Right from appearing as a deaf person in his debut film as hero, Oomapenninu Uriyadappayyan directed by Vinayan, Jayasurya, the mimicry artist who turned TV host and then made a transition to cinema, showed he was an actor with plenty of potential waiting to be tapped. Vinayan also cast him in En Manavanil, the Tamil remake of Oomapenninu, released in the same year, 2002.
Jayasurya, who earned a Special Mention from the National Film Jury for his role as a bank manager with a stammering problem in the Ranjith Sankar directed Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam, has now gone one better by netting an international award for Best Actor at the Cincinnati Film Festival for his outstanding portrayal of a trans person in Njan Marykutty, again directed by Ranjith Sankar. The roles in both these films were as different as chalk and cheese and Jayasurya had an opportunity to prove his versatility and range.
In Njan Marykutty
Su Su Sudhi also had veteran actor Mukesh playing himself and it is his character that unravels the story of Sudhi and his speech defect and how he overcomes his stammering and ends up marrying his speech therapist. The role was a challenge for Jayasurya who had breezed through his comedy roles in earlier films but the actor rose to the occasion in splendid fashion vindicating the director’s faith in him. Far from being melodramatic or over-the-top, the film struck a sober note throughout.
Jayasurya’s mandate for Njan Marykutty was even tougher. The film narrated in vivid detail the story of a trans woman who yearns to become a police inspector. Disowned by her family, Marykutty is sheltered by a priest who helps her to realise her dreams.
Jayasurya has confessed that this was one of the toughest roles that he had ever played as he had to convincingly convey the trauma undergone by the character. The film took up cudgels on behalf of the LGBTQ community and made a strong plea to put an end to the stigma attached to its members. While Jayasurya’s performance, which won him the Kerala state award for Best Actor, was overlooked by the National Jury, an International Jury has made amends and accorded him the honour that his painstaking portrayal richly deserved.
A perusal of the actor’s career graph reveals that there were at least two other films where he had well fleshed out roles that were exacting and true tests of his acting mettle. The 2011 VK Prakash film Beautiful, based on a script by actor Anoop Menon, featured Jayasurya in the role of a wealthy quadriplegic who despite his grievous condition that confines him to a wheelchair all the time maintains a sunny outlook on life. How those in close proximity to him endeavour to kill him to steal his wealth formed the crux of the film. With his limbs numb and useless, Jayasurya had to convey a whole gamut of emotions with his facial expressions and eye movements and that was a tall order.
The biopic Captain, which narrated the story of the ill-fated former Indian football captain VP Sathyan who eventually died by suicide, directed by debutant Prajesh Sen, was another film where Jayasurya was saddled with a role that he could sink his teeth into. The Kerala state award for Best Actor was the crowning glory for his efforts that conveyed the twists and turns in the life of the legendary footballer. Jayasurya is also likely to work in a biopic on the legendary yesteryear Malayalam actor, Sathyan.
In Captain
Although Jayasurya had gained recognition as a hero, the actor never fought shy of playing the antagonist and in films like Classmates and Arabikatha (both directed by Lal Jose), Lollipop and Kangaroo he played a scheming villain with aplomb. Most of his initial roles were in slapstick comedies, including films like Swapnakoodu, Pulivaal Kalyanam, Chathikaatha Chanthu, Chocolate, Gulumaal, Amar Akbar Antony, etc. He even played a swashbuckling don in Hotel California. Strong supporting roles came to him in the Suresh Gopi starrer Apothecary and in Cocktail.
Sequels too have been right up his street and the rollicking comedy Punyalan Agarbathis was followed by Punyalan Pvt Ltd. Pretham was another film that had a sequel aptly titled Pretham 2. Aadu Oru Bheegara Jeevi Aanu turned out to be a franchise and was followed by Aadu 2. Aadu 3 too is apparently in the pipeline. Helmed by Midhun Manuel Thomas, the Aadu films were bankrolled by actor-producer Vijay Babu with whom Jayasurya shares a good rapport.
Pretham poster
Jayasurya’s consistent record at the box-office has ensured that he has his plate full. Sufiyum Sujatheyum, a romantic thriller where he is likely to be paired with Aditi Rao Hydari; Ramasethu, a biopic on the Father of the Indian Metro, E Sreedharan; Thrisssur Pooram and Vellam are all on the anvil. Another interesting film that he has signed is Kadamattathu Kathanar based on folklore revolving around a priest who was believed to have possessed supernatural powers.
The actor who has worked with industry veterans like Kamal, Balachandra Menon, Vinayan, Shafi, Rafi-Mecartin and Lal Jose is also a firm favourite of the younger set of auteurs and scriptwriters. Gifted with a good voice, he has also done a bit of playback singing too. Jayasurya today wears many hats and is into film production and distribution as well.
Fully committed to his profession, the hardworking actor is clearly going places and should score in his future projects as well. At this stage in his career he could do well to eschew multi-starrers, especially the no-brainer comedies where his roles may be little more than extended cameos.
CV Aravind is an ex-banker who has been dabbling in journalism for over four and a half decades now. He writes extensively on films and also contributes articles to newspapers and periodicals on a host of subjects. Views expressed are the author’s own.