Yester year actors Jayan and Seema are hailed as an evergreen onscreen pair that thrilled the audience with their incredible chemistry. The duo had acted together in quite a lot of movies making them one of the best loved silver screen pairs in Malayalam cinema. Even four decades after Jayan had bid adieu to this world in an unfortunate helicopter accident, the audiences remember him for his charismatic personality and amazing talent. Meanwhile, Seema shares some fond memories of him in a chat with Manorama Online.
“I haven’t believed that Jayan is no more because I didn’t see his lifeless body. I have been speaking about this for the last forty years. So, I don’t have anything else to say on his fortieth death anniversary. As far as I think, Jayan is still alive and lives somewhere,” says Seema.
There was a time when Malayali audience wanted to see only Seema as the female lead opposite Jayan. The handsome actor was on the pinnacle of his career when he died, forty years ago on November 16, while filming a risky action sequence.
Seema said she was happy that the Keralite audiences still remember Jayan with fondness. “I doubt whether he would have enjoyed such love and adulation had he been alive. Even today, the media is fascinated by Jayan. I don’t feel as if he is no more because all I can remember is his smiling face and how he was always nice and gentle to people. I too had gone along with Sasiyettan to see his mortal remains when it was brought to Kollam. However, Sasiyettan stopped midway and returned. He told me, ‘It is better that you do not see his lifeless face. The image of Jayan that is in your mind is no more. Let that image remain as it is.’ So, I returned without seeing Jayan for one last time. I think it was a good thing that I hadn’t seen him that day. I only remember him as a charming individual who is always active and energetic. I don’t think he is dead; he lives somewhere. I am happy and surprised by the adulation that he still receives,” notes Seema.
Seema calls Jayan a producer’s artist who never creates pressure to the ones who spend money for his movies. “Jayan was an impeccable person. He may have been such an amazing individual because he was destined to go away so early. He was very caring and loved everyone. People had only good things to say about him. I have only seen him with a smile on his face. He was willing to go to any extreme for the sake of his characters. It was this attitude of his that led to the accident. When Sasi told me the news of his death, I couldn’t believe it. I thought he was trying to prank me. Later, it was Sreekumaran Thampi who confirmed the news to me,” recalls the veteran actress.
Forty years after his death, Jayan continues to be the ultimate hero in the hearts of the Malayali audience. Like Seema, his fans too cannot believe that he is no more. Had he been alive, Jayan would have been celebrated as one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema. Jayan’s throne still remains vacant and the Malayali audience still cherishes his fabulous memories through his countless roles, mass dialogues and amazing movies.
