The Masters: MT Vasudevan Nair

15.04.1933-25.12.2024

I began ‘The Masters’ series in a bid to shine the spotlight on the people behind the camera – the directors, cinematographers, composers, lyricists, etc., who collaborate to make a film what it is. I have mostly featured directors, composers and lyricists, with an odd nod to a cinematographer. In all these years, I have never written a post about writers who write the story and/or script on which these films are based. A script is the foundation stone upon which a film rests; take that away and you’re left with nothing at all. 

How many scriptwriters can you name? Until Salim-Javed fought for much-delayed recognition for their craft, the posters of Hindi films never mentioned the scriptwriter. The name of the actors, the director, the producer, even the music director perhaps, but never that of the person who wrote the story which others would bring alive on screen.

This was not just the case with the Hindi film industry. While writers were/are appreciated more in the Malayalam film industry, for instance, where literature, both classic and modern, formed the basis of many a film, their names seldom featured on movie posters. Yet. the average film-goer in Malayalam was cognisant of the (mostly) men who wrote the films they watched. Writers such as Thikkurussi Sukaramaran Nair (better known by the mnemonic ‘Thikkurussi’), ‘Thakazhi’ Sivasankara Pillai , Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, PC Kuttikrishnan (better known by his pen-name, ‘Uroob’), TV Chandran, Malayatoor Ramakrishnan, Madampu Kunjukuttan, etc., are well-known names to the average Malayali filmgoer. This may perhaps be due to the fact that for a long time, novelists serialised their novels in Malayalam newspapers and magazines before they were published in novel form. Short stories from the most celebrated authors often debuted in magazines. 

Malayalam cinema depended heavily on literature. Classics from the West and across India (primarily Tamil and Bengali literature), modern novels, novellas and even short stories were adapted for the silver screen.  Directors like TV Chandran, Padmarajan, Lohitadas, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan wrote their own stories/screenplays, whether original or adapted. With such a close connection between literature and film, it is no wonder that writers enjoyed, and continue to enjoy a revered place in the Malayalam film industry even today. 

Pic: Courtesy - Mathrubhumi

One such literary giant passed away on 25 December 2024. His name was Madath Thekkeppaattu Vasudevan Nair better known as MT Vasudevan Nair, or quite simply, to us Malayalis, ‘MT’.  The prolific and versatile short story writer, novelist, screenplay writer and director was one of the greats of the post-Independence literary world, and of the film industry, where he redefined the grammar of the medium. 

Born in Kudallur on 15 July 1933, MT began writing at a very early age and in 1948, at age 15, published his first short story – Vishuaaghosham (Vishu Celebrations) – in Chitrakeralam magazine. His first book, Raktham Puranda Mantharikal (Blood-stained Sands), a collection of short stories, was published in 1952. He was 19. Shortly thereafter, while still a student at the Government Victoria College, Palakkad, he won his first major literary prize – he was the winner of the World Short Story Competition conducted by the New York Herald Tribune, Hindustan Times and Mathrubhoomi. The story titled Valarthumrigangal (Pets) was adapted for the screen more than 25 years later by the author himself. 

It was the beginning of a flourishing and celebrated career as an author. His debut novel, Pathiravum Palakvelichavum (Midnight and Daylight) was serialised in Mathrubhoomi Weekly, but it was his first major work, Naalukettu (The Legacy, though a literal translation would be ‘a traditional ancestral home’), published in 1958 that heralded the arrival of a distinct voice in Malayalam literature. Naalukettu won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the first of a long list of state and national awards and honours for the young author.

Naalukettu’s story, set against the abrupt decline of the joint family structure in Kerala, especially in traditional Nair households, chronicles the degeneration of the matrilineal system in post-independence India and its social, emotional, and economic repercussions. It is a theme that MT continually revisited in many of his novels, especially Asuravithu (The Demon Seed) which is like a spiritual sequel to Naalukettu. 

In Randamoozham (The Second Turn), considered by some to be his masterpiece, MT retells the Mahabharata from Bhima’s perspective. He would do something similar in Vaishali (1988) and Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (A Northern Ballad of Valour- 1989)), a script he wrote from Chandu’s perspective. Chandu, the villain in the Northern Ballads, is here a sympathetic character who is a victim of circumstances. 

