Vigathakumaran
{{short description|First Malayalam film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Vigathakumaran
| image = Vigathakumaran.jpg
| caption = A scene from the film
| director = J. C. Daniel
| producer = J. C. Daniel
Janet Daniel
| writer = J. C. Daniel
| starring = J. C. Daniel
P. K. Rosy
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing = J. C. Daniel Nadar
| studio = Travancore National Pictures
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1928|11|07|or|1930|10|23}}{{efn|name=fn1}}
| runtime =
| country = India
| language = Malayalam (silent)
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Vigathakumaran ({{langx|en|The Lost Child|italic=yes}}) is a 1928 (or possibly 1930){{efn|name=fn1}} Indian silent film written, produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the movie. The lead actress P. K. Rosy was a Dalit who played an upper-caste Nair woman, which caused an uproar at the film's premiere at the Capitol Theatre in Trivandrum. It was the first Malayalam feature film and is considered India's first social drama. Daniel is regarded as the father of the Malayalam cinema industry for this work. Vigathakumaran is a lost film, of which no copy has survived.
Plot
Chandrakumar, son of a rich man in Travancore, is kidnapped by the villain Bhoothanathan taken to Ceylon. His parents' efforts to find him fail and Chandrakumar is brought up as a labourer on an estate. The estate owner, who is British, takes a liking to him and in time, Chandrakumar rises to the post of superintendent. At this time Jayachandran, a distant relative of Chandrakumar happens to come to Ceylon. Incidentally, he is robbed of all his belongings by Bhoothanathan. Stranded, he gets acquainted with Chandrakumar and they become close friends. They come to Travancore where Chandrakumar's sister falls in love with Jayachandran. Meanwhile, Bhoothanathan attempts to kidnap her and the duo's timely intervention saves her. A scar on the back reveals Chandrakumar's identity, which finally leads to the happy reunion of the family.{{Cite web |last=Sarat |first=Shivani |date=2023-07-31 |title=Vigathakumaran: The Lost History of the First Malayalam Movie |url=https://www.pinklungi.com/vigathakumaran-the-lost-history-of-the-first-malayalam-movie/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=pinklungi.com |language=en-US}}
Cast
- J. C. Daniel as Jayachandran
- P. K. Rosy as Sarojini
- Johnson as Bhoothanathan
- R. Sunder Raj as Chandrakumar{{efn|Friend of Daniel, a film producer, known for the 1933 silent film Marthanda Varma. Also referred to as simply Sunder Raj,{{cite web | last=S | first=Gautham | title=Of broken dreams | website=The New Indian Express | date=23 October 2020 | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2020/Oct/23/of-broken-dreams-2213773.html | access-date=27 May 2025}} and sometimes Sundar Raj.{{cite journal | title= Preservation of culture through promotion of linguistic Cinema in India: A critical analysis|first1= Neeraj Karan|last1= Singh |first2= Ambar|last2= Pandey|journal=International Journal of Advanced Mass Communication and Journalism |date=2020| volume= 1|issue=1 | url=https://www.masscomjournal.com/article/5/1-1-6-730.pdf |p=35| access-date=27 May 2025}}}}
- Sundaram Daniel (JC's son)
- Sulochana Daniel (JC's daughter){{cite web | title=The pioneer | website=The Hindu | date=10 November 2013 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-pioneer/article5335492.ece | access-date=27 May 2025}}
Production
J.C. Daniel developed a passion for cinema while completing his higher education in Travancore.{{Cite web|url = https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/against-all-odds-how-jc-daniel-father-malayalam-cinema-made-his-first-and-last-movie-57937|title = Against all odds: How J.C. Daniel, Father of Malayalam cinema, made his first and last movie|date = March 2017| website=The News Minute|access-date = 9 March 2018|archive-date = 29 June 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170629120415/http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/against-all-odds-how-jc-daniel-father-malayalam-cinema-made-his-first-and-last-movie-57937|url-status = live}} He was interested in martial arts and was an expert in chelambatam, the traditional martial art of southern Travancore, and wished to popularise chelambatam by harnessing the popular influence of cinema. At that time the common people of Kerala were not even aware of cinema, so the idea was quite a challenge. He took the challenge and left for Madras (now Chennai) to learn techniques of film-making and to acquire necessary equipments. Madras was the budding centre of film production in South India and had the only permanent talkies cinema in South India, named Gaiety, established in 1912. However, he could not get what he wanted from Madras and was even denied permission to enter various studio premises there. He then travelled to Bombay (now Mumbai), the centre of Hindi cinema production.