An eventful chapter in Malayalam cinema comes to an end with the demise of scenarist T. Damodaran. One of the most prolific and successful scriptwriters of Malayalam moviedom, Damodaran turned his back on social dramas and family melodramas. He shifted the focus to the political arena of a State that was in the throes of change after the ‘Gulf' phenomenon and the Emergency had redrawn the contours of Kerala's economy and society. In the company of veteran film director I.V. Sasi, he ushered in a new genre in Malayalam tinsel town that derived its plot from contemporary events and socio-political issues that were in the headlines.
“He brought in the drama of everyday politics and laid bare the political class that was fighting to serve its own interests. He was a trendsetter who brought to the screen the underlying sense of disillusionment and cynicism that prevailed after the Emergency,” says film critic C.S. Venkiteswaran.
New scene
It focussed on a new scene in Mollywood – one that saw the emergence of multi-starrers that raked in the moolah. Despite the presence of several actors, Damodaran ensured that each character of his was well fleshed out and had a significant role to play in the large canvas of his films. Venkiteswaran adds that although there were earlier films that negotiated political and social issues, many of those films were more of idealism than of realism. Damodaran's films were reflections of life, warts included. “His greatest contribution was the deconstruction of the conventional hero and substituting it for the collective force of the people as he showed in ‘Eenadu.' He showed that the system could be changed only through collective power and one man could not take on the establishment. In a way he was presenting an alternative to the established political norms,” analyses B. Unnikrishan, critic, scenarist, and director.
As Unnikrishnan points out, while sketching out his large canvasses peopled with hundred of characters, Damodaran proved wrong the theory that too many talking heads could pull down a screenplay. Candidly adding that he considered scenarist-directors like Ranji Panicker and himself as students of the master, he adds that no one had succeeded like Damodaran maash in bringing mainstream politics into cinema.
“One has to understand that Damodaran's movies were made at a time when the corridors of power were insulated from the public eye. There was no television. So his movies ripped the mask off the political-bureaucratic system. Direct references to politics, political statements, hunger, unemployment… things that were once considered beyond the realm of mainstream cinema, were heard loud and clear in his films.”
Vitriolic dialogues
His hard-hitting vitriolic dialogues spared no one and were a precursor to the latter-day dialogues of super cops and mavericks who dared take on the system. He also had the singular ability to weave in numerous personal narratives into the fabric of a film. They were not sub-plots that meandered into cul-de-sacs but unforgettable profiles of characters that drew sustenance from the larger theme of the film and also complemented it. Thus, although his movies took on the establishment, it never lost track of the personal. Those little stories of people and their lives neatly fell into place as the film raced to its denouement.
Perhaps it would not be wrong to say that his films played a major role in catapulting today's superstars into that league. It was his pen that created some of the most memorable characters enacted by the late Jayan, Mammootty, and Mohanlal. Moreover, such was the craft in his scripts that many actors could be easily accommodated in his multi-layered stories.
“There were only actors when one was watching a T. Damodaran-I.V. Sasi film and no superstars. In fact, when the stars found it difficult to be one among many, it gradually paved the way to the ascendancy of the superstars,” explains Venkiteswaran. In fact, among the humongous success of Damodaran's political dramas, it is easy to forget that Mohanlal got his major break as a hero in a film that was scripted by Damodaran – ‘Kattathe Killikoodu.' “His heroes had shades of the anti-hero and were often found fighting for the marginalised in society. By basing many of his films in Kozhikode, Damodaran's scripts focussed on vignettes of society that often went unnoticed in many romantic films of the past. He brought in a regional flavour that was missing in Malayalam cinema,” adds Venkiteswaran. Damodaran was also perhaps the first scenarist in Malayalam cinema to write a trilogy – ‘Eenadu,' ‘Innallenkil Naale,' and ‘Iniyenkilum.'
But it would be wrong to confine the master writer to a certain genre only. In addition to the acerbic themes that were his signature, he had also written movies like the delightful ‘Anavaalmothiram' and ‘Megham,' which could also be called a rom-com. Period flicks like ‘1921' and ‘Kaalpani' had also been scripted by him.
The last film Damodaran had written was V.M. Vinu's ‘Yes Your Honour.' His interest in films did not stop at scripts. He had also acted in a few films and the last was in Ranjith's movie ‘Paleri Manickyam.'
Theatre and football
The former theatre person and ardent fan of football never lost his interest in both. In a previous interview to the The Hindu MetroWeekend , Damodaran's eldest daughter Deedi Damodaran, a scenarist herself, had remarked how her father used to say aloud the dialogues in his screenplays, complete with modulation. Perhaps the theatre person in him had never quit being an actor. She also recounted how her football-loving father had named her and her sisters after Brazilian footballers, Deedi and Vava and Garrincha!
As the credits roll in the history of Malayalam cinema, T. Damodaran's is one name that will never fade into obscurity.
He was my guru
Filmmaker Priyadarsan, who is also Chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, has directed several scripts that were written by T. Damodaran. He had also directed him in a cameo role in his movie ‘Killichundan Mambazham.’
Although the film director was in the middle of a shoot in Mumbai, Priyan did not postpone it to another day to talk about his ‘guru.’ “We had worked together on several films. In fact, other than my comedies in Malayalam, many of my serious films were by this great writer. Right from ‘Aryan’ to ‘Megham,’ each movie that we worked on was a learning experience for me. He was not only a scriptwriter, he was my guru. Being a voracious reader, he would do a great deal of research before embarking on any script. For instance, while we were doing ‘Aryan’ and ‘Abhimanyu,’ he told me the history of the underworld in Mumbai. He was very particular that his scripts should be based on facts and not fiction. He used to insist on telling the truth, no matter how unpleasant it was. So, that was why there was nothing fake about his films. He went to extraordinary lengths to get his facts right. When we were doing ‘Kaalapani,’ he told me how the Second World War affected Indians and India’s struggle for freedom. For ‘Megham,’ he researched the protocol in the Indian army, their language, their style of functioning and so on. As it is said: ‘Mata, Pitah, Guru, Daivam.’ He is my guru and has a special place in my heart. “On a personal level, Damodaran maash was close to my wife, Lizzie, too, and had accompanied her on her first trip to Guruvayoor. He was the first person, other than Lizzie and me, to see my first born,” recalls Priyadarsan.
Success story
Yes Your Honour
Megham
Kalapani
Advaitham
Abhimanyu
Aryan
Inspector Balram
Aanaval Mothiram
1921
Adimakal Udamakal
Adiverukal
Avanazhi
Ithiri Poove Chuvanna Poove
Unaru
Kattathe Kilikkoodu
Iniyenkilum
Innallenkil Naale
Eenadu
Thusharam
Ahimsa
Meen
Angadi
