THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “Compared to usual blind characters, Raghavan is unique. It was a welcome break from my mundane comedy roles. Hope more such roles come my way,” Kochu Preman exclaimed six years ago, while squeezed inside the general compartment of a train headed for Goa. The actor was on his way to attend the International Film Festival of India.
His transition from the humorous portrayal of a vellichapadu in Jayaraj’s ‘Thilakkam’ in 2003 to the blind Raghavan in M B Padmakumar’s ‘Roopantharam’ in 2016 was enough to understand K S Premkumar aka Kochu Preman. On Saturday, when he breathed his last, the veteran actor’s dream of portraying more character roles died with him.
“Whenever we interacted, he used to ask me for unique scripts to help him shed the image of an actor confined to humorous roles. He was so much in love with the character [in ‘Roopantharam’] that he didn’t even accept any remuneration for the movie. I have seen the way he gets into character. ‘Pappa, I want to do more such roles’ he kept saying. Though ‘Roopantharam’ was screened at international festivals, it was not screened at IFFK. Thus the film and actor went unknown in Kerala,” Padmakumar said.
His first passion, however, was the stage. The actor’s demise has shocked his friends and colleagues alike. “I grew up watching Kochu Preman performing in professional and amateur plays in Thiruvananthapuram. I always felt that he loved theatre more. He was a multilayered actor who failed to rise to prominence. The industry failed to give him a chance to find his depth and potential,” said actor Alencier Ley Lopez.
Talking about his theatrical performances, Kollam Kalidasa Kala Kendra chairman E A Alejandra said Kochu Preman should not be tagged as a mere comedian. “He had acted in a few theatre productions in the late 1980-’90s. In the production ‘Sathi’, he played the role of a vidhooshakan which revealed the depth of his acting skills,” he said.
Remembering a co-actor, Jagadish addressed him as a soul who treated one and all equally. Rajesh Paravoor, who had starred with Kochu Preman in the television sitcom ‘Thateem Mutteem’, said the loss was painful to the whole team.