Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director,

script writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, 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), Gopalakrishnan pioneered the new wave in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. In a career spanning over five decades, Gopalakrishnan has made only 12 feature films to date. His films are made in the

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 ...

language and often depict the society and culture of his native state

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 ...

. Nearly all of his films premiered at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

and

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. Along with Satyajit Ray and

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

, Gopalakrishnan is one of the most recognized Indian film directors in world cinema. For his films, Gopalakrishnan has won the

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 ...

16 times, next only to Ray and Sen. He also won the Kerala State Film Awards 17 times. He was awarded the State honours

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

in 1984 and the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

in 2006. He received the

Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...

in 2004 for his valuable contributions to Indian cinema. In 2016, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, Kerala government's highest honour for contributions to Malayalam cinema. The

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

have established an archive and research center, the ''Adoor Gopalakrishnan Film Archive and Research Center'', at their Peck School of Arts where research students will have access to 35 mm prints of the eleven feature films and several documentaries made by Gopalakrishnan.

Biography

Gopalakrishnan was born on 3 July 1941 in the village of Pallicka
(Medayil Bungalow)
near

Adoor Adoor (sometimes spelled ''Adur'') is a Municipality in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Adoor Taluk and Adoor Revenue Division. Etymology Adoor (Ad-oor) in Malayalam translates as "Ad" means "separ ...

, present day

. After securing a degree in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration in 1961 from the

Gandhigram Rural Institute The Gandhigram Rural University (GRI) is a centrally-funded Deemed University based on Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, India. History Dr. T.S. Soundaram and Dr. G. Ramachandran developed the institute. The Gandhigram Rural Institute of Higher Educa ...

, he worked as a Government officer near

Dindigul Dindigul, also spelt Thindukkal (), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located southwest from the state capital, Chennai, away from Tiruchirappalli, away ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. In 1962, he left his job to study screenwriting and direction from the Film and Television Institute of India Pune. He completed his course from there with a scholarship from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. With his classmates and friends, Gopalakrishnan established ''Chithralekha Film Society and Chalachithra Sahakarana Sangham''; the organization was the first film society in Kerala and it aimed at production, distribution and exhibition of films in the co-operative sector. Adoor Gopalakrishnan 1

Gopalakrishnan's debut film, the national award-winning ''Swayamvaram'' (1972) was a milestone in Malayalam film history. The film was exhibited widely in various international film festivals including those held in Moscow,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, London and Paris. The films that followed namely '' Kodiyettam,

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 ...

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, '' Mathilukal'',

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. ...

'' and ''

Kathapurushan ''Kathapurushan'' ( en, The Man of the Story) is a 1995 Indo-Japanese Malayalam-language historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. It was produced by Gopalakrishnan himself and co-produced by NHK. The fil ...

'' lived up to the reputation of his first film and were well received by critics at various film festivals and fetched him many awards. However, ''Mukhamukham'' was criticized in Kerala while ''Vidheyan'' was at the centre of a debate due to the differences in opinion between the writer of story of the film Sakhariya and Gopalakrishnan. Gopalakrishnan's later films are '' Nizhalkuthu'', narrating the experiences of an executioner who learns that one of his subjects was innocent, and ''

Naalu Pennungal ''Naalu Pennungal'' (''Four Women'') is a 2007 Malayalam film produced and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on four short stories written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The film stars Padmapriya, Geethu Mohandas, Manju Pillai, and Nandi ...

'', a film adaptation of four short stories by

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (17 April 1912 – 10 April 1999), popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 7 shor ...

