Shevlin Sebastian's Blog, page 89

Grace And Naturalness

Dr. Madhavi Namboodiri talks about the charms of Kuchipudi, while on a recent visit to Kochi
Photos by Ratheesh Sundaram
(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram) 

A Look At Bullying And Class Hypocrisy

Author Ratna Vira returns with her second novel, 'It's not about you', after the first, 'Daughter By Court Order', became a national best-seller(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

The Unsung Revolutionary

Director Ricky Mishra is making a Hindi film on Bihar's little-known freedom fighter, Kristo Singh
Photos: The film poster; Director Ricky Mishra 
By Shevlin Sebastian
One day, a few years ago, music director Ricky Mishra went to the Sinha library in Patna. There he came across a biography of an unknown revolutionary by the name of Kristo (Krishna) Singh. Ricky was amazed to know that Kristo had robbed a train, at Kiul, in South Bihar, in 1940, to get money for the Independence movement. This was similar to the famed Kakori Train Robbery by freedom fighter Chandrasekhar Azad. “Kristo also burnt down seven police stations,” says Ricky. “He became a revolutionary, like Bhagat Singh and Azad.”
An enraged British government summoned the Baluchi regiment in Afghanistan, led by Capt. Khodadad Khan, to help in his capture and announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for any information. “Captain Khodadad was a cruel man and tortured Kristo's wife, brother and mother, in order to extract information about his whereabouts,” says Ricky. Kristo was eventually captured and spent 18 months in Munger jail.
While there, he befriended political leaders like Jaya Prakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Subhash Chandra Bose. “He was very much influenced by them,” says Ricky.
When asked how he got the name Kristo, Ricky says, “It was the British who shortened Krishna to Kristo. In fact, in all the FIRs (First Information Reports) in the police stations, he was identified as Kristo. That was how the name stuck.”
Meanwhile, Ricky continued to do extensive research. He went to Kristo's native village of Jamui. “The villagers talking glowingly about Kristo [who died, in 1986, at Patna],” says Ricky. He also read newspapers and books, from the Vidhan Sabha library, the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, and Gandhi Sangrahalaya. “After doing all this research, I realised that nobody knows about his exploits,” says Ricky.
So, Ricky decided to make a Hindi feature film. He approached producer Amit Kumar, of X Eye Entertainment, who agreed to come on board. The Rs 8 crore film will be shot in locations at Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan and Mumbai. “The cast is being selected,” says Ricky, from Mumbai. “There will be a few Bollywood stars. Shooting will begin very soon.”
Ricky is also busy getting the songs composed. One song is called 'Vande Mataram'. It has been sung by Krishna Beura who became famous for his hit song, 'Maula Mere', from 'Chak De India'. “I feel 'Vande Mataram' will have the same impact as 'Maula Mere',” says Ricky.
Krishna agrees. “This is a special song,” he says. “But it will be played in the background. For me, every song is a new experience. This historical film will be a stand-out.” 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram)

Sleeping Below Water

The Aquatic Resort is Kerala's first and only underwater floating resort

Photo of S.K. Hari Arumugam, Managing Director of the Tirupur-based Poppys Group. Photo by Albin Mathew 