{{Cite news|url = http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-pioneer/article5335492.ece|title = The pioneer|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 10 November 2013|last1 = Chelangad|first1 = Saju|access-date = 9 March 2018|archive-date = 7 March 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200307154017/https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-pioneer/article5335492.ece|url-status = live}} He asked the studio owners for entry, claiming to be a teacher from Kerala who wanted to teach his students about cinema, thus gaining entry to the studios there. He was able to gather enough knowledge and equipment for film production from Bombay, and came back to Kerala to fulfil his dream. The film was finally shot in his own studio,{{Cite news|url = http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/locations-in-thiruvananthapuram-that-have-become-familiar-images-in-malayalam-movies/article21572284.ece|title = Popular film locations in Thiruvananthapuram|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 14 December 2017|last1 = v. n|first1 = Aswin|access-date = 23 December 2017|archive-date = 10 June 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180610111127/http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/locations-in-thiruvananthapuram-that-have-become-familiar-images-in-malayalam-movies/article21572284.ece|url-status = live}} which he established in 1926, Travancore National Pictures. It was the first film studio in Kerala, and located in Pattom, Trivandrum. He made money for the purpose by selling a piece of land in his name for 400,000 British Indian Rupees, and started production of the film of his dreams. He wrote the script and titled it Vigathakumaran (English: The Lost Child). He directed and wielded the camera for the film, which was silent. He was also the protagonist in the film. He also did most of the post-production work, including editing. The theme of the film was of social significance and was the first in that genre. Most of the Indian cinemas at that time were based on stories from the puranas and cinemas with social themes were scarce. The film was shot using a Debrie camera.{{Cite news| url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/tracing-evolution-of-malayalam-cinema/article21292834.ece| title=Tracing evolution of Malayalam cinema| newspaper=The Hindu| date=8 December 2017| access-date=23 December 2017| archive-date=5 March 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305100226/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/tracing-evolution-of-malayalam-cinema/article21292834.ece| url-status=live}} A British cinematographer called Ms Lala (or Miss Lana) is also reported as being involved in the production.{{cite journal | title= A Postcolonial Reading of the Movie Celluloid |first =Joe |last=Varghese |journal =Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science| via= Quest Journals| volume =7 | issue =6 | date =2019| p=54-55| ISSN=2321-9467| url=https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol7-issue6/K0706015455.pdf | access-date=24 May 2025}} The film was made in 1928.{{Cite book |last1=C |first1=Sunitha Srinivas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTwpEQAAQBAJ |title=The Aesthetics of Ugliness in Contemporary Malayalam Cinema |last2=K |first2=Arunlal |date=27 September 2024 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-0364-0937-1 |pages=56 |language=en |quote=The first Malayalam film (silent), Vigathakumaran by J.C. Daniel, was made in 1928}}{{Cite book |last=Pillai |first=Meena T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6iiPSQAACAAJ |title=Women in Malayalam Cinema: Naturalising Gender Hierarchies |date=2010 |publisher=Orient BlackSwan |isbn=978-81-250-3865-8 |pages=28 |language=en |quote=The origin of Malayalam cinema dates back to the late 1920s, the fag end of the Silent era. The first Malayalam film Vigathakumaran (Silent) was made in 1928 by J. C. Daniel.}}
