The action hero and on-screen crusader returns to theatres as a doctor on a mission: to cure the ills of the medical system. Relaxed and confident, Suresh Gopi, candid as ever, says his screen image as a champion of justice has motivated his desire to do more such roles that see him take up cudgels on behalf of the silenced majority. It has also boosted his innate interest in philanthropy, he adds. The actor exchanges his khaki costume of the super cop for the white coat of a doctor in his role of Dr. Vijay Nambiar in Madhav Ramdasan’s Apothecary , which released yesterday.
Suresh says his involvement in social issues is a result of his conviction that each of us has to be a responsible citizen. “My films and roles have given me a special place in the hearts of people. I am aware that it is a huge responsibility and I am doing my best to live up to those expectations,” says the actor.
In Apothecary , Suresh plays a neurosurgeon, who is caught in an ethical dilemma as the pressures of a commercialised health care system clash with the values of his profession. “All my films have raised questions on issues that are contemporary and relevant to our times. After all, what is cinema? It is an interaction, a discussion that throws up questions and provides some solutions. The solutions might look simple, impractical or too fictionalised. But one must realise that viewers empathise with certain characters because they strike a chord with the viewers’ needs and frame of mind,” reasons the actor.
Although Suresh did have a couple of high-profile releases such as Joshiy’s Salaam Kashmir (2014) and Shaji Kailas’ The King and The Commissioner (2012), one of his best roles was in Ramdasan’s Melvilasam , way back in 2011. In between he also anchored ‘Ningalkkum Akam Kodeeswaran’ for Asianet.
However, what kept him busy and in the public eye was his work in a number of awareness campaigns and voluntary community activities. It is after a short break that a major work of Suresh’s is hitting screens. Since it is with a director who pulled off a complicated work like Melvilasam with such subtlety and honesty, Apothecary is bound to have many waiting for the film.
Produced by Baby Mathew and George Mathew under the banner of Arambankudiyil Cinemas, the movie has been filmed by Hari Nair. Jayasurya, Asif Ali, Meera Nandan and Indrans play key characters in the film. Yesteryear teenage heartthrob Abhirami returns to Malayalam cinema as Dr. Nalini Nambiar, an oncologist married to Dr. Vijay.
Suresh is also playing the lead in Dolphin Bar .
“I have found a perfect balance between work and social activities and I intend to give both my best,” says the actor.
It takes a village
Suresh Gopi was in the news recently for a village named after him at Gonchiyur in Attappady, Palakkad district. All smiles while talking about it, Suresh says that he had visited the village in August last year (2013) as part of a campaign conducted by a leading Malayalam daily to exhort people to inculcate good habits. “The dropout rate was very high in the school because many students were forced to become carriers of hooch. I was told that alcoholism was rampant in the village on account of illicit hooch. I believe that change has to start in our schools and so I exhorted the students to persuade their families to work against illicit liquor. That struck a chord amongst them and they took it up earnestly,” he says.
He says he came to know that the villagers had decided to baptise their village in his name only after reading it in The Hindu .
To continue the good work, Suresh plans to launch the Lekshmi Suresh Gopi foundation to help youngsters and women in the village. “I am on the job and I plan to dedicate a percentage of my income to build up a corpus for the Trust to help the Adivasis get their rightful pride of place in society without falling back on reservations. As a part of affirmative action, they should be given coaching and training to help them compete on a par with other youngsters in India,” he asserts.