By Shevlin Sebastian
Linda B, 66, an American artist, has a confession to make. “Whenever I come to India, I cannot sleep properly,” she says. “Somehow, the beds have always been so uncomfortable.”
But, recently, she had spent time in Kerala's one and only underwater 'Aquatic Resort', and had the most peaceful night ever. “I went into a deep sleep,” she says. “The bed was so good. The ambience was peaceful and quiet.”
Linda was accompanied by her son-in-law Jose Joseph, who is a singer, wife Sarah and their four children – two boys and two girls – ranging in age from 8 to 16. “My kids had a great time, going fishing, swimming and cycling,” says Joseph. “And we had plenty of tasty seafood.”
The Aquatic is located in the backwater lagoon of Kumblanghi, a mere 7 kms from Kochi. “There are 10 cottages spread over 30 acres,” says S.K. Hari Arumugam, Managing Director of the Tirupur-based Poppys Group, which runs the resort.
Each cottage has a thatched roof and bamboo railings on the balcony. Inside, on three levels, there is a sitting room, with sofas, and a wall-mounted TV, a balcony and a bedroom, with an attached bathroom, all in an area of 700 sq. ft. But, amazingly, the bedroom is 4 feet below sea level. To reach it, you have to go down several steps. And when you look through the window, you can see the water's surface. “Because of safety regulations, we have not been able to install wall-length windows, as yet,” says Arumugam.
Nevertheless, the guests are happy. “The rooms are amazing,” says the Bangalore-based Dominique Francon. “Every one of them faces the sunset! And there are such beautiful sunsets!”
Each cottage is placed on a square ferro-cement block, with air pockets, which allows it to float on the water. “The cottages go up and down depending on the high and low tide, but, because of the cement base, you will not know it,” says Resort Director Tommy Joseph. “They can also be towed away to different locations. We also have a swimming pool which can also be moved about.”
Not surprisingly, most of the customers are from USA, Australia, South Africa, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. “We also get many Arabs who come to enjoy the rainy season,” says Arumugam. “For them, the rain is a joyous experience.”
The peak season is from October to March. Most people stay anywhere between one and four days. The tariff ranges from Rs 9,000 to Rs 15,000.
At the resort, guests are encouraged to go fishing. “Most of them catch a lot of fish,” says Rajesh Ravi Nair, resort manager. “And we make dishes like prawn masala and fried pearlspot fish for them.”
Other activities include a one-hour boat ride to see nearby villages. You can explore the countryside on cycles or scooters. “We also take guests to the Chellanam Harbour [10 kms away], where they can go on a boat to see dolphins swimming about,” says Nair. Other places to see include Fort Kochi [of Kochi Biennale fame] and Mattancherry.
The resort also has a one-day package, usually for locals. “If you come in the morning, you can do boating, and swimming, and we provide breakfast, lunch [an exclusive seafood menu], evening tea, and snacks at Rs 2500 per person,” says Nair.
And in order not to harm the environment, the resort has set up a sewage treatment plant. “Nothing is spoiled,” says Arumugam. “The recycled water is used to water the flowers and the lawns.”
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

Standing Up and Delivering

Stand-up comedian Kunal Rao entertained a crowd at a performance in Kochi
Photos by Albin Mathew 
By Shevlin Sebastian
Moments before he stepped on stage at the JT Pac, Kochi, on April 24, stand-up comedian Kunal Rao, 36, could feel a hollowness in the pit of his stomach. “This happens to me all the time,” he says. “I have met comedians abroad, with more than 25 years of experience, who have the same feeling.”
The stage, after all, is intimidating. There is only a mike and, on a low box, a few 500ml plastic bottles of water. In front are several hundred people staring at you. And you have to keep them entertained with your jokes, energy and stage presence. The chance to get booed, if you fail, is high.
Nevertheless, Kunal bounds in, dressed casually, in a white shirt and black jeans, and says, “Hi, how are you guys doing? How many of you have travelled all the way from Kochi?” This is in reference to the location of JT Pac, which is in the suburb of Tripunithara. Many hands go up. “You are such a posh crowd,” he says. “Give me a cheer if you have seen a stand-up comedy show earlier.”
Obligingly, the audience claps and lets out a shout. And then Kunal sets out on a one-hour rollicking ride, through a variety of topics: the behavior of rich people at a stand-up show, food habits, the experience of call-centre executives, watching 3D digital films, the right way to smoke a cigar (“Don't inhale”) and the difficulty of being a Brahmin.
“We Brahmins have so many rules, traditions and rituals,” he says. “On Maha Shivaratri, most people enjoy a long weekend. But we have to wake up at 5 a.m., have a cold-water bath and do an eight-hour long puja. Eight hours long! That's longer than two IPL matches and half an Ashutosh Gowarikar film.”
It was a performance that evoked regular exclamations of delight. On his third visit, to Kochi, Kunal has a keen idea of the Kerala audience. “You have to approach taboo topics in a delicate way,” he says. “I am not saying people in the south are prudes, but they enjoy a certain subtlety.”
They are also a keen audience. “Because they have not seen too much comedy I can see that they are hungry for it,” he says. “The laughter is so happy and joyous. On stage, we get such an amazing pleasure to listen to it.”
Kunal has heard this laughter all over India – Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Nagpur. He has also performed in Dubai, Holland, Paris, Barcelona, Boston, Washington DC, and Atlanta.
“People react differently from place to place,” he says. “In the north they may not enjoy a particular joke as much as the people in the south or abroad. Many people have felt offended by the four-letter words I use. Sometimes, when I pick on members of the audience, and make fun, they get angry. But I don't get upset. I have learnt to be thick-skinned and move on.”
Kunal is an unlikely person to be a stand-up comedian. Brought up in a traditional Andhra family in Mumbai, Kunal began with a risk-proof career of a Chartered Accountant (CA). “It took me a long time to understand that I am not cut out for something like CA,” he says. “The moment I realised that I am a creative person, I moved forward in a cautious way. In the sense I would do stand-up on the weekends. But once I got a sufficient income, I started doing stand-up full time [since 2011].”
Asked to describe a day in a full-time stand-up comedian’s life, Kunal says, with a straight face, “Definitely, during the first half of the day I am cleaning my house. Thereafter, I read the newspaper.” 
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

