Remapping the Visual Contours: An Enquiry into the Film Narratives of Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Abstract

Adoor Gopalakrishan has been the greatest film director who had elevated Malayalam film to the level of World Cinema. Truly, he is the master craftsman of Indian cinema second only to Satyajit Ray. He had discovered the identity of Malayalam through his visual narratives. He had metamorphosed each film as an experience and eked out a new visual repertoire for Malayalam films. Hitherto, no serious study has been conducted to absorb the visual magnificence of Adoor films. Concerted efforts have been initiated in other Indian languages and world languages to trace the visual dynamics employed in Adoor films. When foreign film critics approach his films seriously, even today we often falter to imbibe the film sensitivity and culture kickstarted by Mr Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Still, he is the ‘unravished fragrance’ of Malayalam film industry. Adoor has been truly one of the masters of world cinema and had carved a special niche for him in the global film map. My paper tries to portray the new visual fervor inculcated by Adoor films in the Malayalam psyche and will unravel the subtle nuances which deeply touch the labyrinthine milieu of Malayalam film world.