KOCHI: His work on the late A P J Abdul Kalam had already lent the artist a place in the Book of Asian Records for having done the most number of charcoal paintings on the former Indian president. Arunlal, the Kannirappally native, has gone one step further, earning a record for mimicking 180 noted personalities in 12 minutes. The list included people from the fields of cinema, sports, literature and politicians like Narendra Modi, Oommen Chandy, Pinarayi Vijayan, V S Achuthanandan and A K Nayanar. In front of a team which had come to supervise the record-attempt, Arunlal managed to beat the earlier achievement of mimicking ‘120 personalities within six minutes’ by Tamilian mimicry artist Honest Raj.
“I did the performance during the anniversary celebrations of St Anthony’s Public School and Junior College, Anakkal in Kanjirappally, where I had studied,” says Arunlal. “I was invited as a guest and so chose the event for my feat as well, thinking it would be a different experience for the students. The team gave me an acknowledgement certificate as soon as I completed the performance.”
Though mimicry had been a passion for him from his school days, having earned prizes in school competitions and youth festivals, Arunlal is noted more for his paintings. With over 170 paintings to his credit, this comes as no surprise. So, the decision to focus more on his work as a painter was not an accidental one. “With many established and noted mimicry artistes around, I have always felt that there are no encouraging platforms for upcoming and amateur performers,” he says.
“However, the situation has changed a lot nowadays. I had recently taken part in a comedy show on television, which I felt was an encouraging platform for amateurs like me.”Meanwhile, his latest painting exhibition, comprising 175 works, took place at Kalam’s hometown of Rameswaram, during the president’s second death anniversary last year. Arunlal is also a volunteer of HOPE, a non-profit organisation.