George Kutty, a beloved figure in Bengaluru’s film society movement, no more

George Kutty A.L., a veteran of the film society movement in Bengaluru, passed away on Monday (April 20, 2026). Mr. Kutty, who served as the secretary of the Bangalore Film Society, was also the editor of Deep Focus, a magazine known for serious cinema writing.

“His demise is a big loss to the cultural ecosystem of the city,” said N. Vidyashankar, senior film critic and author. “Kutty pursued the film society movement like an activist, working towards the screening of movies with socially relevant themes in the city.”

Founded in 1977, the Bangalore Film Society was at one point one of the top forums for film discussions in Bengaluru. “Kutty held on to his belief of showcasing movies that could bring a progressive change in people,” added Mr. Vidyashankar, who has also served as the artistic director of the Bengaluru International Film Festival.

National Award-winning film critic, M.K. Raghavendra, who was involved with Mr. Kutty in the launch of the quarterly film journal Deep Focus, remembers him as an activist, “fiercly radical minded” in his choice of films. “He opted for Marxist documentaries for screening rather than the standard European classics,” Mr. Raghavendra told The Hindu.

Launched in 1998, the quarterly film journal Deep Focus was an attempt at serious film journalism. After its brief absence from 2008, the magazine was re-launched in 2012 as Deep Focus Cinema. Acclaimed filmmakers Girish Kasaravalli, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Govind Nihlani, and film critics Mr. Raghavendra and Manu Chakravarthy were on the advisory board of the journal.

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Mr. Kutty was also the founder-coordinator of Voice from the Waters. Initiated in 2005, it is the world’s biggest film festival on water issues. “Kutty was deeply committed to the idea of cinema as a medium of political and social awareness,” Prashant Pandit, filmmaker, editor, and writer, told The Hindu.

Having watched several films with Mr. Kutty in film festivals in Bengaluru and IFFI Goa, Mr. Pandit remembered Mr. Kutty as someone who encouraged “people from varied backgrounds to come together to explore, share and celebrate cinema.”