Once while talking to Lalitha chechi after lunch during a film shoot, I said, "Some of the most indispensable people have passed away. Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Shankaradi, Thilakan, Sukumari, Philomina… I don’t know if I can do films without them."
Then Lalitha chechi replied, "Sathya, you should not feel bad about their demise. This is all part of the Almighty's script. He has decided a role for each one of us. Once that is over, the curtain falls. But we need to continue playing our roles.”
Now, Lalitha chechi is no more. She was not just an actress for me. She was a mother, a sister and a friend. If Lalitha chechi has to be kept aside, there won’t be much left of my cinema life. She always cared for me like a sibling. Whenever I start planning for a film, my wife Nimmi would say, "Don’t forget to call Lalitha chechi and confirm the dates.”
I first decide that Lalitha chechi will be part of my film. Only later I think about what role I should give her. That had also been the case with Shankaradi and Oduvil Unnikrishnan. They join the film set once the filming begins. The scenes will be thought of later.
Lalitha chechi was not just part of my cinema but my home as well. We were really close to one another and never tried to hide something from the other. When she called me ‘Sathya’, I used to feel it was someone from my home calling me.
My bond with Lalitha chechi began when I was working with Dr Balakrishnan, picking up the nuances of film direction. That bond was never broken.
Lalitha chechi had quit films twice. After she got married to Bharathettan (noted director Bharathan), she said that she would not return to the silver screen. She initially turned down my offer to act in my film 'Aduthaduthu'. Then I called Bharathettan and that is how she made her first comeback. With that, she became more active in films.
Later, Lalitha chechi was greatly distressed after the demise of Bharathettan. During that time, I was planning to make 'Veendum Chila Veettukaryangal'. I persuaded her to return to cinema. Nedumudi Venu was also part of that film. Venu and Bharathettan were close friends. On the day, Venu was set to join the film shooting; Lalitha chechi told me that she was unsure of facing Venu.
After putting on make-up, both of them stood face-to-face in front of the camera. Till then, they had not talked to each other. I explained the scene to them and returned to my seat behind the camera. But the moment I said 'action', Lalitha chechi wept and walked away from the camera. We did not shoot their scene that day. She calmed down only after Venu consoled her.
Though I called her several times to act in my movie 'Mazhavilkavadi', she did not come. Finally, I retorted, "Come if it is convenient for you." The anger was evident in my voice. As soon as she came, a teary-eyed Lalitha chechi said, "Sathyan should not have been angry. I have been fighting at the other set to come over here."
Lalitha chechi shared a close bond with each person. Oduvil Unnikrishnan was in Madras when he was blessed with a baby. But as he did not have the money to purchase the ticket, he did not go home. Later, Lalitha chechi gave the ticket fare to Oduvil Unnikrishnan for going home.
I had planned a role for her in my new movie 'Makal' as well. Someone told me that she was not keeping well. But before the film shoot began, she called the producer Sethu Mannarkkad and asked when she should come for the filming. She also called the costumer Pandiyan and said that she would need a new wig. After some days, I heard that she was at the hospital. But even on that morning, she had called producer Sethu.
Then I telephoned her son Sidharth and enquired about her. He said that his mother was in the hospital and that she was having memory lapses. Despite this, the film with me was in her mind. There is no greater blessing for me than that.
In the film 'Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam', the lead actress inadvertently causes her father's death. Lalitha chechi, who played the mother of the lead actress, narrates that entire incident to Mohanlal in a scene. That was a very long scene. This movie was remade in several other languages. In all the other languages, that incident of the father’s death is shown as a flashback. But only in this Malayalam film, Lalitha chechi is narrating the incident.
Only an actress of Lalitha chechi's acting prowess could pull off that heart-rending scene. If not for Lalitha chechi, I would not even have thought of such a long, poignant scene. She could make a scene come alive even with just a word or a single expression. She has gifted numerous such scenes and characters to Malayalam cinema.
Like how Lalitha chechi said, her role in this world is over. But she is still holding on to my hand. It has always been like that. Whenever she bids farewell or while standing by my side, she holds my hand tightly. If truth be told, that is an assurance. An assurance that she is there for me.
