M alayalam entertainment industry has seen the growth of the actor in Yadukrishnan. He came in as a child artiste in films and continued to entertain viewers as a youngster as well, but switched over to television when exciting roles came by from the small screen. Currently he is winning kudos for his role as Prabhukumar, a politician with shades of grey in ‘Oru Penninte Katha’ aired on Mazhavil Manorama. Excerpts from an interview with actor…
Background
My parents, Krishnan Nair and Vijayalakshmy, are ardent Kathakali lovers. They used to take me regularly to Kathakali performances. I learnt Kathakali for over 10 years and also learnt Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi from Regatta Dance School in Thiruvananthapuram. My parents have been my greatest support when it comes to my career.
His debut
Once I received a prize from Balachandra Menon sir after a dance performance. He then asked me whether I would be interested in doing films. Thus, while in my class seven, I had my debut in Vivahithare Ithile . My brother Vidhukrishnan also acted in it. After that I did Sathyan Anthikad’s Sanmanasullavarku Samadhanam and Sreedharante Onnam Thirumurivu , Bharathan’s Neelakurinji Poothappol , Kamal’s Unnikale Oru Kathaparayam , Sibi Malayil’s Kireedam and many more.
Switching to television
Once I reached class 10, I took a break to focus on studies. I again became active in films during my college days. But by then offers had come down. Those roles which I did were not much noticed. One role that is very close to my heart is the one in Perumazhakkalam . I moved to television. ‘AD 2000’ on Doordarshan was my first work. I cherish the roles I got in ‘Malayogam’ (Asianet) in which I acted with Balachandra Menon sir, ‘Mounanombaram’on Kairali TV, in which I played a double role, and, of course, the most popular of the lot, ‘Kumkumapoovu’. I am happy that I reprised the same role in the Tamil remake of ‘Kumkumapoovu’ aired on Star Vijay. I’ve no qualms about admitting that I actually asked for that role in Tamil! The professionalism and the down-to-earth attitude of the artistes there took me my surprise. As for ‘Oru Penninte Katha’, it is a pleasure working with K.K.Rajeev with whom I’ve earlier worked in ‘Mazhayariyathe’ and ‘Agneyam’.
Playing grey characters
I don’t know why I keep getting such roles. Even as a child artiste, I was the trouble-maker in my movies! As I moved to serials, I always created problems for the heroine. Maybe, it has to do a lot with my body language.
Looking back
Of course, there is some disappointment because I’m not getting offers from films. If you get a good role in a movie, people will remember you for long. But that happens rarely in serials. But then I can’t keep waiting for offers to come by. So, I’m happy with what I am doing now and hopefully something would work out in future.
