Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 3 (IANS): Legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan on Saturday turned 80.

He lives in the state capital city in his tastefully decorated house designed by late Lawrie Baker and he is alone as his wife passed away a few years back, while his only daughter is an IPS officer in Maharashtra.

Though he has directed just a dozen feature films starting with 'Swayamwaram' in 1972, in his glittering career he has won the national film awards 16 times, 17 Kerala State awards besides numerous international awards and also the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004.

The country has decorated him with a Padma Shri in 1984 and followed it up with the Padma Vibhushan in 2006.

His last feature film was "Pinneyum" in 2016 and it featured the then popular Mollywood pair of Dileep and Kavya Madhavan.

His career began in 1965 with a 20 minute short fiction film titled "A Great Day" and since then besides directing 12 feature films, he has also done close to 40 short films and documentaries.

Adoor did his graduation from the Gandhigram Rural University in 1960 and left a government job of a statistical investigator to study cinema at the Film Institute of India, Pune in 1962.

After graduating from Pune in 1965, Adoor never had to look back. On Saturday, he received a string of visitors at his home here, including top politicians and a bishop who came to wish him on his birthday.

With Covid pandemic continuing, it remains to be seen what his next venture will be.

A tough nut to crack, Adoor doesn't reveal what his plans are, even though for a while there has been speculations that he might cast superstar Mohanlal, which has never happened before, although he has worked with superstar Mammootty a few times.

Among the international recognition that has come his way include -- Legion of Honour - French order, the highest decoration in France in 1984; Lifetime achievement award at Cairo International Film Festival; the London Film Festival, and the British Film Institute awards to mention a few.

While all his films have won rave reviews, some of the most acclaimed films include 'Elipathayam', 'Mukamukam', 'Anantharam', 'Nizhalkuthu', and 'Swayamwaram'.