Portrait of an artist as a film-maker

Conventional themes have no space in his celluloid vision. His characters are from a familiar milieu; they are fallible, flawed and flawed against.

His oeuvre mirrors emotions in motion even as it tells poignant tales. That then is what sets Malayalam director Shyamaprasad apart.

He is now delving deep into the rather confined world of a visually-challenged artist, through his yet-to-be released film ‘Artist’. To date, he remains an unconventional film-maker in a world of conventional ones. “There is only one way to do it. Don’t think you are conventional. Just follow your instincts,” he says. Exceptional literary works have been a source for many of his films. For instance, Akale was based on Tennessee William’s ‘The Glass Menagerie’.

 Does good cinema come from good literature? “It can, but not necessarily. Literary works can be an excellent base but it’s just a base and not the film. Film is a different medium,” he says.

But is the film-maker doing justice to the author? “I don’t look at it like that. I am not here to be loyal to the author. I am here to be loyal to my film, my audience and to myself. The author is the starting point, I have to transform the work and effectively communicate it as a film-maker. If the film is done honestly and truthfully, automatically, it would become a faithful interpretation of the book,” he says.
His latest film ‘Artist’ too is off the beaten path. “It has an unconventional theme and is based on a story by Paritosh Uttam. It’s about a visually-challenged artist and how he negotiates the big bad world of art. There are extreme dramatic happenings. It’s also an intense study of the artist,” he informs. Fahadh Faasil plays the protagonist.

“Fahadh’s a fantastic actor and suitable for this role,” he says. “I have worked with stars and non-stars, some who made it big later. Stars do help in the market. And now there is the requirement for effective marketing,” he adds. How will the conservative section of the audience receive this film? “If it has touched me, the truth and validity of it will touch the audience too,”

he says. Point out how observant he is of the human nature, and he says, “Well, it happens automatically. Every artiste has to be observant. That higher sensitivity makes you different from the ordinary person. He has a much stronger perception of life.”

Theatre, meanwhile, continues to be of intrinsic interest to him. Unfortunately, barring a few like him, those doing literary adaptions in films are not many. How bad is the scenario? “Good content is definitely missing. There are not many capable writers for films, only those who attempt writing.

It’s an unfortunate trend and it’s growing,” he says. As it stands, Indian films are becoming synonymous with Bollywood, and only Bollywood. He agrees how some regional films are not getting the due they deserve.

“In Cannes and Venice festivals, you have glam dolls, which is very sad. It brings down the aesthetic quality of such venues. But life is changing. And cinema is only a part of life,” he adds.