THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The hefty bodybuilder and Brahmachari Phylvan Vasu Pillai in Priyadarshan’s directorial, Odaruthammava Aalariyam is one of the cherished roles of late actor Poojappura Ravi. The actor’s demise turned into a sorrowful Sunday for the film fraternity.
Remembering his ‘Phylvan' guru is actor Jagadish who played Phylvan’s disciple Kora in the screwball comedy film released in 1984. Jagadish says it was the dramas Ravi had performed for the Thrissur-based theatre group, Kalanilayam that made him a mesmerising actor.
“Since my college days, I have watched his plays. He was a regular cast of Kalanilayam’s famous acts, including Raktharakshas, Kadamattath Kathanaar, Mary Makdalana and Kayamkulam Kochunni with humour-cum-prominent character roles.”
And sharing screen space with him since Odaruthammava Aalariym strengthened their chemistry later. “We had a good rapport. Thus, our scenes in the film had only one take, including the stunt sequences. In the films Mutharamkunnu PO and Akkara Ninnoru Maran where I conceived the stories, his presence was also ensured with strong roles,” Jagadish said.
Apart from acting, Ravi was also an open book to learn life and a man of discipline, Jagadish said. “Though he was part of the theatre group, it was a struggling life for the artist in him, both financially and professionally. He used to talk about his struggling journey, including sleepless nights of staging plays.
Whenever senior actors like Nedumudi Venu, Jagathy Sreekumar, Mala Aravindan, Poojappura Ravi, and Innocent come together, it is a whale of a time for juniors like me as they inspire with their life stories and how they faced their struggles,” Jagdish said.
Actor Mukesh, who also shared screen space with him, recalls Ravi and how jovial he was with actors of every generation. Ravi had a signature style, may it be for dialogue delivery or the way he laughs, observes Mukesh. “He was a gem of Malayalam cinema and an irreplaceable actor. One of my hit dialogues, ‘But Why’, was delivered to his forest guard role in the 1991 film Nattuvishesham,” Mukesh said.
While for actress Jalaja, Ravi was a warm and friendly neighbour. “When I relocated to the capital city with my family, we lived near his house. He was very caring. Though a senior artist, he treated me like family. He was a regular in the cast of many of Priyadarshan’s films then. Though we had only a few films together, the breaks were fun as everyone would gather around, and he will share interesting facts on acting and more.”
The vice chairman of Kerala State Chalachithra Academy and actor Prem Kumar cherish the moments spent with Poojappura Ravi even in his old age. Last year in December, when Ravi shifted to his daughter’s house in Munnar, Prem Kumar, along with other city-based actors, gave him a farewell. “We often talked to each other over the phone.
We had a conversation two weeks ago where he ensured he was healthy. He retained the ‘Poojapura’ along with his name, which made the city more popular through him.” According to Prem Kumar, the academy will hold a public homage to the late actor at Bharath Bhavan on Tuesday morning.