For MT, as he is known popularly, death was never just an end but a profound truth woven into the fabric of life — sometimes tragic, sometimes redemptive, yet always inevitable.
Published Dec 26, 2024 | 3:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 04, 2025 | 9:39 AM
MT Vasudevan Nair.
More than a celebrated novelist and screenwriter, MT Vasudevan Nair stands tall as a revolutionary voice in Malayalam literature and cinema. Through his art, he captured the raw essence of human existence, unravelling life’s toughest realities with haunting honesty.
For MT, as he is known popularly, death was never just an end but a profound truth woven into the fabric of life — sometimes tragic, sometimes redemptive, yet always inevitable.
He had a profound understanding of death, which is why he explicitly requested no public viewing after his passing. As the former editor of a leading Malayalam newspaper, he was well aware of how closely death and commercialism are intertwined.
Perhaps that is why time honoured his wishes. He departed on 25 December — a day when the presses fell silent as if paying tribute to a man who spent his life shaping the printed word.
His films — Nirmalyam, Sukrutham, Sadayam, and Oru Cheru Punchiri — explore death in its many shades, from despair to acceptance, painting vivid portraits of mortality that linger long after the screen fades to black.
A snap from the film ‘Nirmalyam’. (High on films)
Can you imagine a Christian actor spitting blood on a Hindu deity’s face? MT Vasudevan Nair portrayed it on screen half a century ago.
Nirmalyam, MT’s directorial debut in 1973 is the haunting story of Velichappadu (Revealer of Light), an ageing oracle bound to a neglected village temple, struggling to keep his faith alive as his world crumbles.
A Velichappadu is the oracle or mediator between a deity and devotees at Hindu temples in Kerala, usually associated with the goddess Kali.
His wife, Narayani, barely sustains the household with the meagre income from the temple, while their son, Appu, has lost all belief in the goddess, caught in the grip of unemployment and despair. The arrival of a new priest only adds to the family’s torment as he seduces Velichappadu’s daughter, Ammini, before leaving the village for his own ambitions.
As poverty deepens, Velichappadu is forced to beg, and Appu betrays the sacred sword by attempting to sell it. The village, struck by a smallpox outbreak, revives its faith in the temple, hoping for divine intervention. But for Velichappadu, this renewed devotion comes too late.
On the day of the festival, Velichappadu is shattered to discover his wife selling her body to survive. In a final act of anguish, he dances before the goddess, spitting blood at her face and striking his forehead with the sacred sword until he collapses, broken by a lifetime of devotion turned meaningless.
The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and Best Actor, for PJ Antony who played the lead role of the Velichappadu, in 1974. It also won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Editor and Best Screenplay.
Sukrutham (1994), a film written by MT Vasudevan Nair is a poignant exploration of life, death, and human relationships. The story centres around Ravishankar (played by Mammootty), a news editor at a newspaper, who is diagnosed with terminal blood cancer.
Convinced that death is imminent, he takes meticulous care in arranging his affairs before his passing. He drafts a will, makes provisions for his wife, and even ensures that she will have a companion after his death so that she won’t be alone.
‘Sukrutham’ movie poster. (Creative Commons)
As everyone around him treats him with extra care, a colleague introduces him to a holistic treatment that unexpectedly works, and Ravishankar’s health improves. However, his recovery disrupts the lives of those around him, who had already accepted his death rather than a comeback.
Ravishankar returns to his office, only to discover that his chair and table are now occupied by another editor. Despite the awkwardness, he sits down at his desk. As he rummages through his drawer, he stumbles upon an obituary layout that his colleagues had prepared in anticipation of his death.
Shocked by the realisation that everyone had been waiting for him to die, Ravishankar edits the obituary before leaving the office.
In the end, overwhelmed by the emotional turmoil of feeling unwanted in his own life and the bitterness of being treated as a burden, Ravishankar takes his own life.
The obituary layout scene happened to MT Vasudevan Nair in real life when he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and took a long leave for treatment.
He accidentally came back to the office and saw his obituary piece prepared by his colleagues in anticipation of him dying soon.
