Master craftsman of Perumthachan dead

Ajayan’s only film won many accolades

Ajayan, 66, director of the critically acclaimed film Perumthachan , passed away on Thursday at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram following prolonged illness. He was the son of theatre icon Thoppil Bhasi.

His only feature film, released in 1991, was the recipient of numerous accolades, including the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Popular Film. Perumthachan was also nominated for the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1992. The film, in which Thilakan essayed the eponymous role, is woven around a character from Kerala folklore.

Brilliant script

Perumthachan had a brilliant script, written by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, superb camera work by Santhosh Sivan, and an outstanding cast. Ajayan could take the credit for bringing all those talents together to give Malayalam cinema a timeless classic.

Though Ajayan had cast established actors, such as Nedumudi Venu and Monisha Unni, in most of the important roles, he gave the character of Thirumangalam Neelakantan to a little-known young man called Manoj K. Jayan, who had only done a couple of insignificant films before that.

“I was indeed surprised when I received a call from producer Bhavachithra Jayakumar to tell me about a possible role in a film on an MT script,” Manoj told

The Hindu on Thursday. “But he told me that I would be screen-tested first.”

“I was chosen for the role. And that proved a turning point in my career. It was Perumthachan that helped me bag Sargam .”

He said it was unfortunate that Ajayan did not make another film. “He had great control over his craft, as we could see in Perumthachan ,” he said. “It may have been his first film, but he did not give that impression during the shoot. Malayalam cinema sadly did not use Ajayan’s talent properly. He was a bit laid-back and never promoted himself.”

Early days

An alumnus of the Adayar Film Institute, Ajayan had worked as a camera assistant and associate director in the early days of his career. He was an associate of Thoppil Bhasi, Bharathan, and Padmarajan, later shifting his focus to cinematography. He reportedly wanted to make a film based on MT’s Manikyakallu , but the plan never materialised. Ajayan has to his credit a spate of documentaries.

Ajayan is survived by wife Sushama and children Parvathy and Laksmi. Cremation will be held on Friday.