Padmarajan

He had worked as an announcer at All India Radio and already established a solid reputation as a writer, having authored fifteen novels, before he entered the world of Malayalam cinema.

Considered a second generation modernist writer, his novels deal with violence, romance, mystery, sexual jealousy, anarchism, and marginalised people. Many of them are among the best ever to appear in Malayalam literature; his Nakshathrangalaey kaaval won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award (1972).

He entered the world of Malayalam movies 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 movies based on his own screenplays, beginning with Peruvazhiyambalam (1979); this led to a remarkable series of movies, which are greatly popular among the lay people (as opposed to merely intellectuals and film critics), while also being rich in artistic and thematic excellence and originality. In his themes, he was a great experimenter who explored all walks of life. Many of his movies bear the hallmark of the pure romanticist.

He is famed for his possibly unparalleled attention to detail in his screenplays. Some of his scripts are probably the most smooth flowing 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 humourous 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 movie 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' movies.

Along with Bharathan, he displayed uncommon skill in handling human sexuality on the screen, treating very challenging topics without ever falling prey to vulgarity.

He was quite adept in spotting talent, and introduced many fresh faces as actors, including Ashokan (Peruvazhiyambalam), Rahman (Koodevidaey), Jayaram (Aparan), and Ajayan (Moonnaampakkam); all would play leading roles in Malayalam movies. He coaxed sparkling and inspired performances from many actors, such as Gopi, Karamana, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Shaari, Shobhana, Sumalatha, Thilakan, and Nedumudi Venu; indeed, Thilakan's rendition in Moonnaampakkam may have marked the peak of the thespian's career. He also aided in establishing, to a fair degree, the fame of other directors such as Bharathan, I. V. Sasi, and Mohan, through the screenplays he chose to give them; his collaboration with Bharathan as a script writer is particularly worthy of note.

His sudden and untimely death, which occurred while he was visiting a movie theatre in Calicut screening his last movie Njaan gandharvan, was widely mourned, and the feeling of loss among the people of Kerala is truly soul-felt, lingering to this day.

Table of contents

1 Movies: 2 Screenplays: 3 Novels (excluding filmed ones):

Movies:

  1. Peruvazhiyambalam [Highway shelter] (1979)
  2. Oridaththoru phayalvaan [Somewhere, a wrestler] (1981)
  3. Kallan Pavithran [Thief Pavithran] (1981)
  4. Novemberintaey nashtam [The loss of November] (1982)
  5. Koodevidaey [Whither the nest] (adapted from the Tamil novel Moongil pookkal by Vaasanthi) (1983)
  6. Parannu parannu parannu [Soaring soaring soaring] (1984)
  7. Thinkalaazhcha nalla divasam [Monday, an auspicious day] (1985)
  8. Nammukku paarkkaan munthiri thoppukal [Vineyards for us to dwell] (adapted from the novel Nammukku graamangalil chennu raappaarkkaam [Let us go and dwell in the villages] by K. K. Sudhakaran) (1986)
  9. Kariyilakkaattu polaey [Like a zephyr of dry leaves] (1986)
 10. Arappatta kettiya graamaththil [In the village which wears a warrior's belt] (1986)
 11. Deshaadanakkili karayaarilla [The migratory bird never cries] (1986)
 12. Nombaraththippoovu [The sorrowful flower] (1987)
 13. Thoovaanaththumbikal [Butterflies of the clear firmament] (adapted from the novel Udhakappola [A bubble in water] by P. Padmarajan) (1987)
 14. Aparan [The other] (Remake of the Russian movie The double) (1988)
 15. Moonnaampakkam [On the third day] (1988)
 16. Season (1989)
 17. Innalaey [Yesterday] (adapted from the Tamil novel Jananam [Birth] by Vaasanthi) (1990)
 18. Njaan gandharvan [I, the celestial lover] (1991)

  1. Prayaanam [Progression] (Bharathan) (1975)
  2. Ithaa ividaey varaey [Look! Till here] (I. V. Sasi) (1977)
  3. Rathinirvedham [Copulatory enlightenment] (Bharathan) (1978)
  4. Raappaadikaludaey gaadha [The song of the nightbirds] (K. G. George) (1978)
  5. Nakshathrangalaey kaaval [The stars alone guard me] (K. S. Sethumadhavan) (1978)
  6. Vaadakakkoru hrudhayam [A heart for rent] (I. V. Sasi) (1978)
  7. Sathraththil oru raathri [A night in an inn] (N. Sankaran Nair) (1978)
  8. Thakara [Weed] (Bharathan) (1979)
  9. Lorry (Bharathan) (1980)
 10. Kochchu kochchu thettukal [Small small mistakes] (Mohan) (1980)
 11. Shalini entaey koottukaari [Shalini my friend] (Mohan) (1980)
 12. Idavela [Interval] (Mohan) (1982)
 13. Eenam [Tune] (Bharathan) (1983)
 14. Kaikeyi (I. V. Sasi) (1983)
 15. Kaanaamarayaththu [Where the horizon is lost from view] (I. V. Sasi) (1984)
 16. Ozhivukaalam [Vacation] (Bharathan) (1985)
 17. Karimpinpoovinakkaraey [Across the sugar cane flower] (I. V. Sasi) (1985)
 18. Ee thanuththa veluppaankaalaththu [In these cold hours before dawn] (Joshi) (1990)

  1. Manjukaalam notta kuthira [The horse which winter longed for]
  2. Kaivariyudaey thekkaey attam [The southern end of the bannister]
  3. Kazhinja vasanthakaalaththil [During last spring]
  4. Prathimayum raajakumaariyum [The statue and the princess]