No cine-goer in Kerala can forget prince Gajendra of the imaginary island Vamanapuri where the men were cursed to be dwarfs. The two-foot-ten-inch comedy actor Ajayakumar, popularly known as Undapakru or Guinness Pakru, made an entry into the Guinness Book of Records for being the shortest actor to play a full length character in a film with his Gajendra in Vinayan’s Adbutha Dweep .
Guinness Pakru has made a place for himself in the hearts of Keralites with his films and serials. He is one actor who grew up right in front of our eyes on the silver screen and mini screen. The short Suhasini in Kunjikkoonan , Chottarajan in Puthiyamukham , Balan in Pattanathil Bootham , Amithab in Loudspeaker and the character in Tamil film 'Dishyum' and the most recent Kunjumon , father of a six-footer Jayaram, in My Big Father are some characters he made memorable. “My Big Father focuses on the relationship between a father and son. The interesting fact is that it is the son who takes care of his father. Kunjumon, the father is around two feet tall and his son Alby (Jayaram), a six footer. Kunjumon is an expert cook who can sense the quality and taste of the food from the aroma and as the years go by, he becomes an expert in making biriyani . His greatest wish was to have a child who was not short like him. After the birth of Alby, Kunjumon shifts his base to Kochi. By the time Alby grows up, Kunjumon has established a flourishing catering business”, says Guinness Pakru about his character.
My Big Father was inspired by Pakru’s own life. At the location of Bose, a film starring Suresh Gopi in the lead, two people were discussing the news that Pakru had recently had a child. Suresh and Satheesh, the script writers of the film, overheard their conversation and developed the thread into a full script. “There is a lot of difference between the film and real life. In real life I am father of one-year-old Deeptha Keerthi, who is a normal child,” says Pakru who married Gayathri Mohan four years back.
Originally from Aymanam, in Kottayam district, Pakru is a BA graduate in Economics and has a diploma in Computer Science. He debuted in the children’s film Ambili Ammavan as Undapakru, the son of Jagathy Sreekumar in 1984. He was the kalaprathiba while at school and that made his entry to the silver screen easier. Apart from this world record, he also won a special award at Kerala State Film Awards in 2005 for Adbutha Dweep . He also received Tamil Nadu State Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film Dishyum in 2006. “I received this award from Tamil Nadu CM Karunanidhi, in front of Rajanikanth and Kamal Haasan. It was an unforgettable moment in my life,” says Pakru.
Pakru has done many comedy serials including Five Star Thattukada , Bharyamar Sookshikkuka , Savari Girigiri and Sanmanasullavarkku Samadanam . “I have decided to take a break from the small screen as I will be doing some better roles on the silver screen soon,” says Pakru who has done more than 50 films in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada. Ajayakumar recently changed his name to Guinness Pakru after his name was included in the Guinness Book of World Records. “Mammootty presented the certificate on the location of Pattanathil Bhootham and he renamed me ‘Guinness Pakru’. My Big Father was the first film after I changed my name. I think my character was a huge hit because of the luck of Mammukka’s naming. Many big companies approached me after the release and said they were interested in making a Tamil remake of My Big Father. I think Big Father will also make an entry into the Guinness book records. This is the first time in world cinema that a short actor appeared in five different get ups”, adds Pakru.
Siddique’s new movie Bodyguard starring Dileep and Nayanthara in the lead is the upcoming Malayalam film of Guinness Pakru. “In Bodyguard I play the character Kudamaloor Balaji who is the leader of Nayanthara’s gang. It was my dream to act in a Siddique film. This is my fifth film with Dileep after Kunjikkoonan, Mulla, Joker and Meesa Madavan ,” he says. In Tamil his upcoming release is Ariyan , directed by Karthik. In the film he plays the character Bullet Pandi, a companion of the hero played by Adithya.
Pakru also has plans to become a scriptwriter very soon. “I took two-and-a-half years to complete the story. Now I am busy with the final touches. It’s a film with humour and sentiment. You can expect this film soon with your favourite star in the lead,” he says.
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