Thilakan - A tribute for enlivening those father roles
News
oi-Smitha
By Sr Vasudev
If
your
son
who
is
aspiring
to
become
a
sub-inspector
of
police
and
end
up
becoming
a
goon
or
if
you
are
a
respected
teacher
where
your
students
are
in
high
profile
jobs
and
your
son
become
an
anti-social
element
or
if
you,
as
a
father
has
to
choose
to
end
your
son's
life,
what
would
be
the
emotions
running
through
your
mind?
These
are
not
situational
questions
to
check
one's
emotional
intelligence
as
to
how
one
would
deal
while
being
surrounded
by
such
unexpected
turnings
in
one's
life.
How
these
were
handled
and
given
life
by
the
actor
Thilakan
would
help
us
unravel
the
latent
talent
in
that
human
being
which
got
polished
through
the
medium
of
drama
and
terrifically
enlivened
the
celluloid
medium
too.
Why
another
tribute
to
the
actor
when
newspapers
are
flooded
with
write
ups
from
eminent
journalists?
Though
in
his
life
time,
the
list
of
roles
he
enacted
were
quite
exhaustive,
I
am
sure
that
there
would
be
quite
a
few
like
me
who
had
been
influenced
by
some
of
the
roles
that
the
actor
enacted
as
an
influencing
father.
During
my
college
days,
these
roles
had
a
deep
impact
on
me
as
well
as
some
of
my
colleagues
that
we
were
forced
to
discuss
the
dreams
of
our
parents
about
us
and
how
we
could
contribute
in
fulfilling
it.
Under
this
nostalgic
influence,
here
is
a
peep
into
some
of
the
character
roles,
wherein
he
brought
life
to
those
'fathers',
thereby
trying
to
visualise
the
swing
he
brought
in
that
roles
through
his
performance.
The
natural
first
choice
has
to
be
Achutan
Nair,
a
police
constable
and
a
middle
class
government
servant.
His
expectations
revolve
around
his
elder
son
who
is
aspiring
to
become
a
sub-inspector.
Contrary
to
his
dreams,
his
son
becomes
a
goon.
The
gimmick
life
plays
on
an
ordinary
man
is
clearly
and
lucidly
portrayed
by
his
excellent
acting
in
that
movie
Kireedam.
A
loving
father
finally
beats
his
son
inside
the
lock
up.
The
breaking
down
aspect
of
his
dreams
has
been
enacted
wonderfully
by
this
amazing
actor.
His
emotional
display
on
various
situations
across
the
movie
just
cannot
be
compared
with
any
other.
Whenever
the
situation
demanded
an
inscrutable
expression,
he
was
able
to
provide
that
too.
Needless
to
say,
the
film
ended
up
having
a
sequel.
The
movie
Perunthachan
was
a
visual
feast
on
acting
for
an
average
Mallu.
Contrary
to
a
loving
father
in
Kireedam,
here
the
father
is
an
authority
in
Thachusasthra
who
at
the
end
chooses
to
end
the
life
of
his
own
son.
Scripted
by
MT
Vasudevan
Nair,
directed
by
debutant
Ajayan,
this
movie
was
a
much
awaited
one
at
those
times.
Thilakan
played
the
title
role.
The
scriptwriter
was
too
sure
that
the
character
would
be
safe
in
the
hands
of
Thilakan.
It
fetched
him
State
Award
and
for
the
movie,
a
series
of
awards.
The
calm
and
composed
Thachan
giving
his
gyan
on
Thachusashtra
with
an
authority
had
touched
many
a
hearts.
The
war
in
the
mind
of
a
father
before
ending
the
life
of
his
son
-
that
too
in
a
'to
be
genuine
manner'
-
will
never
fade
from
our
minds.
Chacko
Mash
-
the
father
of
the
hero
in
the
movie
Sphadikam
has
won
him
many
accolades.
The
Maths
teacher
always
believes
that
"bhoogolathinte
spandanam
thane
kanakkilaanu"
(the
vibration
of
the
universe
itself
is
in
Mathematics).
He
physically
and
emotionally
tortures
his
son
for
not
being
good
in
studies.
The
tough
teacher
expecting
none
other
than
a
Mathematical
genius
from
his
son
is
not
willing
to
accept
his
son's
other
talents.
He
boasts
that
instead
of
his
son,
he
will
have
the
Chief
Secretary
coming
for
his
daughter's
marriage.
The
arrogance
with
which
Thilakan
sir
has
done
this
character
is
an
ever
memorable
one.
The
anger,
despair
on
the
part
of
a
father
who
failed
to
bring
up
his
son
as
he
wished
is
excellently
displayed
by
this
actor
beyond
comparison.
Seemed
this
role
would
suit
only
to
this
legendary.
Finally,
he
regrets
what
he
had
done
and
is
willing
to
love
his
son
as
he
is.
The
transformation
from
a
hard
core
oppositionist
father
to
one
that
understands
his
son
has
been
portrayed
in
the
celluloid
by
this
actor
without
any
parallels.
A
more
or
less
similar
role
was
displayed
in
the
movie
Narasimham,
wherein
the
role
was
of
a
judge.
Thilakan
had
taken
much
care
to
bring
the
entire
ego
that
the
character
needs
and
had
fed
the
same
into
that
role.
It
is
surprising
to
see
the
father-son
combination
of
Thilakan
sir
with
Mohanlal.
He
himself
had
openly
stated
that
when
he
acts
with
Mohanlal,
he
gets
the
feel
of
acting
along
with
his
son
which
naturally
influences
the
outcome.
The
duo
was
also
the
father-son
pair
in
the
movie
Evidom
Swargamaanu.
Even
though
there
are
a
lot
more
to
list
out,
two
other
movies
also
need
to
be
mentioned
on
this
occasion.
Meenathil
thalikettu
and
Sandesham
are
unique
in
the
roles
offered
to
the
actor.
While
the
former
one
was
of
a
father
who
faces
an
unexpected
situation
of
his
school
going
son
getting
married
and
bringing
the
bride
home,
the
latter
one
was
that
of
a
helpless
father
who
was
stuck
between
his
warring
sons
having
lenience
to
rival
political
parties.
With
a
rough
and
tough
voice,
even
his
humming
had
its
own
impact
on
the
serious
situations
on
the
screen.
Controlled
using
of
eyes
in
a
poignant
manner
on
emotionally
exploding
scenes
was
his
hallmark.
His
good
old
days
being
in
the
drama
moulded
him
a
lot
on
acting
turf.
He
has
brought
to
life
many
other
roles
which
were
beyond
comparison.
For
me,
watching
these
movies
quite
often
brought
to
feel
simultaneously
the
tower
of
aspirations
possessed
by
a
father
and
an
answer
as
to
why
a
son
should
not
throw
stone
on
it.
Now,
I
being
a
father,
it
is
a
pointer
to
me
as
well
to
respect
my
son's
feelings
and
to
differentiate
what
I
should
not
do
as
a
father.
Thilakan's
'father' characters
would
ever
be
remembered
by
everyone
along
with
his
other
roles
which
adorn
our
hearts
making
us
feel
nostalgic.
My
respectful
tributes
to
the
legend.