Hi, I am Shiju Nambiath; I consider myself as a very lucky man; fortunate enough to live under the great banyan tree called Malayalam Film Industry; that is blessed with the presence of great geniuses both in the field and those who disappeared behind the curtain of time. Here in this column I would like to share with my readers my only wealth -fifteen years of give and take with the industry; acquaintance with great maestros, their cinema-both classic and contemporary; style of work etc (all I could see hear and experience in one and a half decades). This is a humble attempt of an ordinary man who had nothing as capital but uncontrollable passion and love to the tinsel world.
My debut with the industry -while studying for Pre-Degree) is writing a script and a ten km bicycle ride from Alappuzha to S L Puram to see Mr. Anand (popularly known as S L Puram Anand); with no introduction or recommendation but a script written in a notebook was carefully tucked between the gear-case of the bicycle. From there my saga for becoming a part of the action continued; later my consistent attempts took me to Mr. Cherian Kalpakavady-script writer to film "Pakshe" (directed by Mohan starring Mohanlal).
Assistant Script-writer was the first title I could garner for the film "Sakshyam". During the course I was fortunate enough to be the Assistant Director to big names like Venu Nagavally, Vipin Mohan etc; Worked as Script Associate with T. A. Shahid to create "Raja Manikyam, Ben Johnson "etc; all of them turned out to be super hits. The mantle of "ghost writer" also has not eluded me; more than four films made me a ghost!
Yet satisfaction eluded me until Mr. Major Ravi invited me to be a Screen-play Associate for his films like "Keerthi-chakra", "Mission 90 Days", "Kuru-Kshetra" etc all did well in the box office. Among them "Keerthi Chakra" got many accolades including State Award for Best Screen-Play. Two journeys to Kashmir in connection with Mr. Major Ravis films really enriched my film and life experiences in many aspects. That birth-day I could celebrate on the banks of River Sindhu (Indus River) that flows through the snow clad hills of the Himalayas remains as the most unforgettable one in my life. The team camped there (Sonar Marg) en route to Kargil-the place known for Pakistani infiltration that triggered an Indo-Pak war.
What I have to say are mostly first person in nature; some of the here-says happened to be heard in the course of work, personal glimpses of great artists, off-camera scenes of cinemas and all I happened to witness or hear are being expressed through this view-finder. It is my humble invitation to all viewers to see it, express their comments, criticisms, their own related experiences in the comments column.
An Introduction to Malayalam Movies
Malayalam Movies from 1928 - 1949 |
