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Jayan is once again pursued by Kerala youth
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Jayan, a matinee idol among Malayalee youth in the
'70s is once again creating ripples among his young fans
in Kerala. The comeback by an actor dead and gone 20 years
ago is causing both surprise and sympathy among the public.
Jayan, a former customs officer, made his debut as an actor
in 1974 in the film Shapamoksham, directed by Jessy. After
that, Jayan was thrown upon a tidal wave that took him to
dizzying heights of fame and glory. Once known and ridiculed
for his theatrical expressions and machismo, Jayan was also
a perfect symbol of muscle-flexing heroism.
Directors used his gymnastic physique for showing
scenes in which the macho Jayan, often shirtless,
was either oiling a horse or sparring a black tiger.
Of course, in the later years of common sense and
realistic cinema, Jayan was dismissed with a grin by a
more cynical Kerala audience. Surprisingly, this man is
once again pursued by youth. They even imitate Jayan's 50
cm bell-bottom pants and shark fin collars of his shirt,
in fad two decades back. They dutifully mimic his dialogue
exactly in his heavy bass swinging to a high pitch all
delivered with precisely the same
'I'll-puncture-you' look on the face.
His style back in fad Some of the college campuses in
Kerala even observed the 20th death anniversary of Jayan
by wearing the typical Jayan costume of bell-bottom pants,
tight shirts and dark sunglasses. The college union of one
of the city colleges in Kochi renamed its annual youth
festival as 'Jayanothsavam' (Jayan Festival).
Television channels, including Doordarshan, paid
tributes to the actor by screening a Jayan retrospective.
And an audio tape producer who rightly sensed the fad,
brought out songs with introduction in the voice of the
actor. The tape became an instant hit with over 10,000
cassettes selling within a month of release.
Of the Jayan movies, Sarapancharam, written by
Malayattoor Ramakrishnan and directed by Hariharan
set a new box-office record in 1978. Breathtaking action
scenes, tight and risky stunts and fiery dialogues of
Jayan truly made watching the film a thrilling experience.
Of course, we are talking about an age before John Woo
(Mission Impossible and Mission Impossible-2 fame) and
Dolby Digital experience.
Rumour mills Jayan was linked with the then siren
Seema. One particular rumour went to the extent of saying
that Seema named her son Jayan, much against the wish of
her husband I.V. Sasi. Which was untrue, since Jayan, as
known by his colleagues, had a benevolent soul within him.
Waking up from total penury, Jayan never forgot his past
and kept his cool whenever things went wrong in life. And
kept his head firmly on his head during his heydays.
Director Sreekumaran Thampi fondly remembers when at
a shooting site, Jayan used to get up at 4 am and knock
at all room doors to wake the crew up for that day's shoot.
Keralites had a rude shock on November 16, 1980, when
the news broke that Jayan was crushed under a chopper
that accidentally hit the ground during the shoot. Jayan
was hanging down from the landing bars of the chopper by
rejecting the director's offer for a dupe. He was killed
instantly. Fans fondly remember the coolie Jayan in the
film Angadi (Market), when he stuns a landlord and his
daughter with his fiery English dialogues as a reply for
their rude comments about coolies. No doubt one still would
give the actor a standing ovation for that.
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