Veteran Malayalam actor Captain Raju who passed away on Monday was passionate about cinema. After quitting the army, Raju made his film debut in 1981 in a villainous role with the movie 'Raktham' directed by Joshi. Raju, who often talked about his early days as an actor, thus shared interesting insights he had gained about his colleagues in the film industry.
Raju had said that he was thrilled to act alongside Prem Naseer and Madhu, two former stalwarts of the Malayalam cinema, in his debut film. Recalling an incident that happened on the sets of the movie, Raju spoke about the considerate nature of yesteryear superstar Naseer.
In the movie, Balan K Nair essayed the role of the main villain meanwhile Raju played his aide. A fight scene involving Raju and Madhu was shot at an old factory warehouse in Ernakulam. Madhu is shown hitting Raju with a shovel and the latter would fall into a pile of wooden planks. Raju confessed that he really landed hard on the planks even during the rehearsals, as he was determined to play his part excellently.
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Meanwhile Naseer who was watching the duo’s rehearsal called Raju aside and said, “It’s amazing that you are dedicated to your profession. However, if an accident occurs, no one would be there to look after you.” The senior actor then pointed out that some wooden planks had sharp nails on it. He even said sternly that the scene would be shot only after removing from the pile those wooden planks with nails.
“Naseer sir had seen me for the first time then, and we hadn’t grown close either. But I was surprised to realise the concern he had for his colleagues,” Raju remarked.
Raju also spoke about another unforgettable incident which happened on the sets of the 1984 movie 'Athirathram' directed by IV Sasi. In the movie Raju essayed the role of a Customs officer and noted actor KP Ummer played a smuggler. Ummer brought his own lunch from home which often included delicacies like roe. Raju too was invited to share the meal.
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In one of the fight scenes, Raju accidentally landed a blow to Ummer’s chin and the latter writhed in pain. “I thought he would duck, but he didn’t. He was hurt and I became so upset, but he was not bothered. That day too he served me his home-cooked lunch which included roe. He used to joke, ‘You broke my chin after having special delicacies brought from my home’,” Raju narrated.
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The actor, however, said that this episode had pained him greatly, especially whenever the duo met. Though Ummer had advised Raju to forget about the incident, the latter couldn’t help but remember the former’s goodwill.
