In the memory of Lohithadas

April 16, 2015 04:42 pm | Updated 04:42 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Lohitadas: Orma Padanam Sambhashanam

Lohitadas: Orma Padanam Sambhashanam

When Lohithadas died it was a shock. Then followed a flood of promises from his friends in the film industry to the government, who all swore assistance to his family. Time moved in one direction and memory in the other. The brilliant storywriter who created magical scripts in a series of films was soon forgotten.

That is when Manoj Chandran, a die-hard fan of Lohi, as the writer-director was affectionately called, decided to pay tribute to him and perhaps rekindle the embers of promises. His book Lohitadas: Orma, Patanam, Sambhashanam (Memories, Studies, Conversation) brings together Lohi’s friends, colleagues, writers and many others, all of whom share their thoughts about the writer and their experiences with him.

Manoj started work on this book in 2009. Watching and collecting his works, and gathering articles written on Lohi, began even before Lohi’s death. To make this memoir comprehensive, Manoj met people in the film industry who knew Lohi or had worked with him to request them to put their memories on paper. This took time and when they did send it to Manoj, he had to tighten, chop and sometimes even rewrite the copies, trying to make it sound, as far as possible, like how the writer would have spoken.

Lohi, who started off writing stories and plays, entered Malayalam cinema with a bang. His unusual, powerful Thaniyavarthanam (1987) created quite a storm. From then on Lohi created a world of his own where he brought in characters, situations and stories that were rather unfamiliar to the Malayali psyche till then. His scripts for films such as Ezhuthappurangal, Kudumbapuranam, Kireedom, Jathakam, Mudra, Dasaradham, Sasneham, Bharatham, Amaram, Dhanam, Kamaladalam, Aadhaaram, Valayam, Padheyam, Venkalam, Valsalyam, Sallapam and Bhoothakkannadi turned hugely popular.

It was actor Thilakan who introduced Lohi to director Sibi Malayil. Both of them share their memories along with Mammootty, who starred in some of Lohi’s best films. Then there are scenarist John Paul, directors Sathyan Anthikad, Kamal, Lal Jose, Mohan, Blessy, Priyanandanan, actors Dileep, Manju Warrier, Mala Aravindan, Sreelakshmi and others.

The heart of the book is the studies on Lohi’s scripts. Apart from general studies on his films and use of songs, there are specific papers on his Bhoothakkanaadi (Lohi’s debut film as director) and on his plays.

Conversations, detailed interviews with Lohi, published in some of the leading regional periodicals, complete the work. Rare photographs of Lohithadas and shooting stills from his films have been included.

“Initially the memoir was planned as a 600-page work. Due to various reasons it had to be reduced to the present form. My biggest regret is that I could not include the memories and opinions of Lohi’s friends. In fact, I have ready material for another 300-page book on him. My only intention is to keep Lohi’s memory alive when what I saw around me was people gossiping, repeating promises and doing nothing positive,” says Manoj.

This work is not a blind eulogy but a critical analysis of the man and a contemporary study of his scripts. The proceeds, the royalty from this book, will go to Lohithadas’ family.

Lohitadas: Orma, Patanam, Sambhashanam

Manoj Chandran

Olive Publications

Price: Rs. 260

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