Experiments in Malayalam cinema

Kanchana Sita (1977)This film is the biggest experiment of G Aravindan. Here dialogues are minimal and prime importance is given to visuals and music. This film is an interpretation of the Uttara Kanda, the last segment, of the Ramayana. Film historian Amrit Gangar considers this as one of the finest experiments in Indian cinema. He says, “To shoot this film, Aravindan went to Andhra Pradesh in the tribal areas where the Chechu, the tribals, who believe they were the direct descendants of Ram, lived. He didn’t use the conventional imagery, such as regal headgear to portray Ram and Laxman. Instead, he portrayed them as tribals, something which is unusual for our cinema, and a political statement of sorts. This is how we retrieve from our traditions an understanding of modernity- what I call Prayoga.”Yaro Oral (1978)This was the debut of director V K Pavithran. It was one of the early experimental films of Malayalee cinema. Kerala-based film critic Jugu Abraham says, “This film is the best example of highly experimental cinema. It was shot partly in black and white and partly colour. An interesting thing about the film was that it dealt with surrealism.” It is a film about a childless woman who divorces her husband and marries his friend. Due to a strange turn of events she gives birth to an eight-year old child before she commits suicide and her second husband dies after her death. On the other hand, her former husband finds salvation in religion.