T he speed with which Sajan Palluruthy speaks exhausts listeners. The process is delightful as well for in every sentence he packs a punch. Incredibly gifted when it comes to tickling the funny bone, Sajan, however, has a matter-of-fact attitude while talking about his career as a mimicry artiste, his stint on television and films. He calls himself a rare ‘species’ in the mimicry world, as he has not been part of any mimicry troupe till date. A permanent presence in the comedy show, ‘Cinemala’ on Asianet, he currently hosts ‘Super Kids’, a show for children on Kairali. More from the artiste…
Why mimicry?
Actually, there aren’t any artistes in my family. But my parents used to take me to all cultural events that were organised in temples. Somehow I developed a liking for all that I saw. I even used to write plays that only I could understand! But it was my friends who identified and encouraged the mimicry artiste in me. Every evening, when we used to get together and laugh at my jokes or satire, I realised that mimicry was my forte. But when I was told that I should join some troupe to make it big, I decided that I would not join any of them. I did programmes on my own, collaborated with other mimicry artistes and have had a happy career so far. It’s been over 25 years now.
On television
‘Nakshatratharattu’, my first show, was on Doordarshan. Then I moved to Asianet. ‘Comedy Show’, my first prorgamme with Kalabhavan Prajod, ran for nearly 800 episodes. In between, I became part of ‘Cinemala’ and still continue to be except in those episodes that feature politicians or actors, because I don’t resemble any of them! The best thing that happened was that after seeing my performance, Sreekumaran Thampi sir cast me in his serial ‘Dambathya Geethangal’, which won me a lot of appreciation. ‘Super Kids’ is quite a huge challenge because today children are far ahead of us in many things. I used to run a tuition centre for school children for nearly nine years. That interaction with the kids helped the actor in me. I learnt how to handle kids, which now comes handy in ‘Super Kids’. All said and done, I have to be alert while interacting with children.
On ‘high-speed talking’
It was actor Shammi Thilakan who first pointed out that I could tap this talent. I rehearsed and rehearsed and introduced it in a show in Germany. The entire matter ran into around 65 pages. Then it took 20 minutes or so. Now it takes just three minutes. People ask me to present it wherever I go. They don’t know the amount of strain involved. But then once they applaud and encourage you, the difficulties are forgotten.
In films
I’ve done 17 films and a few are ready for release. Right now I have cut down the number of shows and films because of my ailing father and brother.
The mimicry fraternity
As general secretary of the Mimicry Artists' Association of Kerala I am in constant touch with issues faced by fellow artistes. It is true that there are a few people who are tarnishing the image of mimicry.
It is sad to see many artistes opting for lip sync for stage and television shows. A lot of gimmicks have invaded the mimicry stage; it has become a kind of ‘light and sound show’, parading artistes in different costumes and looks. Use of crude language and gestures would do no good to any one in the long run. I firmly believe that any mimicry artiste who is educated would never stoop to that level.
