The Gopi-Asan
of Malayalam cinema is no more. This sad moment
not only marks the end of an era and the exit
of a seasoned thespian, but also of the passing
of a certain kind of acting tradition in our cinema.
Gopi, aka Bharath Gopi, brought to Malayalam cinema
a new kind of rigour, robustness and vibrancy
that drew its energy both from the best of theatre
as well as cinema. His acting style drew a lot
from the new theatre movement that was experimenting
with new idioms in our language. At the same time,
his acting was also deeply informed by a keen
awareness about new cinema movements from all
over the world – the reason why his acting
style fascinated filmmakers like Mani Kaul, Govind
Nihlani etc. who made films with him as protagonist.
He also belongs to a tradition of acting that
is pre-Television, for the kind of involvement,
reflexivity and intensity that he brought to his
performances.
 Honing
his skills, knowledge and techniques through interactions
and working with theatre legends like G Sankara
Pillai, C N Sreekantan Nair and Kavalam Narayana
Panicker, who belong to different schools yet
tried to create a contemporary indigenous theatre
in Malayalam, Gopi developed a keen understanding
of the art and practice of acting, both traditional
and modern. In his early works he had the opportunity
to closely associate with artists like Aravindan
who later moved into cinema and used his skills
in celluloid medium. Right from his first appearance
in cinema, a small but very intense one in Adoor
Gopalakrishnan's Swayamvaram (1972) ,
Gopi developed his own unique style of acting.
Through his rustic and down-to-earth performances
in films like Kodiyettam (1977),
Palangal (1981), Yavanika (1982), Kattathe Kilikoodu
(1983), Panchavadippalam (1984), Chidambaram (1985),
Ormakalunda - yirikkanam (1995) , etc Gopi
created a niche for himself in Malayalam Cinema
- one that was marked by its brilliance, variety
and intensity. He could easily transform himself
into a rural simpleton like Sankarankutty (Kodiyettam
for which he won the National Award for Best Actor),
a middle-aged professor (Kattathe Kilikkoodu),
a lecher who is ready to go any length to satisfy
his lust (Palangal), the exuberant drunkard
of a tabla player (Yavanika), the wily
village merchant (Kallan Pavithran (1981)),
the coward who leaves his village in fear of a
killer and seeks refuge in another place (Peruvazhiambalam
(1979)) a man traumatized by guilt (Chidambaram),
or a wily local politician (Panchavadipalam).
The spectre of stardom never hung over Gopi's
performances; instead he was an actor who was
constantly spurred on by challenging and different
roles, which in turn stimulated many directors.
It was due to his uncompromising attitude to his
vocation that despite his talents and demand,
he acted only in less than 100 films, most of
them in the 1980's. He acted in almost all the
best directors of the period like Adoor Gopalakrishnan,
Aravindan, K G George, Bharathan, and P Padmarajan
in Malayalam as well as Mani Kaul (Satah se
Uthata Aadmi (1980)) and Govind Nihalani
(Aaghat (1984)) in Hindi. He was very
choosy about his roles, but once he committed
himself, he gave it everything. No wonder why
he was able to redefine the image of the male
hero in Malayalam cinema.
But an untimely paralytic stroke halted his career
which was in its peak. And it was definitely his
irrepressible energy that sustained his involvement
in cinema even after he overcame its physical
disability - one from which he never fully recovered.
He directed five films: Ente Hridhayathinte
Utama (2002) Yamanam (1991), Ulsavapittennu (1989),
Dheivatheyorthu (1985) and Njattadi (1979).
In his directorial ventures like Ulsavapittennu,
which has one of the most shocking ends in Malayalam
cinema, and the offbeat Njattadi, he tried to
tell sometimes strange but very rooted narratives
about lives around us.
Unlike other actors, acting was not just a pastime
for him. Anyone who has talked to him would be
impressed by his deep knowledge about the nuances
of the art as well as his understanding about
what is happening around the world.
His oeuvre is sure to be one that will be remembered,
revered and studied for a long time to come.
Dr C S Venkiteswaran, is a Kerala based
film critic who has won state and national awards
for film criticism. He is now Director, School
of Media Studies, Kochi, Kerala. He writes regularly
about film in various national and international
journals.
|
