In the early 1980s, Jayaram was the star at Sree Sankara College in Kalady. He was good at mimicry, mono act, and had won the best actor and best comedian awards at inter-collegiate festivals. But his throne was shaky. For an upcoming festival, the top comics of the Kala Bhavan had been invited to perform. “I realised that if they came, they would overshadow me,” says Jayaram. So he went to Kochi and watched one of their shows. On the evening of the day they were supposed to perform, Jayaram played a masterstroke. He enacted their programme in the morning itself.
So, when the troupe arrived, the students informed them that they had already seen the show. “They became extremely angry with me,” says Jayaram. “They returned to Kala Bhavan and told the director, Fr. Abel, that a criminal case should be initiated against me.”
But the legendary Fr. Abel had a different reaction. “He said if a person, who saw our programme once, could enact it perfectly, then he is a person of talent,” says Jayaram. “Instead of initiating a case, we should invite him to join our troupe.”
As a result, Jayaram joined the troupe in September 1983. He was with them for four years. “I did over 3,000 performances in Kerala, India and abroad,” he says. The group would bring out video cassettes of their performances which were extremely popular and sold well.
Meanwhile, well-known director Padmarajan was searching for a new hero for his film, Aparan. His son, Anantha Padmanabhan, gave his father a video cassette and said there was a mimicry artiste worth looking at. Immediately Padmarajan said, “Mimicry is not a good art. It’s a copy of what others do. I don’t want such a person in my film.”
But Anantha finally persuaded his father to have a look. And the director liked what he saw. “Padmarajan sir called and offered me a role,” says Jayaram. “It was a turning point in my life.” Shooting began on February 18, 1988.
Jayaram played a dual character. “The actions taken by a criminal is borne by another, who looks like him,” says Jayaram. The film was a hit and established Jayaram as a bright star of Mollywood. Today, Jayaram has completed 25 years in the industry, having acted in more than 250 Malayalam and Tamil films.
Asked the reasons for his enduring success and popularity, Jayaram says, “Work as sincerely as possible. Give more than 100 per cent in your job. That is probably the reason why no producer or director, who has been associated with me, has ever said they will not work with me again.”
Another reason had been the extraordinary talent in Mollywood working together during the ’80s and ’90s. They included Sankaradi, Tilakan, Nedumudi Venu, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Mamukoya, Innocent, Jagathy Sreekumar and Kuthiravattam Pappu. “They were exceptional people,” says Jayaram. “When you were pitted against them, you had to perform better. So, you improved automatically.”
And the improved Jayaram is as busy as ever. His next film is Bharya Athra Pora (My wife is not that good). “It is one of the best roles I have played,” he says. “Women will be able to identify with the characters.” He is also busy shooting for veteran director Joshy’s film, Kashmir. A quarter century later, the mimicry artiste has become a true original.