Mollywood stars recall their association with the versatile actress, Kalpana

Mollywood stars recall their association with the versatile actress, Kalpana.

Her potential was yet to be unleashed fully- Manoj K. Jayan

Manoj K. Jayan may be estranged from his former wife Urvashi, but he has always maintained a cordial relationship with her sister Kalpana. The actor was in Bengaluru for a function, but cancelled it and returned to Kochi to attend the funeral with his daughter. “My daughter and Kalpana’s daughter are thick friends,” he says.

He remembers her as person who always spoke the truth and always had love for him. “In the beginning of my career, when I did small roles, she always encouraged me with nice words about my performance. She has told many people that she always saw me as a younger brother and used to call me aniyan,” he says.

He goes on to add that Kalpana was yet to realise her true potential as an actor. “Actually, she was just beginning to get good characters. It is a disservice to call her a comedian because she was so versatile. We shouldn’t forget that a director like Aravindan drafted her in for Pokkuveyil. On the other hand, it is true that she was very good in comic roles and in fact ranks among the three or four actresses who could handle humour, including KPAC Lalitha and Sukumari.”

Manoj says that he knew she was suffering from illnesses and used to take medicines but did not know exactly what the ailments were.

Queen Mary looked tired- Jomon T John

Though he has worked with Kalpana for just two films, she was more than like a sister for cinematographer Jomon T John. It was when getting the call from his wife Ann Augustine, Jomon came to know about the demise of the actress, who mesmerised the audience in the role of Queen Mary in Charlie, for which he cranked the camera.

“Last day I was in Chennai and Ann was in Hyderabad to attend the IIFA award function. She was in the same flight on which Kalpana chechi was going to Hyderabad. It is really shocking news for me,” says Jomon.

It was in last November that he met Kalpana for the last time, during the shoot of Charlie. “Her major portions in the film were shot at sea. Usually, people who go to the sea for the first time experience severe sea sickness. Even I was not that much comfortable. But she had no issues and she enacted the scene very well,” he says, adding that she was very tired when she came to act in the film.

“I don’t know whether she was not well or not, but she was very tired,” says the cinematographer, who is great fan of the actress, who made him laugh with her comic roles.

We met just a day before- Neeraj

Neeraj Madhav is still in the shock of the news on the demise of Kalpana, whom he had met on the previous day while travelling to Hyderabad. “Kalpana chechi was with us on the same flight on which we were travelling to Hyderabad. A fraction of film fraternity was also in the flight as we were on the way to attend the IIFA award function, but she was coming to join the sets of her new Telugu film,” says the actor.

Though he knew Kalpana from past few years, they had not acted together. “But last day, she shared some good moments with all of us in the flight. She was in such a jovial mood. Her demise is a big loss for our industry,” says Neeraj, who stays back at Hyderabad after he heard about her death.

A good friend she was- Praveena

Actress Praveena was seen with Kalpana in the hit movie Banglore Days says she has too many fond memories of the late actress. “I have worked with her in three or four movies, including Bangalore Days. More than a colleague, she was a very good friend to me. She was always full of energy and was always positive about everything in life. Kalpana chechi was one of those few people in the industry who used to call me ‘Veena’. She always used to encourage me to take up new movies. I am basically a lazy person and she would always tell me to keep on acting. I was not at all a bold girl during my initial days in the industry Kalpana chechi used to advice me to be bold always. She is a woman who immensely loved acting and used to say she cannot live without it."

We were like sisters- Manju Pillai

Actress Manju Pillai, who is one amongst the few actresses who juggles comedy and character roles successfully just like Kalpana, says, “I grew up seeing Kalpana chechi. She is the first person to suggest me to give comic roles a try. She used to fondly call me Manjuamma and tell me, “At least you take up comedy roles; there should be someone to take over after my time.” She pauses to compose herself and reminisces, “We were like sisters; I am still not able to come to terms with the news.”