T iny Tom shed his image of a mimicry artiste once he became an actor. He came up sterling performances in films such as Indian Rupee, Pranchiyettan and the Saint, Beautiful, Spirit and Vellimoonga even as he generated laughs with his inimitable sense of humour at various stage shows and television programmes. Now he is enjoying his stint on television, as the host of a talk show ‘Malayali Darbar’ on Amrita TV.
Calling it a dream-come-true situation, Tiny talks to Friday Review about stepping into a new role. Excerpts:
As the anchor
It was my dream to host a talk show. I always wanted to do something that involved a lot of homework, research and preparation. So when this offer came my way, I immediately said yes. I was not sure whether I could pull it off, but then what is life without taking risks?
As an actor I have been continuously trying to prove my range. The roles in Indian Rupee, Pranchiyettan..., Beautiful and the like are the result of such experiments. Another reason for taking up the show was that I myself was getting bored of what I was doing! (laughs)
The feedback
Quite encouraging, I would say. I am going with the flow.
Now that I have jumped into the ocean, the only way out is to swim ashore. There is no prepared script. I know the subject and the challenge lies in engaging participants with sensible, spontaneous humour. I can’t afford to waste even a fraction of a second. My interventions and actions have to be spot on. It has been a learning experience and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
Replacing Maniyanpilla Raju
That was really tough. Actually I agreed to do the show only because he was confident about my ability to pull it off. He has so much of experience. I don’t think that I come anywhere near that.
Even now the audience prefer Raju chettan to me, but, hopefully, they will start liking me as well.
Big screen
I am excited about my new release, Daffadar, directed by Johnson Esthappan, which releases today. I play this 65-year-old ‘daffadar’ (security personnel of the District Collector), Ayyappan. As you all know, the role was meant for Kalabhavan Mani and I was to play his son. But as fate would have it, I was offered the role following Mani chettan ’s demise. Although I have played roles with different shades, this is in a totally different league.
As I am a mimicry artiste, it is natural for the audience to think that I have modelled my character on seasoned actors such as Thilakan chettan or Nedumudi Venu chettan . But my reference has been my father.
Another project I am looking forward to is Theeram , directed by debutant Saheed Arafath. Yesteryear actor Ratheesh’s son Pranav is the hero and I am the villain, a policeman, who has no name in the movie.
Changing phases of Mollywood
What makes me happy as an actor is that I have worked with the old and the new generation of the Malayalam film industry. I have been really lucky to be at the right place at the right time.
It is really exhilarating to work with the new breed of filmmakers.
They are so adventurous and I strongly believe that there will be unconventional, path-breaking works coming out in future. Meanwhile, on the acting front, it is a question of survival. After all you have to compete with new actors every week!
(Watch ‘Malayali Darbar’ on Amrita TV on weekends at 9 p.m.)
