I have been fascinated by the art of mimicry right from my childhood days. Be it school life, college life, movies or stage-shows the mimicry shows have evoked great admiration and interest among many people.
In Kerala, mimicry artistes have used their skills at stage-shows and also in films and TV comedy shows partly as comedy, and partly as a means of effective satire on the various happenings in society. Many of the mimicry artistes have diverted their career successfully into movies. The earliest example of such personalities could be Cochin Haneefa who started his career as a stage-show mimicry artiste by imitating the voices of leading actors like Sivaji Ganeshan and MGR. Others of his ilk include the famous director Fazil whose shows were regularly attended by Mammootty during the actor’s days at Maharajas College. Mammooty too is an avid fan of mimicry shows and has been seen at many Gulf Programmes.
Fazil, after his break into the film world, went on to direct many hit films and later introduced the duo Siddique-Lal into the cine field. Siddique-Lal were popular mimicry artistes cum comedians at the famous Kalabhavan troupe in Cochin. Probably Fazil was also influenced by this very fact which would have reminded him of his heydays as a mimicry artiste. This proved to be Fazil's best gift to Malayalam cinema since the duo of Siddique-Lal went to create many super-hit comedy films like In Harihar Nagar and RamjiRao Speaking.
However, as a member of YouTube quoted "Jayaram remains to-date the master of the art of mimicry". Jayaram honed his mimicry skills while studying at Sri Sankara college, Kaladi and later at Kalabhavan, Cochin. Probably the artiste whom he was mimiced often has been Prem Nazir whom Jayaram respects a lot and who he has seen in childhood at shooting locations at Perumbavoor as a young boy. In the film 'Chanakyan', Jayaram appears as a mimicry artiste with his reel-name also being Jayaram. The film which deals with a former musician (Kamal Hassan) seeking revenge over the killing of his family members by a politician (Thilakan), shows Kamal seeking the help of Jayaram (in an indirect way/ unknown to Jayaram) by making him mimick the Chief Minister's (Thilakan) voice and relaying a totally false speech on TV.
Even now Jayaram appears in quite a few Gulf Programmes where people wait to see his mimicry skills. He also appeared as a guest in the programme "Minnum Tharam" hosted by actor Jagadeesh on Asianet channel. Such is his love for the art which gave him so much fame among the people of Kerala.
Dileep, who ruled the roost during the crisis time of Malayalam film industry (1998-2002) started his career as a mimicry artiste. He honed his skills during his days at Maharajas College which later proved handy when he went searching for roles in films. He was the first anchor of the program 'Comicola' on Asianet which gained immense popularity during that time. Jayaram had this interesting anecodote regarding Dileep to share whe he appeared on "Minnum Tharam".
"Njan oru shooting kazhinju vannappo enne kanan oralavide kathirippundennu aro paranju. Chennu nokkiyappo njan kandathu melinju kolam ketta oru Dileep-ine ayirunnu. 'Sir..Njan mimicry artiste aanu' ennu paranju Dileep swayam parijayapedutthi. Sadarana ella mimicry artises kanikunna sthiram items ayirikkum eyalum kanikkan pokunnathennu ehikku thoni. 'Sir. Ithuvare arum attempt cheyyatha oru pratheka item enikku kanikkan pattum sir'. Enthennu njan nokiyaapo "Lalu Alex"-ne mimic cheythu oru dialogue. Aa samaythu athoru puthiya item ayirunnu. Adhikam arum imitate cheythittilatha oru actor ayirunnu Lalu Alex".
Saying the above, Jayaram showed the audience as to how Dileep had performed the item. It was just amazing to hear what Jayaram had said and again more amazing, to see him mimicking Lalu Alex just like how Dileep had done, or maybe even better.
At school, my classmates Anand, Tariq and Arun were known more for their monact rather than mimicry. But Anand at times used to mimic Prem Nazir, not so much by voice, but by the actions especially that famous smile of Nazir and to say that the fellow Loyolites didn't enjoy that would be a mere understatement. I feel, from the viewpoint of a lover of this art, at times, that it was rather unfortunate that there were more monoact artistes than pure mimicry artistes at Loyola School.
While the earlier mimicry artistes in Kerala used to merely mimick the voice of popular actors merely through their popular dialogues, the later one's added an element of comedy by mimicking their voice by choosing specific imaginary instances. For example I remember a mimicry artiste showing how Prem Nazir would have spoken at an election campaign.
