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August 3, 1998
BILLBOARD
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Living on loveShobha Warrier
It was a surprise that Sarada preferred to talk in Malayalam. But even in her heyday, when she reigned supreme in Malayalam films, nobody in Kerala believed that she was from Andhra Pradesh. It still puzzles Sarada, why her mother wanted her to enter films. For nobody in her family was even remotely connected with films. She began by learning Bharat Natyam at the age of six. At twelve, she was acting in amateur plays in her village, Tenali. When she was 15, her parents brought her to Madras to act in movies. You ask Sarada whether she was interested in a film career in those days. She smiles. "See, now if you ask a five year-old what she wants to become, she will immediately blurt out her opinion. But in those days, it was different. We never knew we could take decisions. We were more or less like puppets. We did only what our parents asked us to. Moreover, I grew up in a small village in Andhra Pradesh and I was brought up by my grandmother. So, you can imagine how it would have been for a girl like me. ''When I look back, I feel ashamed of myself. My knowledge about the world was so limited, you can even say nil. I learnt everything about life through experience only. But when I see today's girls, I feel very happy. They are intelligent, they are well-equipped and they know the ways of life. Don't think I am jealous. I am extremely happy for them, for their ability to face any problem." She also acted in plays for government offices in the region because she was pretty. And she was noticed because she also gave several dance performances. Those were the days when women, especially those from the villages, looked down upon acting. So men had to dress up as women. But Sarada, the schoolgirl, was given permission by her grandmother to act in amateur dramas, but only on certain conditions: Men should not touch the girl, they should not call her for rehearsals on weekdays, they would also have to allow her, the grandmother, to be present at the rehearsals....
For all those who have seen her award-winning Malayalam films, the very name Sarada brings to mind only tragedy and heart-wringing unhappiness. But though she made her name in extremely tragic roles, she started her film career as a comedienne in Telugu films and continued to do similar roles for nearly three years. Unfortunately life in the film industry wasn't as rosy as her mother expected it to be. There were not many film offers for her daughter, there were not many good roles and there were not many people to encourage the comedy artist Sarada. Disappointed, her mother even thought of taking her back to her village. Then came an offer from Kunjakko to act in a Malayalam film called Inappravukal opposite the super heroes of those days, Prem Nazir and Satyan. "I didn't know a single word of Malayalam. I still accepted the offer. Now I think I was a fool then, very childish too. I didn't understand the importance of acting with Nazir and Satyan, that too in my first Malayalam film. "But that was not the funniest part. When we were about to go to Kerala, people warned us. Do you know why? In those days, we associated Kerala with witchcraft. Our friends told us not to accept any food from Keralities because they feared that Keralites would use black magic! Now when I think of all that, I feel like laughing... "My years in the Malayalam film industry were the most cherished and unforgettable moments in my life. I have never been so happy in my life. How can I forget the kind of love they showered on me? They always referred to me as 'poor girl'! " 'Poor girl, she doesn't know the language.' 'Poor girl, she is so young.' 'Poor girl, she is from a far away place.' But they never made me feel that I was away from home. The shooting of the film was like a picnic for me -- loving people and a more loving Nature. I had not seen a more beautiful place than Kerala in my entire life. I enjoyed every moment of it.. My colleagues were so loving. They never addressed me as Sarada, I was always their Sharu. I can never forget those years."
In the titles of Inappravukal, instead of her own name, Sarada, the producers had used the name of the character itself, Rahel. But the Gurvayoor authorities, finicky about religion, refused her entry into the temple. She had a tough time convincing them that she was a Hindu, she says. And thereafter she reverted to her old name. Her next major project was M T Vasudevan Nair's Iruttinte Athmavu. "It was a tastefully created film. Why I cannot forget the film was because Keralites began loving me so much that they even saw me as a Malayali? They found out that my grandfather had ancestors from Kerala! I think it was my good fortune that they loved me so much. When I was in a mundu andneryathu, nobody could say I was not a Malayali. That is why I believe in fate. They called me Shaleenayaya Sarada, and even now when I think of those days, my eyes well up. They accepted me as a part of their family. How many in the industry had such good fortune?" But then Sarada, who loved only comedy films, who loved to crack jokes and fool around, became a tragedy queen. But she took it sportingly. She cried when the cameras were on and laughed when the cameras were off. "The amount of tears I shed for Thulabharam is unbelievable. I acted in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions too. But I could never sit and watch the movie, not even now. It was so depressing for me too. Sometimes, these tragic roles affect your mindset too. You feel tired and depressed just as the shooting gets over. You see, these tears and violent sobs affect your nervous system. "I was only 22 when I acted in Thulabharam as the mother of three children. More than being a mother, the character was very strong. I had to use all the energy that I had inside to portray the character. Vincent Master, the director, was very shy with women; still he explained the character very well." Did she expect to win the Urvasi award? She laughed. "You are asking me whether I expected an Urvasi! The truth is, I didn't even know the national award was called Urvasi! I was that ignorant. The funniest thing was, I had gone to Delhi to collect the second best actress award for Iruttinte Athmavu the previous year. Still, I didn't know anything about the Urvasi!
