Bhadran (director)

Bhadran
Born	Thomas 22 November 1949 Palai, Kerala, India
Other names	Thomaskutty
Occupation	Director
Years active	1982–Present
Spouse(s)	Tessy

Bhadran, a shining star in the Malyalam cinema’s firmament, has established himself on high pedestal by virtue of his trailblazing movies that have found resonance among the masses, elite and common alike. He has found fame as an ace director and script writer whose superlative creations reflect his passion and flair for cinema while bringing to light his creative genius. He has delivered a flurry of top notch movies where his imaginative brilliance shone forth. Most of his memorable movies have Mamoothy or Mohanlal in the lead roles. His evergreen hits will always be the pride of Malyalam film industry and would be cherished by movie lovers for eternity.

Earlier Life

Bhadran Matel was born on 22 November 1952. Initially, he was known by the name of Thomas. However, his mischief and notoriousness during his school days grabbed him the name Bhadrakali which his father later on shortened to Bhadran. Also there was a noble intention; by giving a Hindu name, the father wanted his child to stay separated from the barriers of caste.

Career

Bhadran moved to Chennai from Kerala at an early age to make his mark in the South Film Industry and the rest is history. His glorious career has spanned over 32 years. He was impassioned about music in his early years and his talent as a singer became apparent from his childhood. He even also took formal training in music. He also loved acting in plays and had won many accolades during his academic years for acting and writing. He had always aspired to become a great film director. Bhadran rightfully believed that a good director must also be a musician, singer, actor and writer.

Actually, it was his quest for making an identity in the Malayalam film industry that motivated him to migrate to Chennai. Bhadran always wanted to be recognized as a unique film maker and he finally acquired the cult status in movies as a celebrated director.

His struggle for gaining a foothold in the fiercely competitive scenario bore fruit when he got the opportunity to work as the 8th Assistant Director in the ambitious Project of Hariharan – Rajahamsam under the banner of Supriya, the legend production house. Starting from that film, he assisted Hariharan in 14 films wearing the caps of an apprentice to an associate director.

The first movie under his direction was released in 1982. ‘Ente Mohangal Poovaninju’ starring Shankar, Mohanlal, Menaka, Kala Ranjini received immense critical appreciation and was liked by viewers. This thumping success meant that there was no looking back for Bhadran. He embarked on the venture of directing masterpieces that drew inspiration from lives of common people and was blended with creative surrealism. The year 1983 saw his second directorial creation when Changatham (Malayalam) starring Mammootty, Mohanlal, Madhavy was released and made ripples on the mainstream cinematic landscape. Year after year, he was busy directing movies that were loved by masses which sent his career on a stratospheric trajectory. He never intended to recklessly make film after film. Bhadran had his own way and he focussed on making 2-3 movies per year that show complete justice to art and the audience.

In his early years, when his nascent directorial career was shaping up, he had acted in his self-directed venture Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla which was released in 1983.

Spadikam, released in 1995, was an action drama movie whose plot was also written by Bhadran. The movie required the mature interpretation of someone like Bhadran who has delved in human emotions through his unparalleled creations. Spadikam meant prism and the title was chosen to depict the flickering nature of people who keep changing and adapting themselves to exploit situations as per their needs. The prism splits the white light into a spectrum of seven vibrant colours. Similarly, the star of the movie Thomas Chacko, a village rowdy played by Mohanlal transformed himself into various characters when differing experiences of life stared in his eyes. The film ended up being the highest grosser of 1995 and collected around INR 8 Crores. It also earned the unique distinction of being the longest running movie of 1995 and ran for 225 days at box office on a trot. Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor were won by Mohanlal. Spadikam turned out to be Bhadran’s most successful commercial film apart from being one of the highest grossing movies of Malayalam cinema. The movie and the characters in it gained cult status in Kerala’s movie culture. Spadikam was the first ever attempt in the world cinema that successful portrayed a typical parenting vice of standing against the children’s dream by being prejudiced about their future. Overlooking the talents children have and compelling them by all means to fall in line with parent’s expectation is the biggest crime that can be done to children. The movie perfectly depicted the same and paved way to be an inspiration for many other movies like 3 Idiots, Tare Zameen Par and Ustad hotel.

The theme of Idanazhiyil Oru Kaalocha was noted for its foresightedness. It was much ahead of its time and critics attribute this to the failure of the movie despite superb music by Dashinamurthy and soulful songs sung by Yesudas. Bhadran wanted to prove that love is not limited to youth but is free of age imposed restrictions. A teenage boy fell in love with an elderly lady, played by Vineeth and Karthika respectively. This new theme in Malayalam industry was given a cold shoulder by the audiences. Iyer the great, another of Bhadran’s creation had Mamoothy in the main lead. Such a story had never been told in the World cinema canvas. Mamoothy was able to foresee upcoming incidents with surgical precision. The powerful performance and its linkage to the train accident in Peruman made it a landmark movie in the Malayalam film scenario. It was the first Malayalam film to cross 100 days in theatre. One of the prominent movie critic magazines gave this movie 100 out of 100 and it was an outstanding achievement.

He is respected in the industry as an outstanding writer who can churn out marvellous plots that finds stark similarity to the vicissitudes and vagaries common people are exposed to. Yet, his writings never lapse in the realm of narcissism. We get to see the examples of his immense writing talent in various screenplays he has crafted over the years.

His span as screenplay writer saw him writing compelling scripts. He will always be remembered for the high level of sophistication he has ushered into screenplay writing. The themes of his writings were visionary in the sense that he had always tried to look beyond his times and inject vibrancy in his plots.

Personal life

Bhadran got married to the love of his life, Tessy who was an airhostess. He has two sons, Jerry and Teby, and a daughter Amly. Presently, he is living in Palai with his family.

Filmography

As Director

Year	Title	Cast
1982	Ente Mohangal Poovaninju	Shankar, Mohanlal, Menaka, Kalaranjini
1984	Changatham	Mammootty, Mohanlal, Madhavi
1984	Aattuvanchi Ulanjappol	Madhu, Mammooty, Ratheesh
1986	Poomukhappadiyil Ninneyum Kaathu	Mammootty, Mohanlal, Rahman, Srividya
1987	Idanazhiyil Oru Kaalocha	Vineeth, Karthika
1990	Iyer the Great	Mammootty, Geetha
1991	Uncle Bun	Mohanlal, Khushboo, Charmila
1995	Sphadikam	Mohanlal, Urvashi, Jagathy Sreekumar, Thilakan
1996	Yuvathurki	Suresh Gopi, Vijayashanti, Rajan P. Dev
1999	Olympiyan Anthony Adam	Mohanlal, Meena
2003	Vellithira	Prithviraj, Navya Nair, Kalabhavan Mani
2005	Udayon	Mohanlal, Jagathy Sreekumar, Manoj K. Jayan