John Abraham (director)

John Abraham (11 August 1937 – 31 May 1987) was an Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam and Tamil cinema. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only South Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute.[3] Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll.[4]

For the Bollywood actor, see John Abraham (actor).

John Abraham
Born(1937-08-11)11 August 1937
Chennamkary, Kuttanadu, Alleppey, Travancore[1][2]
Died31 May 1987(1987-05-31) (aged 49)
Calicut, Kerala, India
Alma materMarthoma College
Film and Television Institute of India
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Notes
"A Wonder in World Cinema" – Adoor Bhasi

Early life

John Abraham was born in Chennamkary, Kuttanadu in 1937. He is from the Vazhakkat branch, Chennamkary of the Pattamukkil Family.[1][2] He completed his intermediate studies in CMS College Kottayam staying with his grandfather, who nurtured John's talent in his early days. After completing his degree in (history and politics) from Marthoma College, Thiruvalla, he worked as a private college teacher and latter he joined as an office assistant with Life Insurance Corporation of India in Udupi, Karnataka. After that he joined the FTII, Pune and there he met film-makers such as Ritwik Ghatak and Mani Kaul. John graduated out of the FTII with gold medals in screenwriting and film direction. He entered the film industry working as an assistant director to Mani Kaul for the film Uski Roti (1969, Hindi).[5] 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.[6]

Career

John entered the film industry working as an assistant director to Mani Kaul for the film Uski Roti (1969, Hindi).[5] 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.[6]

He completed only four films, namely Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972),[7] Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977, Tamil), Cheriachante Krurakrithyangal (1979,[8][9] Malayalam) and Amma Ariyan (1986, Malayalam).[10]

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.[11] For the financing of the first film produced by Odessa, John and his friends travelled through villages and collected money from the general public.[12] 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,[13] an initiative kept alive, after John's death, by his colleague and co-founder of Odessa Collective, Odessa Sathyan.[14]

He started shooting a documentary based on the life of E.M.S. Namboodiripad, but never completed it.[15]

The media called him Ottayan (The Lone Tusker).[16]

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.[17][18]

Death

On 30 May 1987 John was admitted to the Calicut 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.[19] 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 Calicut 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.[20]

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

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

Awards

National Film Awards:

Kerala State Film Awards:

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.[24]

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.[25]

References
  1. K. N. Shaji, ed. (2011). John Abraham. Chintha Publishers.
  2. Skaria Mathew (16–22 June 2013). Mathrubhumi Weekly: 22.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  3. "Top 10 Indian Films". British Film Institute. 2002. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  4. "'Mayabazar' is India's greatest film ever" . IBNLive. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  5. Gaekwad, Manish (1 October 2015). "Will the real John Abraham please stand up?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  6. "Remembering filmmaker John Abraham: When a donkey became the central character of his film - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  7. "Vidyaarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972)". www.malayalachalachithram.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  8. "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time | Movies News Photos-IBNLive". 25 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  9. "John Abraham: Cheriyachente Kroora Krithyangal". 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  10. Sudhish, Navamy (9 June 2018). "John, the iconic filmmaker, comes alive on screen". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  11. Economic Times of India: John Abraham: New Indian Cinema's most creative representative
  12. "John Abraham". Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
  13. "National Portal of India".
  14. "Mathrubhumi". Article and video. Mathrubhumi. 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  15. "John Abraham and the Socio-Political Contexts of New Cinema in Kerala". sahapedia. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  16. @AkashvaniAIR (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.'" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. JOHN ABRAHAMINTE KATHAKAL. 30 October 2021. ASIN 812645220X.
  18. "ജോൺ ഏബ്രഹാമിന്റെ കഥകൾ" [John Abrahaminte Kathakal]. www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  19. Abhish K Bose (12 June 2013). Later, neuro-surgeon B.Iqbal lamented and apologized Abraham's pathetic death. While Abraham was fighting for his life at the casualty room in Calicut Medical College, Iqbal was working there. "John Abraham was unknown to medical staff". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  20. "26 years after John Abraham’s death, an autopsy on Facebook". The Hindu. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  21. "25th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  22. "34th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  23. "State Film Awards (1969-80)". Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  24. "The legend of John - Sreekumar AT - The Sunday Indian". www.thesundayindian.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  25. "John Abraham Awards for Best Malayalam Cinema - Looking Back". ffsikeralam.in. Federation of Film Societies of India (Kerala). Retrieved 28 January 2023.

Further reading
  • Kandukuri Ramesh Babu. A Tribute to John Abraham, an Avant-Garde Film Director.
  • Kumar, P. K. Ajith (6 December 2019). "A tribute to director John Abraham". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
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