THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Venu Nagavally’s last lap in the show business was bereft of the glitter of busy shooting schedules and the bevy of henchmen so usual for the industry’s who’s who. And it was indeed the commoners, admirers he had earned over the years, who made up the lion’s share of the crowd that came to pay homage to the departed soul when the body was brought to VJT Hall on Thursday afternoon.
We saw people who had taken pains to reach there in buses and on foot on hearing the news of his demise in the morning through newspapers and TV. They walked in, had the last glimpse of the inimitable Venu, and walked out silently. Some stayed on a while longer, their faces clouded over with memories of a soft-spoken, grief-laden young man, and impulsively walked up to his sobbing wife Meera, to hold her hands for a moment, perhaps in a silent prayer.
The Chief Minister came in to pay homage at around 1 pm. Former minister T M Jacob, veteran poet O N V Kurup, politician Thalekkunnil Basheer and many others arrived around the same time. John Brittas, T N Gopakumar, Shaji Kailas and Gandhimathi Balan were among those who represented the visual media and the film field. Balu Kiriyathu, director/scriptwriter/ lyricist, was seen attending to everything so that his childhood buddy’s last journey would be as peaceful as possible. “Our families lived next to each other at Thycaud and we were bosom friends ever since I can remember. All I can say is that I have lost a friend and a brother,” he said, holding back the torrent of emotions that rushed to his face and voice.
Even as people from all walks of life stepped into the Hall to offer their obeisance, Cheriyan Kalpakavadi, often dubbed his shadow by friends and family, was caught in the mess of phone calls from the media, not allowing him the silence of grief. When asked if the long gap in which Venu was literally a non-entity in the industry had taken its toll on him, Cherian was quick to affirm that it had. “He was a romantic at heart, just like the characters he essayed in movies, emotional and extremely sentimental. So, he was very depressed when he could not find a footing in the changed scenario of Malayalam film industry. All of us, who were conditioned in another kind of cinematic sensibility, had a hard time coping with the new trend,” said Cherian, who teamed up with Venu Nagavally for four films - ‘Sarvakalashala’, ‘Lal Salaam’, ‘Rakthasakshikal Sindabad’, and his last directorial effort, ‘Bharya Swantham Suhruthu’.
Far removed from the milling crowd stood Ajayan, Venu’s assistant director who has made small but significant appearances in some of his movies. For a while, all he could mumble was, “He was a very good human being.” In bits and pieces, followed reflections about how Venu distanced himself from his circle of friends in cinema through his increasingly unpredictable mood swings.
“He was by nature a very impulsive person. I have seen him pull out huge amounts from his pockets to give away to anyone he thought were in need of help. Even when he didn’t have the luxury of an overflowing purse, he would find the money for others who asked for help. In fact, many people took advantage of this naivety of his personality. But no one could talk him out of it.”
The movie that he liked best among his own was always ‘Sukhamo Devi’, said Ajayan. “It was a chapter from his own life and the episode had got into his head. It was one thing that always stayed with him. ‘Ayitham,’ which he did with L P R Varma and Mohanlal in the lead, was also special to him.”
Mohanlal, who had played the lead in Nagavally’s major films like ‘Sarvakalashala’, ‘Sukhamo Devi’, ‘Ayitham’ and ‘Kalippatam’ arrived in the evening. So did Mammootty, who had worked in Venu’s ‘Ayirappara’.
George Onakkoor, Pinarayi Vijayan, K Madhu and Oommen Chandy were among the prominent persons who arrived to bid goodbye to one of Malayalam’s best-loved actor and filmmaker.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com