John Abraham (11 August 1937 – 31 May 1987) was an Indian filmmaker, short story writer and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam and Tamil cinema. His film Amma Ariyan (1986) was the only South Indian feature film to make the list of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time by British Film Institute. Agraharathil Kazhuthai was listed among the "100 Greatest Indian Films" of all time by IBN Live's 2013 poll. Early life John Abraham was born in Chennamkary, Kuttanadu in 1937. He is from the Vazhakkat branch, Chennamkary of the Pattamukkil Family. He completed his intermediate studies in CMS College Kottayam staying with his grandfather, who nurtured John's talent in early days. After completing his degree in (history and politics) from Marthoma College, Thiruvalla, he worked as a private college teacher and latter he joined as an office assistant with Life Insurance Corporation of India in Udupi, Karnataka. After that he joined the FTII, Pune and there he met film-makers such as Ritwik Ghatak and Mani Kaul. John graduated out of the FTII with gold medals in screenwriting and film direction. He entered the film industry working as an assistant director to Mani Kaul for the film Uski Roti (1969, Hindi). He has worked for some Hindi projects that was shot in Kerala, but none were released. John's first attempt in direction came in 1967 named Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile. It was the Tamil film Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977) that gave John recognition. Career John entered the film industry working as an assistant director to Mani Kaul for the film Uski Roti (1969, Hindi). He has worked for some Hindi projects that was shot in Kerala, but none were released. John's first attempt in direction came in 1967 named Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile. It was the Tamil film Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977) that gave John recognition. He completed only four films, namely Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile (1972), Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1977, Tamil), Cheriachante Krurakrithyangal (1979, Malayalam) and Amma Ariyan (1986, Malayalam). Odessa Collective Under John the Odessa Collective came into existence in 1984 with a street drama in Fort Kochi named Nayykali (The game of dogs). Odessa was an attempt by a group of movie enthusiasts to change the history of film production and distribution by making it a collaborative effort with the public and thus act as an empowering and liberating medium. For the financing of the first film produced by Odessa, John and