In that era, art patronage mostly meant a display of affluence and status. But K. Ravindranathan Nair, the cashew baron of Kollam, was a man extraordinaire considering his endeavours not just to fund but foster and sustain art.
Commercial prospects could hardly dissuade the connoisseur who painstakingly promoted meaningful cinema from bankrolling many experimental productions. In the 1970s and 1980s he propelled Malayalam cinema to global platforms by producing many landmark films that went on to grab top honours. Fuelled by his innate passion for art and literature, he made solid contributions to society, leaving behind an enviable legacy.
He passed away in Kollam on Saturday due to age-related ailments. He was 90 and his navathi celebrations were held last week.
The first film he produced was Anveshichu Kandethiyilla (1967), a screen adaptation of Parappurath’s novel of the same name followed by Lakshaprabhu and Kattukurangu the next year. All three were directed by P. Bhaskaran and the films were box-office successes. Achani, his next production earned him the moniker ‘Achani Ravi’ and the money collected by the superhit film was used for the construction of the Quilon Public Library and Research Centre.
He believed in quality and class as he never considered cinema a business and his directors remember him as a producer who never intruded their creative space. Then came Kanchana Sita in 1977, a film that introduced a new aesthetics in Malayalam and his first collaboration with G. Aravindan. It was General Pictures Ravi who produced the auteur’s next four films Thampu (1978), Kummatti (1979), Esthapan (1979) and Pokkuveyil (1981) under the banner.
In the 80s and early 90s he brought to screen an array of films by Adoor Gopalakrishnan that include Elipathayam (1981), Mukhamukham (1984), Anantharam (1987), Vidheyan (1993) along with Manju (1982) directed by M.T. Vasudevan Nair.
Patron of art
Ravindranathan Nair was not promoting art for attention and awards as he was well aware of its significance. He extended his support to every form of art and strongly believed it was an exercise to shape a collective culture. In 2022, a restored version of Thampu premiered at the Cannes Classic segment of Festival de Cannes and it was a moment of vindication for the elderly producer. The art he produced had remained timeless and in a frail but assertive voice the 89-year-old had told The Hindu, “Money or fame was never a temptation, but art was. Supporting art was my duty.”
For the people of Kollam who fondly call him Ravi Muthalali, he was not just a cashew exporter and part-time philanthropist. He was an employer admired by artists and cashew workers alike and a businessman who built libraries, art galleries, theatres and art centres for his home town and its people. He will be remembered as a true patron of art, a compassionate human and an irreplaceable icon in the history of Kollam and Malayalam cinema.
