Adoor standing next to his portrait
Born : Moutathu Gopalakrishnan UnnithanJuly 3, 1941Pallickal, Adoor, Travancore, British India
Other names : Adoor
Occupation : Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Years active : 1965 – present
Influenced : Malayalam parallel cinema
Parents : Madhavan Unnithan, Gauri Kunjamma
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan (born 3 July 1941) is a National Award winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema.Adoor's first film Swayamvaram (1972) pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala. Most of his films goto festivals around the world, and are released in Kerala. All the eleven films he directed, from Swayamvaram to Oru Pennum Randaanum, were screened at several International film festivals and won him several National and International awards. He won National Film Awards fifteen times, Kerala State Film Awards seventeen times and also won several International Film Awards. He won the prestigious British Film Institute award for Elippathayam.Adoor received the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. The Nation honoured Adoor for hisvaluable contributions to Indian cinema by awarding him the highest cinema award of India, the Dadasaheb PhalkeAward for the year 2004. He is one among the very few Indian film makers who are well known in the internationalfilm fraternity.
Born : Moutathu Gopalakrishnan UnnithanJuly 3, 1941Pallickal, Adoor, Travancore, British India
Other names : Adoor
Occupation : Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Years active : 1965 – present
Influenced : Malayalam parallel cinema
Parents : Madhavan Unnithan, Gauri Kunjamma
Moutatthu "Adoor" Gopalakrishnan Unnithan (born 3 July 1941) is a National Award winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Adoor Gopalakrishnan had a major role in revolutionizing Malayalam cinema.Adoor's first film Swayamvaram (1972) pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala. Most of his films goto festivals around the world, and are released in Kerala. All the eleven films he directed, from Swayamvaram to Oru Pennum Randaanum, were screened at several International film festivals and won him several National and International awards. He won National Film Awards fifteen times, Kerala State Film Awards seventeen times and also won several International Film Awards. He won the prestigious British Film Institute award for Elippathayam.Adoor received the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. The Nation honoured Adoor for hisvaluable contributions to Indian cinema by awarding him the highest cinema award of India, the Dadasaheb PhalkeAward for the year 2004. He is one among the very few Indian film makers who are well known in the internationalfilm fraternity.
Biography
Gopalakrishnan was born on 3 July 1941 in the village of Pallickal (Medayil Bungalow) near Adoor, present dayKerala, India as the son of Madhavan Unnithan and Mouttathu Gauri Kunjamma. He started his artistic life as anactor in amateur plays when he was 8. Later he shifted his base to writing and direction and wrote and directed a fewplays. After securing a degree in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration in 1961 from theGandhigram Rural Institute,[2] he worked as a Government officer near Dindigul in Tamilnadu . In 1962, he left hisjob to study screenwriting and direction from the Pune Film Institute. He completed his course from there with ascholarship from the Government of India. With his classmates and friends, Adoor established Chithralekha FilmSociety and Chalachithra Sahakarana Sangham; the organization was the first film society in Kerala and it aimed atproduction, distribution and exhibition of films in the co-operative sector.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan 2 Adoor has scripted and directed eleven feature films and about thirty short films and documentaries. Notable amongst the non-feature films are those on Kerala’s performing arts.
Adoor's debut film, the national award winning Swayamvaram(1972) was a milestone in Malayalam film history.The film was exhibited widely in various international film festivals including those held in Moscow, Melbourne,London and Paris. The films that followed namely Kodiyettam, Elippathayam, Mukhamukham, Anantharam,Mathilukal, Vidheyan and Kathapurushan lived up to the reputation of his first film and were well received by criticsat various film festivals and fetched him many awards. However, Mukhamukham was criticized in Kerala whileVidheyan was at the centre of a debate due to the differences in opinion between the writer of story of the filmSakhariya and Adoor.
Adoor's later films are Nizhalkuthu, narrating the experiences of an executioner who comes to know that one of his subjects was innocent, and Naalu Pennungal, a film adaptation of 4 short stories by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai.All his films have won national and international awards (National award for best film twice, best director five times,and best script two times. His films have also won his actors and technicians several national awards). Adoor’s thirdfeature, Elippathayam won him the coveted British Film Institute Award for 'the most original and imaginative film'of 1982. The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) has gone to him six times successively for Mukhamukham, Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan and Nizhalkkuthu. Winner of several international awards like the UNICEF film prize (Venice), OCIC film prize (Amiens), INTERFILM Prize (Mannheim) etc., his films have been shown in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, London, Rotterdam and every important festival around the world.
