Krishna Ravindranathan Nair (3 July 1933 – 8 July 2023), also known as Achani Ravi or General Pictures Ravi, was an Indian film producer of
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
films, industrialist and philanthropist. He was known for a number of critically acclaimed films he produced, such as
Kanchana Sita,
Thampu,
Kummatty,
Esthappan,
Pokkuveyil,
Elippathayam,
Manju,
Mukhamukham,
Anantaram and
Vidheyan. Nair was credited with fostering the
art film
An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...
movement in Malayalam cinema during the period from the 1970s to the 1990s.
A multiple recipient of
National and
State film awards, Nair was awarded the
J. C. Daniel Award by the
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...
, in 2008, for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.
Biography
K. Ravindran Nair was the fifth son of ''Vendor'' Krishna Pillai, one of the cashew processing pioneers of Kerala. His passion for literature and arts brought him into
Malayalam cinema
Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...
and in 1967, he established ''General Pictures'' under the banner of which he produced his first movie,
Anweshichu Kandethiyilla, directed by
P. Bhaskaran.
This was followed by two more films the next year,
Kattukurangu and
Lakshaprabhu, both directed by Bhaskaran. Ravi, as he is generally known, was silent for the next few years till he came out with his next film,
Achani, an
A. Vincent movie, in 1973, which earned him the moniker, ''Achani Ravi''. The film was reported to be a commercial success like his earlier films and Ravi is known to have contributed the returns from the movie to building a Public Library in Kollam,
of which he was a founder member and honorary secretary.
1977 marked a new chapter in Nair's life with the first of his films with the filmmaker
G. Aravindan,
Kanchana Sita releasing that year. This was followed by four more Aravindan films,
Thampu (1978),
Kummatty (1979),
Esthappan (1979) and
Pokkuveyil (1981).
The next film he produced,
Elippathayam (1981), was directed by
Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Three more films,
Mukhamukham (1984),
Anantaram (1987) and
Vidheyan (1993), with the same director were released in the ensuing years. In between, he also produced a film,
Manju (1982) for the
Jnanpith and
National Film award winner,
M. T. Vasudevan Nair.
Nair produced a total of 14 films for which he received 18 awards before he retired from cinema.
Personal life and death
Usha Ravi, Nair's wife, was a playback singer having sung in movies such as
Thampu, Aambal poovu and Detective 909.
Usha died on 2 October 2013.
Nair died on 8 July 2023, at the age of 90.
Filmography
See also
*
G. Aravindan
*
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
*
M. T. Vasudevan Nair
*
P. Bhaskaran
*
A. Vincent
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, K. Ravindran
1933 births
2023 deaths
J. C. Daniel Award winners
Kerala State Film Award winners
Businesspeople from Kollam
Indian philanthropists
Malayali people
Film producers from Kerala
Malayalam film producers
20th-century Indian businesspeople