A director away from elitism in Malayalam film industry: Deedi Damodaran

KOZHIKODE: “If awards create recognition for a film director, I.V. Sasi would be counted as a less recognised director. However, he was the only one who could create the maximum number of hit movies one after the other,” said scriptwriter Deedi Damodaran. “There had been an elitism in Malayalam cinema and hit makers like I.V. Sasi were always outside that circle. Influencing a four or five-member jury is comparatively easy. However, luring the same public again and again to theatre needs craft and calibre and he was a master craftsman,” said Deedi, daughter of eminent scriptwriter T. Damodaran who worked along with Sasi in many movies.

“No committee here would have honoured him, though there were serious political movies from him like Ee Naadu. But, they are counted only in the end while considering the contributions of Sasi. He was considered as part of popular movies and never treated as a political director,” she said. “Sasi never had a particular formula used in his movies and they tasted success not because of any particular actor, but all of them were movies of the ‘masses.’ They do not belong to a particular genre, non-linear format and could be considered a collage,” she said.

“His movies need to be studied with an academic interest and no such efforts were made by the government yet,” she said. She pointed out that her father and Sasi had nothing in common. “They were totally different people, who worked in nearly 38 movies together. Their combination is still a wonder,” said Deedi. “Cinema was his driving force. He was into cinema 24/7. Just weeks before his demise, while I talked with him over phone, he was talking about his son Ani’s film.”