. All his films have won national and international awards (National award for best film twice, best director five times, and best script two times. His films have also won his actors and technicians several national awards). Gopalakrishnan's third feature, ''Elippathayam'' won him the coveted British Film Institute Award for 'the most original and imaginative film' of 1982. The International Film Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) has gone to him six times successively for ''Mukhamukham, Anantharam, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan'' and ''Nizhalkkuthu''. Winner of several international awards like the UNICEF film prize (Venice),

OCIC SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and ne ...

film prize (Amiens), INTERFILM Prize (Mannheim) etc., his films have been shown in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

and every important festival around the world. In consideration of his contribution to Indian cinema, the nation honoured him with the title of

(India's fourth highest civilian award) in 1984 and

(India's second highest civilian award) in 2006. Gopalakrishnan is settled 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 ...

(Trivandrum) in Kerala. His daughter Aswathi Dorje is an

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

officer (part of the Assam cadre, 2000 batch), currently acting as Deputy Commissioner of Police in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

since June 2010.

Documentaries and 'New Cinema' movement

Apart from nine feature films, he has over 30 short films and documentaries to his credit. The

Helsinki Film Festival The Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy ( fi, Rakkautta & Anarkiaa) is a non-competitive film festival held since 1988 in Helsinki, Finland, yearly in September. The festival promotes the artistry of filmmaking, the inventive, vi ...

was the first film festival to have a retrospective of his films. He has headed the jury at the National Film Awards and many international film festivals. Apart from his films, Gopalakrishnan's major contribution towards introducing a new cinema culture in Kerala was the constitution of the first Film Society in Kerala, "Chitralekha Film Society". He also took active part in the constitution of "Chitralekha", Kerala's first Film Co-operative Society for film production. These movements triggered a fresh wave of films, called "art films", by directors like G Aravindan, PA Becker, KG George, Pavithran, and Raveendran. At a time this movement was so strong that even popular cinema synthesised with art cinema to create a new genre of films. Bharat Gopi starred as hero 4 times in his ventures.

Style and trademarks

According to Gopalakrishnan " movies, the actor is not performing to the audience like the stage actor. Here they are acting for me. I am the audience and I will decide whether it is correct or not, enough or not."

Awards and milestones

Some of the awards and appreciation Gopalakrishnan has won for his films include: * 2016 - On the occasion of India celebrating its 70th Independence day, news agency ''

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

'' compiled a list called "70 Years, 70 Great Films" and '' Swayamvaram'' was among the four Malayalam films that found place in the list. * 2015- Biswaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award * 2013 -

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

C. B. Kumar Endowment for ''Cinema yum Samskaravum'' (Essay) * 2010 -

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

( D.Litt) from

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

* 2006 - Padma Vibhushan — Second highest civilian award from Government of India * 2004 -

— Lifetime Achievement Award in Film awarded by the

* 1996 -

( D.Litt) from Mahatma Gandhi University * 1984 - Padma Shri — Fourth highest civilian award from Government of India. * 1984 -

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

— French order, the highest decoration in France * National Film Awards — Various categories for ''Swayamvaram'', ''Kodiyettam'', ''Elippathayam'', ''Mukhamukham'', ''Anantaram'', ''Mathilukal'', ''Vidheyan'', ''Kathapurushan'', ''

Nizhalkkuthu ''Nizhalkuthu'' ( en, Shadow Kill, french: Le Serviteur de Kali) is a 2002 Indian film in Malayalam directed, written and co-produced by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film explores the recesses of the human consciousness. It stars Oduvil Unnikrishn ...

'' and ''

'' * Kerala State Film Awards: — Various categories for ''Kodiyettam'', ''Elippathayam'', ''Mukhamukham'', ''Anantaram'', ''Vidheyan'' and ''

Oru Pennum Randaanum ''Oru Pennum Randaanum'' (Translation: ''A Woman and Two Men'') is a 2008 Malayalam feature film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film has four separate chapters, each based on independent short stories written by Thakazhi Siva ...

'' *International Film Critics Prize ( FIPRESCI) — won consecutively for six feature films (Mukhamukham, Anantaram, Mathilukal, Vidheyan, Kathapurushan and Nizhalkkuthu) *

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

—

Sutherland Trophy The Sutherland Trophy was created in 1958 by the British Film Institute as an annual award for "the maker of the most original and imaginative film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year". History In 1997, the criteria changed to ...