In consideration of his contribution to Indian cinema, the nation honoured him with the title of Padma Shri(India's fourth highest civilian award) in 1984 and Padma Vibhushan(India's second highest civilian award) in 2006. Adoor is settled in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in Kerala. His daughter Aswathi Dorje is an IPS officer (par of the Assam cadre, 2000 batch), currently acting as Deputy Commissioners of Police in Mumbai since June 2010.[3]
Gopalakrishnan was born on 3 July 1941 in the village of Pallickal (Medayil Bungalow) near Adoor, present dayKerala, India as the son of Madhavan Unnithan and Mouttathu Gauri Kunjamma. He started his artistic life as anactor in amateur plays when he was 8. Later he shifted his base to writing and direction and wrote and directed a fewplays. After securing a degree in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration in 1961 from theGandhigram Rural Institute,[2] he worked as a Government officer near Dindigul in Tamilnadu . In 1962, he left hisjob to study screenwriting and direction from the Pune Film Institute. He completed his course from there with ascholarship from the Government of India. With his classmates and friends, Adoor established Chithralekha FilmSociety and Chalachithra Sahakarana Sangham; the organization was the first film society in Kerala and it aimed atproduction, distribution and exhibition of films in the co-operative sector.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan 2 Adoor has scripted and directed eleven feature films and about thirty short films and documentaries. Notable amongst the non-feature films are those on Kerala’s performing arts.
Adoor's debut film, the national award winning Swayamvaram(1972) was a milestone in Malayalam film history.The film was exhibited widely in various international film festivals including those held in Moscow, Melbourne,London and Paris. The films that followed namely Kodiyettam, Elippathayam, Mukhamukham, Anantharam,Mathilukal, Vidheyan and Kathapurushan lived up to the reputation of his first film and were well received by criticsat various film festivals and fetched him many awards. However, Mukhamukham was criticized in Kerala whileVidheyan was at the centre of a debate due to the differences in opinion between the writer of story of the filmSakhariya and Adoor.
Adoor's later films are Nizhalkuthu, narrating the experiences of an executioner who comes to know that one of his subjects was innocent, and Naalu Pennungal, a film adaptation of 4 short stories by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai.All his films have won national and international awards (National award for best film twice, best director five times,and best script two times. His films have also won his actors and technicians several national awards). Adoor’s thirdfeature, Elippathayam won him the coveted British Film Institute Award for 'the most original and imaginative film'of 1982. The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) has gone to him six times successively for Mukhamukham, Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan and Nizhalkkuthu. Winner of several international awards like the UNICEF film prize (Venice), OCIC film prize (Amiens), INTERFILM Prize (Mannheim) etc., his films have been shown in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, London, Rotterdam and every important festival around the world.
In consideration of his contribution to Indian cinema, the nation honoured him with the title of Padma Shri(India's fourth highest civilian award) in 1984 and Padma Vibhushan(India's second highest civilian award) in 2006. Adoor is settled in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in Kerala. His daughter Aswathi Dorje is an IPS officer (par of the Assam cadre, 2000 batch), currently acting as Deputy Commissioners of Police in Mumbai since June 2010.[3]
Documentaries and 'New Cinema' movement
Apart from nine feature films, he has over 30 short films and documentaries to his credit. The Helsinki Film Festivalwas the first film festival to have a retrospective of his films. He has headed the jury at the National Film Awardsand many international film festivals.
Apart from his films, Adoor's major contribution towards introducing a new cinema culture in Kerala was the
constitution of the first Film Society in Kerala, "Chitralekha Film Society". He also took active part in the
constitution of "Chitralekha," Kerala's first Film Co-operative Society for film production. These movements
triggered a fresh wave of films, called "art films," by directors like G Aravindan, PA Becker, KG George, Pavithran,and Raveendran. At a time this movement was so strong that even popular cinema synthesised with art cinema to create a new genre of films.
Apart from his films, Adoor's major contribution towards introducing a new cinema culture in Kerala was the
constitution of the first Film Society in Kerala, "Chitralekha Film Society". He also took active part in the
constitution of "Chitralekha," Kerala's first Film Co-operative Society for film production. These movements
triggered a fresh wave of films, called "art films," by directors like G Aravindan, PA Becker, KG George, Pavithran,and Raveendran. At a time this movement was so strong that even popular cinema synthesised with art cinema to create a new genre of films.
