ALAPPUZHA: Anoop Chandran, best remembered by movie audiences as the witty Pazhamthuni Koshy in the 2006 cult classic 'Classmates', is more than just a familiar face on the silver screen. With over 165 films, including 'Achuvinte Amma' and 'Rasathanthram', to his credit, the theatre-trained actor has carved a niche in Malayalam cinema.
But beyond the lights and camera, Anoop finds his true calling in the quiet rhythms of farm life. At his dairy farms in Areeparambu and Kavunkal near Cherthala in Alappuzha, he feeds over 80 cows, collecting more than 550 litres of milk daily. For him, farming isn’t just a pastime; it’s a lifeline.
Farming has always been close to his heart. “When I was a child, my parents cultivated over four acres of land and raised cows. After school, I used to help by harvesting fresh grass. That connection with the soil and cattle never left me,” he recalls.
Even while pursuing higher studies and later training at the Thrissur-based School of Drama and Fine Arts, Anoop dreamt of becoming a farmer. However, a busy acting career kept him away from the fields. “Even then, our family always had one or two cows,” he says.
The turning point came in 2006, when Anoop set up a small dairy unit at home. Initially, he distributed milk to houses and shops in Cherthala. During the pandemic, when film shootings slowed down, he fully devoted himself to farming. “Today, I own over 80 cows, including Jersey, Holstein Friesian (HF), Swiss Brown, and Kasargod Kullan varieties,” he says.
On average, a cow in his farm yields 28 to 30 litres of milk a day, while high-breed varieties produce up to 35 litres. “If production drops below 25 litres, it becomes unprofitable. That is why we use imported hybrid semen to improve yield,” Anoop explains.
What started as a modest venture in 2006-07 with 46 cows has now grown into a collective enterprise. Along with 167 fellow dairy farmers in Cherthala taluk, Anoop helped established a cooperative on October 2, 2023 that produces nearly 16,000 litres of milk daily. The milk is collected twice a day, processed at a unit in Chalakudy, and marketed under the brand name ‘Hi-Vaa’.
Around 10,000 litres are sold in packets, while the remaining 6,000 litres are turned into by-products such as ghee, curd, and other dairy items. These are now available not just in Alappuzha, but also in parts of Kottayam and Ernakulam districts.
Supporting Anoop in this journey is his wife, Lakshmi Rajagopal, a research scholar in artificial intelligence (AI) at the Pulinkunnu campus of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat). Together, they balance modern life with traditional roots.
For Anoop, farming is life in its most pristine. “The money we earn from agriculture is the purest form of wealth, because it comes from serving nature,” he says. “No true farmer’s son ends up in jail, and no genuine farmer takes his own life, because farmers work with Mother Earth out of love, not greed.”
From the silver screen to the green fields, Anoop continues to play his most inspiring role: Of a farmer who proves that passion and perseverance can keep both dreams and traditions alive.