THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The year was 1993. On air was 'Jeevanulla Pratimakal', a radio drama penned by M Rajeev Kumar and directed by Sateesh on the life and trials of a nomadic tribe.
The cast was a line-up of famous sounds that marked Malayalam filmdom like those of veterans M G Soman, Karamana Janardhanan Nair, Aranmula Ponnamma, Jagadeesh, and Bhagyalakshmi. It also had a debut performance, of Mohanlal, then too a supertstar of Malayalam cinema, who was entering the faceless terrain of radio dramas, where voice was king. He did it again, in the late 1990s, with 'Kathukal Kadha Parayunnu' where his voice portrayed the role of a cop. Both the dramas have gone into AIR's iconic drama list.
Now, after a gap of nearly 25 years, Mohanlal is venturing again to let his sound play the protagonist in two radio dramas to be aired as part of AIR's Akhila Kerala Radio Nadakolsavam, which is being relaunched for the first time after Covid.
"Another hallmark is that the dramas are Mohanlal's first after he won the Dadasaheb Phalke award. That marks a milestone for the actor from the time in the early 1990s when he was a superstar and now, when he is a maestro," says Ruby Babu, transmission assistant, in-charge of the radio drama section at AIR, Thiruvananthapuram.
The radio festival will begin on May 11 with 'Daivathinte Manamaarukandu' written by Jayaraj Mitra and directed by Ruby, on the intricate bond between man and nature. The dialogue here is between a man who is to commit suicide and the tree where he is to hang. Mohanlal lends his voice to this along with state award winner M R Gopakumar.
Mohanlal's sound will also play the lead in the final drama in the festival to be aired from Kochi on May 17, 'Kadankathayile Virunnukaran' written by Mohammad Roshan and directed by M V Sasikumar and N S Jayamohan. There will be one drama each from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi centres and one each from Kannur, Kozhikode, and Thrissur to be aired as part of the festival, Ruby said.
Radio dramas have been a part of AIR's entertainment schedule since the 1920s and in Kerala, it has played a huge part in not just entertainment but also in relaying ideas and ideologies, as well as enrich taste for literature and foster empathy.
The sound effects is the king here, and many a film star, even veterans like Sathyan, Adoor Bhasi, Miss Kumari, have allowed their voice to take over their stellar persona and remain faceless as they enacted characters.
AIR grading
The AIR, however, has not graded Mohanlal yet. "There were graded artists like Thilakan who had made it big in films. Till some years ago, an AIR grading was a benchmark even in filmdom," Ruby said, adding the AIR is pepping up by including more graded artists.
"Recently, about 700 people auditioned but only 200 cleared. We include them in our dramas later and even pay them a fee. For celebrities who are not graded, the remuneration is in the form of tokens of appreciation," said Ruby.
