Govindan Aravindan

January 21, 1935 – March 15, 1991

Kottayam, Kerala, India

Govindan Aravindan was a pioneering filmmaker from Kerala and considered one of the greatest Indian directors. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmaking; he changed his cinematic forms consistently and experimented in storytelling without regular narrative styles. His first movie was 'Utharayanam' which was a product of his association with a group of enthusiasts experimenting with the new advances in the world of cinema. The film received critical acclaim and won the awards for best film, best director and best screenplay both at the state and national level. Thus Aravindan established himself as one of the top film makers of the country with his first movie itself. He went on to make several classics including 'Kanchana Seetha' which was a retake on the Ramayana, 'Thampu' which was hyper realistic drama, 'Pokkuveyil', 'Chidambaram' and 'Vasthuhara'. He won the national award for the best director three times and was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India for his services to cinema. Apart from film direction, Aravindan was also a well established cartoonist and painter. He also composed music for a handful of movies.