Veteran actor Nagesh passes away

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Just heard the news in Sun TV that veteran actor/comedian of Tamil film industry, Mr. Nagesh, passed away today morning of an heart attack. He was 78.

Just like Mehmood was to Bollwyood, Nagesh was to the Tamil film industry. His performances in films like Ethir Nicchal, Thiruvilayadal, Thilana Mohanambal, Server Sundaram and later films like Aboorva Sahodarangal, Michael Madan Kamarajan and Nammavar were well appreciated by his fans and friends.

For me the death of Nagesh represents the end of the early Tamil film era which comprised greats like M.N.Nambiar, MGR and Sivaji Ganeshan. With his body language, witty dialogue delivery and ever amusing mannerisms he captured the heart of the Tamil cinema auidence.

Of the next generation actors to his era, he was particularly close to Kamal Haasan. Most films of Kamal Haasan, by default, used to have Nagesh in them. I particularaly enjoyed his role of the corrupt PA 'Avinashi' in Michael Madan Kamarajan and the villian 'Anbarasu' in Aboorva Sahodarangal.

He also had great respect for the Malayalam film industry which was evident during the Surya Festival felicitation ceremony when he said that he was lucky to be felicitated in the midst of great actors like Thilakan. I pray that his soul may rest in peace and that his friends and relatives get the strength to bear this great loss.

Prithviraj- The rising star

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The first time I had heard of and seen Prithviraj was in 1999 during my +2 course. Our school was conducting a cultural fest for which he had come along with his classmates as a part of the team from his school. The previous year he had won the personality contest at the same fest.

My classmate and I were taking care of issues of event timing clashes, and, moments before the Personality contest, he along with his classmates came and told us that in case he qualified in an earlier event, it would clash with the Personality round. When we told them politely that it would be difficult to resolve the issue, they were quite understandably upset. The teachers of that school who had no inkling of the difficulties involved in hosting such a culture fest started cribbing that the standard of the organisation had come down. After some tense moments, we came to know that he had not qualified in that earlier event and so, was free to take part in the Personality round.

The Personality round, as expected, was won by him for the second time i a row. What I liked about Prithviraj's performance that day was his remarkable poise, confidence and clarity of thought while answering the questions. His father had passed away recently, and to still come out of the period of grief and take part in an event like this itself was much appreciable.


The next time I saw him, was during my days at CET (College of Engineering, Trivandrum). He had come to CET for the shooting of his film 'Campus'. Also in the cast were artistes like Geetu Mohandas, Siddique and my 1 year senior at school Mithun Ramesh. His appearance had changed a lot from the school days where he sported a spectacle and had a more intellectual kind of look.

Prithviraj was introduced to films by Fazil -The man who has contributed so much to Malayalam cinema not just through his films but also by introducing so many new talents. Prithviraj's first film was Renjith's 'Nandanam'. After a brief experience in the Malayalam film Industry, he tried his hands at Tamil films. Starting with a villain character in 'Kana Kanden' , Prithviraj has managed his portfolio in Tamil films quite well. I appreciated his humbleness in acting in Bhagyaraj's 'Parijatham' through which Bhagyaraj tried to prop up his daughter's acting career and thus give her more importance in the film.

The success tasted by Prithviraj till now, in films, is not just the result of his looks or earlier affiliation in the film industry through the fame of his father. It is mainly due to his hard work, discipline and arguably, through his lack of hesitation and humbleness in his earlier days to try any role which came his way.

Whatever the so-called super-star fans say, the days of the 2 M's playing young heroes are getting over. What is needed on their part is to get more selective and play roles befitting their age, thus providing their valuable support and experience to the industry. It is time for the next generation of actors to pave their way into the film industry through their talent and hard-work. Prithviraj has still a long way to go before establishing himself as a sure-shot bankable talent. But the path he has chosen to do the same is correct. I don't know whether it is right to call him proud or arrogant. These comments, maybe, are a result of the confidence he displays in public. Even I thought the same the first time I saw him.

It is a sad reality that the super-star fans are ready to hoot in theatres running the films of so called lesser actors.I feel that the destruction caused by the low quality films of superstars is like the damage done when an unqualified medical student performs an operation. But then fans ask ' But in our case we are not killing any patients, are we?' . Well, not any patients, but you are killing the art of cinema.

Lets hope young and upcoming stars like Prithviraj, like our current super-stars in their heydays, put the cinema industry back in a much better shape than what it was when they first saw it.

Life's Truths and Humour

A few months back a random browsing through Google brought to my notice a book written by Malayalam film actor Mukesh titled "Mukesh Kathakal - Jeevithathile Nerum Narmavum". Primarily based on his memoirs of his college life at S.N.College, Kollam , it was released at a function held at S.N.College where the State Minister M.A.Baby (also an alumni of S.N. College) was the Chief Guest. The sales of the book following its release were according to Mukesh "Unexpectedly high". Curious to know as to what made many read the book, I ordered for a copy. The book is published by Olive Publications.


The book is written in a very lucid manner with the incidents being narrated with a tinge of mischief at times and often interlaced with humour. When Mukesh writes we get to know his character which when it comes to oneself many would like to feel good about but few would like to reveal. Mukesh displays no airs of being an established cine artiste and recounts his former days with no qualms on what the readers would perceive of him. Perhaps this is the very reason why many readers, including me, enjoyed this book right to the very end.

The book takes off, as i said earlier, with many incidents from Mukesh's student stint at S.N.College. Probably people who have studied at Govt. colleges in Kerala would be able to identify more with the characters and incidents mentioned in these chapters. The incidents are narrated in a very natural manner with the "Kollam accent" being distinct in most dialogues.

Though i am tempted to narrate many of the incidents mentioned in the book, I am stopping myself from doing that since i feel that reading the book is the best way to enjoy these. The incidents involving the character "Annamma" are described in such a straightforward manner so much so that we feel that the reader is currently a college student. The incidents involving the Botany teacher and the Principal are also those which i found to be very humorous and life-like in reading. We would sometimes be tempted to feel that the "Poovalan" characters of Mukesh we saw in films like "In Harihar Nagar" and to an extent in "GodFather" are the real Mukesh itself and not an actor.

Apart from his life at S.N.College the author has also described certain humorus moments with his friends in the cine field like Jayaram, Mammootty, Sreenivasan, the Late Ratheesh etc. The one incident i really enjoyed reading was his experience with director Priyadarshan when shooting for the Srenivasan scripted film "Odaruthe Ammava Aalariyam". It depicted the quintessential street-smart and quick thinking side of Mukesh's character.
As i finished reading the book I felt that the book is much more than just a mere recollection of some humorous events from the author's life. It is a statement to one and all that life is not all about the mad rush for money and status. It is such moments that one can really treasure and remember about for a life time.

I feel Mukesh silently shows us that even now there is a child in every one of us. That should never be shelved away by us. One passage what i liked was when Mukesh described a scene when he and his wife Sarita where starting to travel somewhere by car. At that moment he saw a girl from his college days walking by that same place and at once he called here by her college nickname and made some comment or the sake of fun. At that moment Mukesh says Sarita chided him by saying "Nanamillallo manushya. ee vayasilum comment adikkan." But Mukesh tells us readers "Ee vayasilum enikku oorjassum unmeshavum tharunnathu ee comment adi thanne..".. :-)


Oru pakshe Mukeshettan parayunnathu pole ithokkeyalle suhurthukkale jevithathile nerum narmavum.


P.S: I recommend this book to any person who has enjoyed the films in which Mukesh has acted or any person who loves to experience a little humour in life.