In a distant land, Gireesh Sopanam was fulfilling an ancient promise of his guru, Kavalam Narayana Panicker, when the congratulatory message of him being bestowed with the best actor award of Sangeet Natak Akademi came all the way from Kerala. Celebratory mood soon set in at the Bahrain Malayali Samajam, where Kavalam’s play Avanavan Kadamba was about be staged again.
“Five years ago, I accompanied Kavalam sir to help the Malayalis in Bahrain enact a play. Before leaving, he promised Avanavan Kadamba would be staged next. Unfortunately, he departed and they invited me to realise that dream,” recaps Gireesh. He cut short a month’s stay to a couple of weeks for he was called to Thiruvananthapuram to do the play Theyya Theyyam on the occasion of Kavalam’s first death anniversary falling on June 27.
Gireesh has worked in theatre for 34 long years. All these years, he gave his heart and soul to Kavalam’s own Sopanam. He was part of plays in Hindi, Malayalam and Sanskrit. Still, recognition came his way only in 2009, the Bharat Gopi Award. He goes on to narrate how theatre happened to him rather accidentally. “I was pursuing my graduation and one day, I went to see my friend teaching theatre to school students. Actor Jagannathan was there. He asked me if I’d like to act and whether I know Kavalam sir. All I knew about him was from the radio announcement ‘Ganarachana: Kavalam Narayana Panicker’. I did not know he wrote and directed plays,” remembers Gireesh.
He got invited to Kavalam’s home. His flawless rendition of a sloka from Shakunthalam upon the doyen’s command ensured him a place in theatre. “When I started, hardly had I taken theatre or acting seriously. Yet, I was bemused by his sincerity and dedication to his vocation. I decided to stay on,” he says. On late recognitions, he has this to say: “To date, I never thought of making something out of theatre or taking advantage of it. Only when others remind me of so many years in this field, do I get reminded of it.” Recently, he became a familiar face to theatre lovers when he shared stage space with Manju Warrier as Dushyanta in the Kavalam play Shakunthalam.
For the past one-and-a-half years, Gireesh has been doing independent plays outside of Sopanam. “Some may wonder if I could do anything other than the rhythm, sounds and footsteps of Kavalam style. As an actor, I feel one should be open to experiments,” he signs off.
