Adoor, Travancore, India | 1941-07-03

Adoor Gopalakrishnan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. Regarded as one of the most notable filmmakers of India, Gopalakrishnan played a major role in revolutionising Malayalam cinema during the 1970s and 80s. His first film, Swayamvaram (1972), pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala. One of the most celebrated directors in the history of Indian cinema, he has won 16 National Film Awards, 17 Kerala State Film Awards and several international film awards. For his 1981 directorial venture Elippathayam, he was conferred the prestigious British Film Institute Award. Gopalakrishnan received the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006. In 2004, he was awarded the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema. Gopalakrishnan's works often depict the society and culture of his native state, Kerala, and deal with social and psychological themes.