MT’s foray into films started with Murapennu (First Cousin-1965), where he first wrote a screenplay for a film, adapting it from his own short story, Snehathinte Mukhangal (The Faces of Love). His short story, Iruttinte Aatmavu (The Soul of Darkness from an anthology of the same name), gave reigning superstar Prem Nazir the role of a lifetime. Along with Asuravithu, these three films form MT’s social and political melodramas trilogy. 

Successful collaborations with celebrated directors like KS Sethumadhavan, P Bhaskaran, A Vincent, and later, with IV Sasi and Hariharan followed suit. MT’s scripts were so tightly delineated, and his characters so rich and nuanced that many of these films were known by his name as well – ‘MT-Hariharan’ or ‘MT-Sasi’ was common nomenclature in the 80s – a rare encomium for a writer. 

MT even ventured into direction and writing lyrics. His debut film as a director was Nirmalyam (Yesterday’s Offerings-1974). Adamant about making the film the way he had envisaged it, MT cast unknown actors – PJ Antony, who played the velichappadui (oracle) was a stage actor. Actors Sukumaran and Sumitra were both debutants. Antony was initially reluctant to accept the role, preferring to concentrate on theatre. But, once on board, Antony got into the skin of his character, earning a National Award for Best Actor for his portrayal, while MT walked away with Best Director honours. Even cinematographer Ramachandra Babu, who first met MT at FTII (Film and Television Institute) Pune, when the latter was a visiting professor there, was only three films old when the author offered him Nirmalyam.

MT’s cinematic journey did not distract from his literary endeavours (though he did prefer writing to screenplay writing). He succeeded in enthralling generations of Malayali readers and cine-goers who saw themselves reflected in his characters – the milieu, the inner conflict, the societal and domestic pressures facing them were all too relatable.

My introduction to MT came through his films. I read his books and screenplays only when I was in my teens. I have previously reviewed films scripted by MT and I do intend to review a film he directed, eventually. In the meantime, as a humble tribute to a great storyteller whose works I have read and re-read, and a master script writer who excelled (and delighted?) in turning accepted narratives on their head, here’s a look at some of MT’s greatest (in my opinion) scripts.

Iruttinte Aatmavu (1966)
(The Soul of Darkness)
Directed by: P Bhaskaran
The brilliance of MT’s screenplay, based on his own short story of the same name, lay in the remarkable depth with which it handled the issue of mental illness and what was considered socially acceptable treatment of the mentally afflicted. 

Pic: Courtesy - oldmalayalamcinema.com

Prem Nazir, the reigning romantic hero, was cast against type as the protagonist, and he turned in a career-best performance, not devolving the character into a caricature. Like many of MT’s scripts, this film too ends in tragedy, but the ‘mad man’s’ final utterance, “I’m mad, please chain me up” never fails to resonate. ‘Bhranthan Velayudhan’ (Mad Velayudhan) will forever remain one of the ‘Evergreen Hero’s’ finest roles.
 
Asuravithu (1968)
(The Demon Seed)
Directed by A Vincent
The playground is a familiar one – a decaying Nair tharavadu (ancestral house), and the protagonist a young man caught at the crossroads of feudalism and social change. Responsible for his widowed mother and elder sister, Govindan Kutty (Prem Nazir) is struggling to make ends meet. This is when his brother-in-law, Shekharan Kutty (Sankaradi), the husband of his eldest sister, comes with a proposal of marriage – to marry Meenakshi (Sarada), a penniless relative who stays with the couple. Govindan doesn’t know it yet, but this simple incident sets off a chain of events that will eventually end in a communal bloodbath.
 

Pic: Courtesy - The Hindu

In Asuravithu, MT explored the world outside the tharavadu, and the plot includes themes of caste privilege, power imbalances, the power of money, communal tensions and even, startlingly, religious conversion.
 
Kuttyedathi (1970)
(Elder Sister)
Directed by: PN Menon
How society perceives beauty, and how that perception affects primarily women in ways both tangible and intangible forms the core of this deeply touching human drama. The tale of two sisters, one dark and ugly, the other beautiful, is not rare. But the personal dynamics between the two, the elder sister not a meek, cowed down, doormat but with a sharp mind and sharper tongue, was a revelation. Vilasini turns in a fantastic performance as the somewhat arrogant, ugly sister who learns to mask her hurt with open defiance of social norms.

Jayabharathy, as the beautiful younger sister, who takes Kuttyedathi for granted but is not above seeking the spotlight whenever she chooses, is equally brilliant. And Satyan, one of the finest actors to grace Malayalam cinema, gives a short but effective performance as the low-caste Appunni, a stonecutter by trade. It is such an MT-thing to do – bring in a caste conflict into what’s essentially the story of two sisters.
 
