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The tales woven long ago under the shade of a Mangosteen tree have a spell about them that never fails to work. The packed auditorium of Government Women’s College on Friday morning foretold the expectations that a movie based on ‘Balyakalasakhi’, the evergreen Basheerian classic, would have to live up to.
The inauguration of the state-wide talent hunt and acting workshop organised by the makers of ‘Balyakalasakhi’, which has superstar Mammootty in the lead, was a grand affair. The dais was graced by a host of celebrities, including veteren poet ONV Kurup and actors KPAC Lalitha, Suraj Venjarammoodu and Murali Menon.
It was followed by the launch of a three-day acting workshop at University Students’ Centre.
While ONV Kurup shared his views about Basheer’s stories and applauded debutant Pramod Payyannur for choosing ‘Balyakalasakhi’ for his directorial outing, KPAC Lalitha reminisced about her role in ‘Mathilukal’, the Adoor Gopalakrishnan movie based on another Basheerian tale. Lalitha spoke about the challenge of emoting through her voice for the character who remained unseen throughout the movie.
Suraj Venjarammoodu, who has carved a niche for himself in the industry with his signature brand of comedy, said his presence among the stellar crowd on the dais was authenticated by the generous dose of humour in Basheer’s writing.
The actor went on to regale the audience with comical vignettes that harped on the characteristic refusal of Thiruvananthapuram’s native population to endorse the region’s much-taunted dialect.
Suraj effortlessly garnered a riot of applause when he mimicked Mammootty’s voice. He was diplomatic enough to placate the Mohanlal fans by belting out a famed dialogue from the super star’s all-time hit ‘Aaram Thampuran.’
In the workshop and talent hunt that followed, around 1,500 young and aspiring actors took part. “We hope to choose 35 people to play characters ranging from children to elders in the film,” said Pramod. “The workshop would be held in other districts in association with the students’ unions of Kerala, MG and Calicut Universities. The actors who will be chosen will play the characters of Majeed and Suhara’s friends as well as the villagers who play an important part in the story,” he said.
Pramod added that the story has been adapted to include the circumstances in which Basheer wrote the story. “He wrote it while living in Kolkata just before the Partition. The story will bring in the love story as Majeed’s memories while he toils as a book-seller in the strife-torn Bengal,” he said.
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