If versatility is the parameter to measure the caliber and range of an artist or a director, then there is a director in Malayalam film industry who fits into that bill completely. He has had a stint in all types of movies, right from the parallel cinema to the mainstream commercial cinema. No prizes for guessing, it is none other than the maverick filmmaker Jayaraj. But less often we have seen his name being mentioned among the stalwarts of Malayalam cinema. He definitely deserves a place in the Hall of fame for some outstanding works and contributions that he has given to the industry.Here is a journey through the works and contributions of the versatile filmmaker of Malayalam cinema.
A start with the stalwart of Malayalam cinema:
Jayaraj had a dream start to his film career as he got the opportunity to assist Bharathan, one of the finest filmmakers that Malayalam cinema has ever seen. After completing his graduation in Engineering he took up the path of cinema and assisted Bharathan in 7 films before becoming an independent director.
He debuted as a director through ‘Vidyarambham’ in the year 1988.The film starred Sreenivasan and Gouthami in lead roles and the movie had a socially relevant message which was conveyed with humour in right proportions.He followed it with 'Akasha Kotayile Sulthan', again with Sreenivasan in the lead role. This film too was a movie with simple humour.
The Western Style of Making:
Poetic films:
Jayaraj came with ‘Deshadanam’ in the year 1997, which was a much appreciated work and a movie that
would leave you with tears on your eyes
anytime that you watch it. The best part is in the fact that the movie was
critically and commercially successful. The movie fetched the National Award
for Best Malayalam film that year.
Master of Adaptations:
Jayaraj again tried his hands in adaptations by coming up
with ‘Kannaki’ in 2001 which was based on Shakespeare’s story of Antony and
Cleopatra. The movie was set on a rural village where cock fight is considered to
be the common sport. Lal and Nandita Das did the main roles in the movie.
The commercial game:
The Trendsetter:
‘Navarasa’ film series:
Man with numerous Awards:
Jayaraj is one among few Malayalam film directors to receive National recognition. Jayaraj won the National award for best director award for his movie Kaliyaattam. It should be noted that not many Malayalam film directors have gained this recognition. Again in the year 2001, his film ‘Shantham’ was adjudged as the Best film at the National film awards. Apart from this his movies have also been popular in State film awards circuit. He won the best director award at Kerala State Awards for Deshadanam in 1996.
There was a time when Jayaraj movies were considered to be the best platform to bring in lot of recognition. Such is his ability to extract the best from his team. List of awards won by his films stands as a testimony of that.
Jayaraj makes sure to bring out the best from his performers. Suresh Gopi got the role of his lifetime through ‘Kaliyaatam’. We got to see a never seen Suresh Gopi through this film and rightly the film fetched the actor his first State and National awards for best actor.
National recognition came in searching for KPAC Lalitha for her powerful performance in the movie Shantham. She won the best Supporting actress award in the year 2001.
The same is applicable to other technicians and artists who have associated with Jayaraj movies. K J Yesudas won the National Award for Best singer for rendering a song in Jayaraj movie Sopanam. It should also be noted that , the new actor in ‘Ottal’ was shortlisted for the best actor in the recently announced National film awards.
Contributions:
Apart from the memorable movies that he has made, there have been many other vital contributions from him for the industry. ‘Lal’ from the Siddique – Lal team who was initially reluctant about acting in films made his debut through the film Kaliyaattam. Lal was offered an antagonistic role and Jayaraj was spot on with his selection.
Many don’t know that Jeethu Joseph, who is one of the most bankable and creative filmmakers of Malayalam cinema at present, started his film career by assisting Jayaraj. Jeethu joseph was a part of the crew in Jayaraj movies like Thilakkam.
‘Loudspeaker’, the film starring Mammootty and which was written and directed by Jayaraj is the first Malayalam mainstream commercial cinema to employ sync sound recording. It was something that Malayalam films didn’t try doing but Jayaraj came up to bring in a change.
‘Lajjavathiye’, the song from ‘4 the people’ still ranks at the top among the songs which created frenzy waves in Malayalam cinema. Jayaraj gave a new Music director and singer in the form of Jassie Gift to Malayalam cinema.
Failures that could have been avoided:
Like any other director, Jayaraj too has many failures to credit. Sad part is in the fact that these failures could have been avoided. For that reason, he is being considered as a director who has given films at two extremes. He is also being blamed for becoming inconsistent with his works. When he made movies like ‘4 The People’, he also gave some forgettable movies in the form of its sequels like ‘Of the People’ which were trashed heavily by the critics and audiences alike. He tried follow the trend that he set through ‘Rain Rain come again’ but was largely unsuccessful.
But With ‘Ottaal’, the film of the moment , Jayaraj is back
into action. The film has won various national and state film awards and it
could be easily said that Jayaraj is back to his best reiterating the phrase that 'Form is temporary but Class is
permanent.'
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