''Artist'' is a

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

Shyamaprasad Shyamaprasad (born 7 November 1960) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor from Kerala. Career Shyamaprasad was born on 7 November 1960 at Palakkad, as the younger son of O. Rajagopal and Santhakumari. He was named after Shyama Prasad ...

. An adaptation of '' Dreams in Prussian Blue'', a paperback novel by Paritosh Uttam, the film is about two fine arts students, both driven by individual ambitions, who decide to live together. The film traces the course of their relationship and their progression as artists. The film features

Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Natio ...

playing Michael and

Ann Augustine Ann Augustine (born Anate Augustine 30 July 1989) is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films. She is the daughter of Malayalam actor Augustine. She made her debut in Lal Jose's ''Elsamma Enna Aankutty'' (2010). Early life and educatio ...

as Gayathri. The supporting cast includes

Sreeram Ramachandran Sreeram Ramachandran is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films and serials. Career Sreeram made his movie debut in 2010 through ''Malarvadi Arts Club'' directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan. His second collaboration with Vineeth was '' That ...

(of the sitcom ''Chumma'' on

Amrita TV Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam Language general Entertainment television channel owned by Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It was launched in 2005. Theme song The theme song, "Lokasamastha," was composed by Rahulraj for Mata Amritanandamayi's 50t ...

Sidhartha Siva Sidhartha Siva (born 5 May 1985) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, screenwriter and lyricist, who works in Malayalam cinema. Early life His hometown is Kaviyoor in Kerala. He is the son of filmmaker Kaviyoor Sivaprasad. Film career ...

, Srinda Ashab (''

Annayum Rasoolum ''Annayum Rasoolum'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Rajeev Ravi (in his directorial debut) and written by Santhosh Echikkanam from a story by Ravi. Set in Vypin islands in Kerala, the plot revolves around ...

''-fame),

Krishnachandran T. N. Krishnachandran (born 16 June 1960) is an Indian actor, playback singer, and dubbing artist in Malayalam cinema and television. Career His debut movie was '' Rathinirvedam'' in 1978. He was the voice for actor Vineeth and Rahman and als ...

and

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along with a host of newcomers. The film was produced by M. Mani under his banner, Sunitha Productions. The music was composed by

Bijibal Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films, documentaries, short films and television commercials. He has composed for more than 150 feature films, several documentaries and televisi ...

the editing is by Vinod Sukumaran. The film won three major awards at the

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

(Ann Augustine) and Best Actor (Fahadh Faasil).

Plot

''Artist'' traces the journey of two artists — Michael Agnelo, son of a Goan businessman, and Gayatri, who hails from a conservative Brahmin family. Gayatri shocks her parents by choosing to study Arts in college, then decides to drop out of college and start living with Michael, an eccentric genius with a promising career. Their new life together does not eradicate her isolation, and as Michael wraps further layers of self-centeredness around the cocoon that he has built for himself, Gayatri looks around for ways to keep her passion for him intact. Gayathri is barely out of her teens when she starts working to support her partner even though she does not get even emotional support from him. Her woes increase when Michael loses his eyesight in a road accident. The challenges of the ungrateful Michael who struggles to transform his artistry on the canvas and how the youngsters tackle egoism, selfishness and their artistic demands form the crux of the story.

Cast

as Michael *

as Gayatri *

as Abhinav *

as Roy, a

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

as Gayatri's father *

Vanitha Krishnachandran Vanitha Krishnachandran is an Indian film and television actress. She acted during the 1980s in nearly 170 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films along with several Malayalam and Tamil Television serials. Personal life Vanitha was ...

as Gayatri's mother *

Srinda Ashab Srinda (born 20 August 1985) is an Indian actress, model, and dubbing artist who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. Her debut film was '' Four Friends'' (2010). She is best known for her roles in Malayalam movies '' 22 Female Kottayam' ...

as Ruchi * Rudran as Surgeon * Sandeep as Doctor * Syamala S. Nair as Landlady

Production

Novel

''Artist'' is an adaptation of the English novel '' Dreams in Prussian Blue'' by Paritosh Uttam, a techie-turned-writer who was born in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

to UP parents. Paritosh is a graduate from

IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

, and has a full-time job as a software professional, based in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. ''Dreams In Prussian Blue'' was published in 2010. Paritosh Uttam says, "A few months after its release Shyamaprasad contacted me through my website and said that he had read it and had liked it because the themes it dealt with vibed with his thoughts. He said he would like to make a film based on it. I found out that Shyamaprasad is an acclaimed director and was glad to say yes. We talked over email and phone about how to take this forward. The novel is my work but its adaptation to the screen is fully Shyamaprasad's". Shyamaprasad says that transforming this story narrated in words onto the visual medium was certainly a challenge. The film is set in Kerala in 2013, unlike the book, which had its backdrop in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 2010.

Filming

The film's shooting commenced in February 2013. It was shot completely in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, with several scenes set in the

College of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

in the city. Like Shyamaprasad's previous film '' English: An Autumn in London'', ''Artist'' was also shot in sync sound. Sohail Sanwari was the sound designer and Shamdat the cinematographer of the film.

Reception

The film received critical acclaim. Aswin J. Kumar of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' said, "''Artist'' is a well-assembled film, beautifully crafted and portrayed by a stunning cast." Paresh C. Palicha of

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

stated that the film "keeps the viewer intrigued and involved till the very end". He rated the film 3/5 and regarded it as one of Shyamaprasad's best works till date. Veeyen of Nowrunning.com rated the film 3/5 and said, "The soul stifling experience that Shyamaprasad's 'Artist' is, leads us on to a world of paints and easels, palettes and pastels, where ingenuity and inventiveness flow on, in strokes and flourishes from the tip of a brush. The painterly detail that the director has on offer for us in 'Artist' , makes it a visually sumptuous film that engrosses us with its enchanting tale."

Awards

;

- Shyamaprasad *

- Ann Augustine * Best Actor - Fahadh Faasil ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

References

{{Shyamaprasad 2010s Malayalam-language films 2013 drama films Indian drama films Films directed by Shyamaprasad 2013 films Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram Films set in Kerala