Actor and mimicry artiste Kottayam Nazeer who faithfully recreated Chandy’s looks and voice on stage and TV programmes has revealed he will never imitate the former chief minister’s voice again.
Nazeer started mimicking Chandy when the latter took over as Chief Minister of Kerala for his first term. Soon, Chandy became an inseparable part of Nazeer’s mimicry profession. However, when Chandy became ill, Nazeer stopped imitating the political leader.
“This was due to my respect for the beloved leader. With his passing away, I will never imitate his voice again,” Nazeer told Vanitha.
On several occasions, Nazeer had close interactions with Chandy. “Once, during the ‘Katha Ithuvare’ programme on ‘Mazhavil Manorama’ channel, Chandy said that he loved Nazeer among all those who mimicked him. Chandy also said that he enjoyed Nazeer’s jokes as ‘Oommen Chandy.’
“It was a big honour for me,” said Nazeer. In 2018, Nazeer conducted an exhibition of his paintings at Durbar Hall in Kochi. Chandy arrived to watch the exhibition, which was titled ‘Dream for Colours.’ While leaving the hall, Chandy told Nazeer, “I am changing the name of the exhibition to ‘Wonders for Colours.’
Nazeer personally met Chandy for the first time at Karukachal, the former’s native place. “An event was organised there to honour notable public figures in the area. Chandy, who was the Chief Minister then, was to felicitate them. When the Chief Minister’s arrival was delayed, N Jeyaraj - the local MLA – requested me to do some performance on stage and I emulated Chandy. At that time, Chandy walked in. The crowd roared with laughter. Chandy came straight to me, patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘you filled my gap while I was late’,” said Nazeer.
On another occasion, Nazeer was travelling to Malappuram for an event when Chandy’s car overtook his vehicle. “I picked up the phone and called Chandy. ‘I am just behind you,’ I said and he replied, ‘you can follow me’,” recalled Nazeer.
Nazeer was presenting ‘Kottayam Nazeer Show’ on Kairali TV when Chandy took over as Chief Minister for his first term. “I even arranged a special wig to resemble Chandy,” said the actor.
Later, Nazeer also interviewed Chandy a few times. “Every time, he spoke to me lovingly. He also was personally close to me. Chandy visited my house when my father passed away. He never hurt anybody with words or deeds. I offer my deep condolences over his demise,” said Nazeer.
