Rajeev Kumar has surprised the Malayali audience with his creativity on celluloid and on stage. You tend to write more about his stage shows than the 16 films he has made. The filmmaker in him disappointed us by not giving us something as celebrated as his master pieces including ‘Chanakyan’ and ‘Kannezhuthi Pottumthottu’ for quite some time.
The reason?
“The options before me are few. Are there any credible production houses now? It is all a gamble, a business. For the artists and crew, it is just a profession. Everybody is hired and the
camaraderie is missing. For me, filmmaking is not just a job. I have always gone against the trend and have succeeded. And I will continue to be this way.”
He is hardly upset about the criticism that came his way after directing ‘Oru Naal Varum.’
“I have not used the stardom but the potential of Mohanlal the actor (something which he did in ‘Pavithram’) in the film. My challenge was to present a serious issue through humour. I never expected it to reap huge profits. It got the response it demanded.”
And when he says he will remake ‘Rathinirvedam’, he has crystal clear ideas. “It will be a reinterpretation with new faces in the cast. My attempt will be to picturise the lifestyle of a period which is unknown to the present generation - the joint family system, the way of living, costume, daily chores – every minute aspect of those times will be recreated,” he says with conviction.
Another of his upcoming projects will have a female-oriented subject. With palpable excitement he adds, “If all goes well, I might do a film with Kamal Haasan. I wish to make a fantasy film some day.”
But what about stage shows? “Filmmaking is my first passion. Stage shows just happened. When I realized that the stage has immense potential, I went about studying and exploring the hidden possibilities and got carried away, only to do more shows.”
A stage performer himself, Rajeev was a member of Super Mimics, the state’s first official mimicry troupe. He got his first big break in 1989 in a light and sound show in Dubai featuring Bhanupriya. Another big moment came through ‘Mohanlal and the Magic Lamp’, a stage show held in Dubai. The Miss World pageant at Bangalore in 1996 saw him joining hands with Priyadarsan to direct the inaugural presentation ‘Rivers of India’ for Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd.
“Amitabh Bachchan was the guest at the stage show which I did for AMMA in Kozhikode and he wanted Priyan to do something similar for the pageant.”
He followed it up with numerous shows in Dubai and the US. What has kept him in good stead over the years is the novelty and surprise he brings up each time. He created magic with Mohanlal and Mammootty through the shows ‘Kathayattam’ and ‘Bheemam’.
‘Vellithiramala’ held in Dubai celebrating the history of Malayalam cinema was an interactive quiz showcum- musical event; ‘Nannipoorvam Mohanlal’ held at Thiruvananthapuram saw the actor sitting on the stage and going down memory lane; ‘Swarnakamalam’ in honour of Kamal Haasan saw Kamal as a poet, actor, dancer, and musician being felicitated by a group of artists; when AR Rahman was honoured, the show was such that eminent percussionists played on the stage and handed over their respective instruments to Rahman.
Rajeev talks about a virtual reality stage show - ie, what you see live on the stage and what you see on television will be entirely different – with great conviction, thanks to his inclination for technology. “With software like Watchout, you can do the unthinkable.” He used Watchout for a product launch in Dubai - a 360 degree presentation using 16 projectors.
Husband to Latha and a doting father to Mrinal and Keerthana, the 49-year-old says the film industry will soon be competing with mobile cinema. “Its themes and making are outstanding. ‘World Upside Down’, a thriller made by a youngster, had the entire story shot upside down. Amazing!”
We couldn’t help asking about his trademark shirt. “During my days of struggle, the only option was to buy the crepe shirt which cost Rs 9. It came in only one size. I am used to wearing these loose shirts and feel uncomfortable in perfect fits. Now I get these shirts stitched. Actor Jagathy Sreekumar calls it ‘shabba’, a mix of shirt and jubba!”
