Priyadarshan the movies i loved growing up

The Bicycle Thief (1948): I was in the 10th grade when I saw this Italian film by the master Vittorio De Sica. The story about a young man who finds a job putting up posters in war-torn Italy and has his bicycle stolen, holds you captive with its simplicity in narration. It makes you feel the depth and the power of the story purely through its shots. There is very little dialogue. You get pulled into the story, even in the final scene where, Antonio (the father) has just received a beating for stealing a bike. Bruno (the son), in one of the most pain-filled sequences, takes off his cap and gives it to his embarrassed father. It reels you into the story so that you really wish that the father and son got their own bicycle back.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962): This David Lean film about a complex British lieutenant who builds his legend in the sands of Arabia, stands out on screen for me mainly because it sprung the most shocking visuals. What surprised me was how Lean managed to show the change of seasons. There were some shots that I copied in my later films. Take for example, the train sequence, where it goes from a desert, into a tunnel, fades to black and then, emerges from the Alps. I remember clapping in the theatre after this scene.
u00a0
Nirmalayam (Malayalam): This 1973 film written and directed by M T Vasudevan Nair stands out in memory. MT was the ultimate writer our country produced. After watching that film, my dream was to direct a film written by him.

Gol Maal (1979): This comedy by Hrishikesh Mukherjee is a favourite. I had always been a big fan of Utpal Dutt and that film always makes me wish he was alive today. I remember watching the film and marvelling at the most interesting sequences especially, the one where Utpal drives his car into a police station.u00a0 The slapstick and situational humour in that film later inspired my comedies.

Udhiri Pookal (1979): This Tamil film has one of the most beautiful narrative screenplays. It really offers you the scent of a village. There has been no film where you, as an audience, cry for the villain, despite his several atrocities against those close to him. That was an achievement in itself.