The first Malayalam actress was a scheduled caste labourer named P K Rosy, from Trivandrum.{{Cite web |url=http://thebigindianpicture.com/2013/06/the-name-of-the-rose/ |title=The Name of the Rose |last=Sebastian |first=Meryl Mary |date=June 2013 |website=TBIP |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-date=25 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325075416/http://thebigindianpicture.com/2013/06/the-name-of-the-rose/ |url-status=live}} She used to come with lunch to act in the movie and go to her other work in the evening. Daniel had earlier signed an actress from Bombay named Lana to act in the heroine role.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-forgotten-star/article5383387.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827052236/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-forgotten-star/article5383387.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 August 2017|title=The forgotten star- The Hindu|date=27 August 2017|access-date=27 August 2017|newspaper=The Hindu|last1=Chelangad|first1=Saju}}
{{anchor|johnson}}Another important role, the villain Bhoothanathan, was played by the actor Johnson, who is the father of actress B. S. Saroja.{{cite web | title=Celluloid | website=malayalaulagam | date=12 November 2015 | url=https://malayalaulagam.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/bouquet-8-celluloid/ | access-date=24 May 2025}}{{cite web | title=Malayalam Movie Actress B S Saroja Biography, News, Photos, Videos | website=nettv4u | url=https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/malayalam/movie-actress/b-s-saroja | access-date=24 May 2025}} It was Johnson who suggested that the role of Sarojini could be played by Rosy.
Two of Daniel's children, his son Sundaram and daughter Sulochana, appeared in the film.
Release
File:Vigathakumaran Invitation Letter.jpg
The release date of the film is debated, with two dates reported: 7 November 1928 and 23 October 1930.{{Cite journal|url = http://www.epw.in/journal/2017/49/perspectives/casting-caste-dalit-identity-papilio-buddha-and-malayalam-cinema.html|title = Making a Show: The Black Money Bill|journal = Economic and Political Weekly|volume = 50|issue = 23|pages = 7–8|access-date = 23 December 2017|archive-date = 24 December 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171224101419/http://www.epw.in/journal/2017/49/perspectives/casting-caste-dalit-identity-papilio-buddha-and-malayalam-cinema.html|url-status = dead}} Most sources suggest the earlier date, as the later date is based on an unverified copy of a handbill (illustrated here) about the film that only came to light in 2003. However, among others, R. Gopalakrishnan, who made a documentary film about Daniel in 2006 and published the 2020 book Broken Dreams, about Daniel, his wife, producer R. Sunder Raj, his wife Devaki Bai, and Rama Reddy, who owned the Capitol Cinema, believes that the film was must have been released at the later date.{{cite web | last=S. | first=Gautham | title=Of broken dreams | website=The New Indian Express | date=23 October 2020 | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2020/Oct/23/of-broken-dreams-2213773.html | access-date=27 May 2025}}{{Efn |name=fn1|Many sources cite the release date as 23 October 1930, a topic explored at length in an article by journalist Adv Narayan published in 2012. His view is that Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan's "meticulous research", putting the date at 7 November 1928, was lost after various sources, after an unverified copy of a handbill about the film, which came to light during the 8th International Film Festival of Kerala in 2003, giving the date as 23 October 1930. This was widely reported in the media, and was repeated by journalist Kunnukuzhi Mani.{{cite web | title=Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan's meticulous research weighed against a Handbill.|first=Adv| last= Narayan | website=OLD MALAYALAM CINEMA | date=3 December 2012 | url=https://malayalam137.rssing.com/chan-6007866/article20.html | access-date=23 May 2025}} R. Gopalakrishnan, author of Broken Dreams (2020) presents evidence in his book that the film was not released in 1928, saying in an interview "If the movie was released in 1928, why is there no news of it in any of the newspapers? Also, there is no proof that the Capitol Cinema Hall was burned down". Many other sources cite the 1928 release date.{{Cite book |last1=Rajadhyaksha |first1=Ashish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vg9xu4J7L-oC |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |last2=Willemen |first2=Paul |date=1999 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-57958-146-6 |pages=251 |language=en |quote=Vigathakumaran (1928); Hailed as the first Malayalam film, released in November 1928 in Trivandrum. Its lack of success ruined the director and no literature about, or footage from, the film appear to have survived.