Short-lived stars

The year looks terribly ominous for M’town. By the second week of March, nearly 14 artistes and technicians have bid adieu to this world. Among them are actors Kalpana and Kalabhavan Mani and directors Rajesh Pillai, Saji Paravoor and Nandakumar Kavil. Most lives were snuffed out in their prime, in 40-50 age group. And most of them had carried on their persuasions, though with co-morbid conditions

On the day actor Kalabhavan Mani passed away, noted psychiatrist Dr C.J John posted on his Facebook wall: “ The entire Kerala is in deep grief after hearing the untimely death of Kalabhavan Mani. Reports indicate that alcohol was slowly eating the life of this great artist. Sad that nobody could put a break to his habit. Unsure about presence of methyl alcohol. Did he consume illicit liquor? Difficult to believe, as there are no other victims.

The police are examining even the possibility of suicide. Abuse of alcohol to the extent of damaging one’s health is a form of chronic suicide.” On his post, he has shot a crucial question — “Was it not a preventable death? Those who join a friend for celebration with alcohol should also show responsibility to say no when he slips to excessive indulgence.”

This is not an isolated incident and liquor consumption is just one of the reasons behind these deaths. When quizzed about this, filmmaker Shaji Kailas says, “It is not just film personalities who are dying at the age of 50 or 60. If we keenly observe our society, we could see that the life span of human beings has become 60 or below. The death of those people who work in film field becomes hot news just because they are celebrities. And this is not ‘new’ news. Prem Nazir sir and Sathyan sir left us in their 60s.”

According to the director, work pressure as well as consumption of liquor plays important roles in the deterioration of the health of those who work in the film industry. “It is a fact that a section of my colleagues are addicted to alcohol. Most of them start it as a pass time and as part of celebrations. Later, when their projects flop or when they face any issues, they gradually start depending on alcohol,” he says, adding, “It is true that those who gain fame through movies gets friends easily. I have seen many of my friends consuming alcohol from morning itself with their friends and when I warned one of them, who was a writer, to stop that habit, his reply was — “I consume this to rejuvenate my creativity.”

Director Fazil also agrees that work pressure  plays a crucial role in making film personalities patients. “When I started my career, the film production was
happening on studio floors. Then it was like an employer-employee style of work, in which just producer, director, actors and actresses were popular among the audience. No one could identify the technicians then. They were like an employee under a production house. Now the scenario has completely changed. Along with director and actors, each and every technician is famous.  That increases their pressure. Each of them is working hard to make their job an excellent one as they are living in a competitive world,” he says.

He points out that along with lifestyle, work style also has  changed. “Not just celebrities, but, a major share of members in our society are consuming junk foods which are not good for health. Along with that, as they are more committed to their projects, certain actors as well as technicians agree to adjust the break time during the production of a film. That means instead of a lunch break at 1 or 1.30 pm, they call break at 2.30 or 3. During the filming of my directorials, I used to give breaks at fixed time as I like to work in a relaxed mood,” he says.
 When  quizzed about this scenario, FEFKA general secretary B. Unnikrishnan says “I don’t know whether we could generalise these factors as a reason. When it comes to break for food, we still have a practice of giving one break for breakfast as well as lunch in the location.”