Ramu Kariat (1 February 1927 – 10 February 1979) was an Indian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

for almost three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, who directed many acclaimed films in the

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 ...

. His noted films include '' Neelakkuyil'' (1954), '' Minnaminungu'' (1957), '' Mudiyanaya Puthran'' (1961), '' Moodupadam'' (1963) and the National Award winning '' Chemmeen'' (1965).

Career

He started his career through the Kerala People's Arts Club (K.P.A.C.), a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

theatre group. He debuted in films by co-directing Thiramala (1953) with Vimal Kumar/P.R.S. Pillai and the path-breaking film '' Neelakkuyil'' in 1954 along with P. Bhaskaran. '' Neelakuyil'' was written by

Uroob Parutholli Chalappurathu Kuttikrishnan Karunakara Menon, popularly known by his pen name Uroob (1915 – 1979) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Along with Basheer, Thakazhi, Kesavadev, and Pottekkatt, Uroob was counted amon ...

and starred Sathyan and

Miss Kumari Miss Kumari (1932–1969) was an Indian actress working in the Malayalam film industry between 1949 and 1969. In the '50s and early '60s she was the most prominent female lead in the Malayalam film industry. She briefly worked as a teacher bef ...

was a major commercial success. This film is considered as the first mature film in Malayalam due to the professional approach it had in direction, script, performances and music. Ramu Kariat's co-director of the film P. Bhaskaran and

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

A. Vincent went on to have illustrious careers themselves. After ''Neelakkuyil'', he directed '' Minnaminungu'' (1957), another noted film. His next film was the film version of veteran playwright Thoppil Bhasi's play '' Mudiyanaya Puthran'' (1961). After directing '' Moodupadam'' (1963), he went on to direct '' Chemmeen'' (1965). ''Chemmeen'' is considered as the turning point in Malayalam cinema. The film, an adaptation of Thakazhi Sivashankara Pillai's novel in the same name was the first Malayalam film to win the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...

. The tragic love story starred Sathyan

Madhu Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/médʰu, ''*médʰu'', whenc ...

and

Sheela Sheela Celine (born 24 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as heroine ...

. In 1975 he was a member of the jury at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival. He directed fifteen films during his career. He was elected as

Member of Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several national ...

from Nattika in 1965 as a left independent but could not serve in the Legislative Assembly because no one could form the Assembly since there was no majority for any party.

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

: All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film – '' Neelakuyil'' *

: President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam - '' Neelakuyil'' * 1961: President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam - '' Mudiyanaya Puthran'' *

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

– '' Chemmeen''

Filmography

*'' Neelakkuyil'' (1954) *''Bharata Natyam'' (1956) *'' Minnam Minungu'' (1957) *'' Mudiyanaya Puthran'' (1961) *'' Moodupadam'' (1963) *'' Chemmeen'' (1965) *'' Ezhu Rathrikal'' (1968) *'' Abhayam'' (1970) *'' Maaya'' (1972) *'' Nellu'' (1974) *'' Dweepu'' (1976) *'' Kondagali'' (1978) *''Ammuvinte Aattinkutty'' (1978) * '' Sanghaganam''(1979-Acting credit) *'' Malankattu'' (1980)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kariat, Ramu People from Thrissur district Malayalam film directors 1927 births 1979 deaths Film directors from Thrissur Malayalam screenwriters Screenwriters from Kerala Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Odia film directors 20th-century Indian screenwriters