`Recognition for Indian cinema'
SHILPA NAIR
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Nedumudi Venu's oeuvre includes a wide range of characters who look real in reel life.
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Actor's actor: Nedumudi Venu Photo: S. Mahinsha
It is another feather in the cap for Nedumudi Venu who has won the best actor award at the Havana International Film Festival for his performance in the film `Maargam.' Question him on what the award means to him and he says, "It is a great honour, but more than that it is a recognition for Indian cinema and, more importantly, an acknowledgement of Malayalam cinema's contribution."
Memorable characters
After Nedumudi Venu's debut in the Aravindam film `Thampu,' he essayed a wide variety of memorable characters with ease and versatility in such films as `Thakara,' `Yavanika,' `Oru Minnamininginte Nurungu Vettam,' `Oru Yathra Mozhi,' `Poochakkoru Mookkuthi,' `Bharatam,' `His Highness Abdullah,' `Arimpara,' and `Maargam.'
Although he won more than a handful of State awards in various categories, the fact that the National award for the best actor continues to elude him does not seem to bother him unduly. The winner of the National Award for the best supporting actor (`His Highness Abdullah' in 1990), and a Special Mention (`Maargam' in 2003) says, "Winning an award is not a criteria to judge a performance. This is not a race where you have to win a prize. So many greats in our film industry have not won awards, but this does not make their contribution less significant. The manner in which my audience responds to my performance is what matters, and they are the judges. That is my reward, awards are at best an added incentive," he says.
Nedumudi Venu, the actor, comfortably slips into the character he portrays, the man pales into insignificance, and the audience leaves the theatre with the character.
Be it the Kabuliwala in the film by the same name, the elderly man in `Oru Minnamininginte Nurunguvettam,' the alcoholic Carnatic singer in `Bharatam,' or the characters in `Arimpara' and `Margam,' he has bestowed a unique identity on each character.
Venu says, "It is important for an actor to be flexible in order to be adaptable. An actor has to forget the `I'."
A theatre actor who widened his stage to include films and television, Venu credits his easy transition from one medium to the next to directors such as Aravindan, Padmarajan, Bharatan, K.G. George and John Abraham among others.
"Theatre is a medium that requires exaggerated performances, unlike cinema where you can rework a scene till it is perfect. Although it is all acting, different media require different approaches. I am grateful to my early directors for the grooming that prepared me for films," he says.
A member of Kavalam Narayana Panikkar's experimental theatre group, `Sopanam,' Venu regrets that his hectic schedule does not permit time for theatre. However, he does act in television serials. "The reach of television is amazing. It is a medium with a lot of potential that is under utilised," he says.
He delves into the reasons for the receptiveness to Indian films at film festivals abroad, "What we have to offer is a different experience. Our films that get selected to film festivals such as Cannes or Havana, reflect a culture that is different from what the host culture knows. This draws the attention of the audience and the jury. Films speak a universal language; if the message is genuine, it gets noticed. That is why directors such as Aravindan and Shaji Karun and films such as `Maargam' and `Arimpara' are appreciated." However, he rues the fact that though these films were seen and appreciated abroad, very few have seen or heard of these films in Kerala "for want of distributors or interest in good cinema."
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