One of the most critically acclaimed directors after Satyajit Ray, Adoor Gopalakrishnan occupies a unique space in the world of cinema. His life intertwining with his art, and his art drawing upon real people and real lives, Gopalakrishnan's cinema turns the mundane into the magical, the commonplace into the startling. In Adoor Gopalakrishnan: A Life in Cinema, the first authorized biography of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, Gautaman Bhaskaran traces the ebbs and flows of the life of this enigmatic director. From his birth during the Quit India movement to his lonely childhood; from his belief in Gandhian values and life at Gandhigram to his days and nights at the Pune Film Institute; and from his first film, Swayamvaram, to his latest and long-awaited, Pinneyum, Bhaskaran's lucid narrative tracks the twists and turns of Gopalakrishnan's life, revealing an uncommon man and a rare auteur.