Life and times of KS Sethumadhavan, a rare gem in Malayalam film industry

“Don’t worry, mother. After studies, I will go back to Madras, make money and we will all live in prosperity,” this was the promise a ten-year-old lad gave his mother. Though that bit of motivating speech came after he read a chapter about Chhatrapati Sivaji from his 4th std history book, for the mother of five who almost decided to jump out of the train to escape from poverty, these words were infinitely comforting.  His mother hugged him tightly and cried hopeful of a bright future for her children. As he grew up, the young boy kept his word. He made 69 films in 6 languages and made a name for himself as a filmmaker. KS Sethumadhavan’s real-life story is even more dramatic and enthralling than his films.

His dad, Palakkad Kurukkalpadam Subrahmanyan who was the forest officer in Old Madras died of a heart attack at the age of 40, leaving his 28-year-old wife, Lakshmi Amma widowed. Sethumadhavan was 8 at that time. He had three sisters and a brother and life had literally come to a standstill for the family. When Madras offered nothing to the young woman, she took a train to Palakkad with her children. They had taken the Mangalore mail from Jolarpetta. En route, she was planning to jump into the river with her five children.

Years later the mother confided this piece of shocking truth to her son—if not for his words of comfort, she would have done the unthinkable. She trusted her eldest son with all her heart. That’s why till she died KS Sethumadhavan insisted that the producers always handed his mother his salary.

Sage dreams

Ever since he visited the ashram of Ramana Maharshi with his parents, Sethumadhavan aspired to be a Sanyasi. In fact, that was his childhood dream. But his mother put things into perspective when she told him that the real Sanyasi was someone who took their responsibilities honestly, lived a life helping others, without hurting anyone. That’s when he decided to acquire his late father’s job. But

He made his first foray into cinema at Madras Gemini Studio by assisting Ramanathan’s Marmayogi (1951) which was produced by Salem Theatres. Later he worked with LV Prasad, AA SA Swamy, Sundar Rao, and Nanda Lakshmi. He made his directorial debut with the Sinhala film Veera Vijaya in 1961. The film which was simultaneously released in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka was quite well received.

He made his debut in Malayalam Jnana Sundari, produced by TV Vasudevan under the banner of Associate Pictures. Within a year his second film came out—Kannum Karalum (1962). Headlining Sathyan and Ambika, the absence of romantic scenes had troubled the distributors at that time. They were confident that the film will be a flop. But contrary to their fears, the film ran in Kochi alone for 100 days. Even in a relatively low-key cinema viewing area like Palakkad, the film ran for 50 days. His third film, Nithya Kanyaka was a remake of a Tamil film. In 1963, he came with another film—Susheela.

Hitmaker

KS Sethumadhavan’s growth was phenomenal. He was able to create two films in 1965 that were critically and commercially successful. One was based on Keshavadev’s novel Odayil Ninnu which narrated the story of a Rickshaw driver and the second one was a diametrically different Daaham. It told the story of a man, sentenced to double homicide having to undergo surgery. The majority of the portions were shot inside a hospital. Two of Sathyan’s career-best performances were in these two films. He aced as Pappu’s Odayil Ninnu and Daaham’s Jayarajan. While 'Sthanarthi Saramma' released in 1966 wowed the audience for its interesting female lead and fresh theme. One can say that with Thokkukal Kadhaparayunna (1966) the first phase of the filmmaker’s career graph came to a halt.

The 1968 film Yakshi can be considered a landmark film in Malayalam cinema. It was also the first psychological horror in Malayalam cinema. Till his Kanyakumari (1974) KS Sethumadhavan has made several relevant films in Malayalam. Some of the prominent ones include Adimakal, Kadalpaalam (1969), Kalpana, Vazhvemayam, Aranazhikaneram (1970), Oru Penninte Katha, Anubhavangal Palichakal, Karakanakadal (1971), Devi (1972), Pani theeratha Veedu, Kaliyugam (1973), Jeevikkan Marannu Poya Sthree, Chattakkari, Kanyakumari (1974).

His third phase was marked with films that dealt with mature themes like Ormakal Marikkumo (1977), Nakshathrangale Kaaval (1978), Oppol (1981), and Avidathe Pole Ivideyum (1985). It was during this time that Sethumadhavan also made a lot of films in other languages. His last directorial in Malayalam was the MT Vasudevan Nair written Venal Kinavukal, released in 1991.

His son Santhosh Sethumadhavan remade his father’s iconic film Chattakkari in 2012 9 (which unfortunately failed to recreate the magic of the original). Santosh also directed a documentary on his father. Sethumadhavan's sister-in-law married Ramu Karyat, the creator of Cheemeen.

Other languages

He was equally proficient in making films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Sinhala. His 1991 Tamil film Marupakkam won the first National Award for Tamil cinema. The film also won an award for best screenplay. His Malayalam movie Achanum Bappayum won the Nargis Dutt award for best feature film for National Integration. Nammavar, headlining Kamal Haasan, which is often considered as an inspiration behind Vijay’s Master, was his last Tamil film.  Interestingly it was Sethumadhavan who introduced Kamal Haasan as a child artist in Kannum Karalum in 1962. He is also credited for Mammootty’s first movie appearance in Vilkanundu Swapnangal as a junior artiste.

He made Kalyana Oorvalam (1970), Nallai Namathe in Tamil (remake of Hindi film Yaadon Ki Bhaarat) , Afsana Do Dilon Ka (1982), Zindagi Jeene Ke Liye (1984), Julie in Hindi, Manini (1979) in Kannada and Nijangal, Sthree (1994) in Telugu. He has also written the screenplay for Makkal, Jeevikkan Marannu Poya Sthree, Adyathe Katha, Devi, Daaham, and produced Ormakal Marikkumo and Viswaroopam. He was conferred the JC Daniel Award for his lifetime contribution to cinema in 2009.