::: HOMAGE :::

FADING FOOTFALLS

Vijayakrishnan

Death, it has been said, is like a clown without a

sense of the stage. When even without a curtain call

it leads artistes away, the visually arresting scene

from Ingmar Bergman’s

Seventh Seal

grows clear in

memory. Malayalam cinema has lost a host of its

talent this year. Personalities who stood tall in their

respective calling in the industry, and were the

guiding lights have made an exit: actors, producer,

lyricist, music director, director, each an epitome of

what Malayalam cinema stands for.

Adoor

Pankajam.

Those were the times when a comedienne

or vamp did not require good looks. Pankajam who

had everything in her to become a heroine, did not

shun the lesser presence on screen.

S Pavamani

, who like many of his

contemporaries was leading a life away from the

spotlight. However, his death affords us an

opportunity to estimate Pavamani’s contribution to

the film industry.

Srinath

was a dignified presence in the Malayalam

films of the Eighties. A product of the Adyar Film

Institute which has gifted several names to our

cinema, Srinath came with the advantage of knowing

a lot of talented people in the industry, but he was

always reluctant to seek a role.

Venu Nagavally

and Srinath. Venu Nagavally was not just an actor, he

was screenplay writer and director too.  The route he

took to filmdom was different. He did not dream of

a career in films.

M G Radhakrishnan’s

career as a singer of

film songs, with 'Unniganapathiye' composed by K

Raghavan. The songs ‘Shaarike shaarike’ in

'Sarasaiyya' and ‘Pallana aattinte theerathu’ rendered

by him under the direction of Devarajan are

remembered to this day. 

Kochin Haneefa

started off as an actor,

then donned the mantle of screenplay writer and later

that of director. He was a success in all spheres he

ventured into, be it in Malayalam or Tamil cinema. Even

when busy directing films, he continued to act with the

same vigour.

Girish Puthenchery.

He is among those who redeemed Malayalam film songs

from the lows it had touched.  The maiden song was

‘Madhuramaayi malaraayi’ written for Akashvani, Calicut.

Songs for

Enquiry

inaugurated an era of lyricism in films.

Although

Johnny Walker

that put him in the orbit. With lyrics

for over 330 films, the last was for

Pranchiettan and the

Saint  which reached theatres after his demise.

P G Viswambaran

is a titan in that sense.

The part he played in rescuing the industry from a major

downward slide cannot be ignored.

Zubair

belonged to this category of actors. Though he

donned many roles in films and serials,  he was still waiting

for a role that would match his talent, when death came

calling

Aziz’s(P M Abdul Aziz)

was a personality different from

and one that could not be compared to others in the film

world. The first alumnus of the FTII to direct a feature film

in Malayalam, Mankada Ravi Varma made his beginning

as cinematographer in Aziz’s  “Aval” (1967).

Chelangad Gopalakrishnan

who brought to light the fact that there

were two Silent films made in Malayalam. This year saw

the demise of the first historian of Malayalam Cinema. 

Mannarkayam Baby

the founder secretary of the Film

Critics’ Association for over three decades conceived the

Film Critics’ Award and made it a prestigious reward for

good films and its makers.

A Ayyappan

had a weakness

for good cinema. He was a regular presence at the IFFK,

year after year bringing alive the screening venues

Santha Devi

In her twilight years she appeared in “Bridge”

the Anwar Rasheed film, which was part of the ensemble

film “Kerala Café”. 

Mankada

Ravi Varma

, has bowed out. The rapport he struck with the

Masters and his understanding of what he was expected

to do for an idea or a frame, translated into works that the

national and international  repute to Malayalam films.