Cinemaazi remembers R K Narayan on his death anniversary

R K Narayan, who brought the world of rural and small town India to English fiction and put Indian writing in English on the global map, passed away on this day in 2001. The writer of classics like Swami and Friends, The Dark Room, The English Teacher, Mr Sampath, Waiting For The Mahatma, The Guide, The Man-eater of Malgudi, Malgudi Days and many more, left behind an enduring legacy, his stories enriching many a childhood. While he was often criticised for not tackiling head on the many social problems of his time like his contemporary Mulk Raj Anand, his microcosmic look at small town Indian society often belied the many tensions underneath.

The most obvious connection between him and cinema is of course the acclaimed adaptation of The Guide by Vijay Anand starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. Though he won a Filmfare Award for it, Narayan was not too pleased with the liberties taken with his story, even publicly criticising the film. But this was not his first brush with cinema. As a young writer he had written the story for the film Miss Malini (1947), produced by Gemini Films which would be Gemini Ganeshan's debut. He later took some parts of this story to write Mr Sampath which was also adapted by Gemini in 1952 starring Motilal and Kanhaiyalal. His novel The Financial Expert was adapted into the Kannada film Banker Margayya (1983). There is also the classic television adaptation of Malgudi Days which had four beloved seasons.