from there with a scholarship from the Government of India. With his classmates and friends, Gopalakrishnan established Chithralekha Film Society and Chalachithra Sahakarana Sangham; the organization was the first film society in Kerala and it aimed at production, distribution and exhibition of films in the co-operative sector.

Malayalam cinema director Adoor Gopalakrishnan while attending Sharjah Book Fair 2013 programme

Gopalakrishnan's debut film, the national award-winning Swayamvaram (1972) was a milestone in Malayalam film history. The film was exhibited widely in various international film festivals including those held in Moscow, Melbourne, London and Paris. The films that followed namely Kodiyettam, Elippathayam, Mukhamukham, Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan and Kathapurushan lived up to the reputation of his first film and were well received by critics at various film festivals and fetched him many awards. However, Mukhamukham was criticized in Kerala while Vidheyan was at the centre of a debate due to the differences in opinion between the writer of story of the film Sakhariya and Gopalakrishnan.

Gopalakrishnan's later films are Nizhalkuthu, narrating the experiences of an executioner who learns that one of his subjects was innocent, and Naalu Pennungal, a film adaptation of four short stories by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai.

All his films have won national and international awards (National award for best film twice, best director five times, and best script two times. His films have also won his actors and technicians several national awards). Gopalakrishnan's third feature, Elippathayam won him the coveted British Film Institute Award for 'the most original and imaginative film' of 1982. The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) has gone to him six times successively for Mukhamukham, Anantharam, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan and Nizhalkkuthu. Winner of several international awards like the UNICEF film prize (Venice), OCIC film prize (Amiens), INTERFILM Prize (Mannheim) etc., his films have been shown in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, London, Rotterdam and every important festival around the world.

In consideration of his contribution to Indian cinema, the nation honoured him with the title of Padma Shri (India's fourth highest civilian award) in 1984 and Padma Vibhushan (India's second highest civilian award) in 2006.

Gopalakrishnan is settled in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. His daughter Aswathi Dorje is an IPS officer (part of the Assam cadre, 2000 batch), currently acting as Deputy Commissioner of Police in Mumbai since June 2010.[8][9]

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Gopalakrishnan signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[10][11][12]

His biography Face to Face: The Cinema of Adoor Gopalakrishnan (2016) has been written by film scholar Parthajit Baruah of Assam. [13] [14]

Documentaries and 'New Cinema' movement

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Gopalakrishnan standing next to his portrait

Apart from nine feature films, he has over 30 short films and documentaries to his credit. The Helsinki Film Festival was the first film festival to have a retrospective of his films. He has headed the jury at the National Film Awards and many international film festivals.

Apart from his films, Gopalakrishnan's major contribution towards introducing a new cinema culture in Kerala was the constitution of the first Film Society in Kerala, "Chitralekha Film Society". He also took active part in the constitution of "Chitralekha", Kerala's first Film Co-operative Society for film production. These movements triggered a fresh wave of films, called "art films", by directors like G Aravindan, PA Becker, KG George, Pavithran, and Raveendran. At a time this movement was so strong that even popular cinema synthesised with art cinema to create a new genre of films. Bharat Gopi starred as hero 4 times in his ventures.

Style and trademarks

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According to Gopalakrishnan "[i]n movies, the actor is not performing to the audience like the stage actor. Here they are acting for me. I am the audience and I will decide whether it is correct or not, enough or not."[15]

Controversies

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In 2014, Gopalakrishnan, then heading the advisory committee of The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), irked controversy for introducing measures such as delegate passes being given only to those who can speak English since foreign films come with English subtitles, these changes were criticized for promoting old-world elitism and restricting the festival's appeal.[16]

In 2023, he faced criticism for defending the K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts director, Shankar Mohan, accused of violating reservation norms and discriminating based on caste and class. Gopalakrishan's statements, dismissing allegations and emphasizing Shankar Mohan's credentials, have drawn ire.[17]

The students accused Gopalakrishnan, the chairman of the film institute, of shielding the institute director and not addressing their concerns.[18]

Awards and milestones

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File:The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award – 2006 to Shri Adoor Gopalakrishnan in New Delhi on March 20, 2006

Some of the awards and appreciation Gopalakrishnan has won for his films include:

National Film Awards (Detailed):

Kerala State Film Awards (Detailed):

Best Film

Best Director

Best Story

Best Screen Play

Best Documentary Film

Best Short Film

Best Book on Cinema

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards (Detailed):[26]

