Tribute: The legacy and top 5 films of KG George, the village boy who disrupted mainstream filmmaking in Malayalam cinema

KG George, who died in Kochi on September 24 at the age of 77, was a trailblazer in Malayalam cinema who discarded stereotypes and created new forms (Photo: Wikipedia Commons)

In the summer of 1982, KG George set the stage for Yavanika, considered the Malayalam filmmaker's masterpiece, with a song written by the Jnanpith-winning poet ONV Kurup. Sung by a young KJ Yesudas and George's wife Selma, the song invoked sage Bharat, the author of a treatise on drama and dance, to introduce his film about a murder in a theatre troupe.

The propitious Yesudas-Selma song about Bharata Muni predicted a new kind of story for an imaginary audience. Heralding a new way of storytelling in Malayalam cinema was also what George, who died in Kochi on September 24 at the age of 77, did in a career spanning more than three decades.

"I am lucky to have worked with a legend like K G George," says Jalaja, who played a major role in Yavanika in an ensemble cast of Bharat Gopi, Venu Nagavally, Nedumudi Venu, Thilakan, Mammootty, Sreenivasan and Ashokan. Jalaja, who debuted in G Aravindan's Thampu (1977), had joined a KG George film just two years later. "I was new in cinema and had no clue what to do. We had to depend on the director and KG George was reassuring and encouraging," she adds. If  George's quest for truth in art played out in Yavanika, Ulkadal probed youthful innocence in Kerala's first film set on a college campus.

Two years ago, on the set of the Fahadh Faasil-starring Malik, its director Mahesh Narayanan's first words to Jalaja were not acting directions. "We all grew up watching Yavanika. It was one of the classics," a deferential Narayanan told her as the younger colleagues crowding around them nodded in acknowledgement. "Even after four decades, many people who meet me say, you were in Yavanika," says Jalaja about how many in Kerala are still in awe of George's magnum opus. "KG George had a vision different to others. The diverse genre of his films is a testimony to that vision."

Young Malayalam filmmaker Lijin Jose, who first directed a feature film in 2012 (Friday), encountered George's vision first-hand when he went to meet him for the making of a documentary on his life and works five years ago. 8½ Intercuts: Life and Films of K.G. George, part of Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India, Goa in 2017, gives a rare insight into the director's conviction and ambition.

"Even when he was telling a story of a remote village in Kerala, even if it was about family, religion or politics, it contained a view of the world," says the Alappuzha-born Jose. "There was a realistic socio-political depiction of the society of those times in his movies in a craft and theme vastly different from his contemporaries. He didn't accept boundaries like arthouse and mainstream. He was heavily influenced by Malayalam literature and regularly read international psychology journals. He was always learning about how the human mind worked and that showed in his works," he adds.

George made his last film (Elavamkodu Desam), a period drama, in 1998, and didn't make another, unable to cope with the demands of a film industry in a post-liberalisation era. He still contributed to cinema as head of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation. He suffered a stroke five years ago and continued to meet his former colleagues and admirers at his home in Kakkanad on the outskirts of Kochi where he lived with his wife Selma. His son Arun lives in Goa and daughter Tara in Dubai.

George's films influenced a generation of filmmakers, but it is the new generation of directors in Malayalam cinema today who swear by his name. Lijo Jose Pellissery (Angamaly Diaries, Jallikattu) is a self-confessed hardcore fan of George. Dileesh Pothan (Maheshinte Prathikaram, Joji) is another. So is screenwriter Syam Pushkaran (Kumbalangi Nights). "KG George's influence on directors and screenwriters is more visible in today's generation of filmmakers in Kerala who are in many ways like himself," says Jose.

After graduating in direction at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, George, who spent time as a school boy talking to the projector operator at the old cinema in his native town of Thiruvalla near Alappuzha and collecting discarded celluloid reel, was clear what he wanted to do. Among his to-do list were films on women, cinema and theatre. "He wanted to do a horror film though sadly it didn't happen," says Jose.

"He believed that cinema was an art form that transcended time," says Malayalam filmmaker Nithin Lukose about George's philosophy of filmmaking that didn't adhere to the common idea of sending a message to the society. Lukose, an FTII alumnus, met George after writing the script for his debut feature (Paka). "The original title was Ira (Prey) and KG George had made a movie called Irakal," says the Wayanad-born Lukose. "He encouraged me to make my first film and was enthusiastic about the story," he adds. Paka premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021.

"George's primary strength was his understanding of human behaviour," says film critic Saibal Chatterjee. "More than his cinematic style, the way he probed human mind was fascinating. He brought out the complexities of human behaviour very well with minimum fuss. He would tell stories that were psychologically complex, but easy to understand. His women characters were very strong," adds Chatterjee, who first watched George's films as he was beginning his career as a critic.

In his foreword to George's autobiography, Flashback – Enteyum Cinemayudeyum (Flashback - Mine and Cinema's) published in 2012, celebrated Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan wrote: 'George is someone who made films according to his intellect, yet striving to make them acceptable for all audiences.'

Here is a cursory list of top five KG George films ever:

Swapnadanam (1975)

'Swapnadanam', KG George's debut film in 1975, won the National Award for the Best Film in Malayalam.

In his debut feature film, KG George explores the relations between a couple who marry to fulfil the wishes of their families. Filmed in black and white, it was an instant hit though it adopted a language of family drama far different from the existing productions. The film won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and the state award for Best Film and Best Screenplay.

Yavanika (1982)

Yavanika (1982) is considered K G George's masterpiece (Photo: Courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar)

With an intelligently devised script that is still discussed by film students as an example of a study of human character, the director shook up filmmaking style in Malayalam cinema by discarding the difference between art cinema and commercial cinema. A whodunnit murder mystery, the film became an instant hit and established K G George as a giant of Malayalam cinema.

Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback (1983)

Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback (1983) became a controversial film because of its similarities to the tragic life of actor Shoba (Photo: Courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar)

A film within a film, the controversial movie created ripples in Kerala with its similarity to the tragic life of award-winning actor Shobha, who killed herself at the age of 17. The director, who once again assembles an ensemble cast, probes the deep and dark alleys of the entertainment industry by going to places hitherto unexplored.

Adaminte Vaariyellu (1984)

Adaminte Vaariyellu (1984) celebrated freedom and liberation in a powerful women-centric story.

Woven with a powerful women-centric script, the film tells the story of three women who end up in a home for destitute women. Acclaimed for its sharp analysis of gender stereotypes in a patriarchal society and portrayal of an inspiring spirit of freedom and liberation, the film won huge theatrical and critical acclaim.

Panchavadi Palam (1984)

Panchavadi Palam (1984) is among the early satirical cinema on political corruption.

The camera turns on politics and corruption in a story centred on the building of a new bridge. The political satire relies on a novel by the well known Malayalam writer and satirist Veloor Krishnankutty to split open the shadows of greed. Kerala's politically conscious and discerning audience ensured the film became a benchmark in the battle against political corruption.