Taking a leaf out of novels

Trends are forever changing, be it in fashion or cinema. A few years ago , adaptations of popular novels were the trend in films. Followed by a spate of comic capers. And now the much hyped ‘new generation movies’, which are experimental in concept,  narration and implementation.

As new gen films reached its peak, the trend in Malayalam cinema  once again seems to be returning to adaptations. Recent films like Praise The Lord, Balyakalasakhi and the forthcoming film  Njan prove the point. So is Mollywood going back in time?

“Film adaptations of novels were always there, like Chemmeen. Literature and cinema are connected. Every novel has a message. When we make a film based on a novel, we are only trying to convey that message,” says Shibu Gangadharan, director of the Mammootty starrer Praise The Lord, currently running in theatres.

It is based on Paul Zacharia’s novel with the same title. The author says, “Film and fiction are two different mediums. Most moviegoers may not have read my novel. These are two different worlds. Hence, when a person creates a popular commercial film out of a fiction, he may not be able to include all that is described in the book as it would make it  a serious venture. Hence, the director uses creative license to add some ingredients to make it appealing to his audience.”

However, directors opine that giving life to fictional characters on screen is not an arm-chair job. They say that the most difficult part is to satiate the audiences who come with  certain prejudices.

“It was a tough task for me to narrate Balyakalasakhi on screen. As it was a widely read novel, my aim was to narrate the story in a unique manner without shattering the audience’s imagination. It had both limitations and possibilities. I took the essence of the novel and visualised it using  new technologies to draw the audience’s attention,” says Pramod Payyannur, director of  Balyakalasakhi.

T.P. Rajeevan, whose novel KTN Kottoor Ezuthm Jeevithavum, is about to be turned into a film by director Ranjith, says,  “Fiction has a vast canvas, whereas a film does not. Hence, one cannot expect a word-to-word narration of a novel on screen. We can only take the essence of the novel and recreate it without losing the charm.

You may have heard of artists who paint inspired by  Beethoven’s music. Can you hear music in that? You can only feel it. Same happens with film adaptations. I wrote the novel Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha out of the stories I had heard about my place. I narrated it in my own manner. When Ranjith made the film, he read my novel, took its essence and portrayed it in his own way on screen. If you turn the novel into a drama, it would be different. So, the audience should expect that.”

However, directors say that they will dare to make more adaptations in future no matter what the audience response. While they don’t think Malayalam cinema is on a adaptation path, they prefer to say it is good to make films with morals sometimes!