INDIA Rajendra Joshi

RETROSPECTIVE OF ARAVINDAN GETS UNDERWAY WITH VASTHUHARA

A retrospective of late Shri Govindan Aravindan, the renowned Malayalam filmmaker got underway with the screening of ‘Vasthuhara’. A total of five of his landmark films will be shown at the Festival. Other films are, Kanchan Sita, Chidambaram, Esthappan and Thampu.

The directness, clarity and accuracy of his filmsenable the viewer to both reflect on the universality of the subject matter and relate this to his or her own human attitudes. Aravindan kept changing his cinematic forms consistently during his film career spanning almost fifteen years from his first film 'Uttarayanam' (1974) to his last film 'Vasthuhara' (1990). He successfully went beyond the limits and styles of filmmaking created by the new wave filmmakers of that time. A director, painter and cartoonist with a distinct style, Aravindan's main concern has been basic human values. His films show a rare intimacy with landscape and nature. This influenced the parallel cinema movement in Kerala to a great extent. 'Thampu' is a lyrical film that chronicles three days when a circus visits a small village in Kerala and the ripples it creates in a small village. `Thampu' won Aravindan the National and State film awards for the best director. `Estheppan' (1979) is a magical search into the roots of a legendary character in a fishing village, which won the State Film award for best film. 'Chidambaram' (1985) is a deeply symbolic exploration of the man-woman attraction leading to betrayal and eventually to the purgatory of guilt. `Vasthuhara' is a story of dispossessed people who lost their land, wealth and identity. He was a recipient of the National Film Award the Golden Lotus Award as Best Director thrice (1978/1979/1987)