A.B. Raj, who died in Chennai at the age of 95 on Sunday night, was a successful director of Malayalam cinema of the 1960s and 70s. With films like Danger Biscuit, Marunattil Oru Malayali, Kannur Deluxe, Nruthashala, Lottery Ticket, Honeymoon, Prasadam, Football Champion and Kanalkattakal, he established himself as a bankable filmmaker.
“In my long career in cinema, I have not come across any other director like Raj when it came to financial viability of a film,” veteran lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi, who penned several hit songs for the director, told The Hindu.
“After reading the script, he would tell the producer the budget of the film and he never exceeded that,” Thampi said.
Speedy completion
He was also known for the speed with which he completed a film. “That was because he was so well trained in different aspects of a film; he had learned it all from the legendary T.R. Sundaram,” Thampi recalled. “He was technically very good.”
Raj who was born in Alappuzha began his career in Sri Lanka. He had made several films during the decade he spent in the island nation. That stint was memorable for him for another reason — he worked as an assistant director of a unit of Bridge on the River Kwai, the epic war film directed by British master David Lean.
He attained bigger successes after moving to Chennai. Though he had made a couple of Tamil films, it was in Malayalam that he worked mainly.
Some of the finest songs of Malayalam movies were recorded for his films and these ensure that the visuals he directed would always be watched.
Remarkable songs
Songs like Ponveyil manikkacha... (Nruthashala), Uthara swayamvaram... (Danger Biscuit), Ethra chirichalum... (Kannur Deluxe), Pulayanar Maniyamma (Prasadam), Manohari nin... (Lottery Ticket), Manassilunaroo... (Marunattil Oru Malayali), Chandanathil Kadanjeduthoru... (Shasthram Jayichu Manushyan Thottu) and Mallikappoovin... (Honeymoon) continue to delight music lovers.
Some of those songs, like Ponveyil manikkacha..., were shot rather well. “He shot the entire song within a couple of hours,” said Thampi. “We got along very well, and it was only because he insisted that I write that song; otherwise P. Bhaskaran would have been the lyricist of the entire film.”
Raj’s daughter Saranya is a National Award-winning actor who has made a mark in Tamil and Malayalam cinema.
