Do not blame the audience, says Sathyan Anthikkad

Kozhikode: If mainstream Malayalam cinema has deteriorated beyond recognition since the glorious days of 1980s, it is solely because of filmmakers, according to director Sathyan Anthikkad.

�It is foolish to blame our audience; they should not show the way to directors, it should be the other way round, the veteran director said at a meet-the-press programme in Kozhikode on Friday. �The directors should show them good films, and viewers will follow them. The filmmakers should not assume that the taste of the audience has deteriorated.�

Looking back at the golden period of Malayalam cinema � the 1980s and the early �90s � he said that was a time when the story of the film was what mattered most, not the stars.

�We had films like Vida Parayum Munpe and Ormakkayi,� he pointed out. �Directors like Padmarajan, Bharathan, K.G. George and Mohan were making excellent films then. Fazil, Priyadarshan and I tried to make different films. Looking back, I feel I was willing to experiment more then; I am not sure if I would be able to direct a film like Appunni today, � he said