M. T. Vasudevan Nair

M. T. Vasudevan Nair
M.T. in 2015
M.T. in 2015
Born (1933-07-15) 15 July 1933 (age 91)[1]
Kudallur, Ponnani taluk, Malabar District, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Pattambi taluk Palakkad district, Kerala, India)
OccupationNovelist, short story writer, screenplay writer, film director
LanguageMalayalam
Alma materVictoria College, Palakkad
GenreNovel, short story, children's literature, travelogue, essays
SubjectSocial aspects, Oriented on the basic Kerala family and cultures
Notable works
Notable awards
Spouse
  • Prameela
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1965; div. 1976)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1977)​
Signature
The signature of M. T. Vasudevan Nair

Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 15 July 1933),[2] popularly known as M.T., is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director.[3] He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature.[4][5] At the age of 20, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu (Ancestral Home- translated to English as The Legacy), written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu (The Prodigal Son - translated to English as The Demon Seed) and Randamoozham ('The Second Turn' translated to English as 'Bhima - Lone Warrior' ). The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.

M. T. Vasudevan Nair is a script writer and director of Malayalam films. He has directed seven films and written the screenplay for around 54 films. He won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay four times for: Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Kadavu (1991), Sadayam (1992), and Parinayam (1994), which is the most by anyone in the screenplay category. He was awarded the highest literary award in India, Jnanpith, in 1995 for his overall contribution to Malayalam literature.[6] In 2005, India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan was awarded to him.[7] He has won numerous other awards and recognition including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Vayalar Award, Vallathol Award, Ezhuthachan Award, Mathrubhumi Literary Award and O. N. V. Literary Award. He was awarded the J.C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam cinema for the year 2013. He served as the editor of Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly for several years. In 2022, he was honoured with the maiden Kerala Jyothi Award, the highest civilian award given by the Kerala Government.

  1. ^ "മലയാളികളുടെ പ്രിയ എംടിയ്ക്ക് ഇന്ന് 89-ാം പിറന്നാൾ; സിനിമ ലൊക്കേഷനിൽ ആഘോഷം". Manoramanews (in Malayalam). 15 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Ageless MT Vasudevan Nair walks his own path". The New Indian Express. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  3. ^ "M. T. Vasudevan Nair – internationales literaturfestival berlin" (in German). Literaturfestival.com. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Master was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ * Google Mughal Tent. "MT: Chronicles of a Culture". Jaipur Literature Festival. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  6. ^ M.G. Radhakrishnan (15 February 1996). "Winner all the way". India Today. Noida, India. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Padma Bhushan Awardees – Padma Awards – My India, My Pride – Know India: National Portal of India". India.gov.in. Retrieved 12 July 2012.