It’s rare that an actor so imbibes their character that they are forever known by that name – Vilasini would bear that name for the rest of her life – Kuttyedathi Vilasini.
 
Nirmalyam (1973)
(Yesterday’s Offerings)
Directed by MT Vasudevan Nair
MT ventured into direction with Nirmalyam, adapted from his own short story, Pallivalum Kaalchilambum (Sacred Sword and Anklets). It narrated the story of a velichappadu – a temple oracle – and his struggle to earn a living in a changed world. For a man whose profession was writing, MT’s Nirmalyam was a very visual film, with dialogues only complementing the story. The film reflected the transformation of society through the lens of faith and its erosion.
 

The film charts this transformation through the characters’ narratives. The velichappadu (PJ Antony), once an integral part of the grand temple festivals, is now forced to run a tea shop. His earnings are too meagre for his family to survive. Ramunni (Sankaradi), a Kathakali artiste, is in the same boat; with the temple and its attendant rituals being neglected, the common man does not see Kathakali as a beautiful temple art. Instead, the Valya Thampuran markets Kathakali as an exotic art to tourists. Their dire situation contrasts with the Valiya Thampuran’s (Zamindar – Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair) elephant which feasts on ghee and paddy.
 
If made today, many scenes in this landmark film would ‘hurt religious sensibilities’, not the least the climax where the oracle, disillusioned, angrily spits blood at the idol of the deity.
 
*Nirmalyam means the previous day’s offerings, the removal of which is a priest’s first job before the morning prayer.
 
Neelathaamara (1979)
(Blue Lotus)
Directed by: Yusuf Ali Kechery

 

In these times, when our heroes and heroines are paragons of virtue, it is a relief to go back to a time when love, lust, and infidelity were treated with maturity and sensitivity. Neelathamara chronicles the short-lived relationship between a housemaid and the heir of the family. In doing so, MT also reflects upon the caste-class divides, societal double standards and the lives of women who are forced to accept their fates.
 
Oppol (1981)
(Elder Sister)
Directed by: KS Sethumadhavan
A deeply touching story about the bond between a young boy and his elder sister, Oppol was one of veteran film-maker KS Sethumadhavan’s finest films. The script by MT is, as was his wont, set against a respectable Nair family now fallen on hard times. The mother (Kaviyoor Ponnamma), a daughter, Maalu (Menaka), and a son, Appu (Master Aravind), live a strangely circumscribed life in their little village.
 

The mother is openly hostile to her son, and treats the daughter with some anger. We aren’t told why, until much later, but much is expressed through silence. The story, seen through the little boy’s perspective, move along until the elder sister is married off to a man much older than her. When Appu, devastated by his sister’s absence insists upon going with his sister, his demands upon her attention and his dislike of his new brother-in-law causes friction between the spouses. However, unlike most such narratives, the husband is not a cliché.
 
Again, MT deftly deals with many societal taboos (mentioning them here will give away an important plot point) and skewers the patriarchy that fosters them.
 
Aalkootathil Thaniye (1984)
(Alone in a Crowd)
Directed by IV Sasi
On a superficial, this film also dealt with the breakdown of a traditional joint-family system and the way the children and their spouse view their old father, now on his deathbed. But MT’s pen also delves into what made these children the way the way they are; how the father’s decisions blighted their lives in ways he could not have foreseen. Along the way, one becomes privy to the interpersonal dynamics, old faded romances, and bittersweet reminiscences.
 
The focus on the life of one of the male protagonists and his regrets do not take away from the fact that his choices too have the same effect on the women in his life – just like his father’s did, before him. Yet, perhaps, it is that woman (Seema, in a brilliantly understated performance) who is the most contented.
 

Like many Malayalam films of the time, Aalkootathil Thaniye is an ensemble film with some of Malayalam films’ finest actors taking up roles that are finely etched, irrespective of screen time. For instance, Mohanlal appears in only four scenes in the film, yet he is its moral core; he’s the voice of conscience, the man who, despite his outward flippancy, stands up for his principles.
 
The IV Sasi-MT combination was also responsible for another fine film the same year – Adiozhukkukal/Undercurrents, which won for Mammootty his first Kerala State Film Award. Karunan, a man who struggles to find his place in society after his return from prison; the man for whom he had gone to prison has married his beloved, and everything has changed.
 
