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Time of India
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Did you know Shaji N Karun dreamt of casting Jaya Bachchan in ‘Kadal'?
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) As Malayalam cinema mourns the loss of legendary filmmaker Shaji N Karun , who passed away at the age of 73 after battling health issues, an emotional story has surfaced—one that reveals the visionary director's long-cherished yet unfulfilled dream of bringing the film 'Kadal' (The Sea) to life. A dream called 'Kadal' According to On Manorama, soon after the story of 'Kadal' was published, Shaji N Karun met the author in Kannur and expressed an earnest desire to adapt it into a feature film. He was captivated by its depth and emotion, and plans were quickly set in motion. Location scouting took them from Ladakh to the coasts, and prominent names like Mohanlal were suggested for pivotal roles, including that of a spiritual Guru. Talk session by Shaji N Karun by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Jaya Bachchan as the mother One of Shaji's most inspired casting choices was Jaya Bachchan for the role of the mother. A classmate of Shaji's from the Pune Film Institute, Jaya was moved by the English-translated script. In an interview, she said, 'When I look in the mirror, I see myself as the mother in Kadal.' Initially, the project was to be backed by Amitabh Bachchan's ABCL. But after the production company ran into financial trouble post the Miss World pageant in Bengaluru, the project stalled. Even when Jaya offered to produce the film herself, Shaji declined. The project that never was Though various actors and producers later expressed interest, including a prominent actress from Kutty Srank, Kadal never materialized. Shaji N Karun eventually shifted focus to other films, including a Hindi project titled 'Gadha'. Meanwhile, Shaji N Karun's last directorial venture was the 2018 film 'Olu' starring Shane Nigam and Esther Anil in the lead roles. The movie was praised for its stunning performance and magical realism. The script for the film was penned by T.D Ramakrishnan.
The Hindu
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
How Shaji N Karun captured the realities of life through his lens
A pall of gloom hangs over 'Piravi', Shaji N Karun's residence in Thiruvananthapuram. This was where the auteur and ace cinematographer met admirers from all walks of life. This is where he had conceptualised all his works, including documentaries and short films. This is where I met Shaji more than three decades ago as a student of journalism as part of my course. He had shared that it was his wife Anusuya Warrier's idea to name their house 'Piravi'. Shaji spent considerable time speaking to a rookie reporter, discussing his maiden film Piravi (1988), his second film Swaham (1994) and his student days in Pune. Piravi , a huge success, was about the story of a father's futile search for his son, who has been picked up by the police. The film brought alive the excesses during the Emergency, in a poignant way. It won Shaji the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989 and the National award for best director along with several other honours from across the world. Swaham (1994) was also screened at Cannes. It was Shaji's fascination for the images painted by light that made him take to cinematography. After his graduating in Physics from University College, he chose to join the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. He passed out with a gold medal in cinematography. Shaji always spoke passionately about the magic and moods of the tropical sun. He would excitedly capture its constantly changing hues and direction. His attention to detail was amazing. His simplicity was in stark contrast to the world he saw through the lens. Since he lived in the neighbourhood of my mother's house, I have often seen him walk quietly along the road. He was then the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. He was also the executive chairman of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). He was able to get the best of filmmakers and technicians to these festivals because of his personal equation with them. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to speak to him several times. Each time, I was left with a sense of wonder at the filmmaker's ability to delve into varied themes set in different periods of times. Shaji was not a prolific director. He took time to shape a story or a theme and then spent some more time visualising it in a language and idiom that was all his. Among the many awards that Shaji had won, he particularly treasured the Sir Charlie Chaplin Award instituted to commemorate the birth centenary of the legendary comic actor (1989) at the Edinburgh Film Festival. 