I. V. Sasi | |
|---|---|
 Sasi at the62nd Filmfare Awards South | |
| Born | Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (1947-03-28)28 March 1947 |
| Died | 24 October 2017(2017-10-24) (aged 70) |
| Alma mater | Loyola College, Chennai |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1974–2017 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (28 March 1947 – 24 October 2017) was an Indianfilm director who made over 110 films predominantly inMalayalam, in addition toTamil andHindi languages. In 2015, he was awarded theJ. C. Daniel Award, the highest award in Malayalam cinema. Often described as a pathbreaker, Sasi made his mark during Malayalam cinema's transformative period from the 1970s to 1990s.[1]
I. V. Sasi was born on 28 March 1947 inWest Hill nearKozhikode, as the son of I. V. Chandran and Kausalya.[2] He married Malayalam film actressSeema on 28 August 1980.[3] He met her on the set of his filmAvalude Ravukal. Ever since, she has been his favorite heroine. They have worked together in more than 30 movies. He has two children, daughter Anu and son Ani. Anu has acted inSymphony, directed by her father. Anu married Milan Nair on 10 December 2010.[4] Ani completed Visual Communication fromLoyola College, Chennai and is a budding director himself. He was the co-writer, along withPriyadarshan, for the epic movieMarakkar Arabikadalinte Simham. I. V. Sasi lived with his family inChennai.[5]
I. V. Sasi started his film career as an art director. Later, after working as an assistant director in some films, he directed his first film at the age of 28. Though his name was not mentioned in the credits, the film turned out to be a huge success. He started his directorial career officially with his first filmUlsavam. Soon he carved out a name for himself in theMalayalam film industry. His films were known for their uniqueness and always contained a stamp of his directorial style. I. V. Sasi has directed more than 170 odd films over a span of 34 years and has constantly delivered super hits and some of them classified as classics or good cinema. His Malayalam filmAvalude Raavukal permanently established his name in the industry. This film was later dubbed into many other Indian languages includingHindi. It was the second film in Malayalam to be rated as "Adults only" even though it was a drama.
I. V. Sasi introduced actorMammootty as a hero in his filmThrishna. Mammootty-I. V. Sasi combination was one of the most successful and bankable ones in Malayalam cinema. One ofMohanlal's first breaks as a co-heroIneyengillum was also directed by I. V. Sasi. He also introduced actor Jose. His collaborations with writers such asM.T. Vasudevan Nair,Padmarajan, andT.Damodaran are well remembered. He worked with Mammootty on more than 35 films. He went on to direct one of Mohanlal's biggest hits,Devaasuram, which was scripted byRanjith. He has directed films in several other languages, such asHindi,Telugu, andTamil. He has directedKamal Haasan in films likeGuru,Allauddinum Arputha Vilakkum,Karishma andEeta. He introducedRajinikanth to Malayalam film industry withAllauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum (1979), and also made the Telugu-Tamil bilingual filmKaali with Rajinikanth in the lead role. He has directed Hindi movies asPatita (Mithun Chakraborty),Anokha Rishta (Rajesh Khanna andSmita Patil),Pratishodh (1980),Karishma etc. His most critically acclaimed Hindi film wasAnokha Rishta withRajesh Khanna in the lead which was remake of hisKanamarayathu. His biggest blockbuster in Tamil wasOre Vaanam Ore Bhoomi starringK. R. Vijaya, Seema and Jaishankar in 1979, which was remade in Malayalam asEzhamkadalinakkare.
He has directed Malayalam movies in many genres. His war-themed movie1921, written by screenwriterT. Damodaran, was the first Malayalam movie to be nominated in the Italian Film Festival. HisIna was the first Malayalam film about child marriage. In 1982, he shared The National film Awards' The Nargis Dutt award for the Best Feature Film on National Integration for his filmAaroodam with its producer Rosamma George.Ezhamkadalinakkare is the first Malayalam film to shoot inNorth America, withManhattan being one of its locations.[6] The songSuralokajaladhaara was filmed near inNiagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.[7]
At the time of his death, he was working on pre-production ofBurning Wells, a film based on theKuwait war, which he was to co-direct withSohan Roy.[8][9][10]
I. V. Sasi died at his home inSaligramam,Chennai on 24 October 2017 at the age of 70 at 10:30 am, due to a massiveheart attack.[11][12][13][14] He suffered from various ailments during his final years, likediabetes andhigh blood pressure. He survived a majorstroke in 2006 and was undergoing treatment forcancer at the time of his death. He was cremated with full state honours at Chennai Porur Crematorium.
Known for technical brilliance and stylish making, I.V. Sasi is considered as the director who introduced larger canvases and vibrant narrative terrains in Malayalam cinema that were populated by the rustic and the ordinary and not by ideal and romantic. Most of his works were blended with artistic elements and commercial values.[15] His stories were said to have charged with sensuality and a visual feel. Some of these were mostly set in an atmosphere with strong female presences. The characters in his films came from all kinds of backgrounds and some of these represented the emerging demands and desires of Kerala's civil society.[16]
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