All for acting
ANAND HARIDAS
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Theatre actor and director Manjulan on plays and films.
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EXTENSIVE REPERTOIRE: Actor-director Manjulan
From a Class Four student who did a play as a stand-in actor, Manjulan has come a long way . For this boy from a village in Payyannur, the world at School of Drama, Thrissur, was an eye-opener. Now, with two films behind him, Manjulan has announced his arrival, loud and clear.
"Before I joined the School, I knew just one style of theatre. The three years that I spent there introduced me to a totally different world. We talked and thought about theatre, theatre alone."
Grooming
One unforgettable experience while in the School of Drama was acting in 13 short plays in a day, as part of the workshop conducted by the renowned theatre personality Ramanujam. "I acted in all of them, alldifferent roles."
Manjulan came out of the School, armed with a first rank in acting. But his debut in Malayalam theatre was as director. In 1998, his play `Kelu' won five awards in the competition conducted by Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi.
Based on the life of Vidwan P. Kelu Nair, who "was probably the only person to employ theatre as a tool for our freedom struggle in Malayalam," the play was an instant hit.
"In that play, the protagonist had to scream. The scream was a reflection of the conflicts the protagonist faced , and which eventually led to his suicide. This scream, became famous in Malayalam theatre."
In 2000, he appeared in the commercial theatre circuit as an actor, playing the lead character in zz Kannur Sangachetana's `Che Guevara.'
"I did that character after doing much research on Che. That experience also taught me a lot as an actor." Besides a successful run of 300-plus stages, the play also went on to bag many awards.
But it was his one-actor performance `Koonan' (The Hunchback) that marked a turning point in his career. Written and directed by Jayaprakash Kuloor, based on a Philippine folk tale, the play is about a hunchback's unrequited love. "Students wept with the hunchback, sang his songs and understood his love. This is happening on our campuses, from where such sentiments are supposed to have been banished."
Films
Before playing a small part in the film `Aparijithan' and then playing the protagonist in `December,' which was released recently, he did a children's play featuring 20 school children from Kannur and Kasargod. And a couple of plays for school and college youth festivals.
But it was `Koonan' that forged a permanent link for Manjulan with campuses across the State. "Now I am working on a play, which will have two formats. One, a full-fledged play to be staged at night. The same play will also be set to be staged during the daywithin all the constraints of a college campus."
His post-graduation in theatre from the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, not only gave him a chance to interact in close quarters with classical Indian theatre but also with actors such as Margi Madhu and Usha Nangiyar.
Manjulan is learning on the job. "My interaction with medical students, when I staged `Koonan' at Kozhikode Medical College helped me a lot in playing the protagonist in `December.'"
He plays a medical student caught in a murder mystery in the film.
The film has widened his stage. "People with whom I used to plead for a stage for `Koonan' are now inviting me to perform. Fame as a film actor will definitely help my theatre activities."
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