'After I boarded my flight to India, the flight attendants announced that I had won this prestigious award and the passengers gave me a standing ovation,' he had recounted during an interview to The Hindu. Shaji's deep affinity for music and painting was evident in all his films. His bond with artist Namboothiri resulted in the documentary Neruvara on the latter's life. Moving Focus – A Voyage captured the artist KG Subramanyam's journey. The free-flowing lines and strokes were beautifully translated onto the screen by Shaji. He had stepped into the world of cinema by cranking the camera for KP Kumaran's Lakshmi Vijayam (1976). But it was his long association with G. Aravindan that marked his cinematographic oeuvre. Kanchana Sita (1977), Thampu (1978), Kummatty (1979), Esthappan (1979), Pokkuveyil (1981), Chidambaram, Oridathu and Unni were all filmed by him. He had an uncanny ability to understand what Aravindan had in mind. Shaji was able to transform Aravindan's abstract ideas into perfectly composed frames. 'Aravindan's screenplay was often very brief. Thampu, for instance, had only four pages,' he had recalled during the screening of the film's restored version in Cannes. He had also worked with other great directors such as P. Padmarajan, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, K.G. George and Lenin Rajendran. He was the cinematographer of writer-director Padmarajan's Koodevide, which marked actor Suhasini's debut in Malayalam films. Paying tribute to Shaji, Suhasini had shared on Instagram: 'Remembering Shaji Karun. Some people we meet are evergreen and eternal. He was the cinematographer for my debut film Koodevide. I was his Subhadra in Vanaprastham. A true artiste and a great human. People like him made our industry safe and marvellous for newcomers. Will miss him…' In Vanaprastham (1999), Shaji's third feature film, Mohanlal came up with an award-winning performance as a poverty-stricken Kathakali performer and his inner struggle as an artiste and man. Kutty Srank (2010) remains one of the most complex films of Shaji. It traced the past life of a dead Chavittunatakan artiste and the different memories he left behind in the places he had lived. Blurring reality and fiction, Shaji's story in a sense was also the story of certain regions of the State and the arrival of different faiths and belief systems. Mammotty effortlessly played the three avatars of Kutty Srank and his relationship with three women. Shaji had once said that Mohanlal's large expressive eyes was his biggest advantage while Mammootty was so handsome that it was difficult to mask his good looks. 'Even if one were to smear his face with soil, it would difficult to hide his features.' After Swaapanam and Olu, Shaji's heartfelt desire was to direct a musical. He had said how disappointed he was when a top actor, who had received several awards for his work in Shaji's films, had come up with all kinds of excuses to not work in the musical. It was to have been a mega Indo-European project. With Shaji's passing, Malayalam cinema has lost a director and technician who elevated it to global standards. I recently watched Vanaprastham on television and experienced the meditative pace at which Shaji's camera captured every nuance of emotion. It reflected Shaji's approach to life — observing and enjoying every moment in quietude.
Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Opinion From ‘Piravi' to ‘Olu', the visual poetry of Shaji N Karun's films
The departure of Shaji N Karun marks the exit of a great master of celluloid cinema, whose cinematographic and directorial oeuvre holds a unique position in the history of Indian and Malayalam cinema. After graduating from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), he collaborated with G Aravindan on a slew of films. These films had a distinct mood and pace, giving Malayalam 'new wave' cinema a fresh look and feel. For Shaji, cinematography was not merely a technique or a profession, but an all-engrossing art. As a director, he belonged to the post 'new-wave' generation of Malayalam cinema. His first directorial venture Piravi was made in 1988 when the art cinema movement was at its fag end and the television era was just beginning. But Shaji succeeded in carving out a niche for himself as an auteur through a series of significant films over the next few decades. His narrative world was dark. Tragic in outlook, his films mostly dealt with human suffering, pain, loss and longing. He only made seven films during his career, but they are all testimony to his unique cinematic vision; though their themes were deeply rooted in their respective milieu, they were universal in their appeal. All his films except Nishad (2002) are set within the Malayalee milieu and culture, most of them dealing with particular art forms, artists and art practices like kathakali, chenda or chavittu natakam. It is the protagonist-artiste who embodies and enacts the most elemental of human dramas, full of conflicts within and without. In a way, the artistes in Shaji's films are blessed with art, but also 'cursed' by it — through its power to entice the artiste into vanity, lure them with fame or money; or binding them in the chasm between the life of an ordinary human being and the persona of an admired actor. Being a cinematographer par excellence, what would strike a viewer immediately in his films would be their visual compositions. No other filmmaker was so fascinated by the watery expanse of Kerala: the vastness and mystery of water loomed over most of his narratives that unfolded near rivers, lakes, backwaters or the sea, with rains as a perpetual presence. Thematically, his basic concerns were human predicaments driven by certain instincts, artistic or otherwise, that eventually get caught in tragic situations. His most talked-about