— in 1982 for ''Elippathayam'' *

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

Award — Most Original Imaginative Film of 1982 — ''Elippathayam'' *

Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

French Government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

(2003) *Lifetime achievement award at

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year si ...

. National Film Awards (Detailed): * 1973 -

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

- ''Swayamvaram'' * 1973 -

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 ...

- ''Swayamvaram'' * 1978 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''Kodiyettam'' * 1980 - National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Non-Feature Film) - ''The Chola Heritage'' * 1982 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''Elippathayam'' * 1984 - Best Book on Cinema - ''Cinemayude Lokam'' * 1985 - Best Director - ''Mukhamukham'' * 1985 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''Mukhamukham'' * 1985 - Best Screenplay - ''Mukhamukham'' * 1988 - Best Director - '' Anantharam'' * 1988 - Best Screenplay - ''Anantharam'' * 1990 - Best Director - ''Mathilukal'' * 1990 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''Mathilukal'' * 1994 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''Vidheyan'' * 1995 - Best Film - ''Kathapurushan'' * 2003 - Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''

'' * 2008 - Best Director - ''

'' Kerala State Film Awards (Detailed): ''

'' * 1977 - Best Film - '' Kodiyettam'' * 1981 -

- ''

'' * 1984 - Best Film - ''

'' * 1993 - Best Film - ''

'' * 2008 - Best Film - ''

'' ''

'' * 1977 - Best Director - '' Kodiyettam'' * 1984 - Best Director - ''

'' * 1987 - Best Director - ''Anantharam'' * 1993 - Best Director - ''

'' * 2008 - Best Director - ''

'' '' Best Story'' * 1977 - Best Story - '' Kodiyettam'' '' Best Screen Play'' * 1993 - Best Screen Play - ''

'' * 2008 - Best Screen Play - ''

'' '' Best Documentary Film'' * 1982 - Best Documentary Film -

Krishnanattam Krishnaattam (Malayalam: കൃഷ്ണാട്ടം, IAST: Kṛṣṇanāṭṭaṃ) is a temple art in Kerala, India. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays and was created by Manaveda (1585–165 ...

* 1999 - Best Documentary Film -

Kalamandalam Gopi Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi, is an Indian dancer who is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali. Life Born as Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair in the Southern Indian village of ...

'' Best Short Film'' * 2005 - Best Short Film -

Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (25 May 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a performer of Kathakali, who practiced the Kerala art form for more than seven decades. Biography His guru was Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, his only teacher in his entir ...

'' Best Book on Cinema'' * 2004 - Best Book on Cinema - Cinemanubhavam A retrospective of his films was conducted in *

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, by Seagull Foundation for the Arts and Nandan, 2009. * The Slovenian International Film Festival, 2009. * The

Munich Film Museum The Munich Film Archive, in the Munich Stadtmuseum, is one of eight film museums in Germany. It has no showrooms and is limited to screening the films in a single cinema with 165 seats, as well as collecting, archiving, and restoring film copies. ...

, 2009. * The French Cinematheque, Paris, 1999.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website of Adoor

* * ttp://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/may/06intro.htm Adoor's oeuvre on Rediff
Collection of photos of Adoor

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalakrishnan, Adoor 1941 births Living people Best Director National Film Award winners Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners Producers who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award J. C. Daniel Award winners Kerala State Film Award winners Recipients of the Legion of Honour Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Film and Television Institute of India alumni Malayalam screenwriters Film producers from Kerala Film directors from Kerala Malayalam film directors Indian documentary filmmakers People from Pathanamthitta district 20th-century Indian film directors Screenwriters from Kerala Malayalam film producers Malayalam film cinematographers Cinematographers from Kerala 21st-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian photographers 21st-century Indian photographers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Malayali people