Reeltime: Malayalam’s innovative auteur

March 08, 2015 08:22 pm | Updated 08:30 pm IST

A. Vincent

A. Vincent

Think of A. Vincent and what strikes you first is his invaluable contributionto cinema. What one tends to forget is the rough road he traversed, the determination, undying enthusiasm, and struggles he went through to achieve his goal. And it was these experiences that helped him when he embarked on a journey into the world of cinema.

Vincent was born on June 14, 1928 in Kozhikode, the son of a photographer. His penchant for photography, therefore, was only natural; it was in the genes. Vincent also had a flair for painting and all these talents were put to use when he began film making.

Young Vincent used to spend long hours in the dark room of his father George’s Chithra Studio. It was here that he picked up the rudimentary lessons in the use of the camera. Along with this, Vincent also pursued his passion for painting.

While studying at the Malabar Christian College, Vincent got a chance to participate in a painting exhibition in Madras. He felt this was his chance to break away from the confines of the studio and perhaps even seek out ways to study cinematography.

Determined to find an opening Vincent stayed back in Madras even after the exhibition ended. He began knocking the doors of the studios hoping one of them would open for him. That’s when he got permission to visit Gemini Studios through the efforts of Achuthan Nair, an Income Tax officer, who was also from Kozhikode. This was the chance Vincent was looking for and soon was appointed as a studio boy there.

The two years he spent at Gemini Studios were miserable. He was ordered to do all sorts of work, which he did without any complaint. Leading cinematographer of the time K. Ramnath noticed the young boy’s enthusiasm. Ramnath also observed that the young man showed keen interest in the camera, standing near it, peering through the lens during the breaks between shooting. It was Ramnath who first asked Vincent if he was prepared to study cinematography.

Vincent became Ramnath’s disciple and he quickly learnt the tricks of the trade. For some time Vincent trained under the noted cinematographer Kamal Ghosh. But those lovely days soon came to an end. Vincent could not continue in Madras for long. He returned home and began assisting his father in the studio. This did not deter him from sending applications to the various studios in Madras and Bombay. However none of them even bothered to reply, much to his disappointment.

It was at this very crucial phase of his life that Vincent got a telegram from P. Bhaskaran, who he knew earlier. The telegram simply read ‘Rush to Cochin immediately.’ And Vincent did exactly that. This proved to be the turning point in Vincent’s life.

In Cochin, Vincent met producer T.K. Pareekutty who offered to appoint him as an independent cameraman for his maiden film Neelakuyil . Incidentally, it was with Pareekutty’s Bhargavinilayam , that Vincent made his debut as director.

The success of Neelakuyil opened doors to Tamil cinema. The first Tamil movie for which he cranked the camera was Amaradeepam . But the film which gave him the huge break was Kalyanaparisu . The triumph of these films generated a belief among Tamil producers that Vincent’s camera was a sure bet and that it would ensure the success of the film despite all odds. And Vincent vindicated this belief. Soon, Vincent was much sought-after in Telugu and Hindi films. Interestingly, the first award he got was from the Madras Film Fans Association in 1960.

M.T. Vasudevan Nair made his film debut as scriptwriter for Murappennu and Vincent was the director. When Kerala Government instituted awards for excellence in Malayalam films in 1969, Vincent was adjudged Best Director for the film Nadi .

Vincent was a perfectionist who would take any risk for a perfect shot. Those were times when Malayalam films were shot inside studios. Vincent, in his films, very creatively and skilfully created the ambience of the outdoors in the studio. Again, though it is widely believed that it was Bharathan who introduced the concept of storyboard, old timers vouch that Vincent used a rough form of this much earlier. He used to be seen peering into it during breaks preparing for the next shot.

Vincent went on to direct many Malayalam films of which some such as Nagarame Nandi , Asuravithu , Thulabharam , Thriveni stand out for his directorial brilliance. In 1996, he was honoured with the J.C. Daniel Award for his outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema. He remained a mentor to a whole lot of young cinematographers and directors till his death on February 25, 2015. Two of his sons Jayan and Ajayan have followed their father’s footsteps.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.