My films have always invited criticism: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

KOCHI: There is no need to teach scriptwriting and film direction in a school, said director Adoor Gopalakrishnan. There should be steps to create an appetite for voracious reading and a taste for art among students, he said.  Adoor was conversing with John Samuel on ‘Theatre and Cinema’ at the Krithi Literary Festival at Bolgatty Palace on Friday.

‘’I don’t think there is a need to teach script writing. A script is a guide for a director to make a film. Most of my scripts were developed as the shooting progressed. It will be totally different from the script prepared before starting the shooting. I don’t think people who never wrote a play, novel or poetry or acted in a drama can do anything in cinema. My films have always invited criticism. When ‘Swayamvaram’ was released, nobody accepted it. Some people alleged ‘Mukhamukham’ was opposing Communist ideology. Now, they have turned against ‘Pinneyum’,” said Adoor.

He alleged the people who criticise his film ‘Pinneyum’ don’t know what cinema is. “I can only make the film in my mind. Among my films, ‘Pinneyum’ is the one I love the most. To understand cinema, we should understand world cinema,” he said. Dileep is among the best actors in Malayalam cinema, he said.