Ken Russell was one of the most talked-about English film directors who came to prominence for his controversial-in-content flicks. Mostly revolving around the themes of sexuality and religion, Russell portrayed on the big screen the less-articulated societal facts, almost brazenly. He is also known for directing a string of biopics on the lives of famous artists, painters, composers and so on. These creative adaptations were also unusual at the time, as not many directors made their foray into this less-treaded genre of film-making. Russell’s interest in filmmaking started when he pursued his short-term career in photography. A freelance documentary photographer, his amateur films secured him a job in BBC thus sealing his fate for a career in television and films. After a stint of television documentaries and series, he tried his hand at filmmaking. Though his initial attempt was a failure, he earned fame with his 1969 film ‘Women in Love’. Thus, started a successful career journey which witnessed the release of films like ‘The Devils’, ‘Tommy’, ‘Altered States’, biopics on Elgar, Delius, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Liszt and so on. Later in his career, Russell jumped in front of camera, making cameo appearances. Russell also penned a number of books on filmmaking later in his career. If one has to sum Russell’s life in a word or two, he could be labelled as the ‘equally loved and hated’ director of English film industry, loved for his audacity to touch the unexplored genre and hated for shamelessly portraying the dark side of it.