"Ehhh..Kavilammayanu Sathyam..ehhh..kodungallur deviyanu sathyam..njan ee election-il theerchayayum vijayikkum..ehh..anganeyalla chirikkunnathu..ingane venam..Ha Ha Ha Ha".
Suraj Venjaramoodu seems to be the latest of mimicry entrants in the cine field. He is known for his famous mimicking of actor Jayan and is seen using that voice in many of the films he acts in. Since the audience too enjoy that I don't see him dropping that style in the near future.
All famous mimicry artistes have not necessarily made it big inflms. Kottayam Nazeer is such an example. Though his skills at mimicry even equal and sometimes even rise above Jayaram, his roles in films have been far and few in number. The last time I saw him in a movie was in the Sreenivasan flick "Kadha Parayumbol". While he is a definite successor to Jayaram as a mimicry legend, journey into filmdom has not been a smooth ride for him. As a film lover, I wish he gets good comedy roles which will help him leverage his acceptance among the film viewers.
Moving from people who do mimicry to people who are mimicked, there seems to be a standard list is an expected and now accepted one. The usual personalities are film actors like Nazeer, Mohanlal and Mammootty and also politicians like Achuthanandan, Karunakaran, E.K.Nayanar and even A.K.Antony. In fact the comedy shows at Asianet and Surya used to take a dig at Achuthanandan so frequently that his party supporters expressed anger at it. A popular episode at one such comedy show mimicked the phone-in program with the Chief Minister. The dialogues go like this:
Q: Saare..Njan Guruvayoor Kshethrathile Melshanti-ya samsarikkunnathu
EKN: Aaahh..enthado guruvayoorile prashnam..
Q: Sir evidethe vigraham moshanam poyi..kallane pidikkan vendiya ella sahayavum mukhya manthri cheyyanam
EKN: Aaahh..kallane pidikkan athrakku padalla. ella onnam theeyathi avide oruthan thozhan varum..avane pidicchu police-il elpiccha mathi ketto..
Jayan became the popular subject of mimicry artistes circa 2000. I remember Jayan Day being celebrated every year at CET with students coming dressed in bright red shirts and white bell-bottoms providing the ever funny college life there with even more interesting moments. I remember a Mech guy once entering our class during Jayan day. He pointed at one of the girls and asked us guys 'Ithente Seemayano?' in typical Jayan style. Of course we guys didn't spoil the fun and replied "Ohhh.thanne...kondu poykko" much to the flushed expression on the girl's face.
Even now I enjoy mimicry shows. Maybe it's the comedy, maybe because it's a good pass-time or maybe because I continue to get amazed at how the artistes manage to do it so well time and again. So, I end this post, fittingly, with this video from Youtube. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :-)
In Kerala, mimicry artistes have used their skills at stage-shows and also in films and TV comedy shows partly as comedy, and partly as a means of effective satire on the various happenings in society. Many of the mimicry artistes have diverted their career successfully into movies. The earliest example of such personalities could be Cochin Haneefa who started his career as a stage-show mimicry artiste by imitating the voices of leading actors like Sivaji Ganeshan and MGR. Others of his ilk include the famous director Fazil whose shows were regularly attended by Mammootty during the actor’s days at Maharajas College. Mammooty too is an avid fan of mimicry shows and has been seen at many Gulf Programmes.
Fazil, after his break into the film world, went on to direct many hit films and later introduced the duo Siddique-Lal into the cine field. Siddique-Lal were popular mimicry artistes cum comedians at the famous Kalabhavan troupe in Cochin. Probably Fazil was also influenced by this very fact which would have reminded him of his heydays as a mimicry artiste. This proved to be Fazil's best gift to Malayalam cinema since the duo of Siddique-Lal went to create many super-hit comedy films like In Harihar Nagar and RamjiRao Speaking.
However, as a member of YouTube quoted "Jayaram remains to-date the master of the art of mimicry". Jayaram honed his mimicry skills while studying at Sri Sankara college, Kaladi and later at Kalabhavan, Cochin. Probably the artiste whom he was mimiced often has been Prem Nazir whom Jayaram respects a lot and who he has seen in childhood at shooting locations at Perumbavoor as a young boy. In the film 'Chanakyan', Jayaram appears as a mimicry artiste with his reel-name also being Jayaram. The film which deals with a former musician (Kamal Hassan) seeking revenge over the killing of his family members by a politician (Thilakan), shows Kamal seeking the help of Jayaram (in an indirect way/ unknown to Jayaram) by making him mimick the Chief Minister's (Thilakan) voice and relaying a totally false speech on TV.
