How Basheer played an important role in Mamukkoya's acting career

Mamukkoya never had the usual air of a mainstream actor. He was the personification of a simple Kozhikode native.

The actor, who was under treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode after suffering a heart attack, passed away on Wednesday. 

In many ways, Mamukkoya was an exemplary artist who adapted from the many harrowing experiences he faced in life. 

During his early days, the theater actor from Kallai who worked at a timber yard, crossed paths with S K Pottekkad, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer and M S Baburaj. He often described himself as 'an ordinary man who was lucky to live amongst some extraordinary people'. 

In an earlier interview with Manorama, Mamukkoya said his friendships helped him gain a role in films.  "I wanted to be an artist from childhood. But the circumstances were never favourable. I grew up watching plays and other programmes in the area. I later began acting in amateur plays. Due to the amount of work in timber yards in Kallai, it was not possible to pursue it professionally,” he said

“Kozhikode and neighbouring areas always hosted plays and other programmes. Kozhikode was an artist's paradise that saw writers, musicians and cultural workers coalesce for art and culture. Though just a play, SK, Basheer and Baburaj would arrive to watch our rehearsal and comment on them. Novelists Thikkodiyan (P. Kunjanandan Nair) and Uroob (PC Kuttikrishnan), poet-lyricist P Bhaskaran and music director K  Raghavan would also visit.”

“Once the members of the theater group decided to make a movie Anyarude Bhoomi (Other People's Land). But we were short of funds.”

That's when director K G George and his team arrived in Kozhikode to shoot a movie called 'Mannu' (Soil). The movie which has two producers was called off due to some disagreement. 

Nilambur Balan approached, T V Madhavan, one of the producers of the movie, and pitched the story of Anyarude Bhoomi to him.

Madhavan liked the pitch and agreed to produce it. Mamukkoya played the character of an angry young man in that film. But the black and white picture failed to make a mark in the box office.

Basheer's recommendation

Five years after 'Anyarude Bhoomi', Mamukkoya enacted a small role in a film. Renowned writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer was the reason for this. 

Art director S Konnanatt was looking to make a movie based on P A Muhammed Koya's novel 'Surumayitta Kannukal'. It would be his debut movie as a director. 

Konnanatt and Mohammed Koya had arrived at Basheer's house in Beypore to seek his blessings ahead of the shoot.

Mamukkoya and a few others were hanging out near the mangosteen tree at the writer's home at the time. 'This story is set in Kozhikode. This Mamu has been acting in plays here. Can't you offer him a role?', Basheer asked Konnanatt and the latter agreed immediately.

"After the film crew left, Basheer reminded me to go and have a look at the movie location. When I reached the location I realised there were no roles for me. 

"But they couldn't ignore me due to Basheer's recommendation. K P Umar acted as an Arab in that movie which revolved around an Arabic marriage. The Arab had a horse carriage. My friend Krishnan Kutti played as the horse-cart driver.

"I was offered the role of the man who supplied grass to the horse. But during the shoot, Bahadur and Nellikode Bhaskaran took sympathy with me and asked the director to include me in a few more scenes at the tea shop. This was my second film," Mamukkoya would later remember. 

Doore Doore Oru Koodu Koottam

According to Mamukkoya, the movie 'Dure Doore Oru Koodu Koottam' written by Sreenivasan and directed by Siby Malayil gave him the crucial break in the film industry. 

Mamukkoya had known Sreenivasan since his days in theatre. As a part of the drama movement, Sreenivasan was in Thalassery those days. He visited Kozhikode occasionally. 

"When Aroma Mani came to Kozhikode to do a film by Siby Malayil on Sreenivasan's script, Sreenivasan reached out and offered me a role. It was a story set in a school. There were many teacher characters. I was asked to play the role of an Arabic Munshi in it. 

"After watching the first few scenes, Siby Malayil told Sreenivasan that 'Arab Munshi is not bad'. Though there were only two or three scenes in the script initially, they added more scenes later. The munshi became one of the main characters in the movie. After this film, I never had to work in Kallai or act in plays again," he said in an interview.

Soon after this film, Mamukoya was cast in Gandhinagar Second Street directed by Sathyan Anthikad on Sreenivasan's recommendation. He was one of Mohanlal's friends. Sathyan Anthikad-Sreenivasan team's movie Sanmanasullavarak Panadham and Siby Malayil-Mammootty film Rariram followed. 

The actor never had to look back.