movie, Piravi (The Birth/1989), won the Camera d'Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1989. It was based on a real incident that happened in Kerala during the Emergency, when an engineering student was taken into custody by the police and tortured to death. His whereabouts were never found, nor was his body recovered. Though several films have dealt with the theme of missing persons or people who are made to disappear, Piravi remains the most poignant and haunting human document of such dark times anywhere in the world. It also stands apart because of the great performance by the veteran actor Premji, who plays the aged father waiting endlessly for the return of his only son. His next film, Swaham (One's Own/1994), was again a tragic story about a mother who loses her son, the only hope in her life. His next film Vanaprastham (The Last Dance/1999) featured one of the most celebrated actors in Malayalam cinema, Mohanlal. He performed the role of a kathakali actor whose life falls apart, despite talent, fame and empathy. Though he overcomes hurdles like caste and lineage through his art, he is eventually forced to sacrifice himself at its altar by the ghosts of his own actions and passions. Nishad (Octave/2002), set in a north Indian border town during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, is the story of a couple — a government doctor (Rajit Kapoor) and a teacher at a Tibetan school (Archana) — who despite several tragedies in their life, try to hold on to their faith in life and the world. On the one side, their life at the placid Himalayan valley is troubled by the war waged at the border and, on the other, illuminated by the calm spiritual atmosphere of the Buddhist monastery. But the world responds cruelly to their personal virtues with another tragedy, this time the death of their son at the battlefront. Kutty Srank (The Sailor of Hearts/2010) featured the other superstar of Malayalam cinema, Mammootty, in the lead role. In the film, he plays three different characters in three different storylines and locales. The story of his life unfolds through the memories of three women who were part of his life at different places. In Swapaanam (The Voiding Soul/2014), Shaji portrays the conflicts and dilemmas in the life of an artist-couple, a chenda player and a Mohiniyattam dancer. Like in Vanaprastham, here, too, the protagonist is haunted by several ghosts, including the mystery that surrounds his parentage and the passions generated by his art. He is caught in the swirl of emotions and events that finally push him from artistic ecstasy to personal doom. Shaji's last film Olu (She/2019) also revolves around an artist, a painter living in a remote island, who betrays his muse for the sake of fame and money, and realises his mistakes too late. One of the finest celluloid cinematographers, Shaji was instrumental in the making of great cinematic works by Aravindan like Kanchana Sita (1978), Thampu (1978), Kummatty (1979), Esthappan (1980), Chidambaram (1985), Pokkuveyil (1982), Oridathu (1986) and Marattam (1988). Other memorable films include those by eminent directors in Malayalam like M T Vasudevan Nair, Padmarajan, Lenin Rajendran and Hariharan. Shaji also made several documentaries on luminary artistes like G Aravindan, K G Subramanyan and Namboodiri. Apart from being a cinematographer and director, he also played a key role in conceiving and establishing the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and the International Film Festival of Kerala. He also headed the Kerala State Film Development Corporation and was the chairperson of Progressive Arts and Literary Organisation. Shaji's cinematographic images and narratives, and the universal human predicaments he grappled with, will continue to enthral cineastes across the world for decades to come.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kerala bids adieu to filmmaker Shaji N Karun
T'puram: Kerala on Tuesday bid a solemn and heartfelt farewell to Shaji N Karun , one of its most celebrated filmmakers whose poetic visual storytelling earned him a revered place in the history of Indian cinema . The cremation took place at Shanthi Kavadam in Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram , with full state honours. The state's political, cultural, and film fraternity came together to pay their last respects. From early morning, crowds gathered at Kalabhavan in Vazhuthacaud, where the late director's body was placed for public homage. Minister V Sivankutty offered condolences on behalf of the state govt. Film icons, politicians, writers, and fans were also present. At 12.30 pm, the body was taken to his residence 'Piravi', named after his debut film, on Udara Shiromani road. The cremation was held at 5 pm. On May 4, a remembrance event titled 'Sneha Sangamam' will be held at his residence. Among the dignitaries who paid homage were CPM state secretary MV Govindan, LDF convener TP Ramakrishnan, ministers Saji Cherian, R Bindu, Chinchu Rani, KB Ganesh Kumar, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, MPs Adoor Prakash and K Muraleedharan, and filmmakers Hariharan, Blessy, TK Rajeev Kumar, and Madhu Pal. Tributes also came from cultural icons including poet V Madhusoodanan Nair, artist Pattam Rasheed, and former chief secretary K Jayakumar.
Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Opinion A boat in the mist: The quiet eloquence of Shaji N Karun's films
Some filmmakers tell stories. Some chase moments. And then there was Shaji N Karun, who listened to the world breathe, and shaped cinema out of that deep silence. You didn't watch Karun's movies the way you watch most Malayalam movies. You lived inside it, like walking through a memory you couldn't quite name. A father endlessly looking for his son. A Kathakali artist slipping between roles and realities. A mother holding on to the air because there's nothing else left to hold. In his movies, time slowed down. For Karun, cinema was never about commanding attention. It was about tending to absences: What remains unsaid, what remains unseen. His characters didn't just perform their emotions; they bore them, carrying them like secret injuries. And in doing so, they let us glimpse something raw and rare: The texture of endurance itself. Before he became a director, Karun was one of Indian cinema's finest cinematographers. He learned early that sometimes a shaft of light across a wooden floor could say more than a hundred lines of dialogue. Working alongside masters like G Aravindan and M T Vasudevan Nair in films like Thampu, Kummatty and Manju, he found a way of looking at the world that was both tender and unflinching. In his lens, rivers, mist, sea and human faces didn't just decorate the story. They became the story. Each shot felt composed with the patience of an oil painting, where a scene was not just captured, but contemplated. He used the camera like a patient hand tracing the textures of a world already full of stories. Light, colour, and silence were not accessories in his films. Sometimes a still glance, a waiting corridor, or the hush before a ritual had the whole weight of the themes handled. By the time he made his own films, the instinct to find emotion inside the image had deepened into something unmistakably his own. His movies were meditations on loss, longing, and the brittle dignity of survival. In an industry where loudness often passes for emotion, Shaji N Karun gave us something infinitely harder to capture: A cinema of listening. Shaped by forces deeper than plot, Karun's movies become elemental. Loss, exile and the ache of unrealised dreams aren't just themes. They're the water his characters swim in. Piravi (1988), for instance, begins with a father, played by Premji, searching for his missing son. But what lingers isn't just the search. It is the way hope itself begins to decay, quietly, like fruit left out too long. In Swaham (1994), a mother fights against the indifference of the world with nothing but the stubbornness of her own love. Vanaprastham (1999) collapses the distance between art and life, mask and man, until everything becomes unbearable and beautiful at once. It also captures the core of Mohanlal's flexibility, bringing out one of Indian cinema's most intense performances. And Kutty Srank (2009) blends the mythic storytelling with a distinctly local sensibility, the rugged landscapes of the sea and forest becoming extensions of Mammootty 's title character. There is always a performance at the heart of his films, from the characters themselves, struggling to hold together some dignity in a world that threatens to unmake them. Grief in these films is not loud. It settles, heavy and wordless, across your chest, because Karun offered something very few filmmakers dare to: A mirror to our wounded selves. It is tempting to place Karun neatly alongside the other giants of Malayalam parallel cinema — Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan and John Abraham. But he arrived when their art had already opened the door. He walked through it carrying grief, separation and silence and a camera that knew how to wait. Where Adoor examined social structures and Aravindan conjured riddles, Karun stayed with something more fragile: The emotional residue of living. This sensibility gave him a global voice. Piravi earned him a Caméra d'Or mention at Cannes. Swaham was in the running for the Palme d'Or. Vanaprastham was selected in the Un Certain Regard section. But even as the world recognised him, Karun never became part of the noise. He stayed close to the ground, close to Kerala's soil, to its myths and music, its silences and losses. His films feel like they're happening somewhere close by, just beyond the next door. This isn't a curtain call. Karun's cinema was never meant to conclude, only to echo. His frames will stay alive in the quiet corners of our minds, like embers that never quite die out. Somewhere, a boat still drifts through mist. Somewhere, a silence still holds a story. And years from now, someone will definitely stumble upon one of his films and feel, without knowing why, a lump in their throat.
