Prolific is a word one would not associate with film-maker and cinematographer Shaji N. Karun, who passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday at the age of 73, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Over the five decades that he was active in cinema, he has made only six films and done cinematography for close to 30 films. But, almost every time he cranked the camera, everlasting images were born, deeply moving stories were told and the films won accolades on the world stage.
In G. Aravindan’s Kanchana Sita (1977), one of his first major works as a cinematographer, he had to make the images speak, for the characters had hardly any lines to utter. It was the beginning of a fruitful partnership, which reached its pinnacle in Kummatty (1979), in which Shaji evocatively captured the innocence of childhood and village life in rich colour palettes. A recent restoration of Kummatty by the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, a programme created by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, became a testimony of the timelessness of those images. Aravindan’s Esthappan (1979) also had some of his magical images.
With K.G. George
Most of his best works as a cinematographer were in the independent and middle of the road cinema that elevated Malayalam cinema in the 1980s. He also forged a memorable partnership with K.G. George, especially in capturing the complicated bridge collapse sequence in Panchavadippalam (1984) and in portraying the film industry’s dark underbelly in Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback (1983). Shaji shot M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Panchagni and Padmarajan’s Koodevide as well as Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil, along with Venu.
Darkness of ‘Piravi’
After over a decade as a cinematographer, he made his directorial debut with Piravi (1988), a moving portrayal of the real life story of a father’s search for his son whom the police detained illegally and later murdered during the Emergency. Although the filmmaker later denied the connection to the real life story of engineering student Rajan, the film is still counted among the best cinematic portrayals of the Emergency. Piravi became a landmark for Malayalam as well as Indian cinema, winning the Camera d’Or at Cannes and the Silver Leopard Award at the Locarno International Film Festival.
Steeped in sorrow
A deep sense of sorrow ran as a common theme through most of his films. Swaham (1994), his second film, had a mother and sister grieving for the loss of a young man, who goes for military recruitment to save the family from poverty. The film was chosen for the Palme d’Or competition at the Cannes Film Festival 1994. Shaji scored a hat-trick at Cannes when Vanaprastham (1999) was chosen to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. He inspired Mohanlal to bring out one of his greatest performances, as the backward caste Kathakali artist whose art is pushed into darker territories, forced by trials he faced in life.
The National Award-winning Kutty Srank (2010) turned into an interesting experiment with multiple narratives about a dead man, set against the colourful background of Chavittu Nadakam. His later works Swapaanam (2013) and Oolu (2018) did not quite manage to touch the heights attained by his first four films.
As important as his achievements as a filmmaker and cinematographer are his contributions as an institution builder for the Malayalam film industry. Along with film critic V.K. Joseph, he prepared the draft model for the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in the late 1998, the first such government initiative in any State in India. He helmed the Academy during its initial years, when he also played a key role in the organising of the first few editions of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). At the time of passing away, he had been helming the Kerala State Film Development Corporation for six years. The stint was marred by controversy after he faced criticism for the way he handled the government’s project to promote films by women filmmakers and those from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.
His last public appearance was to receive the J.C .Daniel Award, the Kerala government’s honour for lifelong contributions to cinema, two weeks ago in the capital. In a way, it was a fitting finale for a life dedicated to cinema.
Published – April 28, 2025 08:37 pm IST