KOCHI: Paravoor Bharathan was never a busy comedian, who travels from one film set to another during the latter half of his career, but some roles with a pinch of genuine humour in them made him popular among the movie buffs. For instance, the movie ‘Mazhavilkkavadi’(1989) directed by Sathyan Anthikkad is still appreciated and enjoyed as a cult comedy entertainer. Equally appreciated is the role played by Paravur Bharathan in that movie - the man with a big moustache, but with a nickname “Meesayilla Vasu . The genuine comedy which is the USP of ‘Mazhavilkkavady’ is a result of the perfect chemistry between Innocent’s character and Bharathan’s Vasu.
Bharathan entered Malayalam cinema as an actor in 1951. Before that, he was a popular drama artist who began his acting career with the drama troupe-Pushpitha. But the turning pint in his career was his role in a musical drama for Udaya Kerala Nataka Samithy. The drama was a success and Bharathan’s role too got noticed.
Bharathan’s first movie was an adaptation of a famous professional drama ‘Rakthabandham’. The makers gave Bharathan the same role that he enacted in the drama. The breakthrough for Bharathan in the films came in the year 1964. The role of Khader, a villain that he portrayed in ‘Karutha kai’ directed by M Krishnan Nair also marked the birth of one more actor in Malayalam cinema to portray strong villain roles. ‘Odukkam Thudakkam’, ‘Kuttavali’, ‘Nakhangal’, ‘Marunaattil Oru Malayali’, ‘Kattumallika’, ‘Themmadi Velappan’, ‘Rajahamsam’, ‘Meen’, ‘Snehamulla Simham’, ‘Kadathukaran’,’Danger Biscuit’, ‘Panchavan kaadu’, ‘Adimakal’, ‘Rest house’, ‘Karimpana’ are some of the major movies in which Bharathan portrayed serious roles, till the late 1980s. But the success of roles in ‘Mazhavilkkavadi’ and ‘Peruvannapurathe Visheshangal’, both with touch of humour, saw Paravur Bharathan soon becoming a hot favourite for comedy roles. it was after this changeover that the Malayalees saw an array of comedy roles by Bharathan in ‘Ganamela’, ‘Mookkillarajyathu’, ‘Sasneham’, ‘Akashakkottayile Sulthan’, ‘Dr Pasupathy’, ‘Godfather’, ‘In Harihar Nagar’, ‘Aramanveedum Anjoorekkarum’ and ‘Kusruthikkuruppu’, to name a few. The character Menon who is very fond of dogs in the movie ‘Junior Mandrake’ was also a big hit.
