John Abraham (director)
John Abraham | |
---|---|
Born | Marthoma College Film and Television Institute of India | 11 August 1937
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
Notes | |
"A Wonder in World Cinema" – Adoor Bhasi |
John Abraham (11 August 1937 – 31 May 1987) was an Indian filmmaker,
Early life
John Abraham was born in
Career
John entered the film industry working as an
He completed only four films, namely
Odessa Collective
Under John, the Odessa Collective came into existence in 1984 with a street drama in Fort Kochi named Nayykali (The game of dogs). Odessa was an attempt by a group of movie enthusiasts to change the history of film production and distribution by making it a collaborative effort with the public and thus act as an empowering and liberating medium.[11] For the financing of the first film produced by Odessa, John and his friends travelled through villages and collected money from the general public.[12] Odessa also collected funds for the film by screening Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. The film, Amma Ariyan (Report to mother) (1986) was exhibited across the state of Kerala on a non-commercial basis,[13] an initiative kept alive, after John's death, by his colleague and co-founder of Odessa Collective, Odessa Sathyan.[14]
He started shooting a documentary based on the life of
The media called him Ottayan (The Lone Tusker).[16]
He has left behind a number of complete and incomplete scripts. A collection of his stories had been published under the title Nerchakkozhi. Another collection of his stories has been published posthumously under the title John Abrahaminte Kathakal by Pakshikkottam Books, Thiruvananthapuram in 1993.[17][18]
Death
On 30 May 1987 John was admitted to the
Filmography
- Documentaries
- 1967: Koyna Nagar – Director (in English) – Unreleased
- 1969: Priya – Director (in Hindi) – (John's Diploma film at FTII, Pune)
- 1969: Hides and Strings – Director (in English)
- Feature films
- 1972: Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile (This Way, Students) – Director (in Malayalam)
- Screenplay: M Azad — Cast: Madhu, Adoor Bhasi, Manorama, S. V. Ranga Rao, Jayabharathi, S. P. Pillai – Cinematography: Ramachandra Babu – Music: M. B. Sreenivasan
- 1977: Agraharathil Kazhuthai (Donkey in the Elite Colony) – Director and screenwriter (in Tamil)
- Screenplay: Venkat Saminathan – Cast: M. B. Sreenivasan, |Swathi, Savitri, Raman Veeraraghavan – Cinematography: Ramachandra Babu – Art Director: Jeevan Thomas — Music: M. B. Sreenivasan
- 1979: Cheriyachante Kroorakrithyangal (Cruelties of Cheriyachan) – Director and screenwriter (in Malayalam)
- Cast:
- 1986: Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother) – Director and screenwriter (in Malayalam)
- Cast: Joy Mathew, Maji Venkitesh, Nilambur Balan, Harinarayanan, Sara Thomas – Cinematography: Venu– Music: Sunitha
- Cast:
Books
- Nerchakkozhi (1986)
- John Abrahaminte Kathakal (1993)
Awards
- 1977 – Agraharathil Kazhuthai[21]
- 1986 – Special Jury Award – Amma Ariyan[22]
- 1979 – Special Jury Award – Cheriyachente Kroora Krithyangal[23]
Legacy
According to one reviewer, John Abraham has influenced an entire generation of filmmakers to think and create content beyond the ordinary. He's one of the founding fathers of Independent Cinema in Malayalam.[24]
John Abraham Award
The Federation of Film Societies of India – Kerala instituted the John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Film in 1998. The John Abraham National Awards for Documentary and Short Features are awarded since 2005 for the best documentary and short feature screened in the SIGNS, festival organised by Federation of Film Societies of India – Kerala.[25]
References
- ^ a b K. N. Shaji, ed. (2011). John Abraham. Chintha Publishers.
- ^ Mathrubhumi Weekly: 22.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link - ^ "Top 10 Indian Films". British Film Institute. 2002. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- IBNLive. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ a b Gaekwad, Manish (1 October 2015). "Will the real John Abraham please stand up?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Remembering filmmaker John Abraham: When a donkey became the central character of his film - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Vidyaarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972)". www.malayalachalachithram.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time | Movies News Photos-IBNLive". 25 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "John Abraham: Cheriyachente Kroora Krithyangal". 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Sudhish, Navamy (9 June 2018). "John, the iconic filmmaker, comes alive on screen". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Economic Times of India: John Abraham: New Indian Cinema's most creative representative
- ^ "John Abraham". Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
- ^ "National Portal of India".
- ^ "Mathrubhumi". Article and video. Mathrubhumi. 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "John Abraham and the Socio-Political Contexts of New Cinema in Kerala". sahapedia. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ @AkashvaniAIR (8 November 2016). ""Ottayan- The Lone Tusker" The programme will detail the life and legacy of John Abraham, hailed as 'Ottayan' or the 'Lone Tusker.'" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ JOHN ABRAHAMINTE KATHAKAL. 30 October 2021. ASIN 812645220X.
- ^ "ജോൺ ഏബ്രഹാമിന്റെ കഥകൾ" [John Abrahaminte Kathakal]. www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Abhish K Bose (12 June 2013). Later, neuro-surgeon B.Iqbal lamented and apologized for Abraham's pathetic death. While Abraham was fighting for his life at the casualty room in Calicut Medical College, Iqbal was working there. "John Abraham was unknown to medical staff". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "26 years after John Abraham’s death, an autopsy on Facebook". The Hindu. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ "25th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "34th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "State Film Awards (1969-80)". Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "The legend of John - Sreekumar AT - The Sunday Indian". www.thesundayindian.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "John Abraham Awards for Best Malayalam Cinema - Looking Back". ffsikeralam.in. Federation of Film Societies of India (Kerala). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
Further reading
- Kandukuri Ramesh Babu. A Tribute to John Abraham, an Avant-Garde Film Director.
- Kumar, P. K. Ajith (6 December 2019). "A tribute to director John Abraham". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
External links
- John Abraham at IMDb
- Profile at Cinemaofmalayalam
- Profile at Weblokam
- A tribute to Ritwik Ghatak by John
- Amma Ariyan, a study – Manuvilsan, Rajmohan
- Remembering John – Adoor Bhasi (Malayalam)
- Remembering John – Ramachandra Babu (Malayalam)
- Remembering John – Venu (Malayalam)
- Remembering John – M.B. Sreenivasan (Malayalam)
- Remembering John – Adoor Gopalakrishnan
- John Abraham on Indian Film Database by Chaosmag
- John Abraham: New Indian Cinema's most creative representative
- Legacy of John Abraham lives on – (Anand Haridas)
- John Abraham – A Biography
- Trailing an icon
- Yours Truly John – Trailer