I. V. Sasi


Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, was an Indian film director who made over 150 films in various Indian languages. He is well known for his work in Malayalam cinema of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, although he directed a few Tamil and Hindi films as well. In 2015, he was awarded the J. C. Daniel Award, the highest award in Malayalam cinema.

Early and personal life

I. V. Sasi was born on 28 March 1948 in West Hill near Kozhikode, as the son of I.V. Chandran and Kausalya. He married Malayalam film actress Seema on 28 August 1980. He met her on the set of his film Avalude Raavukkal. Ever since, she has been his favorite heroine. They have worked together in more than 30 movies. He has two children, daughter Anu and son Ani. Anu has acted in Symphony, directed by her father. Anu married Milan Nair on 10 December 2010. Ani completed Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai and is an budding director himself. I. V. Sasi lived with his family in Chennai.

Career

I. V. Sasi started his film career as an art director. Later, after working as an assistant director in some films, he directed his first film at the age of 27. Though his name was not mentioned in the credits, the film turned out to be a huge success. He started his directorial career officially with his first film Ulsavam. Soon he carved out a name for himself in the Malayalam film industry. His films were known for their uniqueness and always contained a stamp of his directorial style. I. V. Sasi has directed more than 170 odd films over a span of 34 years and has constantly delivered super hits and some of them classified as classics or good cinema. His Malayalam film Avalude Raavukal permanently established his name in the industry. This film was later dubbed into many other Indian languages including Hindi. It was the second film in Malayalam to be rated as "Adults only" even though it was a drama.
I. V. Sasi introduced actor Mammootty as a hero in his film Thrishna. Mammootty-I. V. Sasi combination was one of the most successful and bankable ones in Malayalam cinema. One of Mohanlal's first breaks as a co-hero Ineyengillum was also directed by I. V. Sasi. He also introduced actor Jose. Other collaborations such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair-I. V. Sasi, Padmarajan-I. V. Sasi, and T.Damodaran-I. V. Sasi are well remembered. He worked with Mammootty on more than 35 films. He went on to direct one of Mohanlal's biggest hits, Devaasuram, which was scripted by Ranjith. He has directed films in several other languages, such as Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. He has directed Kamal Haasan in films like Guru, Allauddinum Arputha Vilakkum, Karishma and Eeta. He introduced Rajinikanth to Malayalam film industry with Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum, and also made the Telugu-Tamil bilingual film Kaali with Rajinikanth in the lead role. He has directed Hindi movies as Patita, Anokha Rishta, Pratishodh , Karishma etc. His most critically acclaimed Hindi film was Anokha Rishta with Rajesh Khanna in the lead which was remake of Kanamarayathu. His biggest blockbuster in Tamil was Ore Vaanam Ore Bhoomi starring K. R. Vijaya, Seema and Jaishankar in 1979, which was remade in Malayalam as Ezhamkadalinakkare.
He has directed Malayalam movies in many genres. His war-themed movie 1921, written by screenwriter T. Damodaran, was the first Malayalam movie to be nominated in the Italian Film Festival. His Ina was the first Malayalam movie about child marriage. In 1982, he shared The Indian National film Awards' "The Nargis Dutt award" for the best feature film on national integration for his film Aaroodam with its producer Rosamma George. Ezhamkadalinakkare is the first Malayalam film to shoot in North America, with Manhattan being one of its locations. The song "Suralokajaladhaara" was filmed near in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

Death

I. V. Sasi died at his home in Saligramam, Chennai on 24 October 2017 at the age of 69 at 10:30 am, due to a massive heart attack. He suffered from various ailments during his final years, like diabetes and high blood pressure. He survived a major stroke in 2006 and was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time of his death. He was cremated with full state honours at Chennai Porur Crematorium. He is survived by his wife, two children, children-in-law and grandchildren.

Awards

National Film Awards
Kerala State Film Awards
Filmfare Awards South
Other awards

Malayalam