It was under the leadership of Abraham that Odessa Collective came into existence in 1984 with a street drama in Fort Kochi named Nayakali (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 his friends traveled through villages and collected money from the general public. Odessa also collected funds for the film by screening Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. The film, Amma Ariyan (Report to mother) (1986) was exhibited across the state of Kerala on a non-commercial basis. John Abraham has a cult following in his home state of Kerala because of his anarchic way of life, and those who were close to him swear by his humanist qualities. He was convinced of the value of using the power of cinema to change society.
He started shooting a documentary based on the life of E.M.S. Namboodiripad, but never completed it.
Read more about this topic: John Abraham (director)