Blessy, Soft-Spoken Filmmaker And His Hard-Hitting Movies (image: instagram.com/blessyofficial)The hype around Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) is insurmountable. The movie marks director Blessy’s return to the big screen after a decade. During promotional interaction on the movie, Prithviraj Sukumaran, who essays the central character, mentions Blessy’s conviction for Aadujeevitham—his unwavering commitment and dedication over the years to actualise his artistic vision.
Blessy entered the movie industry by assisting ace film directors such as Padmarajan, Lohithadas, and Jayaraj. Associating with their schools of filmmaking has definitely aided him in his narrative abilities and the pursuit of a scene.
A brilliant storyteller, Blessy is known for his poignant depiction and communication of realistic visuals. Though megastars appear frequently in his projects, rather than exploiting their stardom, the director focuses on exploring their acting prowess. It makes Mammootty, like film projectionist Madhavan in Kaazhcha or farmer Monichan in Palunku, or, for that matter, government secretariat employee Ramesan Nair in Thanmathra, more rooted in character and life.
In the visuals of Blessy, life unfurls into his own writings. Life builds, breaks, and re-builds in his films. The characters are twined to the fate they encounter; in between the struggles, trials, and tribulations, life happens. Human emotions are at the core of his movies. Whether romance becomes the theme in Pranayam, motherhood becomes the theme in Kalimannu, or revenge becomes the motif in Bhramaram, the director carries the essence to perfection. Blessy believes films do the talking; that is why the issues that are spoken through movies, for instance, the issue of women trafficking dealt in the movie Calcutta News or the loss of innocence in the rush for money dealt in Palunku, are hard to evade since they have been spoken strongly by a softspoken filmmaker through a medium he effectively converses with and excels in.
Aadujeevitham, which is going to hit theatres in a couple of days, is already being hailed as Blessy’s masterpiece. Since Benyamin’s book of the same name has attained the status of a timeless classic, will Blessy’s visual storytelling acuity be able to meet expectations on multiple fronts? The coming days will tell.