When Adoor Gopalakrishnan stepped on to the stage to receive the J.C. Daniel Award from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday evening, more than 15,000 people at the Municipal Stadium applauded loudly.
The biggest honour in Malayalam cinema may have come rather late for him, but the man who put our films on the world map richly deserved the moment.
That was also one of those moments that justified the government’s decision to make the State Film Awards in a public function at a large ground and turn into a big show of dance and music. The night, of course, belonged to the award winners, who received their prizes from Mr. Vijayan.
In his speech, the Chief Minister said that many of the award-winning films were about the oppressed and the marginalised. He also referred to the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and the growing intolerance in the country. “So many films have been objected to by the Censor Board over the last couple of years; even a documentary featuring Nobel laureate Amartya Sen wasn’t spared,” he said.
Culture Minister A.K. Balan said the State awards encouraged good cinema. “Two of the award-winning films were made at a budget of less than ₹15 lakhs at a time when producers are spending crores of rupees to make commercial films,” he said.
“This government is committed to take good cinema across the State by building theatres and through touring talkies.”
Ports Minister limited his speech to a song, rendering the evergreen melody “Chandrakalabham chaarthi...(Kottaram Vilkanundu). Health Minister K.K.Shylaja and Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan were among those who attended the function.
Veteran directors I.V. Sasi, T.V. Chandran, and K.P. Kumaran, actors Seema, Nilambur Ayisha, Kutyedathi Vilasini and Raghavan, producer P.V. Gangadharan, playback singer B. Vasantha and lyricist Poovachal Khadar were honoured.
Earlier, the function got off to a fine start with a Bharatanatyam performance by Shobana, herself a former winner of the State award for the best actress. There were, of course, more dances to follow, including a piece by local lad Vineeth, who also received the award for the best choreographer.
There was a lot of music, too. Fittingly, it was with a medley of Thalassery’s own legendary composer K. Raghavan that the music segment began. M. Jayachandran and V.T. Murali were among the singers.
A little later, Vasantha came back on the stage to render her hit song Kudamullappoovinum...(Jwala), in the company of Sudeep Kumar. That was followed by the even more popular Yavana Sundari... (Pearl View).
It truly was a night to remember for the art lovers of this historical town.