Lijo’s remarkable talent to the fore in Jallikkattu

The best director award was almost a foregone conclusion

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 13/12/2019:: Rajatha Chakoram for the best film for 'Jallikkattu' to filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery. He also won the special mention in the International Competition category at the closing ceremony of the 24th International Fim Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday............Photo:S.Gopakumar/The Hindu

Lijo Jose Pellissery has come a long way since making his debut with Nayakan in 2010. During the last one decade, not many Malayalam directors have made as much an impact nationally and internationally.

He has deserved all the laurels that have come his way. His latest triumph came on Tuesday when he won the State Award for the best director.

It was almost a foregone conclusion. For,

Jallikkattu i s not just an exceptional film. it is totally a director’s film. It has a promising premise and a fine script yes, but in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, it wouldn’t have become such a stunning visual experience.

The film – it is basically about a buffalo getting away from the slaughter house and how it is hunted down by the villagers but is also about the beast inside man – earned praise from a global audience. Few Indian films of late have been made with such vision and craft.

Wide acclaim

It was his previous film,

Ee.Ma.Yau , that earned him respect from people outside Malayalam cinema. The dark film about a funeral had won Lijo the Silver Peacock Award for the best director at the International Film Festival of India in 2018. Remarkably, he won the honours again for

Jallikkattu at last year’s festival, too.

Lijo’s talent had been noticed by the Malayali viewer long ago. Amen (2013), a critical and commercial success, established him as a director to watch out for. It didn’t take him long to be recognised as one of the finest directors of his generation in Indian cinema.

“Lijo’s growth as a director after Amen has been amazing,” said Pradeep Nair, a National Award-winning director who follows world cinema closely. “I don’t think no other director has brought him as much global attention to Malalayalam cinema.”