I have known Naushad when he was a little boy, running around in his shorts, though I may be elder to him by only two or three years. His father C Kani Muthalali's Naushad Hotel, which has been in existence since 1970s, is perhaps the first hotel to introduce biryani in the Central Travancore region.
The hotel stood just opposite our house on Malappally Road (Tiruvalla town) and it was popular for its ‘mutton chaps’, ‘cut cakes’, besides the biryani. Though Naushad, because of his size, attracted curious eyes, for me, he was just a young boy, who went on to become my close friend. At the college, Naushad donned the role of a cook during various events on the campus. He also took the initiative to organise food fests in the college, making delicious biryanis and other delicacies.
His first train journey was with me. When his parents decided to enrol him at ‘Our College’, then Trivandrum, they asked me to accompany him. Though I was also only in college, I had travelled to Trivandrum to watch the film festivals, and I presume this gave them the confidence to send their son with me.
While we were waiting at the station for the return journey, he said let’s go and eat at the capital’s best hotel. When I asked him about the money, he told me that his father had given him enough money. So, we took an autorickshaw and went to Pankaj Hotel, near the Secretariat. Big stars like Mammootty used to stay in that hotel those days while shooting in the capital. I still remember we had prawn-fried rice from the hotel.
During his college days, Naushad had his own views and interests on various topics including music, films and politics. In the early 1980s when Lionel Richie won the Grammy award for ‘Hello’, we used to discuss the song and dreamt stories. Pankaj Udhas’ ghazals were his other favourite. Later on, we used to go out on long drives in his car along with our other common friend Shelly (who’s now in Dubai) in the night when everyone was asleep.
As our craze to produce a film grew, we, maybe in our 20s, travelled to Madras for the purpose. We even went to the film sets of ‘Mukhundetta Sumitra Vilikkunu’. But we were discouraged by those in the industry in Madras and we returned.
The film ‘Kazhcha’ happened in 2004 when I discussed the storyline with him. That was when Naushad was setting up the Park Garden Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram with another friend Xavier. I discouraged him, fearing that he might lose money. Then, Xavier too joined hands which helped me realise my movie dream.
When his wife Sheeba died earlier this month, he was in the ICU at a hospital. I had told him not to think too much and worsen his health. But after a couple of days, he became glum and this affected his health. My thoughts are also on his 13-year-old daughter Nashwa. Sheeba has three sisters and a brother. I hope they will take care of her. I miss you dear friend.