Style and trademarks
Adoor has been known as a director who completely dictates every fine detail of his films. On the performance ofactors in his movies, he stated that - "It is not the artist's job to do the detailing. I do not want different interpretationsof roles that may clash with each other. It has to be absolutely unified." He normally does not encourage his crew toread the script or even the stories. The actors are told at the time of shooting about the role and the scenes beforeconducting several rehearsals. According to Adoor "[i]n movies, the actor is not performing to the audience like thestage actor. Here they are acting for me. I am the audience and I will decide whether it is correct or not, enough or
not."Adoor Gopalakrishnan 3Awards and milestones
Some of the awards Gopalakrishnan has won for his films include:
• 2010 - Honorary Doctorate [D.Litt] from University of Kerala
• 2006 - Padma Vibhushan — Second highest civilian award from Government of India [6]
• 2004 - Dadasaheb Phalke Award — Lifetime Achievement Award in Film awarded by the Government of India
• 1984 - Padma Shri — Fourth highest civilian award from Government of India [7]
• 1984 - Legion of Honour — French order, the highest decoration in France
• National Film Awards — Various categories for Swayamvaram, Kodiyettam, Elippathayam, Mukhamukham,
Anantharam, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan, Nizhalkkuthu and Naalu Pennungal
• Kerala State Film Awards: — Various categories for Kodiyettam, Elippathayam, Mukhamukham, Anantharam,
Vidheyan and Oru Pennum Randaanum
• International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) — won consecutively for six feature films (Mukhamukham,
Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan and Nizhalkkuthu)[8]
• London Film Festival — Sutherland Trophy — in 1982 for Elippathayam
• British Film Institute Award — Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 — Elippathayam
• Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by French Government (2003)[9]
• Life time achievement award at Cairo International Film Festival.
National Film Awards (Detailed):
• 1973 - Best Film - Swayamvaram
• 1995 - Best Film - Kathapurushan
• 1973 - Best Director - Swayamvaram
• 1985 - Best Director - Mukhamukham
• 1988 - Best Director - Anantharam
• 1990 - Best Director - Mathilukal
• 2008 - Best Director - Naalu Pennungal
• 1978 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - Kodiyettam
• 1982 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - Elippathayam
• 1990 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - Mathilukal
• 1994 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - Vidheyan
• 2003 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - Nizhalkkuthu
• 1985 - Best Screenplay - Mukhamukham
• 1988 - Best Screenplay - Anantharam
• 1984 - Best Book on Cinema - Cinemayude Lokam
Kerala State Film Awards (Detailed):
• 1977 - Best Film - Kodiyettam
• 1981 - Best Film - Elippathayam
• 1984 - Best Film - Mukhamukham
• 1993 - Best Film - Vidheyan
• 2008 - Best Film - Oru Pennum Randaanum
• 1977 - Best Director - Kodiyettam
• 1984 - Best Director - Mukhamukham
• 1987 - Best Director - Anantharam
• 1993 - Best Director - Vidheyan
• 2008 - Best Director - Oru Pennum Randaanum
• 1977 - Best Story - Kodiyettam
Adoor Gopalakrishnan 4
• 1993 - Best Screen Play - Vidheyan
• 2008 - Best Screen Play - Oru Pennum Randaanum
• 1982 - Best Documentary Film - Krishnanattam
• 1999 - Best Documentary Film - Kalamandalam Gopi
• 2005 - Best Short Film - Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair
• 2004 - Best Book on Cinema - Cinemanubhavam
A retrospective of his films was conducted in
• Kolkata, by Seagull Foundation for the Arts and Nandan, 2009.[10]
• The Slovenian International Film Festival, 2009.[11]
• The Munich Film museum, 2009.[12]
• The French Cinematheque,Paris, 1999.[13]
Posts held
Adoor also worked in several respected posts in the film fraternity. He was a member of Sivaramakarath committee
formed by the Government of India for framing a national film policy. He was a national film award committee
member in 1974. He was a member of jury in Venice, Singapore, Hawaii and Delhi international film festivals. He
was the chairman of International Film Festival of Kerala in 1999. He headed the National Film Development
Corporation in the years 1980–1983. He was the director of Pune Film and Television Institute. In the years
1975–1977, he was a member of the advisory board for National Film Archives, Pune.
