Lenin Rajendran going ahead with Raja Ravi Varma movie

Urvashi – Pururavas by Raja Ravi Varma.

(Public Domain, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Lenin Rajendran, a leading Malayalam director has been churning the idea of a movie based on the Royal Painter, Raja Ravi Varma, for a few years now. Earlier he was planning to cast Suresh Gopi in the lead. (See: Raja Ravi Varma: A movie on the Royal Painter)

Now the mantle has fallen on cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan. The lead female role is to be done by Karthika, daughter of Tamil (also Malayalam) actress Radha. The screenplay, written by the director himself, is ready. Madhu Ambat is to handle the camera. Music is by Ramesh Narayan.

The name of the cinema which is to be made in Malayalam is Makara Manju. Makaram is a winter month in the Malayalam calendar. Manju means snow or mist. Therefore an appropriate translation of the title could be Winter Mist.

While Lenin was fine-tuning his project, another movie on Raja Ravi Varma has been completed, in two languages – ‘Rang Rasiya’ in Hindi and ‘Colours of Passion’ in English. The Ketan Mehta production features Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen. Some media reviews call it a sensual movie.

There was a proposal for a third project on the same subject, in Hindi, with the title ‘Suryamukhi’. I have not been able to ascertain what its current status is. The well-known Malayalam director Shaji N. Karun was to handle it.

But Lenin Rajendran is planning to tell the story from a different, new, angle. It was the Urvashi and Pururavas painting (see image) by Raja Ravi Varma that inspired the director. The touching tale of the love between Urvashi and King Puruvaras provides the background.

Using that setting, Lenin Rajendran plans to present the emotional parting of the painter and Anjali Bhai, his model for Urvashi. This involves the lead players acting double roles. Santosh Sivan has to play the painter and the king, and Karthika, who might have a different screen name, is to act as Urvashi and Anjali Bhai.

One can safely expect a good product from Lenin Rajendran. But when will the movie be ready for exhibition? The plans for shooting are reportedly ready. The locations include Trivandrum, Cochin, Kabani, and Mumbai.

Popularizing Raja Ravi Varma

The creations of Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), the great Indian painter, are superb and very popular all over the world. (See Raja Ravi Varma: A Movie on the Royal Painter)

We recently picked up a set of his paintings in the deco art format from an art and craft fair in Chennai. They are set on treated wood and are quite true to the originals. The pieces can be either stood on tables or hung on walls.

According to the suppliers, ‘Deco-painting is a Greek art form which originated during the 17^th century.’ Anyway, deco-art was popular during the first half of the 20^th century.

What is now available in the market should make copies of Raja Ravi Varma masterpieces available to the common man. The 13x13 cm size we bought costs Rs.100 each. Bigger ones are available also.

My photographs of the pieces are rather poor quality, but nevertheless I am reproducing them below:

Click on images to enlarge.

Swan: A painting and a photograph

The painting

Hamsa Damayanthi

Raja Ravi Varma's famous depiction of the swan
delivering Nalan's message to Damayanthi.

The photograph

Swan with ducks in the background.
(C) KO Isaac.

Click on the images for enlarged view.

Also see:

A beautiful photograph.

Raja Ravi Varma: A movie on the Royal Painter

The life of the great Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) is to be made into a Malayalam feature film. Lenin Rajendran, the award-winning director who had made ‘Swathi Thirunal’ a couple of decades back, is busy finalizing the script and other arrangements for the shooting of the movie, which is to start in September. Suresh Gopi, a ‘super star’ of Malayalam films is to play the lead role. The film is expected to be released around Christmas.

Raja Ravi Varma was born into the Kilimanoor royal family of Kerala. His talent was evident at an early age from the charcoal drawings he did on the palace walls. His uncle who used paint in the Tanjore (Thanjavoor) tradition was quick to spot the potential and gave the lad his first lessons.

The then Maharaja of Travancore, Ayiliam Thirunal, took the boy to Trivandrum and arranged for his training, first in water colors, followed by Tanjore style and then oils. The young artist was highly impressed by the by the European paintings in the royal collection and he developed a fusion of Indian traditions with Western techniques.

Raja Ravi Varma came into the limelight when he won the first prize at the Madras Painting Exhibition in 1873. The same year he became internationally famous by winning at Vienna Exhibition.

Raja Ravi Varma’s great creations can be classified into three - portraits, groups, compositions based on epics. He did a few landscapes as well. He painted gypsies, milk maid, aristocracy, British officers, and maharajas, among others. Strangely, his portrayals of the epics gave the lead to what came to be known as ‘Calendar Art’. Many people came to believe that his paintings depicted gods and other characters as they really looked.

Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings had their influence in more serious fields also. It is said that the coiffure of Mohiniyattam performers was changed to the hairstyle of the Kerala ladies in his paintings. In Kathakali, the style of the mask for certain characters was modified according to what the royal painter depicted.

Photographs of some Raja Ravi Varma paintings are reproduced below. To the best of my knowledge, these are public domain.

Also see:
A village artist
Popularizing Raja Ravi Varma