Kindred Voices On The Passing Of The Cinematic Genius Shaji Karun News24 –

The brilliant visionary Shaji Karun had his own Gone With The Wind. If he had not directed any other film after Piravi, he would still be considered a master craftsman. He subsequently made six other films, all in his mother tongue, Malayalam, but none with the same impact as Piravi.

Jaya Bachchan wanted to remake Piravi in Hindi with she in Archana’s role. But Shaji was not keen. Recently, I asked Shaji Karun why only seven films in thirty-three years.

He replied, “Yes, seven films so far as a director. My last directorial Oolu was made in 2018. But it was released in 2019. I can’t rush to a new film just because I have to. Making films is a meditation for me. The inspiration has to come from within. It cannot be forced. Now additionally I’ve a big responsibility on my shoulder as the chairperson of the Films Development Corporation in Kerala. I have to make sure that the responsibility given to me—of ensuring all-round improvement and development in the Kerala film industry—is well executed. Once I get the problems sorted, I will move on and let the others deal with the execution of my ideas. But for now, I am totally involved with this job. As it is, two years have gone because of Covid. I’ve two films on hand. But on my request, the chief minister of Kerala gave me this job of upgrading cinema in Kerala. So that comes first. Once the process of development starts, I will get back to making a film. This time I promise you there won’t be a five-year gap.”

Tragically, Shaji’s promise of another film remained unfulfilled.

Says the doyenne of relevant cinema, Shabana Azmi: “I’m very saddened by his loss. I met him a couple of months ago and he seemed in good health. He’s from FTII and all alumni have an instinctive affinity. He has been an important filmmaker and his loss has become a loss for cineastes the world over. Piravi remains a testimony to his brilliance.”

Auteur filmmaker Sudhir Mishra says he met Shaji just a few weeks ago. “A visual poet, gone too soon. He still had the passion for Cinema and wanted to explore the medium. His cinematography replicated G Aravindan’s vision, and his masterly directorial debut Piravi is a classic. I was with him during the presentation ceremony of the Kerala State awards just 15 days ago. They gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award, thankfully just in time.”

Malayali Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, who was very close to Shaji Karun, is heartbroken. “He was a tremendous artist of a very high order, gone too soon. He not only reshaped the visual language of Indian Cinema through his cinematography in Aravindan’s films, Shaji Sir gave us all a sense of direction through his mainstream work as a cameraman. As a director he was profoundly successful as well. I can’t pinpoint a more personal yet political and poignant film of a very high order on the Emergency than Piravi. In the times where clutter and noises are identified as voices, Shaji Sir’s cinematic journey, mostly his work in Piravi and Swaham, stand apart as textbooks of artistic pursuit and cinematic brilliance! We will miss our dearest, bestest alumni and a visionary. This void will never be filled… gone too soon. I will miss him dearly, he was my elder brother in cinema and in life. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan closely bonded with Shaji Karun over their cinema. “Shaji Karun was the last real master filmmaker we have. He followed on the footsteps of Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Aravindan, first as a cinematographer, then as a filmmaker. His Piravi is a milestone in Indian cinema, not only winning laurels at Cannes but a mandatory textbook on mood, characterisation and most importantly, pace in cinema. It is a film I go back to every time I am criticized for ‘pace’ in my films. Shaji followed it up with the equally brilliant Vanaprastham, a film that is Mohanlal’s best performance. Shaji Karun has been one of the driving forces in my film career. He watched all my films and we have had healthy discussions on them.”

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