When I met my Superstar

I tied a rag to my head for a shadeless cap and started saying “Savari Giri Giri” to Amma right after reaching back home from watching Ravanaprabhu. My first theatre experience initiated my obsession over the greatest actor in the history of Malayalam movies, Sri Mohanlal. 

As a child, my main hobby was to stay at home and binge on cartoons. When Binoy, my youngest Maman landed a job in Trivandrum, he shifted to our home for a year. He brought a VCR and a bunch of film video cassettes with him. Each of them were Mohanlal starring blockbusters. Ads of Narasimham were frequently published in newspapers during the time. So out of curiosity, I sat down with Binoy when he played the tape of Narasimham. Coming day onwards, Narasimham replaced all my favourite cartoons. I repeatedly watched it for days together. Ustaad and Aaraam Thampuran also became my favourites. 

 

All the heroes I had seen till then maintained a trimmed physique. But this stout man was my hero. Perhaps from being an obese child, I must have identified myself with the star. Also, the way he speaks in films like Ravanaprabhu reminded me of my Appa. I tried to adapt his hairstyle and also started wearing mundu like him. When the one year tenure of Binoy' s job got over, he took the cassettes back with him. But before he left, I had one more film to check out from the series. It was Devadoothan. The film put me in a state of bliss. I was also filled with regret for choosing the other films over and over while the best was always lying there untouched. This provoked me to watch the classics of Mohanlal even if they didn't belong in my favourite genres of comedy and action.

As time passed I grew up to be a diehard Mohanlal fan and even became a member of the regional fans club. I religiously watched his films on the release day itself. Luckily, he came to Trivandrum for the shoot of Lal Jose's Velipadinte Pustakam which had the famous chartbuster 'Entemmade Jimikki Kammal' composed by Shaan Rahman. I was informed that there will be a photoshoot specially for the fans before the Trivandrum schedule ends. Over the moon, I struggled to keep the news to myself because of my fear that sharing might jinx what was to happen. And finally the day arrived on July7, 2017. I joined the huge crowd gathered at St.Xavier' s College, Thumba to get a glimpse of the legend. When the caravan door opened, the whole crowd started cheering non stop. I couldn't believe my eyes when my superstar stepped out of the caravan and waved his hands at us. Left speechless, everything else started fading for me. We were asked to stand in a line for the photoshoot. The crew had to resume film shooting immediately following this, so everything was in a hurry. As I got nearer to him, the sky getting cloudy made me tensed because rain can spoil the whole thing. My worst fear came true when the rain mildly started pouring. To my amusement, my superstar asked the assistant to get him an umbrella, so that he can continue the photoshoot even in the rain.

When it came down to just two people before me in line, another line of fans from Kollam who were waiting for a long time were asked to come forward. When our photoshoot was hence paused for sometime, I didn't take my eyes off him for even a moment. Our turn came soon again, but it was evening already and there was minimal light. So, the two standing before me had to rush. They didn't smile when the photos were clicked. This disturbed me and as I was standing clueless as the next person in line, my Superstar smiled and raised his hands towards me. He also nodded to come and stand beside him. I firmly held the hands and couldn't control the over the top smile of joy when I posed with him for the photo. Honestly, I don't remember much about the rest of the day. I was so overwhelmed, always fumbling even when Amma asked about the experience.There are rarely days in my life that are this much close to heart. 

My whole life has been revolving around the phenomenon. He helped me get through tough times. Even now, when I feel down or broken,  the intro scene of Ali Imran from Moonam Mura is enough to cheer me up. I truly owe it to the 'L'egend for being there for me always.