Occupation: Ticket collector
My job is to check the tickets and show viewers their seats. My work starts at 10.30 am. But if there is an extra show early in the morning, I would have to reach the theatre accordingly. I leave after the last show at around 12 midnight. I usually return home to Nemom in the late-night Nagercoil bus or, if I don’t get that, an auto.
I have been working for this establishment for almost 60 years now. My house is near Merryland Studios. Except for two years in school, I don’t have any formal education. I think, I joined Merryland in 1958. All I had to do was go and request P Subramaniam sir who ran the studio for some kind of employment.
I began working as a helper in production department. It was a wonderful experience, as I got to see for the first time how a movie is made. I did all sorts of odd jobs, from carrying things around to taking care of the needs of artistes.
After four years in production, Subramanium sir shifted me from there and made me his personal helper. From that day onwards till his death in 1978, I was with him like a shadow. He lived inside the studio and so did I. My room was right next to his. I accompanied him wherever he went as part of his job.
I got to meet and interact with a lot great personalities like Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Sathyan, Prem Nazir, Sheela, Miss Kumari and Sharada. They were all very nice people, especially Nazir sir.
It was after boss’s death that I started working at Sree Kumar theatre. Even after I left the studio, senior stars used to come and talk to me when they came here to watch a movie. I don’t have such a relationship with actors from the current generation although I have met many of them.
A lot has changed. There was a time when hit movies used to run for more than a year. Now some of the flicks don’t even last two weeks. Another major difference I have noticed is that today many people are watching Tamil, Hindi and English flicks as well. I think, Karthik, my grandson, watched Baahubali two or three times. During the days of Nazir, only Malayalam movies used to run houseful.
Although I have been part of the film industry for a long time, I don’t really enjoy watching movies nowadays. For instance, I am yet to watch Baahubali , which almost everyone in my family watched. May be it is because I spent a long time working behind the scenes and know what is the secret behind the magic.
But I remember the first movie I watched. It was a Telugu film Bala Nagamma .
Nowdays I only watch movies, when I am home, on TV. Still on rare occasions I watch the late night shows at the theatre. My wife, Vishalakshi Amma, and Karthik, an engineering student, love watching movies. Karthik often comes here with his friends.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
