As Kamal Haasan gets ready to don 10 different getups for his latest film, Dasavatharam, there is a lot of speculation about who his heroines will be. One actor sure to be part of the film is Jayaram, who enjoys a special kind of camaraderie with Haasan.
This friendship began several years ago on the sets of a Malayalam film called Chanakyan, where Haasan played the lead role with Urmila Matonkar as heroine. Jayaram, who had just entered the film industry, acted as a mimicry artist in the film. He was, at the time, known across Kerala for his mimicry. Chanakyan paved the way for the two actors to form a strong bond that has stayed all these years. Perhaps it was Jayaram's famous sense of humour that attracted Kamal Haasan.
It was years before the two acted together again, as Jayaram was busy in Kerala. He was the second lead in Kamal's Thenali, followed by Panchatantram, where he was one of the five. The latest, of course, is the much talked about Dasavatharam. In an interview with rediff.com, Jayaram takes a trip down memory lane. Excerpts:
The first time I met Kamal was not on the sets of Chanakyan, but when I was in school. He had come to my place for the shooting of a film called Eetta. I went to the location, pushing all the people who had gathered for a glimpse. I could only see him from afar.
My first meeting with him was on the sets of Chanakyan. People talk of 'love at sight' -- in our case too, there was a kind of bonding on the first day itself. A rare friendship (laughs)! It could be because both of us enjoy the same kind of jokes, and share the same sense of humour. We sometimes see humour in things others don't. Both of us would fall down laughing while those around us couldn't understand why. What I mean is, as far as humour is concerned, we share the same wavelength.
Let me go back to the sets of Chanakyan. Many told him I could mimic him very well, and he wanted to see how I did it. When I did, he asked me if his acting was that bad. Though we used to call each other, share jokes and laugh a lot, there was no chance to act together again until Thenali. I was to act in Sati Leelavathi, in the role that eventually went to Ramesh Arvind. I couldn't do it because of my work in Malayalam though.
The shooting of Thenali was a blast. Most scenes were improvised at the last moment. The film, which was such a huge success, was shot in just 25 days! It was only spontaneity that worked for it. K S Ravikumar, the director, would set the camera, tell us what the incident was, and we would create a hilarious situation. Situations were possibly improvised so well because both of us shared the same sense of timing and comedy. Ravikumar was such a good man that he gave us a free hand to improvise.
Whether it is humour, action, romance or song and dance, Kamal can come out with something different, something unique that no other actor can. He is such a good singer that it is very difficult to sing at his pitch. In my opinion, Kamal Haasan is a better singer than an actor. He is also so well read that he can talk about any subject, and not superficially, but in detail. He is so full of ideas that, even after all rehearsals, when the director says, 'Ready, take', he may come out with something different. So, you have to be extremely alert and ready to improvise when acting opposite him.
In Panchatantram, my character was not that great, but I enjoyed being with Kamal Haasan for 45 days. It was fun watching him perform. I am crazy about elephants. I can watch an elephant for hours and enjoy every minute of it. I even have an elephant of my own! I derive the same kind of pleasure watching Kamal perform!
I have been asked to act in Dasavatharam, but have no idea what the role is. I am not bothered either. I will do it even if it is a tiny role, because I love watching him act.
When we are together, we talk a lot about Kerala because he is very attached to it. He loves everything about Kerala including our fish and rice. So, whenever he has some free time, he comes to the backwaters.
Photograph of Jayaram: Sreeram Selvaraj
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