P. A. Backer ( ml, പി.എ. ബക്കർ; 1940 – 22 November 1993) was one of the new-wave

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 ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

s of the 1970s and 1980s.

Life sketch

Backer was born in 1940 to Ahamed Musliar and Fathima of Kanippayyoor near Kunnamkulam in Trichur,

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...

(now part of Kerala state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

). While still a student, Backer worked as a journalist for ''Kuttikal'' and ''Poomottukal''. He then worked as an assistant to director

Ramu Kariat Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian film director for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the Malayalam cinema. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' ...

(1960). He made his debut as a producer in 1970 with ''

Olavum Theeravum ''Olavum Theeravum'' () is a 1970 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by P. N. Menon, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair, and produced by P. A. Backer. It stars Madhu and Ushanandini, with Jose Prakash, Philomina, and Nilambur Balan in ...

'' which won the state awards for the best film and best cinematography. He turned director in 1975 with '' Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol'' which won for him the State award for best director. ''Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol'' (''When the River Kabani Turned Red''), a bold movie about a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political activist, was released during the

Indian Emergency The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution beca ...

. Some other notable movies by Backer are '' Manimuzhakkam'' (''Peal of Bells''), '' Chuvanna Vithukal'' (''Red Seeds''/''Seeds of revolution''), ''

Sree Narayana Guru Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual ...

'' and ''

Sanghaganam ''Sanghaganam'' () is a 1979 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by P. A. Backer based on a story by M. Sukumaran and starring Sreenivasan, Ramu Karyat, P. R. Nambyar and Madhu Master. Plot An unemployed youth decides to pr ...

'' (''Chorus''). ''Manimuzhakkam'', based on the novel ''Murippadukal'' by Sarah Thomas, won the National Film Award for Best Regional Film and the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under the Department ...

. ''Sree Narayana Guru'' won the

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of ...

. His last film as a director was ''

Innaleyude Baaki ''Innaleyude Baakki'' is a 1988 Indian Malayalam film directed by P. A. Backer. The film stars Geetha, Devan, Mini Arun and Sreenath in the lead roles. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan makes a special appearance. The film has musical score by G. De ...

'' (''The Balance of Yesterday''; 1988). He died on 22 November 1993, aged 53, at his residence in

Trivandrum 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 ...

. He was survived by his wife Anita Backer.

Filmography

Backer directed the following films: * ''

Innalayude Baaki ''Innaleyude Baakki'' is a 1988 Indian Malayalam film directed by P. A. Backer. The film stars Geetha, Devan, Mini Arun and Sreenath in the lead roles. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan makes a special appearance. The film has musical score by G. De ...

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

Premalekhanam ''Premalekhanam'' (The Love Letter) is Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's first work (1943) to be published as a book. The novel is a humorous story of love. Through the hilarious dialogs, Basheer attacks religious Conservatism and the dowry system. ...

'' (1985) - based on the novel ''

'' by

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer (21 January 1908 – 5 July 1994), popularly referred to as Beypore Sulthan, was a writer of Malayalam literature. He was a writer, humanist, freedom fighter, novelist and short story writer, noted for his path-breaking, ...

* ''

Charam ''Charam'' is a 1983 Indian Malayalam film, directed by P. A. Backer and produced by C. H. Khalid. The film stars Prem Nazir and Meena Menon in the lead roles. The film follows the search of a lawyer for his missing daughter in Bombay's red-l ...

'' (1983) * ''

Chappa ''Chappa'' is a 1982 Malayalam film directed by P. A. Backer and starring Zainuddin (actor) Hari, Kunjandi and Beena. The film is about a lone individual's determined fight against tyranny. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film i ...

'' (1982) * '' Unarthupattu'' (1980) * '' Manninte Maril'' (1979) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Chuvanna Vithukal'' (1978) * '' Mani Muzhakkam'' (1976) - based on the novel ''Murippadukal'' by Sarah Thomas * '' Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol'' (1976)

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards

* 1970 -

for ''

'' * 1976 -

for '' Manimuzhakkam'' * 1975 -

Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the second best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under ...

for '' Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol'' * 1977 -

for '' Chuvanna Vithukal'' * 1975 -

Kerala State Film Award for Best Director The Kerala State Film Award for Best Director is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969. It is given to a film director who has exhibited outstanding direction while working in the Malayalam film industry. ...

for '' Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol'' * 1976 -

Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay The Kerala State Film Award 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 bee ...

for '' Manimuzhakkam''

National Film Awards

* 1976 -

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of seve ...

for '' Manimuzhakkam'' * 1982 -

for ''

'' * 1985 - Best Film on National Integration for ''

References

External links

*
P. A. Backer
at Cinema of Malayalam 1940 births 1993 deaths Film directors from Thrissur Malayalam film directors 20th-century Indian film directors Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award {{India-film-director-stub