Filmography
Year
Title
Duration
Category Cast Awards
1965 A Great Day 20 mins Short fiction
1966 A Day at Kovalam 30 mins Documentary
1967 The Myth 50
Seconds
Short fiction Merit Certificate, Expo-67, Montreal
1968 Danger at Your
Door-step
20 mins Documentary
1968 And Man created 8 mins Documentary
1968 Manntharikal (Grains of
Sand)
20 mins Documentary
1969 Towards National STD 20 mins Documentary
1969 A Mission of Love 30 mins Documentary
1966 Your Food 60 mins Documentary
1970 Pratisandhi (The impasse) 55 mins Docu-drama
1971 Romance of Rubber 30 mins Documentary
1972 Swayamvaram (One’s
Own Choice)
125 mins Feature film Madhu, Sharada, Bharath Gopi,
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, K.
P. A. C. Lalitha
National Awards for Best Film, Best
Director, Best Actress and Best
Cinematographer
1973 Kilimanooril Oru
Dasalakshadhipati (A
Millionaire is Born)
20 mins Documentary
Adoor Gopalakrishnan 5
1974 Guru Chengannur 17 mins Documentary
1975 Past in Perspective 20 mins Documentary
1976 Idukki 60 mins Documentary
1977 Kodiyettam (Ascent) 128 mins Feature film Bharath Gopi, K. P. A. C. Lalitha,
Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair,
Adoor Bhavani, Aziz
National Awards for Best Feature Film in
Malayalam and Best Actor
1978 Four Shorts on Family
Planning
16 mins Documentary
1979 Yakshagana 20 mins Documentary
1980 Chola Heritage 20 mins Documentary
1981 Elippathayam (Rat-Trap) 121 mins Feature film Karamana Janardanan Nair,
Sharada, Jalaja, Rajam K. Nair,
Soman
Sutherland Trophy at 1982 London Film
Festival
National Awards for Best Feature Film in
Malayalam and Best Audiography
1982 Krishnanattam 20 mins Documentary
1984 Mukhamukham (Face to
Face)
107 mins Feature film Ganga, Balan K. Nair, Karamana
Janardanan Nair, Kaviyoor
Ponnamma, Ashokan, K. P. A. C.
Lalitha
FIPRESCI Prize, New Delhi, National
Awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay
and Best Audiography
1985 Eau/Ganga
(Ganga-Water)
140 mins Grand Prize,
Cinema du reel,
Paris
1987 Anantaram (Monologue) 125 mins Feature film Mammootty, Ashokan, Shobana,
Balan K. Nair, Bahadoor
FIPRESCI Prize, Karlovy Vary. National
awards for best director, best screenplay, and
best audiography
1990 Mathilukal (The Walls) 117 mins Feature film Mammootty, Murali, Thilakan, K.
P. A. C. Lalitha (Voice),
Karamana Janardanan Nair
FIPRESCI prize, Venice, UNICEF Film
Prize, Venice, OCIC Prize, Amiens. National
Award for best director, best actor, best
regional film and best audiography
1993 Vidheyan (The Servile) 112 mins Feature film Mammootty, Tanvi Azmi, M.R.
Gopakumar, Sabitha Anand
Feature FIPRESCI and Special Jury Prize,
Singapore. Interfilm Jury Prize, Mannheim.
