Cinestaan Curates: Gandharvan is an ode to two legends, their artistry and humility

Akhil Sathyan’s short documentary Gandharvan: Two Legends And A Painting (2021), captures a brief meeting between two masters, Malayalam cine superstar Mohanlal and legendary artist KM Vasudevan, popularly known as Namboodiri, both of whom have made extensive contributions in their respective spheres of work.

The eminent painter gained immense popularity for the illustrations he made of characters in literary publications in Kerala. Besides his artwork, Namboodiri was art director for the late G Aravindan’s film, Uttarayanam (1975), which won him the Kerala State Film award for Best Art Director.

In the short documentary, the 96-year-old artist recalls his first meeting with Mohanlal at the Cholamandal Artists’ Village in Chennai and reminisces about his love for sketching, while narrating his experiences of the latter’s immense stardom.

The actor, in turn, speaks about the individuality and spirituality imbued in Namboodiri’s art, which makes him stand apart from other artists. Describing the artistry in Namboodiri's works, Mohanlal shares the first request he made of the artist, where he gave him a verse from Adi Shankaracharya to illustrate.

The Malayalam language film is just over seven minutes long and unfolds at a moment when Mohanlal is travelling to the artist’s home to view, for the very first time, the life-size painting of Kamadeva (the god of love and lust), which the actor had requested him to make. The artist presents him with his interpretation, a painting of a gandharva, a celestial being.

The gentle, warm film captures the relationship of mutual respect and affection that the two stars share, with Mohanlal being almost like a fan, paying obeisance to the genius of Namboodiri. The humility of both men, legends in their respective fields, is inspiring. Despite his love for art and his collection of paintings, Mohanlal sees himself not as a collector but as a custodian of this material, while even at the age of 96, Namboodiri is eager to know what the actor makes of his interpretation.

The documentary was released on 21 March on YouTube.