KOCHI: ‘Manjil Virinja Pookkal’, released in 1980 and hailed as one of the landmark movies in Malayalam, was a brainchild of Navodaya Appachan.
Not only for the whiff of freshness that it brought to an industry that was churning out remakes of action flicks from other languages, but also for introducing a number of talents, who eventually took the industry by storm, the movie stood out.
It was the farsightedness and the ability to feel the pulse of the industry of producer Appachan that handed out three talented artists to the Malayalam industry; actor Mohanlal, director Fazil and composer Jerry Amaldev.
Notably, Appachan took the risk of fielding a bunch of newcomers and giving the nod to a novel theme at a time when the concept of New-Gen movies was something unheard of in the local industry. “Nowadays, everybody goes gaga over New-Gen films. But let me humbly remind them that it was this great man who first thought of bringing a considerable change into the industry through new wave film making,” said Fazil.
Both Appachan and Fazil hail from Alappuzha. “We were in touch with each other since mid-1970s, as we were film buffs. Helming a film with him was an unforgettable experiment. He also paved way for the entry of filmmakers like T K Rajeev Kumar and many others. At a time when the idea of posting production controllers and production executives were not known to Malayalam film world, he came up with innovative ideas,” said Fazil. He said that Appachan always thought ahead of times. “The same innovative spirit helped him in producing the first Cinemascope, 70-mm and 3D movies in Malayalam,” he added.“He always stayed away from controversies, and was open to new ideas,” added Fazil.