Girish Kasaravalli’s film on Adoor Gopalakrishnan opens with the latter lighting a traditional lamp of Kerala and ends with a scene from Anantaram where a boy walks down the stairs counting steps.
What lies in between is a treat for the fans of the iconic name of parallel cinema and an opening into his world for others.
Kasaravalli, speaking before the screening of Images and Reflections: A Journey into Adoor’s Imagery here on Saturday, said the documentary made for the Films Division on India would be particularly appealing to those who have watched masterpieces such as Mukhamukham , Anantaram , Kathapurushan , Elippathayam , Mathilukal , Nizhalkuthu , Vidheyan , Naalu Pennungal , and Oru PennumRandaanum.
That doesn’t mean that this unconventional documentary would not reach those who have not watched his films, for it also creates an urge among others to watch the master’s 11 films.
An interesting part of the film is that Kasaravalli introduces the auteur not only through critics, but also through the eyes of four women: Adoor’s cousin, his daughter, an actor, and a friend.
There are also short interviews with journalist Gouridasan Nair, film critics Uma da Cunha and Maithili Rao, actor KPAC Lalitha, historian K.N. Panikkar, besides expert opinions of stalwarts of Indian films, including Mrinal Sen and Shyam Benegal. The documentary is also a comment on the way diversified India changed with the impact of liberalisation.
Kasaravalli made this documentary for the Films Division on India under a programme to celebrate the centenary of Indian cinema.
Though he did not want to make a documentary, which is not his genre, he accepted the offer as Adoor insisted that he would cooperate only if Kasaravalli made the film.
Kasaravalli has made an honest attempt to understand the politics of Adoor’s images, and values he cherishes with clippings of his major films, and soundtracks and dialogues from his films.
He tries his best to capture Adoor’s cinematic sensibility, language and austerity of images, through five chapters, which are named after five major films of Adoor.
The documentary succeeds in holding the attention of the viewers also because of the contribution of cinematographer Sunny Joseph.
The documentary’s style is markedly different from Kasaravalli’s earlier documentary Ananthamurthy: Not a Biography, But a Hypothesis .
