John Abraham (director)

Early life

John Abraham was born in Chennamkary, Kuttanadu in 1937. He is from the Vazhakkat branch, Chennamkary of the Pattamukkil Family. He has worked for some Hindi projects that was shot in Kerala, but none were released. John's first attempt in direction came in 1967 named Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile. It was the Tamil film Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977) that gave John recognition.

Career

John entered the film industry working as an assistant director to Mani Kaul for the film Uski Roti (1969, Hindi). He has worked for some Hindi projects that was shot in Kerala, but none were released. John's first attempt in direction came in 1967 named Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile. It was the Tamil film Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977) that gave John recognition.

He completed only four films, namely Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972), Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977, Tamil), Cheriachante Krurakrithyangal (1979, Malayalam) and Amma Ariyan (1986, Malayalam).

Odessa Collective

Under John, the Odessa Collective came into existence in 1984 with a street drama in Fort Kochi named Nayykali (The game of dogs). Odessa was an attempt by a group of movie enthusiasts to change the history of film production and distribution by making it a collaborative effort with the public and thus act as an empowering and liberating medium. For the financing of the first film produced by Odessa, John and his friends travelled through villages and collected money from the general public. Odessa also collected funds for the film by screening Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. The film, Amma Ariyan (Report to mother) (1986) was exhibited across the state of Kerala on a non-commercial basis, an initiative kept alive, after John's death, by his colleague and co-founder of Odessa Collective, Odessa Sathyan.

He started shooting a documentary based on the life of E.M.S. Namboodiripad, but never completed it.

The media called him Ottayan (The Lone Tusker).

He has left behind a number of complete and incomplete scripts. A collection of his stories had been published under the title Nerchakkozhi. Another collection of his stories has been published posthumously under the title John Abrahaminte Kathakal by Pakshikkottam Books, Thiruvananthapuram in 1993.

Death

On 30 May 1987 John was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College hospital following his fall from a house top after a party. He was not identified by the hospital authorities, and allegedly not given due attention and medical care, which caused his condition to deteriorate, leading to his death on 31 May. Following the allegations of medical negligence, a departmental inquiry was conducted into the incident. 26 years after John's death, social activist B. Ekbal who was a surgeon at the Kozhikode Medical College when John was admitted for treatment, revealed that the director could have been saved if his identity was known to the doctors at the time of admission. He said the doctors at the casualty did not know John and mistook him for a film representative when he said that he was a filmmaker. In a Facebook post, Ekbal said the doctors failed to diagnose internal bleeding suffered by John and to check his blood pressure which could have prevented him from slipping into a shock through a timely surgery.

Filmography

;Documentaries

• 1967: Koyna Nagar – Director (in English) – Unreleased

• 1969: Priya – Director (in Hindi) – (John's Diploma film at FTII, Pune)

• 1969: Hides and Strings – Director (in English) ;Feature films

• 1972: Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile (This Way, Students) – Director (in Malayalam)

  • Screenplay: M Azad — Cast: Madhu, Adoor Bhasi, Manorama, S. V. Ranga Rao, Jayabharathi, S. P. Pillai – Cinematography: Ramachandra Babu – Music: M. B. Sreenivasan

• 1977: Agraharathil Kazhuthai (Donkey in the Elite Colony) – Director and screenwriter (in Tamil)

  • Screenplay: Venkat Saminathan – Cast: M. B. Sreenivasan, |Swathi, Savitri, Raman Veeraraghavan – Cinematography: Ramachandra Babu – Art Director: Jeevan Thomas — Music: M. B. Sreenivasan

• 1979: Cheriyachante Kroorakrithyangal (Cruelties of Cheriyachan) – Director and screenwriter (in Malayalam)

  • Cast: Adoor Bhasi, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Poornima Jayaram, Abraham Joseph, Venu – Cinematography: Madhu Ambat – Music: Johnson

• 1986: Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother) – Director and screenwriter (in Malayalam)

  • Cast: Joy Mathew, Maji Venkitesh, Nilambur Balan, Harinarayanan, Sara Thomas – Cinematography: Venu – Music: Sunitha

Books

• Nerchakkozhi (1986)
• John Abrahaminte Kathakal (1993)

Awards

National Film Awards:

• 1977 – Best Feature Film in Tamil – Agraharathil Kazhuthai
• 1986 – Special Jury Award – Amma Ariyan

Kerala State Film Awards:

• 1979 – Special Jury Award – Cheriyachente Kroora Krithyangal

Legacy

According to one reviewer, John Abraham has influenced an entire generation of filmmakers to think and create content beyond the ordinary. He's one of the founding fathers of Independent Cinema in Malayalam.

John Abraham Award

The Federation of Film Societies of India – Kerala instituted the John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Film in 1998. The John Abraham National Awards for Documentary and Short Features are awarded since 2005 for the best documentary and short feature screened in the SIGNS, festival organised by Federation of Film Societies of India – Kerala.

References

References

1. Skaria Mathew. (16–22 June 2013). "none". [[Mathrubhumi Weekly]].
2. (2002). "Top 10 Indian Films". [[British Film Institute]].
3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130607012016/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mayabazar-is-indias-greatest-film-ever-ibnlive-poll/391184-8-66.html "'Mayabazar' is India's greatest film ever"] . [[IBNLive]]. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
4. (2011). "John Abraham". Chintha Publishers.
5. (May 2018}} After that he joined the [[Film and Television Institute of India). "Will the real John Abraham please stand up?". Scroll.in.
6. "Remembering filmmaker John Abraham: When a donkey became the central character of his film - Times of India".
7. "Vidyaarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972)".
8. (2013-04-25). "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time {{!}} Movies News Photos-IBNLive".
9. (2009-01-20). "John Abraham: Cheriyachente Kroora Krithyangal".
10. Sudhish, Navamy. (2018-06-09). "John, the iconic filmmaker, comes alive on screen".
11. [http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/culture-cauldron/John-Abraham-New-Indian-Cinemas-most-creative-representative/articleshow/3091515.cms?curpg=3 ''Economic Times of India'': John Abraham: New Indian Cinema's most creative representative]
12. "John Abraham".
13. "National Portal of India".
14. (19 August 2014). "Mathrubhumi". Mathrubhumi.
15. (2018-06-08). "John Abraham and the Socio-Political Contexts of New Cinema in Kerala".
16. (7 November 2016). ""Ottayan- The Lone Tusker" The programme will detail the life and legacy of John Abraham, hailed as 'Ottayan' or the 'Lone Tusker.'".
17. (2021-10-30). "JOHN ABRAHAMINTE KATHAKAL".
18. Abhish K Bose (12 June 2013). Later, neuro-surgeon B.Iqbal lamented and apologized for Abraham's pathetic death. While Abraham was fighting for his life at the casualty room in Calicut Medical College, Iqbal was working there. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130613135229/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130612/news-current-affairs/article/john-was-unknown-medical-staff "John Abraham was unknown to medical staff"]. ''Deccan Chronicle''. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
19. [http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/26-years-after-john-abrahams-death-an-autopsy-on-facebook/article4807864.ece/ "26 years after John Abraham's death, an autopsy on Facebook"]. ''The Hindu''. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
20. Manish Gaekwad. (2015). "Will the real John Abraham please stand up?". Scroll.
21. "25th National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals.
22. "34th National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals.
23. "State Film Awards (1969-80)". [[Kerala State Chalachitra Academy]].
24. "The legend of John - Sreekumar AT - The Sunday Indian".
25. "John Abraham Awards for Best Malayalam Cinema - Looking Back". [[Federation of Film Societies of India]] (Kerala).