Swaraj Gramika still cherishes the autograph of actor Mammootty and it remains his most prized possession till date.
As Muthuvel in popular filmmaker Ranjith’s Puthan Panam , the young talent not only came up with a stellar performance but earned words of praise from a senior artiste like Mammootty. On Tuesday, he enthralled the audience that turned up to watch Mono Act (high school) by bringing the pain and discrimination faced by transgenders on stage. Swaraj won the ‘A’ grade in the event.
“Mammootty Sir wrote in his autograph that the path ahead of me would be filled with thorns and sharp stones. But he encouraged me while saying that I would be able to overcome it and succeed. I hold those words close to my heart,” said the Class 9 student of Government HSS, Navayikulam, who has already acted in nearly 10 plays and staged it across 150 centres in the State.
Theatre activist
An active member of the Gramika children’s theatre functioning as part of the Chintha library in Navayikulam, Swaraj had acted in plays like Pather Pancheli and Varnapetti to name a few.
“I had also won special jury prize for best child actor for my role in Notice Vandi , a short film, at the State television award for 2016-17. But theatre is my passion. I have been acting in plays from Class 3,” he said.
Advaith Anil, student of Class 10 at GHSS, Kalavoor, asked why the protection of the poor and marginalised was ignored at a time when the country has turned so vocal about cow protection.
Anand Varma of Class 10 at LBSMHSS, Avittathur, exposed the double standards of demigods and narrated how they were dividing society on caste and religious lines.
Darshan S. of Rajahs HS, Neeleswaran in Kasaragod, poked fun at efforts by the right wing to manipulate and manufacture popular myths while referring to the depiction of Onam as ‘Vamana jayanti’ in his performance.
