A chat with Thilagan

December 8th and he'd turned 70 - fifty years of which he'd devoted to his passion for acting. And of these, 32 years to films. Undoubtedly one of Malayalam cinema's most versatile and awesome talent, Thilagan debuted in 'Periyar', the debut-directorial venture of Bharat awardee actor P J Antony. Since then he's never looked back, acting in all south Indian languages.

Having just returned from shooting for an off-beat Telugu film, 'Vuri', where he plays the central role, Thilagan has signed for a Tamil film also after a long gap. "And, if all goes well, I'll be doing my first English film too next month," says the actor. Mincing no words, the 'rebel' of Malayalam cinema talks about his experiences, the state of Malayalam cinema today, and his problems within the film industry.

Are you totally satisfied with the way your career has gone these 50 years?

As a profession, no doubt, it's been a lucrative and a fairly satisfying one. And I've been fortunate enough to get varied challenging roles in both theatre and films. But still, I must confess that I'm not completely satisfied as an actor in cinema. I feel I've stagnated somewhere along the way. The reason is that in theatre our observation of our surroundings and people continue and contribute a lot to our growth as an actor. But in cinema we don't venture out for fear of losing our privacy. We stop observing and our growth stagnates. Even today, I feel I've a lot to learn about acting, I feel like I'm still a student!

And what were the other casualities?

Lots! But mainly, my private life went for a toss. The profession takes so much of your time and energy that there's no family life to talk of. It's like you are alienated from your family and lost so much quality time which you could have spent with them. But I have no complaints. At the end of it all, I'm satisfied with the course my life has taken. Life, however it may be, is beautiful. Even if I had my sad moments I like the way my life has gone.

But there surely must have been some high points too?

True. Like when I got the national award for best supporting actor for the film 'Hrithu Bhedam'. That was the day Raj Kapoor too received his Phalke award and getting to observe one of my favourite film-makers at such close quarters was a memorable moment for me. Again, there's this incident which I've never talked about. Guess who walked into my Trivandrum flat one day? None other than Steven Spielberg! This happened about four-five years ago. He'd come to do Kerala scouting for a location and a Malayalam actor to play a role in his new film. He'd contacted Adoor
Gopalakrishnan and it's there that my name was mentioned to him.. Then Adoor's assistant called to say he'd be coming to my house with someone. And a little later walks in the great director himself!

I remember my first impressiom of him was he looked so simple and ordinary, just like one of those American tourists around! He talked for some time, had the tea we offered him ,'Great tea!' he said. But unfortunately I couldn't do his film. He wanted my hair longer, I said it would take about two months. But he couldn't wait that long and regretfully walked away. Someone else got to do that role later. But I don't regret missing out on the role, for there was the elation that I had met Spielberg!

They call you a 'rebel' a difficult man to deal with?

It's my colleagues who must have said that! Or maybe it's my voice or my looks that's forbidding. I've inherited them from my father, so there's nothing much I can do about them! Again, I'm not very friendly with all, nor do I go out of the way to cultivate people in the industry and pamper their egoes. I've never hesitated to call a spade a spade. Maybe that should have ruffled the feathers of some. I'm strict in my financial dealings too. When my cheques bounce I don't hesitate to file a case. Maybe all this has gone against me and given me this stern, rebellious image.

So you've ruffled the feathers of some big stars too?

True! 'Amma' (Malayalam film artistes association) was unhappy with me because I opposed their strike against the Film Chamber. I felt the chamber was right, told 'Amma' that we were in the wrong and should apologise. They didn't take kindly to my suggestion. The result was that I was removed from 7-8 films because some of the 'Amma' artistes said they wouldn't act in a film in which I was there. 'Udayon' was one of the casualities. And this after director Bhadran himself having called me and offered me the role of Mohanlal's father. But despite this I did sign some new projects. My fans knew this was happening to me. Incidentally, it had happened to Prithviraj, too. They don't encourage new talents!

Coming back to films, who would you give credit to for your sustained success, and what were some of your landmark films?

Offhand it's difficult to remember all. There were directors like Padmarajan, Hariharan, Sathyan Anthikad and Vijy who have given me central roles and tapped my potential. I had this rough look, but thanks to the confidence these directors placed in me, some of the roles they gave me were soft, sensitive ones which tapped my potential further. Among my memorable films I can think of my roles in 'Kireedam', 'Moonam Pakkam', 'Spadikam', 'Perunthachan', 'Radha Madhavam', 'Mughmaudra', 'Chanakya' and 'Kannezhuthi Pottum Tthottu'. There are many more. Here I would like to say that among all the actors I've had my best screen rapport with Mohanlal, and that's why most of our combinations had brought so much life to our scenes.

So how do you feel Malayalam cinema is placed today?

It's going bad! Creativity is missing. They don't need dedicated actors like us anymore. Many mimcry artistes have entered the field. They have a set of practised expressions. Unfortunately, the audience too seem to have taken to them. Again, many of today's films are but rehashes of earlier box-office hits. Serious stories have forced comedy situations in them. The trend is different, it's all colourful and larger-than-life characters. Heart-touching and close-to-life characters are missing today. What we need are good scriptwriters. Incidentally, it was me who introduced Lohith Das to films as a story-scriptwriter. And it was his script that was the backbone of such films as 'Kireedam'.

Surely someone among the younger breed of actors must have impressed you?

The younger lot are quite hard working and talented. I find Githu Mohandas an actress with great potential, capable of doing varied roles. Kavya Madhavan is a graceful actress. There's Meera Jasmine who's groomed herself into a very refined actress today. Prithviraj, at such a young age, has revealed so much potential though there's still room for improvement. 

What next? Do you think of your future?

I've just returned from shooting a Telugu film and signed a new Tamil film. While at Andhra, I had a slipped disc and mobility is a little difficult now. A minor operation needs to be done. I've just finished shooting 'Rashtram' with Suresh Gopi. I'm doing a lot of serials too. As for my future, I don't think of it at all. For me it's the moment that counts. The days I don't have work, I stay around in the house, read a lot. The club culture and socialising is not for me. I have six children and my immediate plan is to get my youngest daughter, a physiotherapist, married. I'm turned 70 this December 8, but I feel like I'm entering my 20th year. Life has still more to offer me!