Following in the father's footsteps

In the world of letters, a father-child combo is truly uncommon but writer N.S. Madhavan and daughter Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan have established themselves in the hearts of many readers, especially Malayalis. In this context it is being talked about. Meenakshi grew up watching and reading her author papa. She has all the right reasons to get smitten by the writer bug though the parents had never insisted dos and don’ts upon her.

“Both my parents left me alone to figure out what I wanted to do. There was no pressure on me to do anything.

I think if a person grows up reading a lot and is being raised in a culture of books then you probably want to do something related to books,” says Meenakshi who believes her skills as a writer is a balanced mix of nature and nurture.

Though they don’t poke their nose into each other’s business, from her words it is evident that Meenakshi and her dad appreciate each other well. And the dad always sends across a “nice message” after reading her works. Prod her further and Meenakshi reveals a bit more: “We understand each other through our writings... I read everything he writes. I like everything he writes and I think I am just biased,” she laughs.

In the world of films, star kids are not hard to find. Kalidas Jayaram, who is now waiting for the release of his Tamil movies Meen Kuzhambum Mann Paanaiyum and Oru Pakka Kathai becomes eloquent about his father’s role in his life. “When it comes to my profession, I guess I have the best role model right in my house. I get to learn a lot from him, there is no direct teaching-learning process though. I’ve learnt a lot not just from his job but also from the human being that he is. It’s been great, especially because more than being a father, he is also a good friend to me,” says a very soft spoken Kalidas.

What is the advice he has given him? “The only thing he has told me is that cinema is a tricky industry and that one should trust no one but one’s family. The friends you have before your cinema will be your real friends plus you will have your family with you no matter what,” he sums up.