}}{{Cite book |last1=Gokulsing |first1=K. Moti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djUFmlFbzFkC |title=Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas |last2=Dissanayake |first2=Wimal |date=2013-04-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-77284-9 |pages=105 |language=en |quote= Touring film companies brought the flavors of Tamil, Marathi and Hindi cultures to Malayalee populations. Only two films were produced during the silent era of Malayalam cinema-Vigathakumaran (The Lost Child) in 1928 and Marthandavarma in 1931.}}{{Cite book |last=Datta |first=Amaresh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifjFnAEACAAJ |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo |date=1987 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1803-1 |pages=751 |language=en |quote=CINEMA (Malayalam); The first movie in Malayalam came out in 1928. J.C. Daniel's Vigathakumaran was a silent film. Efforts to make a sound film (Talkies) started and as a result the film Balan came out in 1938.}}{{Cite book |last1=Barclay |first1=Francis Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m57WEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT214 |title=Gender and Popular Visual Culture in India: 'Benevolent' Sexism and Disguised Discrimination |last2=Laskar |first2=Kaifia Ancer |date=3 November 2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-99702-6 |language=en |quote=Gender issues in the Malayalam film industry have a long-standing history, starting from the controversial casting of the Dalit woman P. K. Rosy in the first Malayalam film Vigathakumaran (1928).}}{{Cite book |last1=Roy |first1=Anjali Gera |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4MfRoQEACAAJ |title=Travels of Bollywood Cinema: From Bombay to LA |last2=Chua |first2=Beng Huat |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-945415-0 |pages=154 |language=en |quote=In 1928, the first Malayalam silent movie Vigathakumaran was produced.}} Kiran Ravindran, who made the documentary The Lost Child, asserts that Vigathakumaran was first released in 1928, not 1930.{{cite web | title=Screening of documentary on J C Daniel on Wednesday | website=The New Indian Express | date=5 November 2012 | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2012/Nov/05/screening-of-documentary-on-j-c-daniel-on-wednesday-422519.html | access-date=20 May 2025}}}}
Vigathakumaran premiered in Thiruvananthapuram at the Capitol Theatre.{{Cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/2005/10/23/stories/2005102311400400.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018215220/http://www.thehindu.com/2005/10/23/stories/2005102311400400.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=18 October 2015 | newspaper=The Hindu | title=His pioneering effort set the cameras rolling| date=23 October 2005}} The theatre was located opposite the present day AG's office near the present day State Legislature Building in the centre of Thiruvananthapuram city. The screening was inaugurated by Adv. Malloor Govinda Pillai. Since it was a silent movie, there was an announcer at the theatre who would explain the story and the situation. Despite being the first cinema made in Kerala and the social significance of the cinema, it faced the wrath of certain Hindu orthodox groups in Kerala, due to the presence of a woman in the film. At that time acting in films were considered as an act worse than prostitution.Cinema of Malayalam - [http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/jcdaniel.html Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606225929/http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/jcdaniel.html |date=6 June 2009 }} It was a period when female roles in even plays were played by males. Rosy was barred from the theatre as some upper-caste Hindus, outraged that a converted Dalit could play a Nair woman in the film, created a ruckus. During the screening, stones were thrown at the screen, damaging it.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/14/stories/2010081451180200.htm |title= "New media misrepresents role of women: Kumar Shahani"|work=The Hindu|date=14 August 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125060824/http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/14/stories/2010081451180200.htm|archive-date=25 January 2013}}{{Cite web | url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/women-in-film-industry-no-level-playing-field/article9587679.ece | title=No level playing field | access-date=23 December 2017 | archive-date=10 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210075100/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/no-level-playing-field/article9587679.ece | url-status=live }}