Even now Jayaram appears in quite a few Gulf Programmes where people wait to see his mimicry skills. He also appeared as a guest in the programme "Minnum Tharam" hosted by actor Jagadeesh on Asianet channel. Such is his love for the art which gave him so much fame among the people of Kerala.
Dileep, who ruled the roost during the crisis time of Malayalam film industry (1998-2002) started his career as a mimicry artiste. He honed his skills during his days at Maharajas College which later proved handy when he went searching for roles in films. He was the first anchor of the program 'Comicola' on Asianet which gained immense popularity during that time. Jayaram had this interesting anecodote regarding Dileep to share whe he appeared on "Minnum Tharam".
"Njan oru shooting kazhinju vannappo enne kanan oralavide kathirippundennu aro paranju. Chennu nokkiyappo njan kandathu melinju kolam ketta oru Dileep-ine ayirunnu. 'Sir..Njan mimicry artiste aanu' ennu paranju Dileep swayam parijayapedutthi. Sadarana ella mimicry artises kanikunna sthiram items ayirikkum eyalum kanikkan pokunnathennu ehikku thoni. 'Sir. Ithuvare arum attempt cheyyatha oru pratheka item enikku kanikkan pattum sir'. Enthennu njan nokiyaapo "Lalu Alex"-ne mimic cheythu oru dialogue. Aa samaythu athoru puthiya item ayirunnu. Adhikam arum imitate cheythittilatha oru actor ayirunnu Lalu Alex".
Saying the above, Jayaram showed the audience as to how Dileep had performed the item. It was just amazing to hear what Jayaram had said and again more amazing, to see him mimicking Lalu Alex just like how Dileep had done, or maybe even better.
At school, my classmates Anand, Tariq and Arun were known more for their monact rather than mimicry. But Anand at times used to mimic Prem Nazir, not so much by voice, but by the actions especially that famous smile of Nazir and to say that the fellow Loyolites didn't enjoy that would be a mere understatement. I feel, from the viewpoint of a lover of this art, at times, that it was rather unfortunate that there were more monoact artistes than pure mimicry artistes at Loyola School.
While the earlier mimicry artistes in Kerala used to merely mimick the voice of popular actors merely through their popular dialogues, the later one's added an element of comedy by mimicking their voice by choosing specific imaginary instances. For example I remember a mimicry artiste showing how Prem Nazir would have spoken at an election campaign.
"Ehhh..Kavilammayanu Sathyam..ehhh..kodungallur deviyanu sathyam..njan ee election-il theerchayayum vijayikkum..ehh..anganeyalla chirikkunnathu..ingane venam..Ha Ha Ha Ha".
Suraj Venjaramoodu seems to be the latest of mimicry entrants in the cine field. He is known for his famous mimicking of actor Jayan and is seen using that voice in many of the films he acts in. Since the audience too enjoy that I don't see him dropping that style in the near future.
All famous mimicry artistes have not necessarily made it big inflms. Kottayam Nazeer is such an example. Though his skills at mimicry even equal and sometimes even rise above Jayaram, his roles in films have been far and few in number. The last time I saw him in a movie was in the Sreenivasan flick "Kadha Parayumbol". While he is a definite successor to Jayaram as a mimicry legend, journey into filmdom has not been a smooth ride for him. As a film lover, I wish he gets good comedy roles which will help him leverage his acceptance among the film viewers.
Moving from people who do mimicry to people who are mimicked, there seems to be a standard list is an expected and now accepted one. The usual personalities are film actors like Nazeer, Mohanlal and Mammootty and also politicians like Achuthanandan, Karunakaran, E.K.Nayanar and even A.K.Antony. In fact the comedy shows at Asianet and Surya used to take a dig at Achuthanandan so frequently that his party supporters expressed anger at it. A popular episode at one such comedy show mimicked the phone-in program with the Chief Minister. The dialogues go like this:
Q: Saare..Njan Guruvayoor Kshethrathile Melshanti-ya samsarikkunnathu
EKN: Aaahh..enthado guruvayoorile prashnam..
