KOCHI: John Paul's life was like an incomplete script. An encyclopaedia of Malayalam film industry, Paul had started writing the history of Malayalam cinema, but he couldn't finish it due to failing health.
An acclaimed screenwriter, Paul was a chronicler of Mollywood as well. And no insider in the industry could tell its story better than Paul. Many in the industry and outside relied on Paul to get information about movies, stars, producers, writers, and technicians of yesteryears.
Paul had started the preparations to write a book on Mollywood history up to 1952 a few months before he was hospitalized. He had a justification for selecting the period. It was the nascent stage of Malayalam movies and very few documents related to the period remain now. The book was expected to be a comprehensive history of Mollywood, elaborating on the stars, production houses, the changing styles of filmmaking, and advancements in movie making technology.
