THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian will release the book titled Balachandra Menon: Kaanatha Kazhchakal Kelkatha Shabthangal on the films of filmmaker Balachandra Menon, authored by T P Venugopalan and published by Kerala Bhasha Institute, on Tuesday at 5 pm at Bharat Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram.
Author Rose Mary will receive the book. Kerala Bhasha Institute director M Sathyan will preside. Bharat Bhavan member secretary Pramod Payyannur will introduce the book. Balachandra Menon will be the chief guest. He will then present a musical journey through his films.
It has been almost half a century since he started dealing with Malayalee’s visual culture with stories and characters without pretension. His film career started in 1978 with Uthradaratri, and it did not take long for him to conquer the world and grow. He has the Limca Book of World Records for having written, directed, and acted in most films himself. The country honoured him with the best actor award for his performance as Ismail in the 1998 film Samandarangal.
Later, he became the face of Malayalam mainstream cinema for decades. The book is about the study of Balachandra’s more than 30 films, ranging from the National Award-winning Samandarangal to Ennalum Sarath released in 2018, and the films include Uthradaratri, Kalika, Chiriochiri, Ishtamanu Pakshe, Karyam Nisaram, April 18, Arante Mulla Kochumulla, and Kurupinte Kanakkupusthakam.