AN EXCELLENT 'BAD MAN' SAI KUMAR

An excellent ‘bad man’
Sai Kumar’s forte is villainy, though he portrays the central character in socially relevant films like Avastha, writes KK Moidu
Sai Kumar entered the film industry as a child artiste years ago and years later made his debut as a screen hero in Ramji Rao Speaking, the debut film of famous directorial duo Siddique-Lal. Now years later he is again portraying the central character in Avastha, the directorial debut venture of N. Sasidharan.
Sai Kumar’s role in this film is similar to the character played by Salim Kumar in the Lal Jose-directed Achanurangatha Veedu. Avastha contains a strong message for a society, witnessing the sexual abuse of children and murder of elders on a daily basis.
Even though Sai Kumar was cast in the lead role in Ramji Rao Speaking he did not receive many lead roles later. Ramji Rao Speaking was not appreciated by the people initially, but after a few days run the movie gained in popularity to become a rage and to this day is considered one of Malayalam cinema’s sensational box office hits.
The Siddique-Lal duo followed up the success of Ramji Rao Speaking with hits like In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Vietnam Colony, Kabuliwallah and Hitler. The stupendous success of Ramji Rao Speaking saw the birth of a sequel, Mannar Mathai Speaking. However, Sai Kumar was not flooded with offers from other directors as one would have expected. He had to continue in supporting roles and many from the industry even wrote him off. But he bounced back from his initial failure and found his niche in portraying villainous characters first in Malayalam films and later on in Tamil as well.
Thus the actor proved his critics wrong and showed that he had acting in his genes. Sai Kumar was born into a family of artistes from Kottarakkara in Kollam district to Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, a veteran film actor, who died two decades ago. Lovers of Malayalam cinema remember Kottarakkara mostly for his portrayal of Chempankunhu, a greedy fisherman in Chemmeen. Chemmeen was based on a novel by the same name written by famous writer and Jnanpeeth award winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The veteran actor’s other sterling performances were in movies like Chembarathy, Veluthampi Dalawa and Aranazhika Neram. Sai Kumar’s sister too was an actress in the KPAC drama troupe. Sai Kumar always had the opportunity to meet the troupe’s artistes, many of whom made their mark in Malayalam films. The troupe’s contribution to cinema then was just like Kalabhavan Mimics troupe’s contribution today. Entry into the latter is considered a passport to the Malayalam film industry. Actors like Jayaram, Kalabhavan Mani, Jayasurya and superstar Dilip, all took the Kalabhavan route to the film industry.
Like many others before him Sai Kumar first appeared on stage before facing arclights. It was Thoppil Basi, a noted writer and dramatist, who gave Sai Kumar a role in a Sanskrit play, despite the actor’s inadequate knowledge of Sanskrit. As acting was in his genes and he had grown up in a world of drama and cinema, the actor faced no difficulty. He acted in many KPAC dramas and had the opportunity to act in the second run of Thoppil Basi’s well-known dramas, Thulabharam and Aswamedham.
The turning point in the actor’s film career came with Vallyettan, a Shaji Kailas-directed movie, released in 2000. The audience appreciated his portrayal of the villain, Patteri Sivaraman, in the movie. Though his performance did not overshadow that of the movie’s hero, Mammootty, he got public recognition. In the film Patteri Sivaraman’s sole purpose is to vanquish Arackal Madhavanunni, played by Mammooty.
This success was followed by another villainous character in Dadasaheb, directed by Vinayan, the same year. His portrayal of the screen villain, made him a favourite among viewers. Even his roles in commercial flops like Daivathinte Makan, Life Is Beautiful, Surya Chakram, Thandavam and Shivam did not slow down his career. Viewers appreciated the fact that he was different from the stereotypical screen villain characterised by guffaws, pipe smoking and menacing twitters.
Though he is recognised more for his perfection in villainous roles, he has also played the second hero and other characters. As a villain, he is remembered for his role in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, where Kalabhavan Mani played the lead role of a blind man. Another villainous role played to perfection was in Kunhikoonan and then Bharath Chandran IPS, a movie directed by Renjith.
The theme of Bharath Chandran IPS was based on contemporary politics, where leaders play up communal tensions to reap political dividends. Sai Kumar portrayed Hyder Ali Hassan Haji, a politician with underworld connections and business ambitions. Another significance of the movie was that it was the comeback vehicle for Suresh Gopi. Bharathchandran IPS’s success brought Suresh Gopi back into circulation in films and also confirmed the fact that Sai Kumar was a villain par excellence. In 2005 he got a respite from villainy and was offered the role of a kind-hearted father in Rajamanikam, a full-fledged comedy.
Recently he appeared in another Shaji Kailas movie, Chinthamani Kolacase, where Renjith wrote the script and Suresh Gopi played the title role of an advocate, Lal Krishna Veeradiyar. Sai Kumar played a corrupt public prosecutor, who instead of upholding the law, tries to hide the truth to fulfill his selfish motives. He plays the villain again in Prajapathi, directed by Renjith where Mammooty essays the title role. As the crafty MLA Kuttikrishnan in Prajapathi, he does what he does best. Another politician-criminal portrayed by him is Manikoth Marthandan of Aswaroodan, again starring Suresh Gopi and Padmapriya and directed by Jayaraj. Sai Kumar did his part well, the silver lining to an otherwise disappointing film. The actor also plays an important role in Mahasamudram, a Mohanlal starrer, which also has Laila of Tamil films.
Sai Kumar has also played the villain in Tamil films. In Aathi, starring the very successful Vijay-Trisha pair, he is the main villain. The same lead pair was seen in Gilli and Thirupatchi. Aathi was a remake of a superhit Telugu movie Athanokkade, where Kalyan Ram, Sindu and Ashish Vidhyarthi played key roles. That movie was noticed for its special effects as well.
Sai Kumar also tried his luck with TV serials and did important roles but soon realised that there were very few roles in the tear-jerker TV serials for an actor of his calibre. He did the title role in Verpadinte Viralpadukal, a serial telecast in Kairali TV. The serial was based on a novel written by C. Radhakrishnan. Another serial Pazhassi Raja, aired on Asianet TV was not completed. It saw Sai Kumar playing a historical figure, Pazhassi Raja, the Lion of Kerala.
In one of his latest ventures on the silver screen, Avastha, Sai Kumar plays a sincere and honest Police Head Constable Sudhakaran, who lives with his grandmother and only daughter Sreekutty, a 10th standard student. He dreams of a bright future for his daughter.
After a girl of Sreekutty’s age, from the same village, is raped and murdered, Sudhakaran’s anxiety increases. Daily reports of rapes and murders add to his worries. When the police constable is on night duty, his daughter is left in the grandmother’s care, heightening the anxieties. Sudhakaran goes over the brink after the girl’s grandmother dies. The other artistes in the film are Dhanya Nair, Augustine, Machan Varghese, Harisree Asokan, Ottappalam Pappan, Raju Thottam, Ameen, Sruthi Nair, Meena Ganesh, Valsala Menon, Neethu, Gayathri and Ambika Mohan.
But the success of Avastha is unlikely to change Sai Kumar’s predicament. He will be continue to be cast in more “anti-hero” roles because it is these roles that he has given a new meaning.