John Abraham Director

Born on 11th August 1937 in Chennamkary, Kuttanadu, John Abraham Like some of our sexy stars, John Abraham has had >> Read More... was a Malayali Indian Filmmaker, short story writer and a screenwriter although he was more acknowledged for his style of living and his way of thinking than for his films. At FTII under the guidance of Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Ghatak was born in Dhakka, East Bengal now >> Read More... and of Mani Kaul Mani Kaul undoubtedly was one of the greatest dire >> Read More... John studied Filmmaking, whom he assisted on Uski Roti (1969). Later in 1970, John moved to Madras, where he filmed his first feature, Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile, in 1971, in Malayalam.

He was known to be the greatest Indian film directors. His film Amma Ariyan, in 1986 was the first and only South Indian film in the history to be counted in ‘Top 10 Indian Films’ of all time by the British Film Institute. And according to the IBN Live’s 2013 poll, this film was listed among the 100 Greatest Indian Films of all time. John earned fame and made his mark in the industry with the Tamil film, Agraharathi Kazhuthai.

Although he is more recognized and is popular for his effort towards starting a people’s cinema movement, which is an outright form of Independent Filmmaking called Odessa Collective. He belongs to the Vazhakkat Branch, Chennamkary of the Pattamukkil family. He completed his intermediate studies from the C.M.S. College, in Kottayam, while staying with his grandfather. Major credit for nurturing John’s career and talent goes to his grandfather. He pursued history and politics from Marthoma College, Thiruvalla, and later after the course, he worked as a private teacher for a few years and later worked as an office assistant with Life Insurance Corporation of India in Udupi, Karnataka.

After getting done with the job, he joined FTII, Pune from where he graduated winning several gold medals in screenwriting and film direction. John has worked on several Hindi Projects that he filmed in Kerela, but none of them released. He was considered to be an evant- Garde film director and writer. Throughout his career of only 15 years, he wrote and directed four films, named Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithi , in 1972, Agraharathi Kazhuthai, in 1977, Cheria chante Krura krithyangal, in 1979, and Amma Ariyan, in 1986.

There many other scripts which he wrote but are left half finished. He has written and directed three documentaries, Koyna Nagar (In English, 1967), Priya (In Hindi,1969) and Hides and Strings(In English, 1969) throughout his career. The Odessa Collective movement was initiated by John in 1984 in Fort Kochi through a street drama named Nayakali. John’s attempt with Odessa , was to congregate the group of movie fanatics towards changing the history of film production and distribution by making it a collaborative effort with the public and being an empowering and liberating medium. Through this, John acquired an eminent status and lived the Nomadic kind of life.

For collecting capital for his first film that was to be produced by his idea of Odessa, John along with his friends travelled through several villages and raised money from the general public. He believed that cinema con is used as an impactful and effectual tool for social changes in the society. He tried to build a relationship with people, passing the tyranny of market forces His hard work, made him win two National awards for Best Feature Film, in 1977 and Special Jury Award, in 1987.

He has also won a special Jury Award, in 1979, by the Kerala State Film Award. John died after falling and collapsing from the rooftop in Calicut on 30st May 1987 after a get-together party as he was drunk being an alcoholic. The doctors failed to diagnose his internal bleeding, and due to the hospital’s negligence, John lost his life. Throughout his short 15year span of the career, he could only write and direct four films. Many of his scripts are left incomplete. There are two books written on his life journey, Nerchakkozhi, in 1986 and John Abraham Kathakal, in 1993.

Another Version of the Bio...

John Abraham is one of the legends in the Malayalam Film Industry.He was one of the most eminent Indian Filmmaker (Malayalam), a screenwriter, and a story writer who wrote short stories. His name is counted amongst the legendary Indian Filmmakers. John was one of those directors who had a unique state of living.He used to travel or wander places and had a nomadic type of lifestyle. John’s date of birth is 11th of August, year 1937. His place of birth is Chennamkary, Kuttanadu.He completed his studies from CMS college, in Kottayam, Kerala.

John has a degree in History and Politics from Marthoma College, located in Thiruvalla.He has spent the early days of his life with his grandfather, who played an extremely pivotal role in nurturing his talent and skills. John has worked as a College teacher and as an assistant with the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Later, he joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.Abraham is a gold medalist in Film direction and screenplay writing, which he received after completion of his graduation from this institution.

There he met and worked with famous filmmakers like Ritwik Ghatak. He has also worked with Mani Kaul, as an assistant director for the film 'Uski Roti,' released in the year 1969. Abraham came into the limelight after directing his first film 'VidyarthikaleIthileIthile,' released in the year 1967. He directed four films until his death. Those were the VidyarthikaleIthileIthiel, (1972), Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977, Tamil), Cheriachante Krurakrithyangal (1979, Malayalam). Abraham had a rebellious nature and loved to portray themes of contemporary India in his movies. He always wanted to bring a social change in the society with his work. His prominent achievements include his film 'Amma Ariyan' bagging a place in 'India's Top 10 Films' and 'Agraharathil Kazhuthai' featuring in '100 Greatest Films of India' of all time.

He is also known for revolutionizing the film industry when he took an initiative to start a 'People's Cinema Movement.' It was well known as the Odessa Collective, which came into the picture in 1984.Typically formed to group movie enthusiasts and bring about a change.John and his mates traveled across different places to raise funds for the movie that would be produced by the Odessa Collective. The movie Charlie Chaplin's The Kid got broadcasted across several locations, and fund for Odessa's first movie was collected.

The funds raised got utilized to produce Amma Ariyan in 1986, which was a massive hit. However, this prominent personality died in a misfortunate incident. John died on the 31stof May in 1987. Many believe that he under the impact of the alcohol became unconscious and fell from the rooftop while attending a party.The doctors of the Calicut Medical College couldn't recognize his identity,which led to the delay, the day hot admitted and eventually succumbed to death.It was an extreme loss that everyone suffered.Grief struck everywhere and in every heart of his fans.

Abraham keenly loved writing poetry and short stories.Before his death, he wrote many. He also wrote many scripts that were left incomplete due to his sudden death.The books like 'Nerchakkozhi' and the 'John Abrahaminte kathakal' features his writings. Various awards are given under his name as a memorial,due to his significant contributions to the industry. Such as, 'John Abraham Award for Best Malayalam Cinema ' and the 'John Abraham National Award for Documentary and Short features.' John also had an in-depth connection with the environment, and it was evident in his stories where animals used to be the protagonists. For example, Aamayude Aathmahatya and Poochadukkam.