Bharathan

Biography

Bharathan (14 November 1946 – 30 July 1998) was an Indian filmmaker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of filmmaking in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan and K. G. George, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed.

 A train of directors and screenwriters followed this school in the 1990s including Sibi Malayil, Kamal, Lohithadas, and Jayaraj.

Bharathan directed over 40 films in Malayalam and Tamil. Starting his career in 1975 with Prayanam, Bharathan rode to fame with his off-beat Thakara, a film about a dumb-witted central character who falls in love with the village's beauty. Some of his other memorable films include Rathinirvedam, Chamaram, Paalangal, Amaram, and Vaishali.

His association with Padmarajan led to films including Rathi Nirvedam and Thakara. Rathi Nirvedam was a treatment of teenage sexual angst. In Thakara, he deals with the life and longings of an intellectually disabled youth and his association with society.

In the early 1980s, he made several notable movies like Chamaram, Marmaram, Paalangal, Ormakkayi, Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Kathodu Kathoram and many more. They did well in theaters and set the trend for meaningful mainstream cinema. Other noted directors followed suit. It was the romantic era of Malayalam cinema.

Bharatan died at a private hospital in Chennai on 30 July 1998 at the age of 52 following a prolonged illness. His last film was Churam, which was released a year before his death. His mortal remains were brought back to his ancestral home at Wadakkancherry and cremated with full state honors.

Bharathan was married to theatre and film actress K. P. A. C. Lalitha with whom he associated in a lot of films before and after marriage. They had two children - Sreekutty, a former child actress, and Sidharth Bharathan, a film actor and director.