Forgotten talent: T P Madhavan's isolated life at Gandhi Bhavan

In the 80s and 90s, T P Madhavan was an integral part of Malayalam cinema. However, fate hasn't been kind to this veteran actor, who now lives an isolated life and suffers from memory loss at Gandhi Bhavan in Pathanapuram. Despite this, he has learned to take it all in his stride.

T P Madhavan, the first Secretary of AMMA, finds it difficult to recall many things. In a video shared by Gandhi Bhavan, you can see a cheerful actor dressed in new clothes. Although he has been an inmate for the last 8 years, there have been only a few visitors from the film world. Suresh Gopy, Ganesh Kumar, Jayaraj Warrier, Chippy, Producer M Ranjith, and Madhupal were some of his visitors. Gandhi Bhavan Vice Chairman Amal Raj said in the video that Gandhi Bhavan will take care of him until his death.

Meanwhile, he expressed disappointment that none of his colleagues visited him, blaming the bad roads for their inability to do so. He resides in a room above the main office of Gandhi Bhavan, where all his awards are displayed. He received the Ramu Karyat Award and the Prem Nazir Award while at Gandhi Bhavan.

During a trip to Haridwar, he fell unconscious and was admitted to a hospital by some Sanyasis. Later, they helped him reach Thiruvananthapuram. It was while staying at a lodge that director Prasad took him to Gandhi Bhavan. He did act in a few serials afterwards but was then affected by amnesia.

His father is the famous professor NP Pillai. The actor, who post-graduated in sociology, has run ad agencies in Mumbai and Kolkata. At the age of 40, he met actor Madhu and acted in his film 'Priya'. Madhavan, who has acted in over 600 films, worked as AMMA’s First General Secretary for 10 years. Strangely, none of his family members have ever visited him. Amal Raj dismisses the news that his son visited him.

“In the last 8 years, he had only a handful of visitors from the film industry. Actor and MLA Ganesh Kumar visits him now and then. Suresh Gopy also offers him some help. Others who have visited him include Chippy and her husband, Jayaraj Warrier, and Madhupal. There was a time when he wanted to meet all his colleagues. But now he doesn’t remember anything. I expected a phone call for him this Onam,” says Raj.