That was the first of the three Urvasis that she eventually bagged. In 1968, for Thulabaram, in 1972 for Adoor Gopalkrishnan's Swayamvaram (also Malayalam), and in 1978 for Nimanjanam in Telugu. Once she was awarded the Urvasi, her name became popular all over India. The Telugu film industry invited her to act in their movies. They didn't know of her Telugu background; the director of her first Telugu movie even arranged an instructor to teach her the language. She had to tell them that she was from Andhra Pradesh, causing some surprise there. But she wasn't excessively excited that she was returning to Telugu films. "I feel that an artist should have no religion, no language or no caste. See, I was born in Andhra Pradesh, but I grew up in Madras and I lived in Kerala for a long time. Now tell me, what will you call me? An Andhraite? A Tamilian? A Keralite?" She has acted in over a hundred Malayalam films but few of her roles were glamorous. Which was why she put on the mandatory kohl and lipstick. In many of her films she wore little make-up, her hair was rarely in place and she was clad usually in a crumpled mundu or sari. Even when we met her, she was wearing no make-up. But the clothes were ironed, starched cotton. Was she simple and non-glamorous in real life too? Especially when she was young?
"I wouldn't have been comfortable if I had to act in very glamorous roles. Fortunately, I was very comfortable doing those simple roles. I grew up in a middle-class family, so my tastes too were simple. Even when I became a film star, my mind and lifestyle didn't change. I didn't want it to." But, in her Telugu films, she had more high profile roles, that of a police officer, a lawyer, a judge etc, all demanding a little more oomph. She had won countless number of awards and several of her films were huge commercial successes too. But ask her if she'd prefer the award-winning roles to those in the hits, and she goes for the hits. According to her, she cannot compare the happiness she gets from a hit, where her performance is appreciated by the masses, to anything else. "Awards become insignificant in comparison to the appreciation of the masses. Once I went to the Women's College in Trivandrum to inaugurate a function. How those girls mobbed me! They shouted, 'Chechi, (sister) don't go.' Some hugged me tightly, some kissed me, some even pinched me. No, I was not irritated at all. I wasn't angry. I was happy, very happy. "You have to be lucky to be loved and appreciated by so many people. How many people have this luck to be loved by hundreds and hundreds of people? I feel I am very lucky. "We actors should understand one thing. We are what we are only because of those who go to see us in the theatres. If they refused to go to the theatre to see the movie, the movie will flop. We survive because of their blessings alone. "It is wrong to even think that you lose your privacy when you are in the film world. Once you become a public figure, it's your duty to oblige the people. What do they want? They want to see you and they want to hear you. Can't you say a few good words?" A far cry indeed from today's reclusive actors and actresses. And after years in the business, she is still capable of getting the heebie-jeebies when dealing with a new role.
She was as tense, maybe more, when she decided to try her hand at politics. "Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be in politics. Everything was so unexpected. I admire Chandrababu Naidu because he works for the welfare and development of the state without selfish motives. It was only because of him that I joined the party. I never expected that I would contest the elections. "I was very tense on the days when I had to attend election meetings and make speeches. People who came to see me expected me to make fiery speeches like the ones I make in films. God, they do not know that those lines were written by somebody else and I just by-heart them! And I won the election. But in 1998, I lost." That does not mean that she is going to quit politics. She say she'll do whatever Naidu asks her to. But as for the industry, she feels it taken a turn for the worse. Gone, she says, are the warmth, the love, the informal atmosphere, the friendly overtures of the sixties. The Malayalam industry too has changed similarly, she says. Loving and friendly relationships have been replaced by mere 'Hellos' and 'Hi's'. "I miss that kind of an atmosphere now. All of us were friends then, not just artistes working together. Now people are so busy to have friendly relationship." But then she looks at the bright side. "I always feel God has been very kind to me." EARLIER INTERVIEW:
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