Scene 1: Thousands thronged the Durbar Hall ground in Kochi that evening. A ceremony was on to honour the stars of the first Malayalam talkie Balan . All eyes were on the stage where the top officials including the Chief Secretary and renowned writer Puthezhathu Raman Menon were seated. By five the stars were led to the stage. Walking in front was K. K. Aroor and behind him followed M. V. Sanku, A. B. Pious, Alleppey Vincent and others. They were greeted with loud applause and clapping of hands. Some of the people gathered tried to touch the stars. Most of them wanted to catch a glimpse of K.K. Aroor and touch him. Few could achieve this as they were restricted from doing so by police.
K. K. Aroor was dressed in a spotless white, starched jubba and a matching dhoti. He wore a long gold chain around his neck and rings on his fingers. The loudest applause was reserved for him as he stepped on stage. K.K. Aroor was clearly enjoying the fame and admiration. He could be called the first super star of Malayalam cinema.
Scene 2: A small tea shop in Aroor, the village that shares its boundaries with Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts. There was no bridge that connected the two districts then. A ferry service provided the easiest link between them. The tea shop was usually frequented by local people, mostly labourers. The shop with its thatched roof was famous for some of its dishes, especially the dosa. The old man who served at the tables seemed familiar. A closer look at his wrinkled face was enough to recognise him. He was K. K. Aroor, the super star. This shop belonged to his brother and K.K. Aroor was working there.
K. Kunju Nair, later known as K.K. Aroor was born in an ordinary family as the son of Madathil Gopala Pillai and Parvathy Amma. Gopala Pillai was a government servant but his nominal salary was not enough to meet the demands of his household. Kunju Nair was forced to drop out of school after eighth standard. Acting was what he always dreamed to do. He landed a few odd jobs. Later Kunju Nair joined PSV Nadana Sabha, Kottakkal. It was during this time that he saw a newspaper advertisement that called for young actors to act in Balan .
Fortunately, he was selected to play the lead role. He changed his name to K. K. Aroor. He went on to play a negative role in Jnanambika . His fortunes took a downslide after this. Stalemate in production of Malayalam films shut the doors of opportunities on him. But K.K. Aroor was not ready to surrender. He kept knocking on the doors of Tamil producers in Madras and Salem. K.K. Aroor wanted to live like a film star. He made frequent trips to Madras and Salem seeking his fortune for which he often sold the ornaments he had. Finally, in order to maintain the life of a super star K.K. Aroor sold the landed properties he had. But nothing materialised in Tamil films. He was forced to return to drama but even this did not work well for him. He later moved to Harikatha Kalakshepam, but was not very successful here too. In 1973, P. A. Thomas gave him a small role in his film Kudumbini . By then Aroor’s ambitions and hopes to stay afloat in cinema ended.
Epilogue: K.K. Aroor struggled in real life and that forced him to work as a server in the tea shop. He spent his last years at his wife’s place in Pala. A journalist who went to meet him there saw K. K. Aroor in his lungi with a sickle in his hand. He had turned to farming. When the journo asked him if he was prepared to return to cinema if invited the actor replied, without mincing words that he would never want to for he hated that world. He also wished that he would not be born an actor again.
