S. Hareesh

Summary

S. Hareesh (born 15 May 1975) is an Indian writer, translator and screenwriter of Malayalam literature and cinema. He is best known for his short stories and his acclaimed but controversial debut novel, Meesa, which explores caste in Kerala in the mid-20th century.[1] The novel, initially serialized in the Mathrubhumi weekly, was withdrawn after protests by right-wing Hindutva groups and caste-community organizations for "maligning Hindu women and temple priests".[2] It was later published as a full novel by DC Books.[2] Hareesh is the recipient of several honours including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel and the Geetha Hiranyan Endowment of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi. In November 2020, the English translation of Meesa, titled Moustache, was selected for the JCB Prize for Literature, the Indian literary award with the highest prize money.[3][4]

S. Hareesh
Born (1975-05-15) 15 May 1975 (age 48)
Neendoor, Kottayam, Kerala, India
OccupationWriter, screenwriter
LanguageMalayalam
NationalityIndian
GenreNovel, short story, translations, films
Years active1995–present
Notable worksMeesa
Notable awards

Biography edit

S. Hareesh was born on 15 May 1975 at Neendoor in Kottayam district in the South Indian state of Kerala.[5][6]

Hareesh published his first book in 2005, a short story anthology titled Rasavidyayude Charithram ('The History of Alchemy'), which won him the Geetha Hiranyan Endowment Award of Kerala Sahithya Akademi.[2] This was followed by a Malayalam translation of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, which was published by DC Books in 2012.[7] Four years later, he published his second short story collection titled Aadam, which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award of 2016.[8][9] In 2018, his debut novel, Meesa, was serialised in Mathrubhumi weekly, but he had to withdraw it due to pressures from Hindu right-wing groups.[10] Later, the novel was published in book format by DC Books.[11] The same year, he brought out another short story anthology, Appan.[12] Meesa was translated by Crossword Award winner, Jayasree Kalathil and the book was published under the title, Moustache, by Harper Perennial India in 2020.[13]

The 2018 film Aedan was based on one of the three stories in Hareesh's short story collection Adam.[14] The story Maoist from the collection has been adapted by Lijo Jose Pellissery for his film Jallikattu,[2] the film was India's official entry at the 2020 Academy Awards.[15][16]

He is employed as a village assistant at Kaipuzha in Kottayam.[2]

Awards and recognition edit

Hareesh won his first major honors in 2008 when he was selected the Geetha Hiranyam Endowment by Kerala Sahitya Akademi for his short story anthology Rasavidyayude Charithram.[17] The next year, he received the Thomas Mundassery Award for short story.[18] He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for the Best Story Writer for his anthology, Adam in 2018.[19] He is also a recipient of the V. P. Sivakumar Memorial Keli Award[20] as well as the Nandanar Award in 2020.[21][22] Aedan, the film based on his short story for which he wrote the screenplay fetched him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay (adapted) in 2017.[23]

In 2020 the English translation of Meesa, titled Moustache, received the JCB Prize for Literature.[3] The novel won another award, the 2019 Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel which was announced in February 2021.[24]

Bibliography edit

Short story anthologies edit

  • Rasavidhyayude Charithram. Current Books. 2005.[25]
  • Aadam. DC Books. 2016.
  • Appan. DC Books. 2018. p. 130. ISBN 978-8-126-47733-3.

Novels edit

  • Meesa. DC Books. 2018. p. 328. ISBN 978-8-126-47737-1.
  • August 17. DC Books. 2022. p. 368. ISBN 978-9-354-82575-0.

Translations edit

Works available in English edit

Filmography edit

Year Title Screenplay Story Dialogues Director
2018 Aedan Yes Yes Yes Sanju Surendran
2019 Jallikattu Yes Yes Yes Lijo Jose Pellissery
2021 Churuli Yes No Yes Lijo Jose Pellissery
2023 Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam Yes No Yes Lijo Jose Pellissery

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Nagarajan, Saraswathy (23 January 2020). "I drew on the stories I have been hearing from childhood to write 'Meesha', says author S Hareesh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Anandan, S. (4 August 2018). "Who is S. Hareesh?". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b "എസ്. ഹരീഷിന്റെ മീശ നോവലിന് ജെ.സി.ബി സാഹിത്യ പുരക്‌സാരം".
  4. ^ "Malayalam author S Hareesh wins the JCB Prize for Literature 2020". The Indian Express. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  5. ^ Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (23 January 2018). "S Hareesh". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Who is S Hareesh? IE". The Indian Express. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Anthya Prabhashanam (The Last Lecture)". www.indulekha.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Who is S Hareesh?". The Indian Express. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Aadam". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Kerala Gets Its Own Perumal Murugan, Thanks (Again) to the Sangh Parivar". The Wire. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Meesha". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Appan". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  13. ^ "S Hareesh's Moustache is a diligently told story of a troubled yet awe-inspiring land". Firstpost. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Aedan: Garden of Desire (2018) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  15. ^ K., Janani (26 November 2020). "Why Lijo Jose's Jallikattu deserves to be India's Oscars 2021 entry: An overview". India Today. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Malayalam film Jallikattu is India's entry for 2021 Oscars". The Indian Express. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards" (PDF). Kerala Sahitya Akademi. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  18. ^ "S Hareesh- Speaker in Kerala literature Festival KLF –2019". keralaliteraturefestival.com. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  19. ^ Staff Reporter (22 February 2018). "Sahithya Akademi awards announced". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  20. ^ "S. Hareesh - Veethi profile". veethi.com. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  21. ^ "'മീശ' നോവലിന് അംഗീകാരം; എസ് ഹരീഷിന് നന്തനാര്‍ പുരസ്‌കാരം". Reporter Live. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  22. ^ www.dcbooks.com (20 October 2020). "നന്തനാര്‍ സാഹിത്യപുരസ്‌കാരം എസ് ഹരീഷിന്". DC Books. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Kerala State Film Awards: Debut films steal the show - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  24. ^ "kerala sahithya academy award announced കേരള സാഹിത്യ അക്കാദമി പുരസ്‌കാരങ്ങൾ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചു; എസ്. ഹരീഷിന്റെ 'മീശ' മികച്ച നോവൽ". www.twentyfournews.com. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  25. ^ Hareesh, S. (2005). "Rasavidhyayude charithram". Current books. Retrieved 13 November 2018.

Further reading edit

  • Hareesh, S. "Excerpts from Malayalam writer S. Hareesh's controversial novel 'Meesha'". Scroll.in. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  • Dore, Bhavya (11 December 2020). "Speaking His Truth". India Today. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  • "The best books of 2020 based on your mood". Vogue India. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  • Pradeep (18 December 2020). "From Kuttanad's belly, Jallikattu writer Hareesh takes the bull by the horns". The Federal. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  • S.anandan (4 December 2020). "Master of the labyrinth: S. Hareesh". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  • "Interview: S Hareesh, author, Moustache, winner of the JCB prize 2020". hindustantimes.com. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.

External links edit

  • S. Hareesh at IMDb
  • "മീശനാടിന്റെ കഥാകാരൻ - Interview _ എസ് ഹരീഷ്". Media One TV - YouTube video. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  • Staff Reporter (22 February 2018). "Sahithya Akademi awards announced". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  • Malayalam Wiki
  • "In Conversation with S. Hareesh and Jayasree Kalathil (Moustache). - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.