Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Tilakan rues hostilities in film industry

Tilakan says theatre artistes have a strong emotional bond unlike cine artistes.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Caste and personal prejudice should not be the scale for judging the talent of an artiste. Merit should be the sole yardstick to gauge one’s ability, eminent actor Tilakan has said.

Addressing a Meet-the-Press programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here on Thursday, Surendranatha Tilakan who won the special mention of the national film award jury for his performance in ‘Ekanatham’ directed by Madhu Kaithapram, said that personal animosity and casteism had snatched away the national honours thrice earlier. His roles in ‘Erakal’ directed by K.G. George, ‘Perumthachan’ by Ajayan and ‘Ekanatham’ were widely appreciated by the audience, but he never got the expected honours. “Though it is only a special mention, I am satisfied and not keen on any controversy. If age had been a factor for conferring an award on Soumitra Chatterjee, I am 72 years old and would give an application to enhance my age,” he said.

‘Ekanatham’ had all the makings of a perfect film. The director was calm and composed and had the skill to get the best out of the actors. The screenplay of Alamcode Leelakrishnan, cameraman M.J. Radhakrishnan and even the environs of Ponmudi where the film was shot contributed to its success. All the artistes were behaving and not acting strenuously, he said.

Referring to the animosities in the film industry, Mr. Tilakan said that it was difficult to act in life. During the career spanning five decades, he had never done any harm to anyone, but had boldly spoken out his views without any malice and also observing the norms of an organisation. While members of Tamil and Telugu cinema congratulated him on getting the honour, those in Malayalam were reluctant to acknowledge it. Theatre artistes always have a strong emotional bond. After every performance they evaluate the day’s performance and criticise each other. Such healthy criticism would be accepted with due respect and in the right spirit. There is scope for constant correction and improvisation in theatre. There is no such camaraderie in cinema. Personal animosity was raging high and there were caste prejudices too. Though many colleagues had tried to create problems for Tilakan, he refused to drop the names saying he did not want to tarnish their image in the minds of the audience who held them in high esteem.

When invited for acting in a cinema in Canada, some of his colleagues had tried to snatch the opportunity and created hindrances, but the producers were adamant to have him. “I will come out with more details about those who tried to grab my chance on returning from Canada,” he said.

Asked about writing his biography, Mr. Tilakan said: “I had started writing it, but left it midway since I felt it would be too difficult to write about the spite and acrimony in the industry. I felt as if the paper itself was frowning at me and I gave up the attempt.”

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