Many hats, memorable roles: Krishnan Balakrishnan

As though he had set a perfect timer for it, the word 'theatre' pops out of Krishnan Balakrishnan in measured intervals. That time of the day when barely an hour was left for his latest — the Adoor directorial Pinneyum — to hit the big screen, it's rare for any actor to patiently say ok for a half-an-hour press interview. That too, when he has a decisive role at hand. The film added a new line to his CV that spots lot many parallel movie names. Calling himself a risk-taker, his penchant for character roles is palpable. "I feel an inclination towards a role that demands struggle. And I love walking with people who share this common interest. So I get involved in a number of activities. Perhaps, a quality I imbibed from my involvement in theatre," Krishnan reasons.

Krishnan was a part and parcel of Kavalam Narayana Panicker’s Sopanam theatre, where he stayed for 10 years from 1995 till 2005. That was when he shifted gears for the first time, earning the maiden ticket to cinema, for Oraal of Kukku Surendran. From there, he joined Soorya Krishnamoorthy’s theatre. Since acting in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Oru Pennum Randaanum there was no looking back. Then Kuttisrank of Shaji N. Karun, Dr Biju’s Valiyachirakulla Pakshikal, Perariyathavar, Kaadu Pookunna Neram. In between he got a hang of assisting Santhosh Sivan for Urumi.

“I was active in Lenin sir’s (Lenin Rajendran) theatrical stage shows. One day he invited me for a get-together while the shoot of Makaramanju was underway, where I met Santhosh Sivan and we forged a bond instantly. The meeting took me to the sets of Urumi.” The directorial assistance was rewarding and he recollects one challenging incident. “We were readying to film the Chinni Chinni... song sans any choreographer!  Cinematographer Anjali Shukla and I were called by the director. Without waiting, we were to arrange the way the song was to be shot and we did," Krishnan rewinds.

Meanwhile, he played some small-time acting roles for certain Malayalam movies  such as Left Right Left, Thriller, Love 24x7 as well. When in Rome, he does as the Roman and that’s what keeps him going — the readiness to transform into a character once he gets into its costume. Other than films, Krishnan is an ardent culturati. His dedication for developing open air performance spaces is laudable and he is at the helm of consistently organising events at Manaveeyam Veedhi and Chumaduthangi Kavala in the capital.