Jayakanthan’s contribution to Tamil cinema is often overshadowed by his literary oeuvre (April 9). He ensured a meaningful interaction between literature and the world of cinema. While a number of his stories have been made into films, the two films he directed, based on his own stories, have stood out in Tamil film history. These two, “The One Like you/Unnai Pol Oruvan (1965) and “For Whom Did he Cry?/Yarukkaka Azhuthan?” (1966) are examples of rare instances when a writer himself made a film based on his own literary work. Other examples I can think of in India are M.T. Vasudevan who directed “Nirmalyam” (1973) and Bengali film-maker Buddha Dev Das Gupta and his “Kalpursh” (2005). The cinematographer for “Yarukkaka Azhuthan” was the redoubtable Nimai Ghosh who made deft use of lighting to emphasise emotions. Jayakanthan recorded his interactions with Tamil cinema in the book, A Writer’s forays into Cinema ( Oru Ilakiyavathiyin Cinema Anubavangal ), providing insights for students of film history.
S. Theodore Baskaran,
Bengaluru
