Mohanlal once asked artist Namboothiri if he could convert the lines of the book Soundarya Lahari by Adi Shankara and Sage Pushpadanta to pictures —varikal varakal akkamo. Namboothiri took his time, but he did it and gave it to the actor. When veteran director Shaji N. Karun saw the work of art, he thought it is the best exposition of female beauty, but did not include that in the documentary he made on the artist — Trueline, which will be screened in Kochi on Friday.
“Trueline started as an initiative by Namboothiri’s friends to celebrate his 90th birthday. Manoj Muvattupuzha and his group Kalikota asked me to make the documentary to reveal the things about him that has not been told before,” says Shaji N. Karun.
All works about Namboothiri had always been about his paintings and his art. Shaji N. Karun wanted to make one where Namboothiri talks. He wanted it to be a 90-minute film, but he couldn’t get the reluctant artist to speak so much. So it ended up as a 57-minute film, and even that, Namboothiri feels, is too much talking. It is a visualisation of his philosophy through the director’s point of view. The documentary will be screened at the JT Pac Hall, Kochi, on September 18 at 6.15 pm.
