Unsung director who made great cinema

K.R. Mohanan’s films Aswathamavu, Purushartham and Swaroopam proved his place among the greats

Industries Minister A.K. Moideen paying last respects to to film director K.R. Mohanan at the Kerala Sahitya Akademi in Thrissur on Monday.

K.R. Mohanan, who died in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday at the age of 69, was a vastly underrated director of meaningful cinema. He directed only three feature films, but each one of them was brilliant.

With Aswathamavu , Purushartham and Swaroopam , Mohanan proved his place among the greats of Malayalam cinema was undisputed. He did not make another film after Swaroopam , which was released in 1992.

It was about a farmer who chooses the path of spirituality at the cost of his family, forcing his wife to be the bread-earner.

Producer’s take

“It is indeed unfortunate that he could not make another film after

Swaroopam ,” P.T. Kunhumohammed, who was a producer of all the three films Mohanan directed, told The Hindu. “I am proud of all our films; each was special in its own way.”

The producer-turned-director said his association with Mohanan lasted five decades.

“I have known him from my student days as we both grew up in Thrissur; he was my senior at St. Thomas College (Thrissur),” he said.

“When he was selected for a course in direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, he had sought my help to convince his father.”

About Aswathamavu , he said he had asked Mohanan to read the novel written by Madampu Kunjukuttan and consider turning it into a film.

“At that time, he was thinking about adapting Padmarajan’s Itha Ivide Vare for his debut film,” Kunhumohammed recalled.

“Then we decided to make Aswathamavu ; Sukumaran was our first choice for the protagonist’s role, but he had some issues with his dates, so we decided to cast the writer Madampu himself.”

State award

And Aswathamavu went on to win the State award for the best film of 1978. Nine years later, Purushartham fetched Mohanan and Kunhumohammed the same honour once again. Swaroopam bagged the national award for the best Malayalam film.

Mohanan, a former chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and director of the International Film Festival of Kerala, was also recognised for his documentary films.

On sacred groves

“I have seen his Vishudhavanangal , and I thought it was an excellent documentary on sacred groves ( kavu ),” director Jayaraj said. “I have always admired him as a filmmaker. Unlike some of the alumni of the Pune Film Institute, he had no pretensions about the way he made his films.”