Running Out Of Water

COLUMN: LOCATION DIARY
Director/Cinematographer Sujith Vaassudev talks about his experiences in the films, 'City of God', 'Punyalan Agarbattis' and 'Anarkali'
Photos: Sujith Vaassudev; the poster of 'Anarkali'
By Shevlin Sebastian
Director Lijo Jose Pellissery and cinematographer Sujith Vaassudev were under pressure. During the shoot of ‘City of God’, at Kochi, in January, 2011, they needed to finish a three-day schedule on time so that Mollywood’s leading star Prithviraj could go off for his next assignment.
It was a fight sequence. Prithviraj was supposed to hold off a group of ruffians during a rainy night. “The first two shoots went off fine,” says Sujith. “We shot till 3 a.m.”
On the last night, things were proceeding well. “There were only about 15 shots remaining,” says Sujith. “We knew that if we worked non-stop, till 5.30 a.m., we would be able to complete it.”
However, during one sequence, Prithviraj pushed against the chest of one villain, and then lifted up his right leg, to kick another, when the rain stopped suddenly. His leg, frozen in mid-air, Prithviraj said, “What happened?”
The reason was not hard to find. The water in the tanker lorry had finished. “This happened at 3 a.m.,” says Sujith. “The managers of the shoot had goofed up. They felt that the water would last till the morning. Now we had a dilemma: where to get water at 3 a.m.? We realised there was nothing we could do. Because of that one mistake, the shooting had to be stopped. And we had to wait one month before we could get time again with Prithviraj. This showed the importance of proper planning.”
During the shoot of 'Punyalan Agarbattis', in mid-2013, art director Nathan Mannur did show some good planning, He was told to find an old police station, and he managed to locate one, next to a new police station, in Thrissur district. “There were some rusted cars in the courtyard,” says Sujith. “In one room, there were confiscated knives, cycle tubes, chains, tyres, as well as tables and chairs.”
It was decided to move this paraphernalia to another room, so that shooting can take place. While this was been done, there was a blast. “At that time, we were shooting at another location,” says Sujith.
Soon, the local television news channels, as well as the evening newspapers, mentioned that a shooting crew had burst a bomb. “We got scared,” says Sujith. “If we are accused of a bomb blast, that would be alarming. Three workers had got injured and had been rushed to hospital.”
Investigations finally revealed the answer. In the room, there was a Yamaha tractor engine, which had some petrol in it. “The moment it was lifted, there was a spark and it exploded,” says Sujith. “Thankfully, in due course, all the workers recovered completely.”
Eventually, the shooting took place at another location. Despite these troubles, ‘Punyalan Agarbattis’ did well at the box office.
Meanwhile, Sujith did not feel so well when he was told that the shooting for 'Anarkali' (2015) would take place at the Lakshadweep islands. That was because he did not know swimming at all. But help was at hand. The diving instructors, at the Sandy Beach resort, at Kavaratti, led by Aman, encouraged Sujith to try underwater scuba diving.
So, one day, Sujith wore the suit, flippers, oxygen tank and goggles. And although he initially panicked, when he went down, it ended up becoming one of the most wondrous experiences of his life. “The beauty of the ocean was breath-taking,” he says. “There were so many types of fishes, plants and shells. I never felt so peaceful in my life.”
Later, thanks to this confidence, Sujith was able to shoot the underwater sequences of Prithviraj with ease and comfort. “This is one of the perks of being in the industry,” says Sujith, whose debut film as director, 'James & Alice' has just been released. “You have so many unique experiences.” 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode)