A retrospective of his films was conducted in

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Duration Category Awards
1965 A Great Day 20 mins Short fiction
1966 A Day at Kovalam 30 mins Documentary
1967 The Myth 50 Seconds Short fiction Merit Certificate, Expo 67, Montreal
1968 Danger at Your Door-step 20 mins Documentary
1968 And Man created 8 mins Documentary
1968 Manntharikal (Grains of Sand) 20 mins Documentary
1969 Towards National STD 20 mins Documentary
1969 A Mission of Love 30 mins Documentary
1966 Your Food 60 mins Documentary
1970 Pratisandhi (The Impasse) 55 mins Docu-drama
1971 Romance of Rubber 30 mins Documentary
1972 Swayamvaram (One's Own Choice) 125 mins Feature film National Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Cinematographer. Entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.[31]
1973 Kilimanooril Oru Dasalakshadhipati (A Millionaire is Born) 20 mins Documentary
1974 Guru Chengannur 17 mins Documentary
1975 Past in Perspective 20 mins Documentary
1976 Idukki 60 mins Documentary
1977 Kodiyettam (Ascent) 128 mins Feature film National Awards for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and Best Actor
1978 Four Shorts on Family Planning 16 mins Documentary
1979 Yakshagana 20 mins Documentary
1980 Chola Heritage 20 mins Documentary
1981 Elippathayam (The Rat Trap) 121 mins Feature film Sutherland Trophy at 1982 London Film Festival
National Awards for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and Best Audiography
1982 Krishnanattam 20 mins Documentary
1984 Mukhamukham (Face to Face) 107 mins Feature film FIPRESCI Prize, New Delhi, National Awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Audiography
1985 Eau/Ganga (Ganges-Water) 140 mins Documentary Grand Prize, Cinema du reel, Paris
1987 Anantaram (Monologue) 125 mins Feature film FIPRESCI Prize, Karlovy Vary. National awards for best director, best screenplay, and best audiography
1990 Mathilukal (The Walls) 117 mins Feature film FIPRESCI prize, Venice, UNICEF Film Prize, Venice, OCIC Prize, Amiens. National Award for best director, best actor, best regional film and best audiography
1993 Vidheyan (The Servile) 112 mins Feature film Feature FIPRESCI and Special Jury Prize, Singapore. Interfilm Jury Prize, Mannheim. Netpac prize, Rotterdam. National Award for best actor and best regional film
1995 Kathapurushan (The Man of the Story) 107 mins Feature film FIPRESCI Prize, National award for the best film
1995 Kalamandalam Gopi 43 mins Documentary
2001 Koodiyattam 180 mins Documentary
2002 Nizhalkuthu (Shadow Kill) 90 mins Feature film FIPRESCI, Mumbai. National award for best regional film
2005 Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair 73 mins Documentary
2007 Dance of the Enchantress 72 mins Documentary
2007 Naalu Pennungal (Four Women) 105 mins Feature film National Award for best director
2008 Oru Pennum Randaanum (A Climate for Crime) 115 mins Feature film Kerala State award for best director 2009
2016 Pinneyum (Once Again) Feature film
2019 Sukhantyam (A Happy End) Short fiction

References

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  1. ^ "Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) keen to go global, train foreign actors & technicians - Times of India". The Times of India. 25 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Golden rigmaroles: Adoor Gopalakrishnan on the Malayalam screen". Deccan Chronicle. 31 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Adoor Gopalakrishnan". IMDb. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Adoor Gopalakrishnan | Biography, Movies, & Facts". Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Adoor selected for Phalke award". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 September 2005. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  6. ^ Attipetty, Peter (6 May 2013). "Milwaukee chose me: Adoor Gopalakrishnan". The American Bazaar. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Page on Adoor Gopalakrishnan at Kerala tourism". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  8. ^ A correspondent Date: 2 June 2010 Place: Mumbai (2 June 2010). "Husband-wife set to take charge as Mumbai's DCPs". Mid-day.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Crimebusters". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 23 January 2005. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ^ Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Face-to-Face". www.analpabooks.com. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  14. ^ Baruah, Parthajit (2016). Face to Face: The Cinema of Adoor Gopalakrishnan. HarperCollins India. ISBN 9789351361954.
  15. ^ "'Naalu Pennungal' not complex like my other films: Adoor". Yahoo India Movies. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  16. ^ Ramnath, Nandini (13 November 2014). "Adoor Gopalakrishnan stirs controversy by restricting entry at state-run film fest to viewers who know English". Scroll.in. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  17. ^ Shaji, Sukanya (17 January 2023). "Dear Adoor, caste did not end because you discarded your surname at age 20". The News Minute. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Film institute row: Jeo Baby withdraws 'Freedom Fight' from Kannur festival". OnManorama. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Happy Independence Day: 70 Years, 70 Great Films". NDTV.com. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Adoor honoured with Padma award". Rediff.com. 21 March 2006. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  21. ^ "Mahatma Gandhi University". Government of Kerala. 5 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Celebrating Cinema: 5 Reasons You Should Know About this Pioneer of New Wave – The Penguin Digest". penguin.co.in. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Official Website of Adoor Gopalakrishnan". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  24. ^ "Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Adoor Gopalakrishnan completes 50 years in cinema". India Today. 17 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Adoor receives French honour". The Times of India. 22 October 2003. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  26. ^ "കേരള ഫിലിം ക്രിട്ടിക്‌സ് അവാര്‍ഡ് 1977 - 2012". Kerala Film Critics Association. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Retrospective in Kolkata". Sify. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.[dead link‍]
  28. ^ "Adoor retrospective at Slovenian festival". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  29. ^ "Adoor retrospective". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  30. ^ "Interview: Adoor". Cinema of Malayalam. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  31. ^ "8th Moscow International Film Festival (1973)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.

Further reading

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  • Gautaman Bhaskaran (2010). Adoor Gopalakrishnan: A Life in Cinema. New Delhi: Penguin Books India.
  • Lalit Mohan Joshi, C. S. Venkiteswaran (2006). A Door to Adoor. London: South Asian Cinema Foundation.
  • M. F. Thomas, ed. (1986). Adoorinte Lokam (in Malayalam). Calicut, India: Mulberry.
  • M. F. Thomas, ed. (2005). Adoorinte Chalachithrayathrakal (in Malayalam). Trivandrum, India: Sign Books.
  • Akbar Kakkattil (2006). Varoo, Adoorilekku Pokam (Interview with Adoor Gopalakrishnan) (in Malayalam). Kottayam, India: DC Books.
  • B. Sreeraj. Adoorinte Sarga Yathra (in Malayalam). India.
  • R. Pavithran. Kazhchayile Kana Thalangal (in Malayalam). India.
  • Gopalakrishnan, Adoor (2011). ""The Story Is Just an Excuse"" (Interview). Interviewed by Patrick McGilligan.
  • Attipetty, Peter Lal (2023). Bodhadarayil Adoor [Adoor - Reminiscences] (in Malayalam). India: Logos Books. ISBN 978-9390118823.
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