Netpac prize, Rotterdam. National Award for
best actor and best regional film
1995 Kathapurushan (The Man
of the Story)
107 mins Feature film Viswanathan, Mini Nair,
Narendra Prasad, Aranmula
Ponnamma, Urmila Unni
FIPRESCI Prize, National award for the best
film
1995 Kalamandalam Gopi 43 mins Documentary
2001 Koodiyattam 180 mins Documentary
2002 Nizhalkkuthu (Shadow
Kill)
90 mins Feature film Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Sukumari,
Murali, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy
Sreekumar, Narain
FIPRESCI, Mumbai. National award for best
regional film
2005 Kalamandalam
Ramankutty Nair
73 mins Documentary
2007 Dance of the Enchantress 72 mins Documentary
2007 Naalu Pennungal (Four
Women)
105 mins Feature film Nandita Das, Kavya Madhavan,
Geetu Mohandas, Padmapriya,
Manju Pillai, Murali, Mukesh,
Manoj K. Jayan
National Award for best director
Adoor Gopalakrishnan 6
2008 Oru Pennum Randaanum
(A Climate for Crime)
115 mins Feature film Nedumudi Venu, Manoj K. Jayan,
Jagadish, Vijayaraghavan,
Indrans, Ravi Vallathol, Praveena
Kerala State award for best director 2009
Notes
[1] http:/ / www. adoorgopalakrishnan. in
[2] "Page on Adoor Gopalakrishnan at Kerala tourism" (http:/ / www. keralatourism. org/ index. php?zone=4& menu=59& id=21). . Retrieved 8
February 2008
[3] http:/ / www. mid-day. com/ news/ 2010/ jun/ 020610-mumbai-dcp-husband-wife-chhering-dorje-aswati. htm
[4] http:/ / www. telegraphindia. com/ 1050123/ asp/ look/ story_4279220. asp
[5] "'Naalu Pennungal' not complex like my other films: Adoor" (http:/ / www. adoorgopalakrishnan. in/ profile. htm). Yahoo India Movies. .
Retrieved 28 May 2009.
[6] "Adoor honoured with Padma award" (http:/ / www. rediff. com/ news/ 2006/ mar/ 21adoor. htm). Rediff.com. 21 March 2006. . Retrieved 28
May 2009.
[7] "Official Website of Adoor Gopalakrishnan" (http:/ / in. movies. yahoo. com/ news-detail/ 15894/
Naalu-Pennungal-complex-like-films-Adoor. html). . Retrieved 28 May 2009.
[8] "Official Website of Adoor Gopalakrishnan" (http:/ / www. adoorgopalakrishnan. in/ profile. htm). . Retrieved 28 May 2009.
[9] "Adoor receives French honour" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ articleshow/ msid-245928,prtpage-1. cms). The Times of India. 22
October 2003. . Retrieved 14 July 2008.
[10] "Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Retrospective in Kolkata" (http:/ / sify. com/ PRIVOXY-FORCE/ movies/ fullstory. php?id=14867560). Sify. 9
March 2009. . Retrieved 29 May 2009.
[11] "Adoor retrospective at Slovenian festival" (http:/ / blogs. thehindu. com/ films/ ?p=4845). The Hindu. 15 November 2008. . Retrieved 29
May 2009.
[12] "Adoor retrospective" (http:/ / blogs. thehindu. com/ films/ ?p=4845). The Hindu. 5 September 2009. . Retrieved 29 May 2009.
[13] "Interview: Adoor" (http:/ / www. cinemaofmalayalam. net/ adoor_interview_df. html). Cinema of Malayalam. . Retrieved 29 May 2009.
References
• Adoor Gopalakrishnan (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ name/ nm0329715/ ) at the Internet Movie Database
• Adoor's oeuvre (http:/ / www. rediff. com/ movies/ 2003/ may/ 06intro. htm)
• Adoor in Action (http:/ / indulekha. com/ moviegallery/ 2006/ 03/ adoor-gopalakrishnan. html) collection of
photos of Adoor
• Weblokam profile (http:/ / www. weblokam. com/ cinema/ profiles/ 2000_10/ 23_profile1. htm)
• Weblokam profile Main Page (http:/ / www. weblokam. com/ cinema/ profiles/ adoor. htm)
• Official site: Profile (http:/ / www. adoorgopalakrishnan. in/ profile. htm)
• Official Website of Information and Public Relation Department of Kerala (http:/ / www. prd. kerala. gov. in/
stateawares. htm)
External links
• 'Cinema of Malayalam' profile (http:/ / www. cinemaofmalayalam. net/ adoor. html)
• 'Kalamandalam Gopi- Documentary of Adoor Gopalakrishnan' (http:/ / www. cinemaofmalayalam. net/
documentary_inner. html#d1)
• 'Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair - Documentary of Adoor Gopalakrishnan' (http:/ / www. cinemaofmalayalam.
net/ documentary_inner. html#d11)
• 'The Road to Modern Times', Naalu Pennungal and the cinema of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mint Lounge 8
September 2007, by Arjun Razdan (http:/ / staging. livemint. com/ articles/ 2007/ 09/ 08000758/
The-road-to-modern-times. html)
• Official Website of Information and Public Relation Department of Kerala (http:/ / www. prd. kerala. gov. in/
stateawares. htm)
Article Sources and Contributors 7
Article Sources and Contributors
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