In an industry where all discussions end with Adoor, Padmarajan and Bharathan, their contemporary and eminent filmmaker K.G. George never really received his rightful due. On his birthday, let’s delve into the veteran director's biography,'Flashback: Enteyum Cinemayudeyum'.
Often dubbed as the chief apostle of the new wave Malayalam cinema, Kulakkaattil Geevarghese George made his directorial debut with Swapnadanam in 1975. Toying with interesting genres, George told stories that infused a welcome break from nauseating melodrama and artificiality.
His grounding at the Poona Film and Television Institute lent a professional edge to his craft. Songs in his movies were functional; most of them did not have any. While a film with a poet protagonist featured half a dozen songs, one about a drama troupe featured only theatre tracks.
George symbolised middle-of-the-road movie making. He made just 19 feature films, the last one in 1998. He also made some documentaries and television serials.
In his book, Flashback: Enteyum Cinemayudeyum, George attributes the intentional absence from the reel world to his disgust at undesirable tendencies in the industry.
Owing to his poor health, it was journalist M.S. Asokan, who helped him write the memoir. In its foreword, Adoor Gopalakrishnan writes: George is someone who made films according to his intellect, yet striving to make them acceptable for all audiences.
K.G. George was born into a working class family in Thiruvalla on 24th May, 1946 to Samuel, a painter of hoardings. The family shifted bases to Changanaserry and Kottayam in the course of time.
Apparently, George’s romance with the celluloid started at a very young age. As a young boy, he collected film pieces from a theatre nearby. In the projector room, the boy always had umpteen questions to the operator.
By age 13, going to the cinemas had become a part of George’s life. The avid moviegoer used to watch three to four movies a week during his pre-degree period. The youngster diligently watched Hindi, Tamil and foreign movies.
Painting billboards using enamel paint fetched him the pocket money for movie outings. Later, American Peace Corps volunteers introduced him to Time, Newsweek and Saturday Evening Post, which carried articles on film appreciation. Blitz, Filmfare, Picture Post and heavier reading like Basheer and Ponkunnam Varkey followed.
Meeting A.V. Kovoor and the arrival of Hitchcock’s Psycho sparked in him a love of psychological thrillers. George reserves special mention for G. Aravindan’s popular Mathrubhoomi cartoon strip of the ‘60s, ‘Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum’.
As the Film Society movement gathered momentum, he headed for Thiruvananthapuram and met Adoor, a pioneer of the movement, to register a society. He joined Poona FTII in ’68 where Mohan Sharma (Lakshmi’s husband), Ravi Menon, Jaya Bhaduri and Ramachandra Babu were peers and John Abraham and Balu Mahendra were seniors.
George joined Ramu Kariat (of ‘Chemmeen’ fame) as Assistant Director and worked in films such as Maya and Nellu. Friendships forged in Madras with Latheef, I.V. Sasi, P.N. Menon, Sukumaran and the music maestro M.B. Srinivasan (MBS).
George does not think much of the films of the alcoholic filmmaker John Abraham, who he however accepts as having a broad outlook on the medium. But the anarchy of his life proved his undoing in his art.
Elsewhere in the book, George rates Renjith as the best among the new crop of movie makers and commends his Pranchiyettan and the Saint. Blessy, according to him, is a let-down whose movies are not worth the money spent.
George had lectured at Adayar Film Institute when Rajanikanth and Sreenivasan were studying there. Sreeni is accused of not honing his scriptwriting craft to maximum potential; laziness being the culprit again.
Kariat’s association brought George to a wider friends’ circle consisting of Vayalar, Bhaskaran, Shobhana Parameswaran Nair, Sasikumar, Prem Nasir, Prem Nawaz, Hari Pothen and Prathap Pothen.
The book devotes chapters to close friend Latheef, and the late Rani Chandra and Dr. Mohandas, lead players of Swapnadanam. And along came Selma, the woman who was to become his life partner in ’77. Selma had approached him for a chance to sing in his films.
Swapnadanam, which portrayed the masochist violence of marital relationships, was well-received but a string of five flops followed it. He blames his own arrogance and poor judgment for the disastrous Vyamoham, Ini Aval Urrangatte, Onappudava, Mann and surprisingly a film based on Padmarajan’s story – Raappadikallude Gaatha (even if it won the state award).
Selma first sang in Vyamoham. Her hits in his later films are the songs, Saradindu Malardeepa Nalam, Bharatha Muniyoru Kalam Varachu and Kanneeraatil Mungithappi. Around this time, M.G. Soman had retired from Air Force. Despite their great friendship George had reservations about Soman’s acting methods and he appeared in just his first two films.
Ulkkadal, which was based on the eponymous George Onakkoor novel, came in ’79. The movie shot in Mar Ivanous College, set off a new campus trend along with Bharathan’s Chamaram and Padmarajan-Mohan’s Salini Ente Koottukari. Interestingly, these film makers discussed their works with one another.
Ulkkadal was a financial success. Shobha played the heroine opposite a new hero whom Padmarajan identified in his younger AIR colleague, Venu Nagavally. Another newcomer, Thilakan, played his father. One cannot mention Ulkkadal without remembering the outstanding contribution of ONV and MBS in the song and music departments.
Mela told the story of a circus troupe and cast real life circus artists in prominent roles. The film marked the first noted role of Malayalam cinema’s megastar-to-be, Mammootty. He played the bike jumper Vijayan.
