WHEN Captain Raju was in Class VIII, he joined the Chuttipara Government High School in Pathanamthitta where he became close friends with Rajendra Prasad whose family owned the ‘Venugopal’ cinema hall. Thanks to his closeness with Prasad, Raju would see films regularly. “Thus began my love for cinema,” he says.
It was an old-style theatre with an asbestos roof. For sound proofing sacks had been placed in piles near the ceiling. “When I walked in, nobody stopped me. I would sit only if there were empty seats. Usually, because it was so crowded, I saw the films standing up throughout.”
For Raju the most unforgettable film he saw was ‘Jnana Sundari’, starring Prem Nazir and Jaishree. In the film the queen, who is also a stepmother, and the wife of the prince (Prem Nazir) never get along. One day Nazir’s wife gives birth to twin boys. The queen calls two soldiers and says, “Take the two boys and the mother into the forest and kill them.” The soldiers go into the forest with the trio, but they are unable to do the task. Instead they chop off the hands of the mother and show them to the queen. She is convinced that all of them are dead. “The scene which I will never forget is of the twins lying on the ground with their mother standing watch. Suddenly, a huge scorpion approaches them. The mother sees the danger. Since she has no hands, she uses her feet to send the scorpion flying through the air. Then the mother kneels down, and with tears in her eyes, she sings, ‘Appan ippo varum, ningal urangalle makkale’ (Your father will come soon, don’t go to sleep, children). The entire audience was crying,” says Raju.
When he completed BSc in zoology from Catholicate College Raju decided to go to Mumbai to try his luck. One day he saw an advertisement in the newspaper. The Army was looking for graduates in their Short Service Commission. Raju applied and was selected. “I spent six years in the Army and became a captain.” During this period, he had an arranged marriage with Premila Varghese who grew up in Mumbai. “My heart was in acting. So I quit the Army, came to Mumbai and managed to get a marketing job in Laxmi Starch Limited.” Raju’s turning point came when his father-in-law, Jacob Varghese, introduced him to a friend, Meesha Kunjukutty, who said, “You are more than 6 ft tall and can be a hero. Are you interested in acting?”
“Very much!” Raju said. Meesha took him to meet Venu who ran Pratibha theatres. Venu, who was about to start the rehearsal for N N Pillai’s ‘Easwaran Arrestil’, gave him the role of the devil. “In the film, God and I sit side by side on the stage wearing barrister suits. When people die their souls come to us. The devil is more handsome. So all the souls come to me thinking I am God and say, ‘Oh Creator, please help us.’ I laugh at God and say, ‘Nobody is coming to see you’.”
The play was a hit and Raju performed in different auditoriums in the city. He acted in many other plays, all of which did well. Later, through some relatives of his wife, he got in touch with Appachen of Jagan Pictures who got him a role in the film, ‘Raktham’ (1982).
Unlike many beginners Raju never felt nervous. “I come from the Army. A man who is trained to face bullets has no fear. I told myself that even Prem Nazir and Madhu had a first day.”
The movie turned out to be a hit. “People in the industry asked when they saw me on screen, ‘Who is that?’ When that happens your career is made. That was a turning point.”
Raju never looked back and has acted in over 400 films in all languages in South India, and in the prestigious Merchant-Ivory English film, ‘Cotton Mary’. His most famous role is that of kalarippayattu master Aringodar in ‘Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha’ (1989) which was scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair and directed by T Hariharan. “I don’t think Malayalis will ever forget my portrayal of Aringodar.”
Another turning point came on October 12, 2003. He was travelling at night in a car with a driver and an assistant from Thiruvananthapuram to Salem to take part in the shooting of Vinayan’s ‘War and Love’. Just after Thrissur, the car hit a culvert, went over the wall and fell 40 feet. “There was no tree to stop the vehicle. The car had another fall of 100 feet.” Raju had multiple fractures on the leg, damaged his ribs and had a severe head injury. “Even now I suffer from lapses of memory,” he says, looking sad for the first time in the conversation at his Pan Jos apartment at Padivattom.
Owing to the accident, he has slowed down. “I learnt a lesson from that accident. Anything can happen in life. Be prepared at all times.”
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