Though he can be described as one among the rare breed of politicians who did not act in front of the public or his voters, Lonappan Nambadan had carved a special niche for himself as an actor. Nambadan started acting in plays staged at his home parish, St Antony’s Church, Perambra, and could find time to play various characters in a number of plays, two films by avant-garde directors and a telefilm, amidst his busy schedule of social service and teaching.
His first foray into films was in 1978 with a cameo as a parallel college owner in ‘Aswathamav’, directed by K R Mohanan and produced by P T Kunhumuhammed (who later became a left-backed independent MLA). The second was three decades later when he enacted the role of Jyoti Basu, the longest serving Chief Minister in the country, in the 2007 biopic ‘AKG’, directed by Shaji N Karun. Apart from Nambadan’s appearance, the film had an unusual cast with writer Punathil Kunhabdulla playing the role of Muslim league leader C H Muhammad Koya, Marxist ideologue M P Parameswaran playing the role of Communist patriarch EMS Namboodiripad and EK Nayanar’s role was enacted by his son Krishnakumar.
‘AKG’ was shot in New Delhi when Nambadan was serving as a Member of Parliament. Then he had termed the removal of his trademark moustache as a ‘sacrifice’ for the role of living frontline Communist Basu. He had also played an important role in a tele-film ‘Narayani M’ along with noted actress KPAC Lalitha had telecast in Doordarsan, in its hey days.
He had played serious character roles in nearly 20 plays. The role of a butcher he did in the fancy dress competition, as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Assembly in 1982, not only earned him the second prize, but also turned prophetic as he went on to ‘slaughter’ the Karunakaran ministry on March 15, by his anti-govt vote.