Sreenivasan needed just two films to cement his legacy as a director

“The five hundred movies I didn’t do is my biggest contribution to Malayalam cinema,” Sreenivasan once quipped in his trademark sarcastic style.

Remaining true to that philosophy, the genial filmmaker directed only two movies, separated by almost a decade. It was not that he lacked the ability to direct more, but appeared rather a conscious decision to stop at two, confident that those films alone would leave a lasting mark. They did just that, winning multiple awards between them and continuing to remain relevant decades later.

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Vadakkunokkiyantram, his directorial debut in 1989, came five years after he had ventured into screenwriting with Priyadarshan’s Odaruthammava Aalariyam. By then, he was already well on his way to becoming a brand in that field. Apart from writing and directing, Sreenivasan also took on the responsibility of portraying the lead role, Thalathil Dineshan, a husband who feels inferior to his good-looking wife and is perpetually suspicious of her.

The decision to play that character was unsurprising, considering that from the very outset, Sreenivasan had a penchant for self-deprecating roles, especially those he wrote himself. The film depicted the plight of women trapped in toxic relationships and shed light on mental health, albeit through humour. It captured the imagination of audiences so deeply that it continues to be discussed even 35 years after its release. To this day, suspicious husbands are colloquially referred to as ‘Thalathil Dineshan’. The film also won three State awards, including best film.

Sreenivasan waited nearly a decade before donning the director’s hat again with Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala in 1998. The film opened with a shot typical of his style – brimming with sarcasm and satire – where only the characters’ dialogues could be heard while the screen remained pitch dark. Then one hears a cat, at which Sreenivasan’s character Vijayan asks his children whether the “power cut cat” is still alive, a witty dig at the frequent load shedding of the time.

The movie tells the story of an indolent middle-aged man who, after dabbling in various pursuits, takes refuge in what he claims to be spiritualism, ultimately as a ploy to evade his responsibilities. It ends with the protagonist making a course correction, realising that the search for self passes through several stages, from rebellion and atheism to even spiritualism. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues and two State awards, including for best actress for Sangeeta.