He was one of the most talented cinematographers of his generation, but the national award somehow always eluded M.J. Radhakrishnan. When it finally arrived, he was no more; he passed away last month.
Radhakrishnan winning the honours posthumously for his superb work in Olu was the biggest gain for Malayalam cinema at the 66th National Film Awards that were announced in New Delhi on Friday.
For someone who had won seven State awards, and who had made shooting using natural light an art as much as technique, he surely should have got a national long before. (This, by the way, is the second year in a row that one of the national awards is being given to someone posthumously – Sridevi had won the award for the best actress for Mom ).
Though Malayalam cinema did not get a good share of the main awards — like the ones for the best film, direction, or acting — there was still something to bring solace to a State that has been gripped by the fear of a repeat of last year’s devastating floods. Vineesh Banglan winning the award for the best production design for Kammara Sambhavam is the other big honour for Malayalam cinema.
Joju George and Savithri Sreedharan earning special mention for acting, for Joseph and Sudani from Nigeria respectively, is further proof that Malayalam still boasts some of the finest acting talents in the country.
For his fine performance in Peranbu , Mammootty’s name had been doing the rounds for the best actor award, which eventually went to Bollywood stars, as has often been the case of late, to Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal.
So even as the announcement of the awards was broadcast live by the Press Information Bureau through social media, a large number of Malayalis logged in hopefully and began predicting on live chat that the popular actor would win the award. They were all in for a huge disappointment. Just as the entire Malayalam film fraternity was.
But, Malayalis had a reason to feel proud when the other major acting award was announced: Keerthy Suresh was adjudged the best actress for her brilliant portrayal of legendary actress Savithri in the Telugu film Mahanati .