It was later screened in Alappuzha (Alleppey), one of the most important port towns in Kerala during that time, at the Star Theatre. There the more liberal audience were more tolerant, receiving the film with praise. There was a minor glitch when the screen faded and the audience booed. The announcer explained that since this was the first Malayalam film, there would be some minor problems, and the audience received this statement with applause. It is said that J.C.Daniel himself came to Alleppey with the film box, since there was only one print. The film was also screened at Kollam, Thrissur, Tellichery, and Nagercoil. The film did only a moderate business at the box office and the receipts were way less than the expenditure. The screenings at Kollam and Thrissur led to riots, including trashing of equipment.{{cite web | last=Pillai | first=Geetha Sunil | title=Dalit History Month: How the Caste System Buried Kerala's First Christian Filmmaker & Dalit Actress 97 Years Ago | website=The Mooknayak English - Voice Of The Voiceless | date=3 April 2025 | url=https://en.themooknayak.com/society/dalit-history-month-how-the-caste-system-buried-keralas-first-christian-filmmaker-dalit-actress-97-years-ago | access-date=20 May 2025}}
With the film not generating enough money at the box office, Daniel was heavily in debt, so he sold his equipment and closed down his studio.{{Cite web|url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/regional-cinema-matters-beyond-bollywood-looks-at-rich-history-of-south-indian-cinema/story-I9OCHd2qrFGxMDv43wX4KI.html|title = Regional cinema matters: Beyond Bollywood looks at rich history of south Indian cinema|date = 12 October 2017|access-date = 23 December 2017|archive-date = 23 December 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171223221648/http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/regional-cinema-matters-beyond-bollywood-looks-at-rich-history-of-south-indian-cinema/story-I9OCHd2qrFGxMDv43wX4KI.html|url-status = live}} He left Thiruvananthapuram and spent the rest of his life as a dentist in Tamil Nadu.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Aftermath and legacy
No copy of Vigathakumaran has survived.{{Cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/How-Vigathakumaran-was-lost-to-history/articleshow/18505051.cms | title=Harris Daniel: How 'Vigathakumaran' was lost to history | website=The Times of India | access-date=23 December 2017 | archive-date=18 May 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518120110/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/How-Vigathakumaran-was-lost-to-history/articleshow/18505051.cms | url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Rajadhyaksha |first=Ashish |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Encyclopedia_of_Indian_Cinema.html?id=Vg9xu4J7L-oC |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |last2=Willemen |first2=Paul |date=1999 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-57958-146-6 |pages=251 |language=en |quote=Vigathakumaran (1928); Hailed as the first Malayalam film, released in November 1928 in Trivandrum. Its lack of success ruined the director and no literature about, or footage from, the film appear to have survived.}}{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Pc1DCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|title = Directory of World Cinema: INDIA|isbn = 9781841506227|last1 = Bingham|first1 = Adam|date = 29 July 2015|access-date = 16 August 2019|archive-date = 10 February 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230210075053/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pc1DCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|url-status = live}} On the 90th anniversary of Malayalam cinema in Kozhikode in 2018, JC Daniel's youngest son, Harris (or Haris) Daniel, said that he had burnt the only print of the film as an act of revenge upon his elder brother, who featured in the movie. Harris was six years old in 1928, and he was being bullied by his brother.{{cite web | title=A confession on the lost print of Vigathakumaran | website=The Hindu | date=7 May 2018 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/a-confession-on-the-lost-print-of-vigathakumaran/article23806281.ece | access-date=27 May 2025}}