Panchagni (1986)
(Five Fires)
Directed by: Hariharan
The MT-Hariharan team were one of the most successful writer-director teams in Malayalam cinema. Loosely based on the story of K Ajitha, who was part of the Naxalite movement in Kerala in the 1960s, Panchagni narrated the tale of Indira (Geetha) who is out on parole. When, faced with the possibility of a happy ending, she goes to her friend’s house to share the news, it is to witness a shocking scene. Gambling her future, her happiness and even her own life, Indira makes a fateful choice, the only choice that she could.
 

Once again, Panchagni was more than just the narrative of a person’s life and choices or a statement for or against armed revolution. The script pleaded for humanity, for a moral stand against systemic wrongs, and for basic humanity to take precedence over ideology.
 
Another film from the writer-director duo that deserves a mention is Parinayam (Wedding) which I reviewed here.
 
Vaishali (1988?)
Directed by: Bharatan
Here, MT takes one of the many stories from the Mahabharata and reworks it to ask a pertinent question: what if, instead of the Princess, it was her illegitimate half-sister who is sent to seduce a young sage? MT coloured within and without the lines to answer that hypothetical question.
 

In a script that encompassed love, envy, revenge, and seduction, MT reflects upon the consequences of power without compassion. In my review of the film, I’d written that “The script pointedly describes what happens to ordinary people when political expediency intervenes; how a wily politician is willing to sacrifice everything, including his own son, on the altar of duty and social custom; how a weak king can do wrong just by refusing to do what is right, and how women were mere pawns on a royal chessboard.”  You can read my detailed review here.
 
Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989)
(A Northern Ballad of Valour)
Directed by: Hariharan
In this retelling of a northern ballad, MT changed the perspective, as he had done before in both novel and film. Here, the story is told by Chandu, the antagonist of the ballad, the warrior reviled in Kerala for his deceit and betrayal of trust. And so, seen through his eyes, the story becomes a quest for acceptance, love and respect. (And in so doing, MT reduces Unniyarcha, a known female warrior in her own right, to a woman driven by her sexual desire, and her husband, another brave warrior and the love of her life, to a cuckold.)
 

The affection that Chandu’s uncle (Balan K Nair) has for him, the loathing and envy of his male cousin Aromalunni (Suresh Gopi) and the love of Unniyarcha (Madhavi), Aromalunni’s sister, forms the fulcrum around which the tale unfolds.  
 
MT’s masterful alternative take on the legend was well-scripted and well-directed, so much so that the movie is now a cult classic. It won four National Awards – Best Actor (Mammootty); Best Screenplay (MT); Best Production Design and Best Costume Design (P Krishnamoorthy).
 
My review of it is here.
 
Perunthachan (1990)
(The Master Carpenter)
Directed by: Ajay
As noted in the Aitihyamala (A Garland of Legends), a collection of legends and stories from Kerala dating back centuries, Perunthachan was one of the 12 children born to Sage Vararuchi and his wife. Abandoned by his biological parents, he’s raised by a carpenter and grows up to be a master carpenter. MT’s script uses this legend as a base and weaves a story of unrequited love and clash of ideologies, underlined and human emotions such as obligation, gratitude and envy.
 

Veteran actor Thilakan lived and breathed the character of the Perunthachan, and it is widely regarded as one of his best (if not, the best) performances. His is a character that is driven by deeply entrenched cultural and social mores. But when his final act occurs, the script forces us to question whether it was those or his deep-seated envy that results in that fateful action.
 
Sadayam (1992)
(Mercifully)
Directed by: Sibi Malayil
Sadayam won for MT his second National Award for best screenplay. The story of Satyanathan, a convict on death row, is perhaps one of Mohanlal’s finest performances.
 

MT’s script critiques several societal ills and taboos of contemporary society, and the film is a deeply emotional and compelling look at how circumstances can derail lives. The disturbing human drama is problematic on a number of levels, especially for the characterisation of the female lead. That MT makes it believable and persuades us to root for the deeply troubled male protagonist is a testament to his skill.
 
MT Vasudevan Nair was conferred with the Jnanpith Award for his contributions to Malayalam literature as well as the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, apart from various national and state honours, numerous Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards, and other literary awards. His twin collections of essays on writing titled Kaathikante Panippura (A Writer's Workshop) and Kaathikante Kala (A Writer's Art) are no less than master classes on writing for any budding author. His death is a loss that is deeply felt by the literary world and the film fraternity.