WINNING SMILE ON ALL SCREENS - MUKESH

winning smile on all screens

KK Moidu traces actor Mukesh’s career and his foray into television



Mukesh’s foray into showbiz was the natural choice. He was born in Kollam to noted film and stage artistes, late O Madhavan and Vijayakumari. His father was a veteran of the well-known drama troupe Kerala People’s Arts Club and acted in more than 100 of its presentations.
Mukesh, is one of the most talented actors in Malayalam cinema. As a law graduate, he could have become a practicing lawyer, but his artistic genes and destiny have made him cinema’s gain. He has charmed viewers for over two decades with his classic smile. Perhaps no other family has had this kind of links with Malayalam cinema as Mukesh’s. His parents, wife and brother-in-law are all recognised artistes in their own right.
Mukesh began taking an interest in mono act and stage programmes right from his school days. He made stage appearances in the family-owned drama troupe’s productions. As a student of the Thiruvananthapuram Law Academy, Mukesh shot into limelight at the university youth festival. After winning recognition as a mimicry artiste, a foray into the world of cinema was the natural choice. He made his film debut in 1982 in Balloon.
His forte has been romantic roles blended with comedy. He has played the second hero in many films and also handled character roles. Some of his most memorable roles have been as the jobless youth reeling under the burden of an entire family of dependents. In several others he is shown hoodwinking the girl’s father to marry the daughter or playing a poor man who pretends to be rich, only to be embarrassed, when others learn the truth.
Mukesh has been a favourite with family audiences. He played important roles in superhits like Boeing Boeing, Kauthuka Varthakal, Ramji Rao Speaking, Thoovalsparsham, Oru CBI Diarykurippu, In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Mattupatti Machan, Ammayanu Sathyam, Mannar Mathai Speaking, Sundara Purushan, Chronic Bachelor, Udhayananu Tharam etc. He also played a double role in Sahodaran Sahadevan, directed by Sunil. His other notable movies are Ottayal Pattalam, Parallel College, Pravachakan, Parvathi Parinayam, Manthrikumaran, Pakalpooram, Mookkilla Rajyathu etc., His role as police officer Chacko in Oru CBI Diarykurippu brought him much recognition. He portrayed Chacko with perfection in its sequels, Jagratha, Sethurama Iyer CBI and Nerariyan CBI.
Not surprising as acting is in his genes. He was born in Kollam to noted film and stage artistes, late O Madhavan and Vijayakumari. His father was a veteran of the well-known drama troupe Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC) and acted in more than 100 of its dramas. Later Madhavan started his own theatre, Kalidasa Kalakendram, at Kollam. He also won the state award for best actor in the movie Sayahnam. Vijayakumari won the Kerala State Award for best stage actress.
Mukesh’s wife, Saritha, is an acclaimed South Indian actress, who has won of several prestigious awards. She won the Tamil Nadu Government’s Best actress Award three times and the Kalaimamani Award for her role in Agnisakshi. In all Saritha acted in around 150 films and continues to work in television serials and films as a dubbing artiste. Mukesh has two sisters and his brother-in-law has also acted in several films and television serials.
Mukesh too has forayed onto the mini screen. After directors stopped casting him as hero and began offering second hero roles, Mukesh chose the small screen to showcase his talents. He anchored the tele-quiz programme, Kodeeswaran, on Surya TV, along the same lines as the Amitabh Bachchan-anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus. Political, financial and technical difficulties halted the airing of Kodeeswaran. Mukesh’s another mini-screen programme, Over A Cup of Tea, is also being telecast on Kairali TV. The programme features political figures in the society, who share their life’s experiences and the struggles they had to put up with to achieve their present status.
The latest gauntlet picked up by this actor on the mini-screen, is that of anchoring the Super Hit Challenge programme on Asianet Channel. This programme promotes newly-released Malayalam movies. The programme began with Chess, starring Dilip and Bhavana, which marks Dilip’s switch of image from comical to action hero. Superhit Challenge played a crucial role in the success of the movie. Every week the programme comes up with a new release.
TV channels have numerous cinema related programmes and it begins before the movies’ release. Telecast of the movie’s songs, behind the camera happenings, interviews with the film’s director, major stars, musicians and script writer etc were the initial ploys employed by film-makers, but it never really worked. People realised that the promos never highlighted the film’s negative points. Superhit Challenge is a first-of-its-kind programme on Malayalam television. It is very different from other film-based programmes. The lure of attractive prizes encourages viewers to see the movies concerned repeatedly so that they can answer questions about the correctly.
Die-hard fans of Malayalam superstars are watching their idol’s superhit movie several times, something which is common for other South Indian films. For example Telugu and Tamil cinegoers watch Chiranjeevi’s, Rajnikant’s films several times, thereby enabling producers to make big budget movies with these popular actors.
There is no dearth of opportunities on television for an artiste of Mukesh’s calibre. Over ten Malayalam channels are already airing programmes and this number is expected to touch 20. With more and more organisations and political parties planning entertainment and news channels soon “God’s Own Country” will become the state with the highest number of TV channels.
But it is too early to put a full-stop to Mukesh’s film career, though many mimicry artistes with a similar background have already attained superstardom, whereas he himself has neither won awards nor has the backing of fans’ associations. His co-star from Ramji Rao Speaking, Sai Kumar, is today a leading villain in Malayalam cinema.
But Mukesh has his own pluses. In addition to his flair for comedy and acting talent he has evergreen looks, which directors like Vinayan hope to tap. The actor plays a youngster in his latest movie, Athisayan. So long as the actor convincingly chases skirts on screen no one can write him off.