PremiumJayaram: I have survived in films only because legends such as KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu performed with me
In an exclusive interview, the Malayalam actor talks about his relationship with KPAC Lalitha and how her loss will impact the industry
Last Updated: 10.32 AM, Feb 23, 2022
Since Malayalam actor Jayaram’s initial days as an actor to his latest film Makal, KPAC Lalitha had been a perennial presence and support to his career as well as his personal life. The actor has collaborated with the veteran actress, who passed away on Tuesday night in Ernakulam at 74, in a lion’s share of his movies including Keli, Sandesham, Malootty, Veendum Chila Veetukaryangal, Manassinakkare and Nadan.
In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Jayaram credits his stint in the film industry to actors such as KPAC Lalitha and Nedumudi Venu, who had passed away last year. “In this career, my biggest fortune was to act in movies helmed by Bharathan chettan, Padmarajan chettan, Sibi Malayil, Kamal and Sathyan Anthikad. Lalitha chechi was there with me in all those films along with Jagathy Sreekumar, Nedumudi Venu chettan, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Mammukoya and Shankaradi chettan,” he says.
The actor says that it’s “their immense support that helped me survive in this industry”. “I am not a great actor or someone who plays larger-than-life roles. I have been part of village-based movies most of my career and in these films, it’s the characters of uncle, mother, elder sister, father-in-law or the father of the girl my character is in love with that supports the protagonist. And these legends were the ones performing with me and they are the reason I am still here,” he explains.
Jayaram also tells us that his relationship with Lalitha goes beyond acting together in several films over the years. “Before my wedding, whenever Aswathi (former actress and wife Parvathy) used to come to Chennai, she would stay at Lalitha chechi and Bharathan chettan’s home. Even after our wedding, that was the house we used to visit frequently every evening in those days. So, as families we were close for the past 23 years in Chennai,” he says.
Lalitha was also elemental in Jayaram’s son Kalidas making his debut in Anthikad’s Kochu Kochu Santoshangal in 2000 when he was just seven years old. “Both Aswathi and I were against it as he was young, but she persisted. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have gone on to win the National Award for Best Child Artiste at such a young age,” says Jayaram.
Working together has always made for memorable experiences. In fact, after the death of her husband Bharathan in 1998, Lalitha chose Anthikad’s and Jayaram’s Veendum Chila Veetukaryangal to make her comeback in 1999. She was also supposed to be part of the duo’s latest film Makal.
“But she was ill by the time we began the shoot, and so it didn’t happen. The past month after chechi was bedridden, both Sathyan Anthikad and I prayed with all our hearts that she doesn’t suffer much,” says Jayaram.
One film that the actor says that moved Lalitha and the rest of the team to tears was Kamal’s Nadan in 2013. “It was a story of three generations of theatre artistes. It reminded her a lot about her days at KPAC (Kerala People’s Arts Club). In some scenes, especially the Ottaykku Paadunna Poonkuyile song, she would break down and we would all follow suit. We had to go for multiple retakes for that movie as it was very close to her,” the actor says.
The demise of the veteran actress, who had acted in over 550 films in Malayalam and Tamil, has left an “irreplaceable loss”, explains Jayaram. “I believe she was one of Asia’s best actors. It’s only her body that has passed on; she will always remain in the hearts and minds of Malayali audience for generations to come. I am sure that people who will watch movies in the future will say, ‘If only KPAC Lalitha was there to perform these roles’. That despair will forever remain.”