padmanabha padmarajan pillai (23.05.1945 - 24.01.1991)
lived among us for 45 years
papettan, as he was famously known, was born in muthukkulam (in onattukara) in allepey district of kerala. onattukara was at times part of the kingdom of venad and today, comprises of the present day taluks of kayamkulam, mavelikkara, harippadu, karunagapalli, karthikapalli etc. historical evidence shows that, centuries ago, onattukara area was a flourishing centre of a buddhist culture and civilization that was destroyed and possibly consciously erased from history after the revival of hinduism post 8th century ad. names of towns and villages in the onattukara region carry the “palli” suffix, which was common usage in pali, the language of theravada buddhism.
the native land was phenomenal in shaping papettan's mind to be always fertile with ideas. the rivers, the temples, the rituals behind it, the toiling class, the backwaters,
the love for theatre and dance....
while working as programme executive for all india radio, thrissur, he started writing stories. he won the kerala sahitya akademy award for his debut novel 'nakshatrangale kaaval'. he shifted to writing scripts for movies with 'prayaanam'. he started of a trend with the director, bharathan by weaving narratives that made the audience sit up and notice their efforts. he is considered to be one of the fore-runners of the so-called 'parallel cinema' - movies that were artistic and at the same time, minted money, a crucial combination of quality and quantity.
his stories dealt with romance, jealousy, murder, deceit, sexual urges.... till then the audience were content watching the usual, he pulled them out of the shell, the comfort-zone. his debut directorial venture was 'peruvazhiyambalam' in 1979.
he gave prominence to songs and background music in the movies he directed. even though his movies had an average of only 2 songs, they were apt and placed perfectly; not
hindering the flow, instead taking the narrative forward. in the movies that he directed, the songs were never sung by the actor-on-screen; they played in the background and he provided stunning visuals which augmented the story. the only movie where his lead character did sing was in 'njan gandharvan' but then, gandharvans are supposed to be celestial characters who sang to praise the gods.
i am not going into a surgical dissection of his movies, though i would love to do so and will do it, one of the coming days...
the native land was phenomenal in shaping papettan's mind to be always fertile with ideas. the rivers, the temples, the rituals behind it, the toiling class, the backwaters,
the love for theatre and dance.... while working as programme executive for all india radio, thrissur, he started writing stories. he won the kerala sahitya akademy award for his debut novel 'nakshatrangale kaaval'. he shifted to writing scripts for movies with 'prayaanam'. he started of a trend with the director, bharathan by weaving narratives that made the audience sit up and notice their efforts. he is considered to be one of the fore-runners of the so-called 'parallel cinema' - movies that were artistic and at the same time, minted money, a crucial combination of quality and quantity.
his stories dealt with romance, jealousy, murder, deceit, sexual urges.... till then the audience were content watching the usual, he pulled them out of the shell, the comfort-zone. his debut directorial venture was 'peruvazhiyambalam' in 1979.
he gave prominence to songs and background music in the movies he directed. even though his movies had an average of only 2 songs, they were apt and placed perfectly; not
hindering the flow, instead taking the narrative forward. in the movies that he directed, the songs were never sung by the actor-on-screen; they played in the background and he provided stunning visuals which augmented the story. the only movie where his lead character did sing was in 'njan gandharvan' but then, gandharvans are supposed to be celestial characters who sang to praise the gods.i am not going into a surgical dissection of his movies, though i would love to do so and will do it, one of the coming days...
a small synopsis' of his 18 directorials, just to show the wide canvas that he mastered over:
1979 - peruvazhiyambalam (wayside inn) - raman, a simple teenager lives with his sister in a village. prabhakaran pillai, the villainous rapist coverts his sister and persecutes raman, who alone stands up to the bully and unknowingly, kills him in a fight during a temple fair. a teashop owner and a prostitute help him to hide from the police. raman replaces the villain as the idol for hero worship, for his machoism. he is struck with remorse when faced by the children of the man he killed. the movie explores the world of fears and the loss of belongings.
1981 - oridathoru phayalvan (somewhere, there lived a wrestler) - patronised by a village tailor, a wrestler becomes a local hero when he overcomes all his opponents and claims the prettiest woman as his wife. however, his muscular prowess is offset by sexual impotency and he has to leave the village and the girl falls for the youngster who had been trying to woo her for a long time.
