Actor Madhu came to Malayalam cinema at a time when it was revolving around two pillars — Prem Nazir and Sathyan. And perhaps what gave him some leverage was his flexibility when it came to branching out. He was as much a part of parallel cinema (Swayamvaram, Olavum Theeravum) as he was of the mainstream. Madhu was also fortunate to immortalise characters written by famous literary figures — Basheer in Bhargavi Nilayam, Pareekutti in Chemmeen, Mayan in Umachu, Vishwanathan in Swapnam, and Ikkoran in Nadan Premam, to name a few. His debut directorial, Priya (1970), based on C Radhakrishnan’s novel, is considered to be the first ever murder mystery in Malayalam. Also the first Malayalam film to be shot in Mumbai, it has Adoor Bhasi reaching the city to investigate the mystery of his missing friend.
Madhu later directed 12 films (which he also produced) and many were commercial hits. He acted in Tamil and Hindi as well. In his six-decade-long career, he hasn’t taken a sabbatical, and post 2000 till his last outing Run Kalyani in 2022, he has succeeded in staying relevant in an industry that has evolved in narrative, acting style, and trends over the years. In the 70s, he was part of a staggering number of films (averaging 10-12 films a year). The pattern was more or less repeated in the 80s. In the 90s, he seemed to have slowed down, but that phase also involved a wide repertoire of roles. Since it is impossible to condense his illustrious filmography (over 400 films!) in this feature, we bring you a few of his interesting portrayals during the late 80s and 90s.
Joshiy’s Naduvazhikal can be considered the director’s retelling of The Godfather, written by SN Swamy. When Madhu’s Ananthan, inspired by Vito Corleone, who runs a flourishing business empire is sent to jail by his rivals, his son Arjun (Mohanlal) is forced to take over. Though Madhu doesn’t headline the narrative, he brings some heft to the proceedings and his warm chemistry with Mohanlal is one of the better aspects of the film.
More than a powerful performer, Madhu has always been about a towering presence on screen and most of his roles in this period prove that point. His cameo as Mammootty’s mentor in Sibi Malayil’s Mudra is one example. IG Joseph Chacko, who pays a surprise visit to his adopted son who is a cop at a remand home, appears barely for five minutes, yet Madhu’s radiating warmth makes it remarkable. The same can be said about IG Balakrishnan in Samrajyam – a kind, efficient officer who forms a strange bond with his wife’s son from another relationship.
The strict father who is perplexed whether to believe his son’s reality that he has a murderous doppelganger shadowing him in Padmarajan’s Aparan (1988) is safe in the hands of the actor. Perhaps Aparan was ahead of its time.
The patriarchal, egoistic Medayil Ittichan who remains unforgiving towards his daughter who eloped with a Communist in Venu Nagavally’s Lal Salaam (1990) and Mootha Ashari in Kamal’s Chambakkulam Thachan (1992) who lives a large part of his life wrongly implicating his deceased daughter for a sin she didn’t commit are essentially characters with similar shades that Madhu aces. Though anger rests a bit melodramatic on his features, over time the actor has learned to keep it subtle.
That he was decent at humour was evident in how he played Basheer in Bhargavi Nilayam, tinged with a playfulness that was endearing to watch. But then in Viji Thampy’s Simhavalan Menon, he plays a character who is intrinsically rigid and serious but softens owing to circumstances. In this loose adaptation of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Gol Maal, Madhu gives an effective spin to a character immortalised by Utpal Dutt. A Gandhian who abhors everything modern, Madhu’s Menon exudes humour with his mere presence.
Pappi, the gentle giant who remains unflinchingly loyal towards his upper caste landlord in Venu Nagavally’s Ayirappara, is a performance that’s hardly discussed. Pappi knows his chief Kamal is struggling to stay afloat, almost overcome with poverty, but that never induces him to misuse the power equation. And there is his blow-hot-blow-cold relationship with his son Shauri that’s endearing and poignant. Madhu was one of the few actors – along with Thilakan and Nedumudi Venu – who stood on his own when he played father to Mammootty and Mohanlal.
Perhaps one of the most striking intros of Madhu would be in Jayaraj’s Kudumbasametham, in which he plays the formidable patriarch of an erstwhile Nair tharavad. Raghava Kurup’s entry captured in slo-mo to tame a raging elephant was clearly written keeping the actor’s intimidating screen presence in mind. That heavy stomp, the glare, followed by his slightly garbled speech are staple Madhu mannerisms that have been caricatured by mimicry artists for years. Kurup is a rigid father who makes hasty decisions, bans the son who loved him the most, and repents all his life. Madhu brings a natural appeal to such strict father roles, possibly something to do with his body language (Ezhupunna Tharakan, Varna Pakittu).
Post 2000, Valia Nambiar, the kind landlord who adopts the orphaned Velayudhan in Naran, was undoubtedly his most memorable character. Again the Madhu-Mohanlal bond was a sight for sore eyes.
But otherwise, Madhu, despite appearing in some 100-odd films between 2000 and now, hardly played characters that had anything for him to offer than his presence or to just add to his filmography. Thankfully for an ‘80s generation viewer like this writer, Madhu was always an inimitable presence in Malayalam cinema.
Neelima Menon has worked in the newspaper industry for more than a decade. She has covered Hindi and Malayalam cinema for The New Indian Express and has worked briefly with Silverscreen.in. She now writes exclusively about Malayalam cinema, contributing to Fullpicture.in and thenewsminute.com. She is known for her detailed and insightful features on misogyny and the lack of representation of women in Malayalam cinema.
Views expressed are the author’s own.