K. Ravindranathan Nair , a.k.a. Achani Ravi or General Pictures Ravi, is an Indian film producer of

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

films, industrialist and philanthropist, known for a number of critically acclaimed movies he has produced such as

Kanchana Sita ''Kanchana Sita'' (''Golden Sita'') (Malayalam :കാഞ്ചന സീത) is a 1977 Indian Malayalam feature-length film scripted and directed by G. Aravindan. A mythological film, its story was adapted from C. N. Sreekantan Nair's play of ...

Thampu ''Thampu'' () is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, V. K. Sreeraman, Jalaja and the artistes of the ''Great Chitra Circus'' form the cast. The film deals with the roving s ...

Kummatty Kummatty is a 1979 Malayalam film written and directed by G. Aravindan. Ramunni, Master Ashok and Vilasini Reema form the cast. Cast *Ambalappuzha Ravunni *Ashok Unnikrishnan *Kottara Gopalakrishnan Nair * Kuttyedathi Vilasini Soundtrack The mu ...

, Esthappan,

Pokkuveyil ''Pokkuveyil'' ( Twilight) is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by G. Aravindan and produced by General Pictures' Raveendranathan Nair. The film stars Balachandran Chullikkad, Kalpana and S. Satish Kumar. Aravindan recorded its ...

Elippathayam ''Elippathayam'' (Translation: The Rat Trap) is a 1981 Malayalam film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It stars Karamana Janardanan Nair, Sharada, Jalaja, and Rajam K. Nair. The film documents the feudal life in Kerala at its tw ...

, Manju,

Mukhamukham ''Mukhamukham'' ( en, italic=yes, Face to Face) (1984) is a Malayalam feature film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Plot The film starts in the early 1950s showing Sreedharan, the protagonist, as a very popular communist leader and ...

, Anantaram and

Vidheyan ''Vidheyan'' ( en, The Servile) is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed and written by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It is a cinematic adaptation of the novella ''Bhaskara Pattelarum Ente Jeevithavum'' by Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia. ...

. Nair is credited with fostering the

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

movement in Malayalam cinema during the period from the seventies till the nineties. A multiple recipient of

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and State film awards, Nair was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award by the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

, in 2008, for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.

Biography

K. Ravindran Nair was born in a rich family, dealing with cashew production and exports. His passion for literature and arts brought him into Malayalam cinema and in 1967, he established ''General Pictures'' under the banner of which he produced his first movie, Anweshichu Kandethiyilla, directed by P. Bhaskaran. This was followed by two more films the next year, Kattukurangu and Lakshaprabhu, both directed by Bhaskaran. Ravi, as he is generally known, was silent for the next few years till he came out with his next film,

Achani ''Achani'' (''Accāṇi'', ) is a 1973 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by A. Vincent and produced by K. Ravindran Nair. The film stars Prem Nazir, Nanditha Bose, Adoor Bhasi and Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair. It tells the story of a t ...

, an A. Vincent movie, in 1973, which earned him the moniker, ''Achani Ravi''. The film was reported to be a commercial success like his earlier films and Ravi is known to have contributed the returns from the movie for building a Public Library in Kollam, of which he is a founder member and honorary secretary. The year 1977 marked a new chapter in Nair's life with the first of his films with the renowned filmmaker

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...

releasing that year. This was followed by four more Aravindan films,

(1978),

(1979), Esthappan (1979) and

(1981). The next film he produced,

(1981), was directed by

Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), Go ...

. Three more films,

(1984), Anantaram (1987) and

(1993), with the same director were released in the ensuing years. In between, he also produced a film, Manju (1982) for the

Jnanpith The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

and

National Film award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

winner,

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 1933 July 15 ), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-I ...

. Nair produced a total of 14 films for which he received 18 awards before he retired from cinema. Usha Ravi, Ravindran Nair's wife, was a playback singer having sung in movies such as

, Aambal poovu and Detective 909. Usha died on 2 October 2013, leaving Nair and three of their children, Prathap, Preetha and Prakash.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, K. Ravindran Year of birth missing (living people) Living people J. C. Daniel Award winners Kerala State Film Award winners Businesspeople from Kollam Indian philanthropists Malayali people Film producers from Kerala Malayalam film producers Indian humanitarians 20th-century Indian businesspeople

Biography

Filmography

See also

References

Further reading

External links