In The Right Lane

The handsome and charming Amol Parashar is hoping to make an impact in 'Traffic', the Hindi-remake of the Malayalam hit
Photos: Amol Parashar, with the late director Rajesh Pillai  
By Shevlin Sebastian
A helmet-less Amol Parashar sets out on his motorbike down a busy Mumbai street. In the distance, he can see a police constable booking riders who are not wearing helmets. Suddenly, Amol sees a boy eating a slice of watermelon. Next to him is a cart filled with watermelons. Soon, Amol gets an idea. The next scene shows him wearing a scooped-out watermelon as a helmet. The cop looks shocked, as Amol drives away, with a smile on his face. This is a 30-second advertisment for Mentos Watermelon flavour gum, which was shown in 2011.
It was this advertisement that the Mollywood director Rajesh Pillai saw and was impressed. So, when he came to select actors for the Hindi remake of his Malayalam hit, 'Traffic' (2011), he asked specifically for Amol.
“And that is how I got the role of Rajeev,” says Amol. “In the film, I am helping a group of people to transport the heart of my dead friend, Rehaan (played by Vishal Singh) to a dying girl who is waiting for the transplant.”
The film, expectedly, is a bit different from the original. “Firstly, the scale is much bigger, because this is a Bollywood film and has a pan-India audience,” he says. “Secondly, there are subtle changes [by Suresh Nair] in the script as well. However, the core essence remains the same.”
The stellar cast includes Manoj Bajpayee, Jimmy Shergil, Divya Dutta, Kitu Gidwani and Prosenjit Chatterjee.
And already Amol is getting a buzz for his performance. None other than Bajpayee, a great actor himself, says, “Amol is a very fine young actor. He could well be the surprise package for the audience. Surely, he will get his due when the film is released [on May 6].”
He might, but at the moment, Amol is trying to get over the shock he felt over Rajesh's untimely death, of cirrhosis of the liver, at age 41, on February 27 at Kochi. “Rajesh was a different director,” says Amol. “He always struck a personal chord with the actors. It took me some time to get used to that. He invited me to Kerala and I visited his family. It became a personal bond, which was beyond work. I used to call him my elder brother.”
In fact, Rajesh gave Amol the role of a glamourous and women-chasing photographer, Arun Iyyer, in the film, 'Mili' (2015). This was Amol's first foray in Mollywood. The film, which starred Nivin Pauly and Amala Paul, did well at the box office.
Asked to list the qualities of Rajesh as a director, Amol says, “He believed in real emotions and stories. He told us he did not want us to ‘act’. Instead, he wanted us to be real and natural and react as we would in real life. What Rajesh wanted was to tell good stories. That was the sign of a good film-maker.”
Amol has also shown signs of being a good actor. Some of the films he has acted in are 'Rocket Singh: Salesman of The year', 'Babbloo Happy Hai' and the upcoming 'Dombivili Return'.
A mechanical engineer, Amol had a deep love for theatre for many years. In 2011, despite having a corporate job, Amol decided to move to Mumbai to try his luck. “Suddenly I got a lot of work – plays, advertisements and films,” he says.
Asked whether it is easy to get roles in Bollywood, Amol says, “You need a lot of luck and patience to get the right part. Sometimes, when the wait gets long, people feel frustrated. So, I have learnt to keep my expectations in check. And I ensure that I do my best in every project.” 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode) 

