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2012 APRIL 25 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 45 GULF MADHYAMAM l No1 IN THE GULF

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lose your eyes and think Thilakan, and Thilakan was a runaway having fled home at some of the finest performances in the age of 19. He does not feel that what he modern Malayalam cinema will flood did was right, but, on the positive side thinks your mindthe endearing mannerisms of the that the consequence was that he learnt a lot of Muthacchan in MoonamPakkam, the mathsthings in life the hard way. He even served the obsessed Chacko Master who goes to extreme army briefly before discovering his passion and lengths to thought-control his son in Sphadiforteacting. kam, the detestable stepfather of Sophia in My audiences are my teachers. When I NamukkuParkkanMunthiriThoppukal and the smiled you laughed and gave your heart to me. loving father in Sandesham. When people started liking me and my perforThe versatile Thilakan is in prime form even mance, my responsibility also increased maniin the new release Indian Rupee, a comeback fold. I even tend to forget my illness when I role of sorts for the veteran artiste who was face the camera, the 76-year old veteran said. quite excited about the audience response to I was curious as to how he lives a characthe role and the film when he spoke to First ter. He had the perfect answer. I come across Take. lot of people. A good artist will knowingly and Like many of the senior actors, Thilakan too unknowingly imbibe certain characteristics from has his roots in drama. But it was a pleasant others. When you get an apt role, those mansurprise for me when he repeated some of nerisms will be used. There are times when you the dialogues from his old plays. Ask him how act with your mind too! The character might theatre artists in those days felt about cinema need that kind of subtle detailing. Only when which was a new and exotic medium, you get thrilled seeing my perforhe says: During those days a hero mance do I feel thrilled. had to be handsome or beautiful. This He has given life to a wide range was broken when Sathyan made it of characters and feels that no big in films. It was then that actors role has ever daunted him. On like me got the confidence of getplaying a drunkard, which has ting artistic space in cinema. Back become a sort of stepping stone in those days, an artist had to be a to showcase skills, Thilakan says Bhagavathar too as the yardstick for that it is a heavy role compared to an actor was not just histrionics but some others. his singing skills. Unlike stage plays, in films, On the difference between stage the order of shooting scenes is Jyothi Varma and screen, Thilakan said the apnot linear. For instance, in my proach to the two media was fundasecond movie Kolangalin which I mentally different. The theatre artist played a drunkard KalluVarkey, it will have to shout out his dialogues and there was sometimes Scene 10 before Scene 6. So I is no scope for speech modulation. When you would ask the director how many bottles this act in a play, only the first few rows can see character has downed before each scene. The your face clearly whereas the zooming lens in speech of a drunkard should not have clarity cinema can focus on every wrinkle, he said. but the crucial words should not get slurred Thilakan has been with the film industry for over. To get more effect in that case what I did about 55 years now. He was reluctant to switch was: for example when it came to the word to cinema as he by then had built a strong atSammathamano? I would stammer Sa..Sa... tachment to his co-artists, but did so when PJ Sa...Sammathamano. Antony persuaded him, with one sagely advice Thilakans upcoming movies are SimhasanthoughDo not act in cinema. Just behave as am, Spirit and Ustad Hotel. in real life. Though he himself is from another generaHe was chosen for a role in KG Georges Ulktion, Thilakan has some useful advice for the kadal and after his performance in Yavanika youth: Consider life as an ocean. Do not when it was staged as a play, it caught the remain rooted on the beach sands fearful of a directors eye. And, when the director underbig wave. Only those who take the plunge can took a screen adaptation of the play, Thilakan come out with the pearls. became a natural choice. n

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