THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It has been almost half a century since Malayalam cinema lost the prolific actor Sathyan aka Cheruvilakathu Veettil Manuel Sathyaneshan Nadar. Preserving the relics of his celebrated film career, Sathyan Smarakan has been proudly standing in the capital city for 35 years. Built in 1986, 15 years after the actor’s demise and inaugurated by the then Chief Minister K Karunakaran the memorial has been active in conducting cultural events. The organisers of the foundation, Kerala Cultural Forum (KCF), recently confirmed that the anniversary celebrations will be carried out once the lockdown is lifted.
Since it was founded, the forum under the founding president Prof P G Edwin and general secretary D Yesudas has been carrying out several cultural and charity works. Abhilash Y L, the executive committee member of KCF, and son of D Yesudas, said the memorial was an inescapable part of his life. “My sister and I were part of the prayer team at every function conducted at the memorial. The place was always filled with eminent personalities from all walks of life during my father’s times,” he said.
Abhilash added that the centre had a online memorial meeting on Tuesday to mark the death anniversary of the actor. “Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil inaugurated the event and filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan gave a speech on the late actor,” he said. The memorial has been honouring film personalities with the annual Sathyan Smaraka Award for their outstanding contribution to the big screen. Felicitation events are observed for those who excel in the art and culture.
Sathyan film festival, monthly cultural events, discussions and even workshops on acting and filmmaking are conducted by the forum before the lockdown,to familiarise the legendary actor for the young generation.“We used to conduct special cultural and literary competitions for school children every year on the actor’s birth anniversary,” said Abhilash. The smarakam is also active in conducting charity events, where they have been issuing a monthly pension amount to deprived actors and aiding monetary support to financially backward college students.