CHENNAI: You do mix business with pleasure. Much like the Pole Vaulter, Sergey Bubka took delight in setting up a record and then breaking it. Anoop is happy to open new windows in his career lines just to see the joy of his travelling curve.
So says Arayamparambil Vasavan Anoop with conviction as the watchword and the proven one too. An entrepreneur, social worker, film producer-actor, having a theatre troupe of his own churning out Malayalam stage plays and dance dramas, Anoop finds time for everything. Managing Director of AVA Group of Companies with its flagship product of Medimix soap having set a benchmark difficult for others to scale, Anoop says he is in the best phase of his career.
Philanthropy first
At 61, the genial man avers he has a lot of plans lined up in the coming decade, believing in the dictum to let his work do all the talking. His philanthropic deeds during the tsunami and pandemic were noteworthy, joining forces with like-minded friends to bring smiles back on the faces of the ones who had lost their livelihood.
“I believe in timely help, like feeding the one with hunger in his eyes. I did not bargain for the collective response spread from all religions when I posted an online request to support my cause. The collections poured from all quarters and scores of people benefited. A proud moment in my life where I could derive the real meaning of one’s life. I was happy to trace the happiness in the lives of scores of people, who had seemingly resigned to their fate,” he shares.
A bunch of tribal boys brought to Chennai and experienced the joy of travelling in a plane found prominent space in the leading dailies recently. “A chat with the bunch made me realise that flying in the air was only a distant dream for them. Imagine their joy-filled faces drenched with happiness, chatting and patting each other during the one-hour flight. Watching it from a privileged position was a God-fulfilled moment for me,” he shares.
Go-getter spirit
A producer of a handful of films in Tamil and well past the double digits in Malayalam, Anoop sees movies as a strong medium to send the right messages. In the Malayalam movie, Achan Oru Vazha Vechu set for release, Anoop plays the role of a father, determined to teach his son a hardcore lesson. “My son plays a Radio Jockey, and he challenges me that I can never step into his shoes to understand his profession’s demands. I take the challenge head-on and show him that I could do one better. The audience is in for a surprise to see me in a 30-year-old get-up. Nothing could stop the character from living his life to his heart’s content, dancing, prancing and matching the youngsters in the disco dances. Rarely one could see such a character in movies; a spark igniting me to go full throttle and make merry,” Anoop beams.
He does not fancy himself as an actor but strongly feels that he could do justice to characters which do not need a hero endorsement. “For me, the script is the winner and the plunge is only taken then. In Malayalam, there is an assured audience response to themes with substance and clarity. That is the beauty of the medium and I am happy to create space for every available talent,” he informs.
Touching the lives of four girl quadruplets with the same face in the Tamil movie Enna Satham Indha Neram was a landmark movie. “It had no big names but the audience lapped up the content, a true event that I read. The important thing is in executing the idea and my team found four girls, born at the same time with the same faces,” he says. He shares that there was the advantage of shooting the portions with any of the four when one failed to turn up on time for the shoot.
Throwing surprises at the audience had been a feature of Anoop’s work. In a Malayalam dance drama Chandala Bhikshuki, two months ago, Anoop used his voice instead of his presence playing the Budha Bhagwan character. The poem is a conversation between Ananda Bikshu (a Budha Bikshu) and Madangi (considered as low caste in those days and who were treated like slaves by Brahmins). When they meet for the very first time, the thirsty Bikshu requests Mathangi for some water to quench his thirst but she refuses out of fear because she is from a low caste and Bikshus are not supposed to take water from such people.
But Bikshu convinces her and takes water from Mathangi and drinks the same. Thereafter how this particular incident revolutionises society was the crux of the plot.
Guinness Record
A defining moment for Anoop was his feature film on the life of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru finding a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Titled Vishwaguru, the 98 minutes and 15 seconds long movie is the debut work by director Vijeesh Mani. Fashioned in 51 hours and 2 minutes, Vishwaguru has edged out a Sri Lankan film Mangala Gamana and has set a Guinness World Record for being the fastest movie ever produced from script to screen.
Living for and living with that pride, Anoop says the enigmatic storyline is something any Keralite can recount. “The desire was to ensure a Malayalam movie makes its mark in the global arena. It is my way of giving it back to Malayalam cinema basking in its 90th-year celebration,” he notes.
Anoop spells out his desire that a movie can be completed in a time frame with the requisite planning. “Time is money and every artiste should remember the fact that a producer has to get his slice of fortune when he is investing his fortunes,” he insists.
With a settled look on the professional front, Anoop feels he is blessed to pursue his passion. Having joined a flute class online, the man has set no goals. For that would rob the sheer joy of doing something impromptu when the mind works overtime. If the mind has the speed of a monkey to move from one place to another, Anoop wishes to follow in that footsteps. For Anoop, the happy augury is in getting inspired. Hardly it matters, from which channel the idea transpires.