It is 24 years since the legendary writer-turned-director P Padmarajan, who portrayed the story of the common man and his feelings through movies, passed away. On the occasion, producer Balan, popularly known as Gandhimathi Balan, who was with Padmarajan during his last few hours, recollects his experiences with the filmmaker.
“It was for the publicity and theatre visits in connection with his last movie Njan Gandharvan that we planned a trip. Though I was not the producer of that movie, I was included in the group to convince Pappettan, who was initially hesitant to join, to take the trip. It was Radhalakshmi ‘Chechi’, wife of Pappettan, who called me and insisted that I join that group as Pappettan would come if I was with them. That’s how I reached Palakkad from Madras, where I was then engaged in a movie discussion, on January 22. Pappettan came there the same day in the afternoon. That movie’s producer R Mohan (Good Knight Mohan) and actor Nitish Bharadwaj also joined us there,” Balan remembers.
Balan says they were planning to tour the state from northern districts till Thiruvananthapuram. “Mohan had brought two cars from Kochi. But Pappettan was for a single car journey. So, the driver went back with one car and we started the theatre visit in the other vehicle. I drove the car from Palakkad to the theatre at Kannur where Njan Gandharvan was being screened, after the visit in Palakkad. Throughout that journey Pappettan sang the songs composed by M S Baburaj. He demanded the ‘pathiri and mutton curry’ of Kozhikode. So, I called my manager in Kozhikode, Abu, and arranged the items as dinner at Hotel Paramount Towers there, where we had booked rooms for that night,” he recollects.
‘’When the second show started at the theatre in Kannur, we left there and reached Kozhikode by around 11 pm. Actually, two suites were booked for the four of us. As per the initial plan, one room was for Mohan and myself and the other for Pappettan and Nitish. But Pappettan insisted that I join him, saying, “Those who speak Malayalam can be in one room and Hindi-speaking people in another.” So, after food, by around 12.30 am, we moved to our rooms.’’
“At that time, we were planning to do a movie with Mohanlal. He was there in Kozhikode for the shooting of Bharatham.’’
“Pappettan told me to wake him up early next day in order to meet Mohanlal regarding our new movie. I agreed and we went to sleep,” Balan says.
“As he had back pain, Pappettan used to avoid spring mattresses and sleep on the floor if there was no other option. The next day when I woke up, he was found lying on the floor over a bedsheet. As we had planned the previous day, I went to take bath first. Though I was ready, he was still in the same posture as I saw him earlier. Though I called him, he didn’t respond. Meanwhile, Abu too had arrived in the room. I told Abu to call him. So, he went Pappettan. But his response shocked me, as he said Pappettan was dead. I went near him and touched his body - I found that it was very cold,” remembers Balan.
It was a shocking experience. A few minutes later, people belonging to cultural - film sectors who were in Kozhikode, including M T Vasudevan Nair, P V Gangadharan, Mohanlal and Urvashi, reached there. The doctor arrived and confirmed the death. ‘’Owing to that shock, I could not move from there for around two hours. Later, after the legal procedures, we three - myself, Mohan and Nitish, accompanied the body till Muthukulam in the same car in which we were travelling the previous day,’’ he recollects.
The Road Accident
“After the funeral, we started the journey to Thiruvananthapuram in same car and Mohan’s driver was in the driving seat. We stopped at Ochira as we were very tired. Meanwhile, cinematographer Venu, who was also heading to Thiruvananthapuram, reached there in his car. Seeing him, Nitish said that he will go with Venu as he needed a relief from that mood. So, he went with Venu and we resumed our journey from there in the same car,” says Balan.
But another shock was waiting for them as their car had a head-on collision with a bus at Kavanad in Kollam. “In the impact of the collision, Mohan was tossed away from the car. The driver and myself were grievously injured. I had to undergo treatment at Medical College Hospital here for around four weeks, but the driver lost his life,” remembers Balan, who has not produced any movie after the demise of the ‘Gandharvan’ (celestial lover) of Malayalam cinema.