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Multifaceted film-maker
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The versatility of Sreekumaran Thampi has earned him a unique place in the Malayalam film industry, says Abdul Latheef Naha.
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There's hardly anyone in the Malayalam film industry to equal Sreekumaran Thampi. His career graph is a testimony to his multifaceted talents.
He has produced 22 films, directed 29 and penned 3,500 songs. He has scripted 78 films. Yet, this man continues to be a bugbear for many in the Malayalam film industry. His fault: he never said yes when he wanted to say no. And seldom did he sacrifice his art, his greatest asset, for anything worldly.
He is a song-writer, screenplay writer, film producer, director and a musician. But Mr. Thampi says he is more of a lyricist than a filmmaker.
His evergreen songs such as `Chandrikayilaliyunna chandrakaantham', `Hridayasarasile pranayapushpame' and `Swonthamenna padathinendhartham' still evoke nostalgia in Malayalis.
So are some of his films. While his films such as `Chandrakaantham', `Gaanam', `Mohiniyattom', `Malika Paniyunnavor', `Jeevitham Oru Gaanam', `Ambalavilakku', etc. became artistic successes; Mr. Thampi also made movies such as `Naayattu', `Simhasanam', `Akramanam', `Idimuzhakkam', etc. that succeeded at the box office.
``This combination of art and commerce was my success,'' he says.
Mr. Thampi produced commercially successful movies by engaging other directors. And with the money from such films, he produced and directed "art" films. One of the all-time hits of Malayalam, `Chattambikkalyani', (produced by Mr. Thampi and directed by Sasikumar), was a runaway hit. This movie was followed by `Mohiniyattom', which won several awards. Yet he never had a smooth film career. His self-imposed hibernation from films in the Eighties, according to Mr. Thampi, was the result of a "negative trend" in the industry. He kept away from the industry as artistes began to dictate terms, he says.
Mr. Thampi believes artistes are less important than technicians. "I find it unbearable when new-generation artistes behave in a manner the ones like Prem Nazir, Sukumaran and Soman never did,'' Mr. Thampi says.
He says now there's no respect for the producer. "However, great an actor, he should pay heed to the artistic genius of a technician, that is, a director,'' he says.
It was only natural that many actors distanced themselves from Mr. Thampi, who, in fact, had given Mammootty his first role as a hero in `Munnettam' (1981). Mr. Thampi has also given Mohanlal his first major role in `Enikkum Oru Divasam' (1982) and later in `Aadhipatyam'.
But Mr. Thampi now finds satisfaction in the mini-screen industry. "Here, there are no stars to dictate terms,'' he says. His serials like `Mohanadarsanam', `Melappadam', `Akshayapatram', `Sapatni' and `Akkarappacha' have endeared Mr. Thampi to a sensible audience.
For the past three years, he has been in the workshop of a mega- documentary titled `Sangeeta Yatrakal', tracing the history and evolution of Malayalam film music. From the first Malayalam talkie, `Balan' (1938), to the present generation movies, it will be a work of epic proportions, Mr. Thampi says.
Mr. Thampi has six collections of poems, four novels, one drama, one short story collection and several collections of songs to his credit. His son, Rajkumar Thampi, is too into films. He works in the Telugu film industry. His wife Raji and daughter Kavitha too have dabbled in arts.
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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