The Government of Kerala initially refused to give Daniel a pension or award Daniel any honours because he was born and also later settled in Kanyakumari district, which later became a part of Tamil Nadu, in 1956. It said that if Daniel wanted any financial assistance, he had to apply for it from the Tamil Nadu Government. At the far end of his life, he had told R. Kumaraswamy, the editor of the film magazine Nana: "Malayalam cinema is a thriving industry now. But never have anyone bothered to recognise me as someone who made a film all by himself in those days. As for the new generation, they don't know me. But it is not their fault, I soothe myself." Long after Daniel's death in 1975, the Kerala Government instituted the J. C. Daniel Award in 1992, as a part of the Kerala State Film Awards, to honour lifetime achievements in Malayalam cinema.{{Cite news|url = http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/history-in-retrospect/article5433586.ece|title = History in retrospect|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 8 December 2013|last1 = Chelangad|first1 = Saju|access-date = 23 December 2017|archive-date = 27 February 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200227045914/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/history-in-retrospect/article5433586.ece|url-status = live}}
Daniel is now known as "the father of Malayalam cinema". The failure of Vigathakumaran is attributed by some to it being a silent film, Devaki Bai, who acted in the 1933 film Marthanda Varma, suggested that it could have been because at the time, talkies in other languages were being screened and "a silent film wasn't much of a novelty".{{Cite news|url = http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-lost-life-revisited/article4515992.ece|title = 'The Lost Life' Revisited|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 17 March 2013|last1 = Anand|first1 = Shilpa Nair|access-date = 23 December 2017|archive-date = 23 December 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171223221730/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/the-lost-life-revisited/article4515992.ece|url-status = live}}
In popular culture
{{also |P. K. Rosy#In popular culture}}
Nashtanayika is a 2008 novel by Vinu Abraham which details the life of P. K. Rosy, the heroine of Vigathakumaran.Saraswathy Nagarajan (11 October 2012). [http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/flashback-in-tinsel-town/article3987337.ece "Flashback in tinsel town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302170114/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/flashback-in-tinsel-town/article3987337.ece |date=2 March 2014 }}. The Hindu. Retrieved 11 May 2013. It was translated into English and published in 2020 as The Lost Heroine.{{cite web | title=Requiem for a lost heroine | website=Indian Cultural Forum | date=23 September 2020 | url=https://indianculturalforum.in/2020/09/23/requiem-for-a-lost-heroine/ | access-date=24 May 2025}}
In 2013, Kamal wrote and directed a biopic about J.C. Daniel titled Celluloid. The film details the struggles of Daniel to produce and exhibit Vigathakumaran, while plunging into financial crisis. The film, based partially on Abraham's novel Nashta Naayika as well as the Life of J. C. Daniel, a biography by film historian and journalist Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan, also deals with the life of Rosy. Prithviraj plays the role of Daniel, while Mamta Mohandas plays his wife Janet, and newcomer Chandni plays Rosy. The film generated criticism over its subtle reference to an IAS Officer and the then Kerala Chief Minister, which purportedly points to the bureaucrat and writer Malayattoor Ramakrishna Iyer and K. Karunakaran, who allegedly worked together to deny J. C. Daniel credit for his contribution to Malayalam cinema since he was a Nadar (Christian).[http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/barbs-in-celluloid-lead-to-bloodletting/article4446883.ece "Barbs in ‘Celluloid’ lead to bloodletting"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430033234/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/barbs-in-celluloid-lead-to-bloodletting/article4446883.ece |date=30 April 2013 }}. The Hindu. Retrieved 11 May 2013.[http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/row-over-kerala-award-winning-film-celluloid-1.1149899 "Row over Kerala award-winning film ‘Celluloid’"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325092628/http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/row-over-kerala-award-winning-film-celluloid-1.1149899 |date=25 March 2013 }}. Gulf News. Retrieved 11 May 2013. Author and civil servant N. S. Madhavan and D. Babu Paul, former Chief Secretary of Kerala, have pointed out factual inaccuracies in the film's depiction of Malayattoor and Karunakaran.[http://www.dcbooks.com/n-s-madhavan-against-celluloid-movie.html "N S Madhavan against Celluloid movie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195332/http://www.dcbooks.com/n-s-madhavan-against-celluloid-movie.html |date=4 March 2016 }}. DC Books. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
There are also several documentary films centred on the life and legacy of PK Rosy.
Footnotes
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References
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