ANGRY BUT MORE DISAPPOINTED-SURESH GOPI

'Angry' but more disappointed

By KK Moidu

Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi's problem seems to be neither success nor failure, but the lukewarm response of the audience to his non-angry roles.
The actor began his career as a child artiste in 1965 in the award-winning film Odayilninnu, based on a novel by the same name. After a long layoff he returned to the silver screen to play small roles, initially, and later the villain and second hero. In his two-decade long career he has been part of several hits like Rajavinte Makan, Irupatham Noottandu, Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha, Manichithrathazhu and Innale, to mention a few. In all these hit movies although he played significant roles, it was never the lead character.
In the late 80’s he found his niche in Malayalam cinema as its angry young man, a tag he has survived with for a decade. His career witnessed a massive upswing with several films portraying him as the tough unrelenting cop and an angry young man taking on a corrupt and decaying establishment. Thalasthanam, Ekalavyan, Mafia and Commissioner were some of the films, which belonged to this genre. His talent also became visible in other roles in films like Vazhunnor, Pathram, F.I.R., Sathyameva Jayathe and Lelam. But Commissioner, directed by Shaji Kailas marked the turning point in his career. His character of Bharathchandran IPS went down well with the masses and instantly catapulted him to superstar status. And his dialogues “Ormayundo ee mugham” (do you remember this face) and “Mohan Thomasinte Uchishtavum” (Mohan Thomas’s leftovers) were on the lips of both adults and children. The fact that mimicry artistes like Kottayam Nazeer started imitating these dialogues made them even more enjoyable and popular.
Comedy movies starring Suresh Gopi also made an impact at the box office, but there he had to share the credit with other artistes. Thenkasipattanam, for example had Dileep and Lal, whereas Sundarapurushan had Mukesh. But these films showed that he had a flair for comedy as well.
His portrayal of Kannan Perumalyan in Kaliyattam, a Malayalam remake of Shakespeare's Othello along theyyam lines, fetched him the national award for best actor, his greatest achievement this far. Although he was subsequently nominated for the Kerala state best actor award for his performances in art films Ullam and Makalkku, he lost the crown to his senior Mammootty.
Even though he has acted in over 200 films, his golden era was the 90’s. When viewers seemed to have tired of his gun-toting image, khaki uniform and dialogues, Suresh Gopi lay low for some time. However, much to his disappointment, he was not even accepted, when he tried to experiment. Swapnamkondu Thulabharam, a family movie bombed badly and the actor, it seemed, had lost his Midas touch.
Rumours began doing the rounds that the actor had political ambitions and that he was planning to contest the parliamentary elections from the Kollam constituency as a United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate.
After a four-year gap he made a comeback on the screen with Ranji Panicker at the helm in Bharath Chandran IPS, a sequel to his earlier mega-hit Commissioner. Once again the police commissioner’s role in Bharath Chandran IPS gave his career a fresh lease of life. The movie was widely acclaimed and he regained his image and again donned the police officer’s uniform in Tiger, directed by Shaji Kailas. Tiger didn’t do well at the box office so other police dramas didn't follow soon. Politician Rajmohan Unnithan played the chief minister’s role in Tiger and the film’s publicity didn't work favourably.
After Tiger flopped and he opted to play the role of Captain Sravan in director-writer AK Sajan’s Lanka, he sought a break from his angry young man image by doing a character with negative shades. In Lanka Suresh Gopi plays an army officer sent to Sri Lanka by then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He stays back and starts a shipping business in Sri Lanka and eventually marries Lanka Lakshmi, a role played with elan by Mamta Mohandas. However, the army officer has a troubled past as a womaniser. Some parts of the film were picturised in a bungalow in Sri Lanka, considered one of the biggest in Asia. But the erotic thriller didn't click at the box office, because it did not live up to Malayalam cinema-goers’ expectations and so the actor’s efforts went unnoticed.
Anil C. Menon, the director of Ben Johnson and Malsaram, has cast Suresh Gopi for his new movie Rashtram, where he plays the role of a chief minister. After the success of the Dileep starrer Lion, directed by Joshi, there is suddenly a glut of films about politicians, who try to cleanse the system. In Lion Dileep played Kerala’s home minister and he excelled in it, making the movie a super hit. Suresh Gopi on the other hand is a step ahead because he plays the chief minister in Rashtram. If the movie clicks at the box office, one is likely to find him in many more political dramas.
Rashtram’s storyline is thus Kerala’s chief minister dies all of a sudden and Kerala Gandhi Ouseppachan, a former central minister, played by Madhu refuses to accept the chief minister’s post because of ill-health. It is then that opposition leader AK Gopalan (Thilakan) suggests that Ouseppachan's son Thommichan (Suresh Gopi) be made the chief minister. Thommichan, a timber merchant, is not interested in politics. He, however, believes in helping the poor and his popularity amongst the masses is well-known.
Finally Thommichan accepts the chief minister’s post thinking that he will be able to do something for the poor and the needy. But when he starts cleaning up the entire system, the politico-criminals and rivals take offence.
Suresh Gopi's favourite director Shaji Kailas’s new movie Chinthamani Kolacase will offer him a character, very different from anything he has played so far. The actor has put all his hope into the film. The duo, who made more than 10 films together, will partner in a murder mystery. Their perfect understanding is something to be watched in their new movie.
Suresh Gopi's fiery dialogues, action scenes, good acting and portrayal of a crime investigator will be the highlights of Chinthamani Kolacase. Unlike his earlier Shaji Kailas films, he does not play a police or army officer but a lawyer, Lal Krishna Veeradiyar, who has never lost a case.
Shaji Kailas has flown in nearly 10 models to play a gang of rich girls called “Mirchi Girls.” The girls help Suresh Gopi in his investigation of the murder of their colleague Chinthamani, the daughter of a temple attendant. Veeradiyar delves deep into the details of the case to bring the real killers to justice and in the process uncovers a major crime gang.
The movie also has Sai Kumar, Murali, Manoj K. Jayan, Siddique, Sukumari, Biju Menon, Bhavana, Aiswarya, Vani Viswanath and Poornima. Bhavana plays the central character, Chinthamani.
Even though Suresh Gopi has proved that he can handle all kinds of roles, the viewers don’t seem to be willing to accept him in all kinds of roles. If Veeradiyar becomes a success he will have to wear the black gown again and again. On the other hand if Chief Minister Thommichan scores, Suresh Gopi will be saddled with many more chief minister roles. But one thing is for sure, if he doesn't do well in either of these roles, we can expect another Commissioner sequel, which will definitely give him the chance to prove his pull at the box office.