KOCHI: The first chapter of actor-director Balachandra Menon’s book ‘Ente Adika Prasangangal’ starts with a particularly funny-yet-emotional anecdote about his first speech. In distinct jocoseness, Menon talks about that day in school when he stammered before a huge crowd, failing to even start the speech that he painstakingly mugged up for days.
Terrible it might have been then for young Menon, but the same man grew up to be a renowned filmmaker, actor and, not to mention, an engaging orator.
Hence, it is sort of inevitable that Menon keeps a record of his oral communication skills. ‘Ente Adhika Prasangangal’ that released a few months back is exactly in this direction. It is a motley mix of speeches that are sometimes heartwarming, other times hilarious and realistic, but always wise.
Menon’s connect with the mass as a film personality is indisputable; he has directed over 38 films and acted in countless ones, most of them popular among people, but to engage hundreds with verbal skills can be quite a daunting task.
This gift of gab, says Menon, is god given. “I don’t prepare for a speech. They are always impromptu and go by the crowd in front of me,” says the writer. Obviously, or how else can one weave in wisdom with satire so effortlessly.
Taste this: In a meet organised by a laughing club, Menon talks about eliciting laughter from audience and the difficulty of the task. He then goes on to narrate a play in which he played a mad man and how it went haywire. Menon’s hilarious narration cracks up the crowd and the audience are soon in splits. What better way to talk at a laughter club meeting!
Then, at a meeting to commemorate Prem Nazir, Menon opens up about how he met the actor, the precious moments he shared with him both on and off work, including how Nazir dropped by at his new home after 10 pm. These little tales can hook the listeners, and Menon does it with absolutely ease. Who said you need to talk about Prem Nazir’s films to remember him?
Not just films, Menon talks about his illness, nature, how much he adores poet Rafeeq Ahmed and myriad other topics that can make you want, for once, to listen endlessly to a speech.