Mother of all roles
P. K. AJITH KUMAR
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Kaviyoor Ponnamma has played mother to many actors, from Sathyan to Mohanlal.
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I would have loved to continue as a singer but I became busy as an actor...
MOTHER FIGURE: Kaviyoor Ponnamma has played mother in about 600 films spanning more than four decades.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma has played mother in about 600 films in a career spanning more than four decades. While she was doing the first of those roles in `Kudumbini' in 1964, she had no intentions of doing a similar role in another film, though. She, in fact, did not want to act at all.
"I wanted to be a classical singer like M.S. Subbulakshmi. She was an inspiration when I was a little girl. My father had taken me along with him for a concert of hers in Kottayam. And I was spellbound. Her beauty was mesmerising. That day I decided I wanted to be a classical singer."
But destiny had other plans for her.
Trained singer
"I had begun learning Carnatic music at the age of five and studied it for 12 years. Thoppil Bhasi and G. Devarajan met me for the first time to hear me sing. Devarajan asked me to sing a keerthanam and he was impressed. But they were short of an artiste, so I was asked to act in `Mooladhanam.' I was 14 then. That play was a huge hit and we had shows on all the 365 days of a year and some times we had to perform on two three stages on the same day. I was happy that I could sing too, as one had to do all the singing live on the stage. The first song I rendered was `Salkala kanyake... ,' a semi classical number."
Ponnamma's most popular song is `Pookkaara... ' from the play `Doctor.' "There were many other good songs, but I don't remember them now; recently when a friend from Dubai sent me the recording of some of my songs I was surprised," says Ponnamma who has sung in a few films as well. "There was a good song in `Theerthayathra' - `Ambike jagadambike... ,' which I sang with Madhuri. I would have loved to continue as a singer but I became busy with as an actor; besides I had a sinus problem," she says.
First film
Although her first film was `Sreerama Pattabhishekam,' in which she played Mandodari, it was with `Kudumbini,' her second, that she was noticed.
"My effort was appreciated and I even won the best actress award of Madras Film Fans' Association."
It did not take Malayalam cinema long to make her the mother of all heroes, from Prem Nazir (who was once paired with her) to Dileep.
"Though I was only 21 when I played mother to Sathyan and Madhu in `Thommante Makkal,' I did not feel uncomfortable. It was another role in a film," says Ponnamma, who won the State award for the best supporting actress in 1971, 72, 73 and 94.
Her best performance was in Padmarajan's `Thinkalazhcha Nalla Divasam,' in which she played the central character. She brought out the pain of loneliness and old age without going overboard.
"I was moved when Pappan (Padmarajan) explained the role of the elderly woman. I was not acting that role, I was living it."
Her roles in `Pravaham', `Odayil Ninnum,' `Theerthayathra,' `Abhijathyam,' `Thaniyavarthanam,' `Arayannangalude Veedu,' `Nandanam' and `Kireedom' are also dear to her.
`Kireedom' saw her playing mother to Mohanlal, who has played her son in about 50 films.
She says,"He is a gifted actor. The minute I saw him in one of his early films, I had told Balachandra Menon that the boy, whose name I did not know then, was going to be the next Prem Nazir of Malayalam cinema. I am often told that we really look like mother and son; he is like a son to me. I will never forget some scenes we acted together in `Kireedom.'''
She played his mother in her latest film `Vadakkumnathan' too.
"I am not keen on doing all the films that I am offered. I will act only if I get a role that enthuses me," she says.
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