Several years back, at a film award night, actor Innocent playfully remarked thus in his thank-you speech. That when he returned home, his son was likely to announce, “Mom, here comes the swabhava nadan (character actor).” The joked clicked well, creating laughter ripples among the gathering and later among those who watched it in television. It shows that actors, however gifted, get bracketed under the sub-heads like supporting actor, character actor or special jury mention if they do not play the hero. The context is again, the state film award declaration.
The convention was, however, broken in the case of Kammattipadam which had Dulquer Salmaan in the lead but saw Vinayakan walking away with the state award for best actor (male). “Once, in Malayalam cinema, there was this practice of bestowing the best performer with the best actor award. With the emergence of superstars, things changed. A path-breaking instance was when Sudev Nair bagged the award. Breaking the mould is good. But after Sudev, the following year, it went to Dulquer. The graph is fluctuating,” feels Sanalkumar Sasidharan, film director.
Check the best actor list over the years and we see the likes of Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, P.J. Antony, Bharath Gopi, Adoor Bhasi figuring in it. In the post-millennial era, the stars clearly dominate. Sudev was lucky to be adjudged best actor in his debut film, but it came after he struggled for five years to land a role in a Malayalam movie. His debut was in B-Town flick Gulaab Gang in the same year as My Life Partner which won him the award. He calls it a validation of an actor’s hard work and perseverance.
“Unfortunately, I never got to see a film Vinayakan has acted. I happened to read his interview. His words reflect how, from a humble beginning, he faced the hardships for years. He could have been ridiculed, discouraged. Opposition would have been there from within the film circuit itself. He did overcome all those adversities to reach where he is. From my own experience, I can sense how it feels like. Somebody may call fortune favoured him. But it is sheer hardwork,” says Sudev, who was recently seen in Ezra.
Consider Indian cinema on the whole, the south more or less imitates the north. In national award winning film critic I. Shanmughadas’ point of view, the lay of the land is thus. “Take for instance, the likes of Charuhasan and P.J. Antony. They were not stars in mainstream. We therefore can claim a history of non-stars being rewarded with the best actor award. In recent times, this had undergone a change. The trend got replicated here as well. An actor other than hero bagging the award is less frequent comparatively,” he observes. Shanmughadas also points out inclusion of four film directors in the jury panel as having helped judging the movies from a different perspective.
While the debate is still on, there is an angle where both actors are looked upon as mutual contributors. R. Biju, secretary of Banner Film Society in Thiruvananthapuram, says; “While watching the movie Kammattipadam, I felt like Vinayakan’s role got supplemented by Dulquer. It appears to be a necessary partnership. It is good that the award has broken conventions. Let this be a beginning for the years to come,” hopes Biju.
