Uttarayanam

Uttarayanam (English: Throne of Capricorn) is a 1975 Malayalam film directed by G. Aravindan and written by Thikkodiyan. Aravindan, who is considered the doyen of Malayalam parallel cinema, debuted with this film. The film, which exposes opportunism and hypocrisy set against the back drop of the Independence struggle, is inspired by Aravindan's own cartoon series, titled Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum (Small World and a Big People), which was published in Mathrubhumi for several years.

The film is about Ravi, an unemployed young man, who has to face a series of encounters during his search for a job. Ravi reflects on the past struggles of the anti-British freedom fighters he has learned about from his paralyzed father. He eventually meets Gopalan Muthalaly, a leader of Quit India movement, but now a corrupt contractor. Mohandas plays the protagonist and Kunju, Balan K. Nair, Adoor Bhasi, Kunjandi and Sukumaran play other roles. The film garnered wide critical praise and several awards, including five Kerala State Film Awards upon release. Widely regarded as one of the finest films of Aravindan, it has influenced the parallel cinema movement in Kerala to a great extent.

G. Aravindan

Govindan Aravindan (Malayalam: ഗോവിന്ദന്‍ അരവിന്ദന്‍; 21 January 1935 – 15 March 1991), popularly known as G. Aravindan, was a film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist and painter from Kerala, India. He was one of the pioneers of Parallel Cinema in Malayalam and is considered as one of the greatest filmmakers of India. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmaking; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in storytelling without regular narrative styles. Before venturing into the film field, he was an established cartoonist. He had also worked with documentaries and theatre. He also occasionally directed music for other filmmakers. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990.

Biography

G. Aravindan was the son of famous comedy writer M. N. Govindan Nair. Aravindan started his professional life as a cartoonist for the journal Mathrubhumi. He established himself as a noted cartoonist in the early 1960s with his cartoon series Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum which dealt with the adventures of the central characters Ramu and Guruji, mingled with political and social satire. The series was preceded by two more cartoon series, Ramuvinte Sahasika Yathrakal and Guruji, featuring the central characters of Cheriya Manushyarum Valiya Lokavum. He also worked for other journals as a cartoonist. At one point, Aravindan diverted his attention to theatre and music. He played a major role in establishing theatre and music clubs Navarangam and Sopanam. He became associated with eminent theatre figure Kavalam Narayana Panicker which accelerated his activities in the field of professional play. They created several plays like Kaali and Avanavan Kadamba. Aravindan was working as an officer in revenue board when he got associated with artist Devan, playwright Thikkodiyan and writer Pattathuvila Karunakaran.