Priyadarshan, A 66-Year-Old Man And A 39-Year-Old Director

Priyadarshan has a talent for making us laugh. Over the course of his 39-year career as a director, he has demonstrated this several times.

Is that all he has accomplished? Without a doubt! He has also cast some of the most well-known personalities in Indian cinema in the parts that have shaped their careers. The list includes Mohanlal, the king of Malayalam cinema, and Akshay Kumar, the king of Bollywood, in addition to Paresh Rawal, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Rajpal Yadav, Nedumudi Venu, KPAC Lalitha, Revathi, Shobana, Jagathy Sreekumar, Lissy, Innocent, and MG Soman

In 1978’s Thiranottam, a Malayalam movie that also served as Mohanlal’s playing debut, Priyadarshan made his directorial debut as an assistant. The actor Maniyanpilla Raju and the producer G Suresh Kumar, both of whom went on to become well-known personalities in the Malayalam cinema industry, were also involved in the making of this movie. Due to alleged censorship concerns, the movie’s initial release was postponed, and it wasn’t released until 2005.

Kilukkam, Chithram, Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu, Vellanakalude Nadu, Vandanam, Thalavattam, Thenmavin Kombath, Kaalapani, Chandralekha, and Mithunam are some of his most well-known Malayalam movies. He also received recognition across India for his Bollywood films Hera Pheri, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Hung

Priyadarshan has had both ups and downs in his illustrious cinema career, particularly in his native country. But it is undeniable that he was instrumental in some of Malayalam cinema’s greatest triumphs. Let’s take a look at the director’s Malayalam filmography over the years as he turns 66 on January 30.

The 80s

With pioneers like K G George, G Aravindan, Bharathan, P Padmarajan, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan producing back-to-back masterpieces, Malayalam cinema was experiencing a paradigm shift when Priyadarshan debuted with his rambunctious Poochakkoru Mookkuthi (1984), starring Mohanlal, Shankar, Menaka, Nedumudi Venu, and Sukumari among others. The film was a huge success and inspired a tonne of other screwball comedies in Malayalam. In the same year, he directed the wildly popular Odaruthammava Aalariyam, another screwball comedy.

The years 1985 and 1986 were quite busy for the director, who oversaw a total of 11 films. During these years, Priyadarshan experimented with a variety of genres, including tragicomedy (Thalavattam), slapstick comedy (Aram + Aram = Kinnaram), and crime drama (Parayanumvayya Parayathirikkanumvayya). Naturally, all of the films were moderate to massive successes, making him one of the most prosperous directors of the time. He also wrote the scripts for Alleppey Ashraf’s Ninnishtam Ennishtam and Sibi Malayil’s Chekkeranoru Chilla in 1986.

In 1987, the director went backwards after failing to make his Tamil film business directorial debut. Although filming for his Karthik and Rekha-starring Chinnamanikkuyile was virtually finished, the movie was never released for unidentified reasons. In that year, he only produced one other film, the drama Cheppu.

Kilukkam, one of Malayalam cinema’s best comedies, was produced in 1991 by Priyadarshan and actor-screenwriter Venu Nagavalli. It was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of its time and was seen in theatres for more than 365 days. Malayali fans still recall every frame, scene, and word from the film since it had such a profound effect on Keralan popular culture.

Abhimanyu and Adhwaytham, T Damodaran’s following two films, were both commercially successful crime dramas. Before taking a year sabbatical from directing Malayalam films, Priyadarshan returned to his comfort zone in 1993 with the family comedy Mithunam.

The two Malayalam movies the filmmaker produced in 1994, Thenmavin Kombath and Minnaram, were not only critical and financial hits but also two of the most cherished Mohanlal movies ever.

To establish himself as a thorough director who was capable of more than just slapstick and screwball, the director had to wait 22 years. Priyadarshan directed the superbly executed Kaalapani in 1996. According to several press reports, the film cost roughly between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 5 crore, making it the most expensive Malayalam film made up to that moment. Additionally, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi dubs of the film were made and distributed. The film’s prologue was narrated in the Hindi version by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who also bought the Hindi dubbing rights. Four National Film Awards were given to the movie, including Best Cinematography (Santosh Sivan), Best Art Direction (Sabu Cyril), Best Special Effects (S T Venky), and Best Audiography (Deepan Chatterji). Additionally, the movie won seven Kerala State Film Awards.

Connect With Debonair Magazine On Social Media [ Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn ] To Get Real-Time Updates On The Market. Also, Registrations Are Open For Ms. & Mrs Debonair, Register Now And Be The Rising Queen