The inspiration for Kolangal came from actor and theatre personality P.J. Antony’s story Oru Gramathinte Atmav, which the writer himself had adapted to stage as Moon Pennungallum Kurre Naattukarum.
However, Kolangal was side-lined at the awards scene where MT-Sethumadhavan’s Oppol swept the honours, save for Rajam K. Nair becoming the best supporting actress.
Next was Panchavadipalam, which is possibly the best political satire we have had in Malayalam. Based on a story by humourist Veloor Krishnankutty, the film is about the building of a bridge in a village. The panchayat president and just about everybody in sight are corrupt and self-serving. The film’s characters are named after mythological characters. Gopi, Srividya, Jagathy, Thilakan, Sukumari and others make it a memorable roller-coaster ride.
Yavanika (Curtain) is George’s masterpiece that should feature in the ten best Malayalam cinemas of all time. It centres on a drama troupe managed by Thilakan. Sterling performances by Jalaja and Venu Nagavally are backed by Nedumudi and Jagathy.
George devotes a section in the book to some supremely talented people he held in awe, like Kodiyettam Gopi. Gopi really got under the skin of his character, Tabalist Ayyappan in Yavanika. At least four of Gopi’s best roles have been in George’s films. They addressed each other as ‘aashaane’. Paralysis cut short that genius’s career early. Yavanika won the state awards for film and story.
Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback, a precursor to the likes of Dirty Picture, is a film about film. Innocent and David Kachapilly produced the movie inspired by the suicide of Shobha two years earlier. It kicked up instant controversy. The tale is of a poor girl called Shanthamma, played by Nalini, who is pushed in to the Kodambakkam industry by her ambitious mother, essayed by Shobha.
As she transforms into a movie star with the screen name Lekha, she treads the path of vice. Her affair with a married director, played by Gopi, and his callous rejection of her led to her taking her own life.
In real life, cinematographer and director Balu Mahendra was married to Akhila when he married Shobha, who was not aware of the first alliance. Mahendra happily volunteered to crank camera for ‘Ullkkadal’ when he learnt that Shobha was to be in it.
Ironically, that most talked about film of the year and box office hit failed to win any awards locally, though it did the festival circuits in London and the Indian Panorama.
George’s Adaminte Variyell focused on women’s issues. It shed light into the lives of three women – rich, middle class and poor, played by Srividya, Suhasini and Soorya, respectively.
George tells us that he is no feminist but had always observed women in family and society with empathy. It could be the reason why strong and free-spirited females recurred in his movies.
Adaminte Variyell was well-done but not well-received. In its surrealistic ending, women are seen taking to the streets after breaking out of a rescue home.
In Irakal, debutant K.B. Ganesh Kumar played an anti-hero named Baby, who is the product of a value-less, degenerate and dysfunctional family. It is a violent movie with its genesis in the Emergency unleashed on the country by Mrs. Gandhi and the chief architect of the excesses of those days, her son Sanjay Gandhi.
The film became an allegory for that dark period brought about by power, violence, corruption, vengeance and naked violation of human rights. Palakunnel Mathukutty’s family became its symbol. Even the adultery of the daughter, Srividya, is no secret as far as the father, Thilakan, is concerned. Sukumaran produced the film but failed to keep his promise regarding payment and they fell apart.
George’s warm relations with Mallika and Srividya created some discord in his own marriage. Srividya whom he describes as a Dravida beauty, has often been romantically linked to him by mistake as the Kanjirappally businessman who married her was also a George! But the actress’s marriage was on the rocks when during the shooting of Irakal.
The gifted novelist C.V. Balakrishnan in his afterword recalls the warmth of his friendship with K.G. George ‘chettan’. His story Urrangaan Vayya became the film Matoral, which bombed at the box office.
George attributes the disaster to casting a wrong person in a key role at the insistence of the producer. He stops short of naming Mammootty’s brother Ibrahim Kutty.
Ee Kanni Koodi was a fine crime thriller but by the time the film came out, equations in the industry had changed and it was ridden with megalomaniac superstardom and other tendencies, which affected its run.
K.G. George ventured into the mini screen and made a tele-serial called Yatrayude Anthyam. He adapted T. Padmanabhan’s short stories for Jeevan TV and a serial ‘Bandhangal Bandhanangal’ for Doordarshan. He also produced a film, Mahanagaram.
After a long hiatus in ’98, he directed Elavankod Desam, based on a historical scripted by the venerable professor Sreevarahom Balakrishnan. It fell flat as the director’s vision and the end product did not tally.
Mammootty was by then a far cry from the earnest newcomer of his own Mela, George realized painfully. Adding insult to injury was a cheque case in which some of the producers trapped him. Such incidents, his failing health and the octopus grip of ‘superstars’ on the industry led to a great art-lover like K.G. George taking early retirement.
Meantime, for five years from 2006, he served as Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) during the Left regime. He dubs it as wasted years, which could have been utilised elsewhere as he met with bureaucratic stonewalling of his ideas.
A detailed filmography and rare pictures from K.G. George’s life and career appended to the book embellish the book. K.G. George, who is entering his 70th year, has been on a feature film break for two decades. Malayalam Cinema owes him big time as the services he rendered it are yeoman indeed.