Biju is so proud of his ties with Sopanam that he decided to make it a part of his name. After all Sopanam, a theatre group founded by the late maestro Kavalam Narayana Panicker, has been a formidable presence in theatre for over five decades now. Two years ago Biju Sopanam, as he is known as, made a smooth transition to television. He is now familar to the audience as the affable Balu in Uppum Mulakum on Flowers TV. The sitcom zooms in on the lives of Balu, his wife Neelima and their four children. He won the Kerala State Television award for the best comedy artiste for this role in 2016. In a chat with Friday Review , Biju looks back at his journey as an actor.
Journey to Sopanam
I always wanted to act in movies, even though there were no artistes or actors in my family. I liked being on stage and was part of many plays while studying in school and college. I acted in a telefilm as well, which didn’t see the light of day! But I didn’t give up and my last resort was a neighbour who had worked with Nedumudi Venu and Kavalam (Narayana Panicker) sir.
When I requested him to recommend my name to Venu sir, he suggested that it would be better if I got a proper foundation in acting. That’s how I joined Kavalam sir’s Sopanam in 1995 and I am still a part of it.
Theatre days
At Sopanam, theatre became my life and I forgot about cinema. Initially I was extremely apprehensive about getting into the institution.
You have to dedicate yourself to theatre and you are put through rigorous, disciplined training sessions before you get to play even a small role. After a point my sole aim was to do those roles that were essayed by senior artistes on stage. When we travelled abroad, I realised that the audience abroad treated theatre on par or above cinema. For me, those in theatre are illustrious minds who are scholars in their own right. I went on to do significant roles in many Sanskrit plays such as Madhyamavyayogam, Karnabharam, Malavikagnimithram and Prathima , besides acting in productions such as Bhagathadajukkam and Kallurutty .
Television beckons
Even as I was doing theatre, I was looking forward to do roles that are close to real life on television, especially after watching the comedy Marimayam. I wanted to work with its director R. Unnikrishnan. Luckily he gave me a role in Back Benchers , a comedy on Amrita TV. The role was small, but it got noticed. Later when Unni launched Uppum Mulakum and offered me the role, I didn’t think twice to take it up.
Then Kavalam sir told me that I should choose between theatre and television. However, when he saw a few episodes of Uppum Mulakum , he was happy. But he advised me not to leave theatre at any cost.
Days with Uppum Mulakum
Each episode tells a new story and we have now completed 550 episodes. All credit to the hard work put in by the whole team.
The USP of the show is that each of us improvise our dialogues during the shoot. A basic script is the foundation, but that’s all. The rest is left to us!
The success of the show has a lot to do with the camaraderie the actors share on and off the screen. Except for Nisha Sarang (who plays Neelima), the rest of us are fairly new faces on television. Yet we clicked as a team.
People often refer to it as a comedy, when it is not one. We portray some real-life situations and add small doses of humour to suit the situations. Our director ensures that we don’t slip into melodrama or slapstick comedy
In the movies
Thanks to Uppum Mulakum , I played a substantial role (advocate Subbu) in C/O Saira Banu . A role that I look forward to is in Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri . I play Suraj Venjaramoodu’s son-in-law. Another forthcoming release is Ivide Ee Nagarathil . I keep getting comic roles, because the audience considers me as a comedian. I want to break that image.
Cinema vs Theatre
I am proud of being a theatre artiste, that too a disciple of Kavalam. When I perform as Bheema in Madhyamavyayogam , I am truly honoured about what I am doing. I feel nobody can replace me in that role, whereas in Uppum Mulakum somebody else can do my role in his own way. Of course, when you work in television people recognise and appreciate you and that feels good. I enjoy what I am doing. I am not keen on being part of run-of-the-mill stories.
‘Uppum Mulakum’ is aired on weekdays at 8 pm on Flowers TV. Old episodes are aired as ‘Rocking Uppum Mulakum’ on weekends at the same time.