Q: Sir evidethe vigraham moshanam poyi..kallane pidikkan vendiya ella sahayavum mukhya manthri cheyyanam
EKN: Aaahh..kallane pidikkan athrakku padalla. ella onnam theeyathi avide oruthan thozhan varum..avane pidicchu police-il elpiccha mathi ketto..
Jayan became the popular subject of mimicry artistes circa 2000. I remember Jayan Day being celebrated every year at CET with students coming dressed in bright red shirts and white bell-bottoms providing the ever funny college life there with even more interesting moments. I remember a Mech guy once entering our class during Jayan day. He pointed at one of the girls and asked us guys 'Ithente Seemayano?' in typical Jayan style. Of course we guys didn't spoil the fun and replied "Ohhh.thanne...kondu poykko" much to the flushed expression on the girl's face.
Even now I enjoy mimicry shows. Maybe it's the comedy, maybe because it's a good pass-time or maybe because I continue to get amazed at how the artistes manage to do it so well time and again. So, I end this post, fittingly, with this video from Youtube. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :-)
11 comments:
I dont know if I am being Partial or regionalistic but Malayalees do have a amazing sense of humor and they are the masters of mimicry :).
Jayaram is awesome and my all time favorite, Suraj Venjaramoodu is catching up too (i like his Rajamanikyam acts ). As usual Looks I always comment first on your blog :D
what amazes me is the ability of mimicry artists to reinvent themselves. they keep coming up with new ways to present their craft.
recently i went for a mohanlal show here...no prizes for guessing who stole the show...none other than suraj venjarammoodu. he was teaching jagadhish mimicry and how to imitate mammootty, mohanlal and suresh gopi. infact i got to add here that the audience booed lal several times for his listless performance.
the best mimicry troop for me was the kalabhavan one of the 80's with jayaram, sainudeen, prasad, etc...not just their mimicry but their hilarious skits were also an integral part of their success.
@Deepti: I fully agree with your opening remark :) They do have an amazing sense of humour. In fact, though I am a Tamilian I enjoy Malayalam films more! And, yes looks like you are always the first to comment here Thanks:)
@ Jiby: Oops..I left out Sainudeen. I remember him acting in those 2 films "Mimics Parade" and "Kasargode Kadharbhai". Jayaram is always amazing to watch. Did you see that video for which I had given the link ?
every time i think of mimicry, i remember three guys dressed in ncc uniforms who got on stage for the school day and gave the performance of their lives...i don't remember what they said, but i know that they were really funny. the rest of the audience seemed to think so as well. funny part was, even my mom understood the jokes. wow, maybe i'm not giving them enough credit
@g-man: Nice to know about such guys at Loyola. I remember my friends Tariq and Anand performing a mimicry skit during School Day :)
I love mimicry, but i guess the item numbers have become cliched now a days. The novelty factor seems to be less; the usual suresh gopi's "oormayundo ee mukham", lal's "mone dinesha", mammooty's "chanthuvine chathikkaan arkum pattilla", jagadeesh's "aa echoos me", all have become so repetitious. And then came the era of mimicking politicians which were a breath of fresh air. But now that too seems trite. Hope they come up with something new.
@Thomas- Yes, I agree that even the mimicking of politicians has become become cliched now. I am sure they will find something new to come up with :)
Dey
Well researched(Im sure u knew all of it)
I can't stand most the mallu tv shows, its verum thara,chalam, un sahikkable...
Good old days of mimicry is over
RIP!
Nikhil - Well I guess them may be short of ideas as of now, but, hopefully they will be back with newer ideas :)
Let me add the names of a few masters of this art before Haneefa. There was one Dr.George Mathew from Kottayam Medical College, who was amazing, there was an actor called 'Allepey Ashraf', a producer/mimicry artist turned comedian/ dubbing artist and there was V.D. Rajappan's parody songs. I'm sure there were several artists before them too.
wow it is really wonderful to see such a admired blog about the mimicry artists of evergreen malayalam industry. As a human being i really respect and admire mimiccry artists so much to the core. Their talent is speechless. Jeyaram, kasarkode nazeer, suraj dileep and many more all are extremely talented. I love to see all voices they portray they are too good. I have never seen a mimicry show in real coz i live in cbe (tamil nadu) i really wish to see old nostalgic mimicry shows in real. And i am very much happy that you posted this blog about this special art and it inspires me to write about it as well :)
Post a Comment