Going Inside A Well Filled With Snakes

COLUMN: Location Diary
Actor Narain talks about his experiences in the films, ‘Kaththukkutti’, ‘Achuvinte Amma’ and ‘4 The People’
Photos: Narain and Srushti Dange in the Tamil film, ‘Kaththukkutti’; Narain and Meera Jasmine in the Malayalam film, ‘Achuvinte Amma’ By Shevlin Sebastian
In April, last year, the actor Narain was in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. This was for the location shoot for the Tamil film, ‘Kaththukkutti’.
Narain played a character who is fighting for the cause of farmers. But, in one scene, where he is escaping from the cops, the heroine, Bhuvana, played by Srushti Dange, in order that he gets captured, pushes him into a huge well.
The previous day, the crew saw that the well was dry. So they arranged for a tanker lorry to pump in the water.
But the next morning when they came to the well, they saw that there were hundreds of snakes floating about, apart from scorpions. “They had been sheltering in the hollows of the brick wall,” says Narain. “Once the water level came up, they all came out. Till afternoon, the villages had to get into the well and take out the snakes. One villager said, ‘Forget the snakes, have a look at the black scorpions’. I felt frightened.”
Soon, the all-clear was given. As Narain was about to go down, hanging on a rope, a villager said, “I can see one more snake.”
Eventually, Narain remained hanging on the rope, a few feet above the water. “I had to look upwards, since the camera was at the top,” he says. “I did not know whether a snake was going to come up the wall, and attack me. It was a most frightening experience.”
In the end, the shoot went through without any mishap and it was a very relieved Narain who got out of the well. “But I will never forget it,” he says, with a relieved smle.
Like being in the well, Narain was in a financial hole when he set out for the shoot of ‘Achuvinte Amma’ at Kozhikode in 2006. He stopped at an ATM counter to draw some money. But when he used his ICICI Bank debit card, he got a shock to be told that his account was minus Rs 2000. “My calculations had gone wrong,” he says. “I think I had told somebody to put in some money and he had not done so.”
At the shoot, the scene was about Narain taking Achu (Meera Jasmine) out on a treat. “And she is asking me whether I have any money,” says Narain. “And that was when I show her a debit card, and tell her there are thousands of rupees in my account.”
But the card that the crew showed Narain did not look so good. So he asked director Sathyan Anthikad whether he could use his own card. The director agreed. “So when I was giving the dialogue to Meera, and showing my card, I was thinking to myself that just ten minutes ago, I had the opposite experience.”
Narain smiles when he says that. “In an actor’s life, there are many ups and downs,” he says. “You have to learn to go with the flow.”
Going with the flow happened during the shoot of ‘4 The People’ (2004), his second film. When Narain arrived at the location, at Kochi, he was expected to play one of the four heroes. Suddenly, director Jairaj said, “Narain, you will be playing a young cop. But before that, you have to do a screen test.”
Narain felt tense and nervous. Many members of the crew stood around and watched him. Jairaj Sir gave Narain a dialogue on a piece of paper and asked him to say it. “I did so, although it was a tense moment for me,” says Narain.
Nevertheless, Narain passed the test, was selected for the role. Eventually, ‘4 The People’ became a bumper hit, Narain’s role was praised and he established his name in Mollywood. 
(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode) 

Trashing a Home

COLUMN: Location Diary
Director Raja Krishna Menon talks about his experiences in the Bollywood film, 'Airlift'
By Shevlin Sebastian
In November, 2015, director Raja Krishna Menon was shooting a war scene in Jaisalmer for the Bollywood film, 'Airlift'. The film tells the story of the evacuation of 1.7 lakh Indians in Kuwait, following Iraq's invasion of its neighbouring country in August, 1990.
“There were about 50 vehicles that formed a convoy that was taking people from Kuwait to Amman [in Jordan],” says Raja. The production crew had been given walkie-talkies, so that they could communicate clearly with each other. “There were ten of us who were on the same wavelength,” says Raja.
Suddenly one voice could be heard on the walkie-talkie and he kept saying, “Everybody have cool drinks, everybody have cool drinks.” Then he began to give orders to do this and that. “We were wondering what the hell was going on,” says Raja. “A few crew members said, 'Who the hell is that?' My assistant shouted, 'Idiot, we will beat you up'.”
And when this voice carried on, more people began hurling abuses at him. “Suddenly, one of us realised that the voice was familiar,” says Raja. And when Raja looked around he saw that the film's hero, Akshay Kumar, held a walkie-talkie in his hand and a naughty grin on his face.
“Akshay had managed to get hold of one of the walkie-talkies and was pulling our legs,” he says. “All of us had a good laugh about it.”
In the film, Akshay plays millionaire Indian businessman Ranjit Katyal. And he stays in a beautiful and well-appointed bungalow, in Kuwait, with fully-carpeted rooms, with plush sofas and glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. “Akshay told me many times that he loved the house and wanted to stay in one, back in Mumbai,” says Raja.
But, as is inevitable in a war, enemy soldiers entered the house. “I did not tell Akshay anything more than saying, 'This is a scene where you are coming home. And you know that something has happened inside. But I don't want you to see it. Instead, you wait in the vanity van'.”
While Akshay rested, the crew went crazy inside the house. They broke the flower vases, the curtains, cushions and sofas were torn up, while the furniture was pushed to the floor. The chandeliers were destroyed. The glass pieces lay all over the 1600 sq. ft. living room.
“Then I asked Akshay to come in, and the cameras began rolling,” says Raja. “And when he saw the destruction, Akshay looked completely shocked. There was no need for him to act. We just shot him looking dazed.”
It was an expensive demolition. The props cost Rs 35 lakh. “We saved the carpet, because it had a price tag of Rs 8 lakh,” says Raja.
In 'Airlift', several cars and trucks were burnt. There was one scene where Akshay drives out of his house. Just near the entrance, a 1982 Nissan car began burning. Normally, before a car is put on fire, all the petrol is taken out of the tank and gas is used because it is safer. “But, when I saw the fire, I realised that it was not gas, but residual petrol,” says Raja. “The crew thought that this was part of what I had planned, but that was not true.”
A frantic Raja shouted at the crew and they ran up with fire-fighting equipment, and doused the fire. “This timely action prevented the car from blowing up and causing huge damage,” says Raja.
Meanwhile, Akshay returned and said, “That Nissan car bursting into flames -- the timing was great.”
Raja said, “That was not supposed to happen. We were inches close to a disaster.” And that was when realisation dawned on the Bollywood star. 

