Kozhikode was slowly coming to terms with the loss of its illustrious son filmmaker I.V. Sasi when it lost yet another, writer Punathil Kunjabdulla.
It was on October 24 that I.V. Sasi passed away in Chennai. As a native of Kozhikode and a filmmaker who put the city on the Malayalam cinema map, he was certainly missed. The civic society of Kozhikode had planned a commemoration for him on October 27, which had to be postponed because of the death of Punathil, the doctor-cum-writer known for his unique writing style and open lifestyle. On Saturday, the city paid tributes to both of them, together.
Filmmaker V.M. Vinu, presenting the commemorative motion, recalled his college days when the shooting of an I.V. Sasi movie was on at some part of the district throughout the year. Those were the days when I.V.Sasi directed five to six movies a year.
The experimentalist
“He was an experimentalist who gave the viewer a different experience with each movie. He managed scenes of huge crowds skilfully at a time when technology was not so advanced,” Mr.Vinu said.
Labour Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan said that I.V. Sasi had brought cinema closer to people. Film producer P.V. Gangadharan delivered the I.V.Sasi commemoration address on the occasion.
Earlier, Ismail, younger brother of Punathil Kunjabdulla, turned emotional about the way media haunted the writer for his personal life, which was described by his contemporaries as creative anarchism. An amalgamation of contrasts, a man who was an open book, someone who made a toy out of his life, were some of the epithets bestowed on Punathil by cultural figures at the meeting.
“He was a male version of Madhavikkutty, always in the midst of controversies. Kerala society had given those two the licence to say and do whatever they want to,” said writer P.K. Parakkadavu. BJP leader P.S. Sreedharan Pillai recalled Punathil as “a man who lived without masks in a society of masks.”
Memorial for Punathil
Meanwhile, A.K. Balan, Minister for Cultural Affairs, has said that the State government will construct a cultural centre in memory of Punathil at his home town Vadakara. Mr. Balan said this after visiting Punathil’s daughter Naseema’s residence near here on Saturday.
The Minister said that the centre, to be built in association with the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, would showcase the literary contributions of Punathil. The Vadakara municipality had been asked to find suitable land.
The municipality would prepare the plan and estimate too, Mr. Balan said.
The Minister shared his bond with Punathil from the time he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980. Mr. Balan said Punathil preferred not to react to controversies, a lesson he learnt from his teacher the late M.N. Vijayan.
