Collector Dr GS Sameeran IAS, author of Malayalam books on literary personalities, insists on Tamil translations of his books to be released at the Coimbatore Book Festival
Collector Dr GS Sameeran IAS, author of Malayalam books on literary personalities, insists on Tamil translations of his books to be released at the Coimbatore Book Festival
malayalam movie oridathoru fruitful, a cult classic, told the story of a small-town wrestler’s glory and subsequent downfall, winning awards at several international film festivals. It was written and directed by P Padmarajan, known for his contributions to Malayalam literature and cinema.
Coimbatore District Collector Dr GS Sameeran, IAS discusses Padmarajan’s films and literary works in his Malayalam book, which has now been translated into Tamil. Padmarajan Gandharvano Manithano. it was recently Released at the ongoing Coimbatore Book Festival.
Padmarajan’s first directorial debut peruvazhiambalam Which came out in 1979 based on his novel of the same name, which romanticized a certain kind of masculinity and the way people fear and worship him at the same time. In Kallam Pavitrini, which tells the story of a petty thief (played by Nedumudi Venu) and his life-changing episode of theft, Padmarajan forces the audience to redefine the word ‘chor’. “I compare Satyajit Ray to The Apu Trilogy and connect the common thread that runs with these three films,” says Sameeran, who has also penned a biography on poet and writer Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai, who wrote lyrics, screenplay and story. is written. balani, the first Malayalam talkie film with 26 songs. The book has now been released in Tamil: Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai,
“Both are from Muthukulam village in Alleppey district. Since I too belong to the same village, I naturally got attracted towards his work. I wrote a book on Padmarajan in 2006 when I was a medical student in Thiruvananthapuram. It is more as an expression of protest where I address that when his films were celebrated, his literary personality was overshadowed. Though he excelled in both, he is more of a writer and a casual filmmaker. ,
book cover
Some of Padmarajan’s later films, especially Thuvanthumbikal, Namakku Parakanimunthirithopugal, inlay And koudevide Became so popular that his literary contributions went unnoticed, the author says that the filmmaker was one of the youngest writers to win the Sahitya Akademi Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel. constellationsKaval.
“I pored over his short stories, novels and novels and watched all his films. My research was complete. I address the dynamics between the writer and filmmaker, their rural and urban stories, their men and women. I have also deeply considered their characters, context and their background.
Sameeran also interacted with the family members of the filmmaker. “I analyzed his work from the point of view of how Muthukulam inspired him. I tried to shed light on her portrayal of women, men and their struggles. I could relate to the characters in his films, as most of his iconic characters like Thakara (played by Prathan Pothen), Sivanpillai master and chelappan helper There are living characters in my village. I have interviewed and interacted with him while writing the book, many PhD students refer to my book for their thesis on Padmarajan.
Samiran’s second book, a biography of muthukulamRaghavanPillaiPublished in 2013, throws light on one of the first comedians of Malayalam cinema. “He came long before Adoor Bhasi and acted in over 70 films and wrote over 50 scripts including films and plays. He was a litterateur, great comedian and actor, who died in an unfortunate situation at Kodambakkam, his There was no one with me. I attended a memorial lecture on Raghavan Pillai and that was the starting point of writing the book. His contribution to films and literature is immense.”
book cover
The biography which is partly fictional, highlights his contribution in bringing new age drama to Malayalam. “He introduced real characters in the play. He also wrote political plays in late 1920s and 1930s. He was a revolutionary and some of his works were banned in Travancore. Many people are unaware of this part of history and no one knows their identity. Everyone identifies himself as a comedian.”
Talking about Tamil translation, Sameeran says that Vijaya Prakashan founder M Velayutham offered to translate his books into Tamil after hearing his speech about Muthukulam at an event. “I spoke of my days vanasal (public library) which was run by a librarian who made his living as a barber, my village and my two books. ,
Says Velayutham, “Books give a glimpse of history. While Tamil scholar M Subramani has translated his book on Padmarajan, Kurunji Velan who runs the quarterly magazine thissai ettum Worked on another book. “Everyone associates films with Kodambakkam, but we should also be aware of the history of other states. It is very easy for today’s youth to make films with digital cameras and animations. They must know how it all started, might be with balaniFirst Malayalam talkie made by Modern Theaters of Salem.