(The New Indian Express, Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram)

An Unparallelled Talent

The great Malayali cartoonist Toms passed away on April 27, at the age of 87. I had the opportunity to meet him at his home in Kottayam a few years ago to hear his life story
By Shevlin Sebastian
A huge loss of crop his family in Kuttanad suffered in the monsoon deluge that year was what brought young Toms to the nearest coastal town: Alappuzha. There, the affected farmers were being given compensation, and writer N P Chellapan Nair was the special officer on duty. But Nair had yet to arrive.
Toms noticed some people waiting under a tree. This included one of Tom’s former classmates, Eashwara Pillai. “He knew I had sent cartoons to newspapers and got rejected. Just to pull my leg, he asked me ‘What’s happened to all your drawings?’”
Tom replied that talent apart, one had to have godfathers in newspaper offices. “Only then can our creations appear in print. I’m just incapable of mollycoddling them.”
Standing under a nearby tree was a thin man holding an umbrella. “After a while, he came up to me and said, ‘I heard you abusing newspaper people. You write poetry?’”
“No, I do cartoons…very good ones,” said Toms. “But nobody gives me the chance.”
The man said, “I will give you an address and you can send the cartoons there.”
Then he took out a pen and wrote, ‘Varghese Kalathil, Editor, Malayala Manorama, Kottayam.’ At which, Toms said, “Who are you to tell me this?”
In a low voice, the man said, “You can call me Varghese Kalathil.” He was himself the editor of the Manorama Weekly, and had come to Alappuzha to collect an article from Chellapan Nair.
That was how Toms’ cartoon got into the weekly. Soon he was given a regular column. For the next 30 years he contributed to the Malayala Manorama weekly; in 1961, he had become a staffer. And his cartoons revolved around the antics of Boban and Molly.
The ten-year-old twins in the cartoon, in fact, lived near Tom’s house and would go through his garden because it was a shortcut. One day, he befriended them. Inside Tom’s room, they saw a lot of drawings lying around. The twins became regulars at his place, and one day Molly said, “Can you draw me?”
Tom told her to sit down, and did a sketch. “She liked it a lot… Later her classmates appreciated it too.”
This made Boban jealous. Now, he too asked Tom to do a drawing of his. “I did it,” Toms says. “Thereafter, instead of drawing animals, I started drawing the faces of these two and their little antics.”
This strip, ‘Bobanum Molliyum’, became immensely popular and captured the imagination of Malayalis everywhere. “Manorama made me what I am,” he says.
When he retired in 1987, Toms brought out a book on Boban and Molly. The veteran cartoonist then started Toms Publications which continues to bring out Bobanum Molliyum (circulation: 1.5 lakh), Unni Kuttan, Mandoos and Tom’s Chitra Katha.
Asked the secret of his long career, Tom said, “Hard work and passion for the job. I also do a lot of reading and travelling.” 
(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India)