Film - Remembering, P.Padmarajan (1945 - 1991)

P. Padmarajan was a Malayalam writer and film director. As a writer his stories deal with violence, romance, mystery, passion, jealousy, libertinism, anarchism, individualism, and the life of peripheral elements of society. Some of them are among the best in Malayalam literature; his first novel Nakshathrangalaey kaaval won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award (1972). Padmarajan entered the world of Malayalam films by writing the screenplay for Bharathan’s directorial debut Prayaanam (1975); he is arguably the most talented script writer to have graced Malayalam cinema. He later began to direct films based on his own screenplays, beginning with Peruvazhiyambalam (1979); this led to a remarkable series of films, which are greatly popular among the lay people (as opposed to merely intellectuals and film critics), while also being rich in artistic and thematic originality and excellence. In his themes, he was a great experimenter who explored all walks of life. Many of his films bear the hallmark of the pure romanticist. Padmarajan is celebrated for his possibly unparalleled attention to detail in his screenplays. Some of his scripts are probably the smoothest narratives ever penned in the Malayalam language. They are also ample witness to his keen observation, acute perception, and astute portrayal of human relationships and emotions: many of them have stunning and haunting climaxes, which he portrayed with great sensitivity and intensity on the screen; many are generously sprinkled with homely and humorous scenes; his dialogues are natural, in the language of the common man, and yet have a subtle lyrical quality. Indeed, a just case may be made that his directorial merit flowed easily from his exquisitely crafted screenplays: he never directed a film based on a script written by someone else (unlike other Malayalam film directors of comparable stature, say, Bharathan and K. G. George), and but rarely adapted his script from a story not his own. Consequently, he had an unusually intimate knowledge of the characters in his films; in combination with his mastery of the script, this made him the excelling director that he was. Together with Bharathan and K. G. George, he successfully laid the foundation for a school of Malayalam cinema that strove to tread a middle ground by striking a fine balance between intellectual and commercial appeal, without sacrificing the strong points of either approach; this was accomplished by portraying brilliant stories with ordinary men and women as characters, to which all could relate, steering clear of artificial characters, stereotype mannerisms, and pedantic inclinations allegedly typical of ‘critically acclaimed’ films. Along with Bharathan, he displayed uncommon skill in handling human sexuality on the screen, treating very challenging topics without ever falling prey to vulgarity. Spending his whole life time in Literature and Cinema, he left this world on 23rd January, 1991 midnight in a hotel room in a silent heart attack. His death was widely mourned and the feeling of loss among the people of Kerala is truly soul-felt, lingering to this day :: Extracted from the original content posted at Wikipedia :: Image courtesy - Padamarajan's family website