Cinephiles can’t miss THIS rare still of Madhu and Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Social media is flooded with pictures and videos and they are quite engaging and interesting. But this black and white picture of actor Madhu and filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan is iconic, as it represents the beginning of a golden era, a period where films and its makers were only driven by art and the passion of creating it. A picture of veteran actor Madhu and revered filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has been doing rounds on social media lately and it has a lot to say. Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s maiden directorial venture was ‘

Swayamvaram

’ starring Madhu and Sarada. The movie was released in 1972 and it went on to bag several acclaims including the National awards for Best Film,

Best Director

, Best Cinematography, and Best Actress. ‘Swayamvaram’ was also screened at many prestigious international festivals in New York, Washington, Moscow, London, Paris, Nantes, La Rochelle, Pesaro, Helsinki, Ljubljana, Munich, Fribourg and Colombo among others. And this picture was apparently taken in 1973, during the Moscow International Film Festival, Russia, where the movie was screened. Madhu and Adoor Gopalakrishnan are engaged in a conversation and this picture has a place in the history of Indian cinema. Directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan ‘Swayamvaram’ is a movie that speaks about one’s will. The filmmaker calls the movie ‘a trip from illusion to reality’. The movie also marks the beginning of the new wave cinema in Mollywood. The movie discusses how Sita selects her life partner and how her will decides her destiny. Unemployment and the social structure of the age were eminently elaborated in the movie and it still remains a masterpiece.