KOCHI: KS Sethumadhavan, 90, who brought Malayalam cinema close to the world of literature, inspired it to adapt to changes and made some of the finest movies ever, passed away at his residence in Chennai on Friday. He was bestowed with 10 national awards and eight state awards and also the J C Daniel Award for lifetime contribution in 2009. The cremation was held at Nungambakam at 4pm.
Sethumadhavan always insisted on respecting the sanctity of the art on his sets. His films portrayed real life. His love for stories that reflected the pathos of common man made his films special and memorable.
Director who made EMS act as CM
The man who filmed classics like Odayil Ninnu, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Karakanakadal, Achanum Bappayum, Punarjanmam, Chattakari and Oppol had introduced some of the finest actors to the silver screen. Mammootty made his debut as a junior artist in Anubhavangal Palichakal (1971) while Suresh Gopi started off with Odayil Ninnu.
The director introduced Kamal Haasan to Malayalam as hero in Kanyakumari (1971), which was also the first movie of Jagathy Sreekumar. Sethumadhavan convinced Communist thinker E M S Namboodiripad — who was known to be tough — to act in Ollathu Mathi.
The scenes of EMS as CM were shot in his office in 1967. Born to Subrahmanyam and Lakshmi in Palakkad on 1931, Sethumadhavan took his degree in biology from Government Victoria College in Palakkad. His first Malayalam film was Gnana Sundari. His movie Achanum Bappayum won the Nargis Dutt Award for best film on national integration in 1973.
He brought the national award for best film to Tamil for the first time through Marupakkam in 1991. In 1996, his Telugu film Stri won the national award for best feature film in Telugu. Sethumadhavan is survived by wife Valsala, sons Sonukumar, Santhosh and daughter Uma.