Director Govindan Aravindan also known as G Aravindan, who died in 1991, is considered one of the most important directors in the country and a famous name for the spearhead of the parallel film movement in Kerala. Known for his unique vision and ever-evolving storytelling techniques, his contribution to Indian cinema has been remarkable.
The highly acclaimed Thamp (Thampu) film has been restored by director and filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s Film Heritage Foundation and will be screened in Cannes. The film has been selected for a red carpet premiere at the famous Cannes Classic. Tab explores human relationships and the lack of roots of the marginalized through the ripples caused to people’s lives in a village by the arrival of a circus troupe.
Ramu Aravindan, son of the late G Aravindan, said: “It’s great because Thamp’s restoration has to do with something the movie’s viewers know exists somewhere but can’t watch.”
Shivendra says, “The Film Heritage Foundation is proud to have restored a cinematic jewel like Thamp, and to have received the recognition it deserves by choosing for the Cannes Film Festival. I first saw the film when I was a film student at FTII, Pune, and the film made a deep impression on me. This film shaped my approach as a director, so when I realized that no original camera negatives of the film survived, as was unfortunately the case for most of Arabindan films. His films were slowly disappearing and I knew that if we did not restore his films as a priority, the work of a teacher could be lost forever in the world. We have restored two of Aravindan’s films, Thamp̄ and Kummatty. “We hope that the screening of the film in Cannes will give new life to the work of a real artist like Arabidan, whose work should not be forgotten.”
“Typical alcohol specialist. Music evangelist. Total travel scholar. Internet buff. Passionate entrepreneur.”