A man laughed at the unjust, established order of things – John Abraham.

John Abraham ( August 11, 1937 - 31 May 1987 ), was a Ma layali Indian filmmaker , screenwriter , a nomadic, a man who tried to democratise the film and a person who questioned all hypocrite and wicked attitudes of the society. Abraham graduated out of the film institute with gold medals in screenwriting and film direction.

He was more famous for his style of living and way of thinking than for his films. He attained a mythical status, living a nomadic kind of life. He rebelled all the established ways of life as well as art. John was a compulsive traveler, without any belongings, mostly without even another pair of clothing. John can be anywhere-in conscious or unconscious state; drunk or sober; in groups or alone.

The media called him Otttayan. He was also an alcoholic, and died after falling from the rooftop in Kozhikode on May 31, 1987. Adoor Gopalakrishnan said, “If anyone asks for the most important aspect of John's cinema, I would have to mention at the outset, their engrossing black humor”.

A man who touched many lives, an icon, a maverick filmmaker, a rebel, an enigma, an extraordinarily free soul … these epithets sound clichéd when one describes filmmaker John Abraham. ‘Ningalude Viswasthan, John,’ a video essay by C. Sarat Chandran brings us closer to the person who lived life on the edge, through reminiscences of those who were close to him.

The John Abraham folklore, or mystique if you like, is to be understood in terms of not just the films he made, but the mythical life he led that mocked decisively at norms and notions of accepted social behaviour. While trying to question the tyranny of the market, he moved with common people who consisted in a large measure of poor, illiterate villagers.

It was under the leadership of Abraham that Odessa Collective came into existence in 1984 with a street drama in Fort Kochi named Nayakali. Odessa was an attempt by a group of movie enthusiasts to change the history of film production and distribution by making it a collaborative effort with the public and thus act as an empowering and liberating medium. Their first film, Amma Ariyan, was produced with contributions from the general public. Odessa also collected funds for the film by screening Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. Amma Ariyan was screened on a non-commercial basis throughout the state.

Abraham's first attempt in direction came in 1967 named Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile. It was the Tamil film Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977) that elevated Abraham to fame. John Abraham is recognised as a genius in Malayalam cinema. He made his mark with the Tamil film Agraharathil Kazhuthai, but is possibly remembered most for his efforts in starting a people's cinema movement called Odessa

Considered an avant-garde film director and writer, he completed only four films, namely Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972), Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977, Tamil), Cheriachante Krurakrithyangal (1979, Malayalam) and Amma Ariyan (1986, Malayalam), all four written and directed by him.

He has left behind a number of complete and incomplete scripts. A collection of his stories had been published under the title Nerchakkozhi. Another collection of his stories has been published posthumously under the title John Abrahaminte Kathakal by Pakshikkottam Books, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1993.

Although he was influenced by ideology, but he denied bond with it when came to films, at least beyond a point. His most significant contribution was that he sowed the seeds of ‘people’s film’ and displayed the ‘audacity’ to take on the establishment and challenging distribution network. It is sad that the movement did not grow beyond Odessa, get the nourishment it deserved and muster the strength it ought to have.

Poet Balachandran Chullikad spoke for all of us when he summed it up thus, “I too shared the ideas John had nurtured, but lacked his courage and his tenacity.” We all stuck to the beaten track, didn’t we?

Like the John the Baptist after whom he was named who gave his head to a tyrannical king and a dancing girl but not his faith. He challenged the powers of the market with the power of the poor people. That was the faith and praxis of John.

I have many differences of opinions with him but still I respect him in many ways as a man who moved with common people with different perception and imagination.