Gopinathan: critic-turned-director
By C P Ravindran/Doha
It is rare that a film critic turns to directing. But a leading Malayalam writer on films, K Gopinathan, has made his debut directorial venture, seeking to disprove the widely-held notion that critics are failed filmmakers.
His film, Ithra Mathram, was released in theatres all over Kerala yesterday, with initial reports hinting of a hit in the making.
Gopinathan’s writings on films have been widely acclaimed in Kerala. His scholarly study, Cinimayum Samskaravum (Cinema and Culture) in Malayalam, had received the Best Film Book Award in 2005.
Ithra Mathram is based on a novel by Kalpatta Narayanan, having the same title. The film has been described as “a deeply-enriching meditation on life itself”.
It has a star cast of Shweta Menon, Biju Menon, KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu among others.
“The script is structured around the sudden death of a 38-year-old woman called Sumitra, whose passing away leaves her husband and daughter completely lost and helpless,” Gopinathan told Gulf Times in an interview yesterday.
“We get a glimpse of her fascinating personality through a sequence of crisscrossing reflections of Sumitra’s kith and kin.”
The narrative unwinds against the historical backdrop of the 70’s and the 80’s.
“As the script recalls her through the memories of others, she is seen as an extremely attractive, affable person who reached out to one and all,” Gopinathan said.
“Her humane approach to all around her, unlike her asocial husband and introverted daughter, had made her dear to the entire village where she lives. Her personality exuded a grace and charm that commanded respect and love from everyone.”
Through the memories of people who come to pay their last respects to her, the nuances and complexities of human relationships are unfolded in the film.
“Reflections on an individual’s death become a wondrous evocation of the colour, zest and zeal of the entire village life and the network of collective human destiny,” Gopinathan said.
Sweta Menon in a scene from the film