1981 - kallan pavithran (pavithran, the thief) - pavithran was a petty thief dealing in utensils. but luck helps him fall upon a lost treasure and, in a short span, he turns from 'kallan' (thief) to 'mothalalli' (boss). but, his womanising ways, despite having a pious wife at home, leads to troubles and he is caught red-handed by the police for a theft.
1982 - novemberinte nashdam (the loss of november) - the rejection from her boyfriend to marry her after a whirlwind love affair leads to the girl losing control of herself.
1983 - koodevide (whither the nest) - a teacher at a convent school in ooty reforms a neglected and unruly teenager into a prize student. her boy-friend, an army captain, feels intensely jealous of the attention that the teenager receives from her. in order to scare the boy, he does a stunt and before he could stop himslef, he kills the boy apparently by accident but later surrenders to the police, leaving the teacher frustrated in all aspects of her life, still searching for a nest to rest.
1984 - parannu parannu parannu (soaring soaring soaring) - the love story between a young man and a girl with a mysterious past, told in the backdrop of a beauty cafe.
1985 - thinkalaazhcha nalla divasam (monday, an auspicious day) - two sons and their families come together in their spacious ancestral house to celebrate their lonely mother's 60th birthday. the comparision of the financial and social status of the two brothers lead to jealousies and rivalries escalating to who will inherit the house. despite the two knowing the deep attachment that the mother is having to the house and her pet animals, they place her in an old age home where she dies the same day, leaving them guilty ridden. their children nevertheless appreciate living together in the big house.
1986 - nammukku paarkaan munthirithoppukal (vineyards for us to dwell in) - a tragic love story, in which, through the bibical book of solomon and the romantic allusions associated with a vine-yard in mysore, a vine-yard owner falls in love with the illegitimate daughter of a nurse now married to a railway mechanic who is an alcoholic.
1986 - kariyilakkattupole (like a zephyr of dry leaves) - the murder investigation into the death of a writer-turned film director who was infamous for his romantic affairs.
1986 - arapatta kettiya graamathil (a village that wears a warrior's belt) - three youngsters visit a brothel and one of them falls for a girl over there, leading the other two to stand by him to fight the oppositions.
1986 - deshadanakilli karayaarilla (the migratory bird never cries) - two girls run away during a school trip in order to punish their teacher and in the course of their journey, one of the girls begins a romantic relationship with a mysterious man and later, is shocked to find out that the man is their teacher's lover.
1987 - nombarathipoovu (the sorrowful flower) - a freak accident by her bike-and-speed loving husband, leading to the death of their only child forces a wife to separate from her husband and she starts to take care of an orphaned young girl leading to her husband's jealousy to the little girl.
1987 - thoovanathumbikal (butterflies of the spraying rain) - when a young man, leading a dual life, proposes to a girl and is rejected, destiny gets him to begin a relation with a girl wanting to enter into prostitution. later, his first love reciprocates her love for him and he is caught in his emotions. rain plays a catalyst character in his sexual relationship.
1988 - aparan (the imposter) - an innocuous good guy is mistaken to be a gangster who may well have been his twin brother. in the process, he loses his identity.
1988 - moonaam pakkam (on the third day) - a retired bureacrat is visited by his grandson and three friends, brightening up memories. but his happiness wanes off when the sea takes away his grandson and gives him back on the third day.
1989 - season - a busted drug deal in the beaches of kovalam forces a man to get himself into a prison and bring out the the man who betrayed him.
1990 - innale (yesterday) - a amnesiac patient, unable to remember her yesterday, is bought into a new life by a young man and they decide to get married but, another person comes up claiming to be her husband.
1991 - njan gandharvan (i, the celestial lover) - a school-going girl falls into a passion with a celestial lover, who keeps appearing from a wooden statue that she found on a beach but is invisible to others.
to this day, the loss of p. padmarajan cannot be forgotten or replaced.
the gandharvan can take the form of any living creature; so i believe papettan might be still amongst us, just like the butterflies in a spraying rain....
