Working with MF Husain

Filmmaker and cultural facilitator Manoj K Varghese was private secretary to MF Husain. He is set to direct his maiden feature film

Of all his projects nothing excited filmmaker Manoj K Varghese (Manu Kariyad) more than assisting MF Husain in Meenaxi: A Tale Of Three Cities. “I met Baba, as I used to call him, at the Chennai airport the first time in 2000. I walked up to him and we got talking. A couple of months later when he came to Kochi to work on a series of paintings, ‘Kalyanikuttiyude Keralam’, I met him again. From that moment onwards, till 2004, I was his private secretary. At that time Baba was working on Meenaxi. Rahat Indori, the lyricist, joined him in Kochi where some of the songs were written. When Baba came to know of my film experience he asked me to join the team as his assistant.”

Relationship with Husain

His relationship with Husain continued even when the artist went into a self-imposed exile, shuttling between Doha and London. “The last time I met Baba was sometime in 2007 at one of his painting exhibitions in Dubai. He told me then that he would not return to India again.” After a lengthy hiatus, Manoj is wielding the camera again. He is gearing up to don the auteur’s hat once again, this time for his maiden feature film.

The untitled Malayalam film is set to roll in the middle of 2020. “Scripted by PF Mathews, based on a story by Jes Jith, it is a campus-based romantic crime thriller. I must have listened to over 70 stories in two years before locking this one. The scripting demanded exceptional skills and once Mathews Sir agreed I decided to go ahead. The technical team and cast is almost fixed. In fact, along with PF Sir, it was also the backing of good friends such as audiographer Justin Jose, Irish musician Michael Black that gave me the confidence,” says Manoj who has earlier worked on numerous telefilms, documentaries and advertisement films.

After his graduation Manoj embarked on his career in films. “In the early 1990s, when Doordarshan Malayalam was finding its feet I worked as assistant director in a few telefilms like Aanapooda directed by Kannan. My first independent work was Varadanam, a two-episode fictional documentary on the need for eye donation for Doordarshan. It had Ashokan and Ravi Vallathol in lead roles.”

Manoj’s other noted works include Tahasildarude Achan (as associate director), based on a story by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and a musical telefilm Divyodayam produced by Kalabhavan, which he directed. “The first one was produced by Kanmani Films with MR Gopakumar in the lead. The other had Christmas songs woven into a story with lyrics by Fr. Abel and music by Xavier Nayathode. The highpoint of this film was it featured singer S Janaki, perhaps the first and last time she ‘acted’ in a film. Kalabhavan Jimmy was the male singer. I also did a serial Kannadikal, scripted by Sreemoolanagaram Ponnan.” Manoj has also made ad films and was part of a significant documentary Hidden Pearl (2001). “This documentary was produced by TransWorld Film Italia and commissioned by the Syrian Orthodox Church. The aim of the film was to retracethe rich heritage of the Aramaic-speaking peoples, with their culture, language and traditions. It was directed by Marcello Baldi and had the physical presence of a producer, Giacomo Pezzali, though it was produced by a film company.”

In a film institute

Manoj was chairman of Kerala Auxiliary Force, an NGO that worked for those in need for health care. He then quit and migrated to Dubai where he headed a television channel, worked with an FM Radio Station and also worked as executive director of a film institute.

When Manoj returned to India worked as public relations manager of the Toc-H Group of educational institutions and as corporate PR manager of the Choice Group. He simultaneously launched India Elements, an artists’ and event management firm, and has worked with musicians such as KJ Yesudas, SP Balasubramaniam, P Jayachandran, Pandit Ramesh Narayanan, Manjari, Benny Dayal, Balabhaskar, John Anthony, Sivamani, and Stephen Devassy among others. Around the time he also did a telefilm (for Jeevan TV) Sakudumbam Maveli, scripted by Thomas Thoppilkudy based on a story by Ramesh Pisharody, and was also line producer for Ennu Ninte Moideen. “In all my endeavours I have had the unstinted support of my wife and children.”

Source: Read Full Article