THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though Nedumudi is his birthplace, Thiruvananthapuram served as the second home for Venu. He reached the city in his twenties to work as a journalist. In Thiruvananthapuram, he was in the right company, that included the legendary G Aravindan and Kavalam Narayanapanicker.
For Kavalam Sreekumar, singer and son of Kavalam Narayanapanicker, the demise is like a loss in his close family. “I feel the same loss when my father died. His acting was always focused on rhythm. It was shocking as I had visited him at the hospital on Monday, and after one or two hours, the sad news came to me. He had 50 years of bonding with my father. Thampu, released in 1978, was his debut film. It also marked my debut in singing and MG Radhakrishnan’s debut as music director,” Sreekumar said.
Singer G Venugopal recalled a pun created by Nedumudi Venu on four ‘Venus’ in Malayalam film industry. “Nedumudi Venu, Adipidi Venu (cinematographer P Venu), Mudipidi Venu (actor Venu Nagavalli, who had the habit of pulling his hair) and Paattupadi Venu, which is me the singer. We all loved it. Four months ago, I met him at a TV music competition as a judge, and he was very active. I remember how I was mesmerised by him at first sight when I saw him at Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri’s house in Thiruvananthapuram. Nedumudi sang the song Ganapathiyude Thirunamakkuri Thuyilunaru, penned by Kavalam sir, melodiously by playing mridangam there,” Venugopal said.
Art connoisseur Soorya Krishnamoorthi said Nedumudi should not be limited to just an actor. “I was able to work with him only in one project, Thrayambakam in 2019, which was related to children. What I loved about him was his knowledge of rhythm. He shouldn’t be underestimated as just an actor,” he said.
He was an inspiration and teacher for other actors, especially those in theatre. The friend circle he had built in the capital city while being the disciple of Kavalam, and practising at Sopanam theatre, was more like a ‘Gurukula system’, said actor Biju Sopanam. “For theatre artists, there are a lot of possibilities where their acting style gets merged with film acting. But he showed us how to execute realistic acting by blending the acting styles of theatre and film. He even appreciated me for my performance in the serial Uppum Mulakum,” Biju said.
For Krishnan Balakrishnan, a theatre and film actor who had two decades of close association with ‘Venu chettan’, the loss has created an emotional vacuum. “We acted together in Oru Aanum Randu Pennum and Orange Marangalude Veettil, Be it any theatre production or film location, he would make us feel at home,” he said.