After surviving a near-death experience, he wrote the iconic novel Randamoozham, which tells the Mahabharata from Bhima’s perspective. The title, meaning Second Turn, reflects both Bhima’s position as the second Pandava and the author’s second chance at life.
‘Sadayam’ movie poster. (IMDb)
Sadayam (1992), written by MT, is a psychological drama that initially struggled at the box office but later gained a cult following. The film won Nair the National Film Award for Best Screenplay.
The story follows Sathyanathan alias Sathyan (played by Mohanlal), a fatherless child who endures severe bullying and abuse until a priest recognises his artistic talent. Under the priest’s guidance, Sathyan becomes a signboard painter.
He moves to a house in Kozhikode, next door to Jaya, a young woman living with her two sisters and aunts, who are planning to force them into prostitution.
Sathyan helps the girls with their education and secures a job for Jaya. He falls in love with her, hoping to marry her and build a future together.
However, fate intervenes, and Jaya is forced into prostitution. Fearing the same fate for her sisters, Sathyan, in a moment of paranoid desperation, kills the two girls to save them from the same tragic path. He also eliminates the men responsible for their suffering.
In the final scenes, Sathyan remains eerily calm and silent, showing no remorse or fear as he faces his death. The film’s climax was shot in Kannur Central Jail, where the death chamber used for Sathyan’s hanging was the same one where a real execution had occurred 13 years earlier.
The gallows, which surrounded Mohanlal during the scene, were the same used for the execution of a real criminal. Mohanlal later shared this experience in his interviews.
Oru Cheru Punchiri (A Slender Smile), a 2000 Malayalam film directed by MT, won nationwide recognition for its unique narrative and earned him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Director.
The film portrays the life of Krishna Kuruppu (Oduvil Unnikrishnan), a retired estate manager in his mid-seventies, and his wife Ammalukutty (Nirmala Sreenivasan), in her sixties.
A snap from ‘Oru cheru Punchiri’. (IMDb)
Despite their age, the couple shares a deep, unwavering bond built on mutual understanding and affection. Krishna Kuruppu is a strict but caring man, while Ammalukutty blends maturity with childlike wonder. Their relationship is so harmonious that even occasional visits to their children feel like obligations rather than joys. The couple lives a simple, content life, finding happiness in small, everyday gestures of love and care.
As the story unfolds, their connection becomes the epitome of love and devotion. In a poignant final scene, after sharing a meal and conversation, Ammalukutty realises her husband’s stillness. His death comes quietly, but her response is strikingly calm.
Instead of succumbing to grief, she chooses to honour his memory by continuing the life they built together, tending to their small Vegetable Garden and caring for the people he once did.
Her parting words, “I always prayed that he would die before me. Nobody can look after him like me”, reflect the depth of their bond. With a subtle smile, she embraces life, proving that true love endures beyond death.
The film also won the National Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation in 2001. Later, the screenplay of the film was made as reading material in various universities in the state. The last few scenes of the screenplay have also been included in the Malayalam textbook for class IX formulated by the Kerala State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT).
ചെങ്കുത്തായ വഴിയിലൂടെ ഇടറാത്ത കാലുകൾ അമർത്തിച്ചവിട്ടി, വീണു കിടക്കുന്ന ശ്യാമമേഘംപോലെ താഴത്തു കാണുന്ന വനഭൂമിയിലെത്താൻ വേണ്ടി ഭീമസേനൻ നടന്നു. അപ്പോൾ വഴികാട്ടാൻവേണ്ടി, വെള്ളപ്പറവകൾ മേഘങ്ങളിൽനിന്ന് ഇറങ്ങി വ്യൂഹം ചമച്ച് മുമ്പേ, താഴ്വരയിലേക്കു പറന്നു.
Through the steep path, with unwavering steps, Bhimasena trudged forward, descending towards the forest floor that resembled a fallen dark cloud. At that moment, to guide his way, white doves descended from the clouds, and flew in a formation to the valley ahead. (Vasudevan Nair, MT (1984) Randamoozham.)
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
