| Thilakan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Surendranath Thilakan February 8, 1935 Ayroor, Travancore |
| Years active | 1979 – present |
Surendranatha Thilakan (Malayalam: സുരേന്ദ്രനാഥ തിലകന്; born 08 February 1935), known mononymously as Thilakan, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam cinema and theatre. He was awarded Padma Shri on 25 January 2009.[1]
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Thilakan started his career in acting as a theatre artist. He ventured into full-time acting in theatre after leaving intermediate college mid-way in the year 1956. It was during his years in theatre that he honed his skills in acting. During this period he and a few friends formed a drama troupe called the Mundakayam Nataka Samithy. He worked with Kerala People's Arts Club till 1966, followed by stints in Kalidasa Kala Kendra, Changanacherry Geetha, and P. J. Antony's troupe. He also performed in several radio plays presented by All India Radio. Thilakan is now in the fiftieth year of his acting career.
In spite of his long association with theatre, Thilakan became a household name only after his foray into Malayalam cinema. He began his career in cinema with a minor role in the film Ulkadal (1979). His first role as a lead character was as Kallu Varkey, a drunkard in Kolangal (1981). Thilakan established himself as an actor after he got his first State Award in 1981 for his role in Yavanika.
In 1988, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Rithubhedam. Again in 1994, and in 1998, he won State awards for Santhanagopalam and Gamanam. He was strongly favored[2] to get another National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie Perumthachan. As noted in the rediff interview, the award was steered away from him to Amitabh Bachchan due to strong lobbying, as Amitabh announced his retirement that year.[2] The film Kireedam was a milestone in his career; in this film he portrayed a helpless policeman silently watching the fate of his son, played by Mohanlal, who was made into a rowdy by society. Some of Thilakan's other notable films are Sphadikam, Moonnam Pakkam, Namukku Parkkan Munthiri Thoppukal, Mookkilla Rajyathu, Chenkol, Randam Bhavam, Kaattu Kuthira and Yavanika.
He has also acted in other South Indian languages, such as Tamil.
Thilakan has portrayed a range of characters. The most popular roles have been with Mohanlal when they portrayed a father-son duo. These included Kireedam, Sphadikam, Narasimham, Evidam Swargamanu, Pavithram and Chenkol. He has also played father roles to other popular actors, including with Mammootty in Sangham, The Truth, No. 1 Snehatheeram Banglore North and Pallavur Devanarayanan, with Jayaram in Veendum Chila Veettu Karyangal and Sandesam, with Dileep in Meenathil Thaalikettu, with Kunchacko Boban in Aniyathi Pravu and with Prithviraj in Sathyam. He has also played many negative roles. His roles of underworld don in Randam Bhavam, Karma and Kaalal Pada were memorable. He has played comical roles in films like Nadodikkattu and Pattanapravesham (as a coward underworld don), Mookkilla Rajyathu (as a breakout from a mental hospital), Kuttettan (as a womanizer) and Naaduvazhikal (as a good-for-nothing, vain person). He has played lead roles in many movies including Ekantham, Perumthachan, Santhanagopalam, Kaattukuthira, My Dear Muthachan, Mukhamudra (double role), etc.
Thilakan fell ill at the beginning of the 2000s and was hospitalized for a long time. After recovering he slowly returned to acting. He subsequently made a series of statements in interviews criticizing prominent figures of the Malayalam film industry.
In 2007, he acted in Ekantham, for which he received a special mention from the jury.[3] Even the film technicians’ guild, MACTA, made an exception recently and honoured him, though he is not a technician.[4]
Thilakan has been suspended and/or issued show cause notices several times by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), which made Thilakan an open critic on association's activities. He has also had issues with other film organisations such as the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) and the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA).
In February 2010 it was reported that the producer of the movie Christian Brothers excluded Thilakan from the film at the request of the FEFKA, the predominant film technicians association. Thilakan had been earlier signed for a role in the film. The exclusion was reportedly due to Thilakan acting in a film by director Vinayan, who till recently headed the rival association MACTA. On February 3, 2010, Thilakan publicly protested against the unofficial ban enforced on him by FEFKA and blamed a major actor for engineering the ban. The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) issued a show cause notice to Thilakan for bringing the issue into the public domain. Thilakan accused AMMA, of which he too is a member.[5][6] On February 20, 2010 the issue gained political colours when CPI's trade union wing, AITUC, came out openly in support of Thilakan, while a senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member K. E. Ismail expressed reservations about his party getting involved in the tangle.[7] Controversy led to the dismissal of the actor permanently from AMMA association after being asked several times by the AMMA's committee, headed by noted actor Innocent, to issue an unconditional apology, which he refused. He stated that unless and until he gets justice regarding why he was removed from the role in the movie Christian Brothers, he would not give an apology.
Thilakan was originally cast to play an important role in a UAE-Indian co-production film Dam 999.[8] He was later replaced, following a notice from FEFKA stating that if Thilakan acted in the film, the association would boycott it. Sohan said they were forced to seek for a substitute for Thilakan when it came to the point that shooting might be disrupted.[9] Eventually, Rajit Kapur was cast instead of Thilakan.[10] There were reports that Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) also had intervened in Thilakan's replacement.[10] In a related development, Thilakan and his supporters had a march toward the shooting location of the film at Alappuzha.[11]
Other awards
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