Playing an iconic wife

Prathibha Hari, a politician and social worker from Alappuzha, has no big acting claims to boast of, except a short film called Newspaper Boy she had done once, that too because of her cousins’ compulsion. She played the role of a panchayath president in it.

The scene was small and Prathibha didn’t require much effort to portray the character as she was a panchayath president then.

Prathibha thought it was the first and last time she would act in a film. But, when the role of Katha, wife of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, the doyen of Malayalam literature, came to her, she couldn’t say ‘no’.

“I chose this role because I knew Kathamma very much. Thakazhi chettan and Kathamma’s home is just a few kilometres away from mine. I had seen her walking like a shadow of her husband and had admired her simplicity in life. So, when director Baiju told me about the project and asked me to enact Kathamma’s role, I agreed. He believes that I have some resemblance to Kathamma,” says Prathibha, who is a member of the CPM Mahila Association State Committee.

Since Prathibha knew Katha well, it was a joyous experience for her to do the role. “My bond with Kathamma had got stronger when I became the president of Thakazhi panchayat. She was very old then. Every year, in April, we conduct a commemorative meeting of Thakazhi in his house. All this provided me an opportunity to interact with Kathamma,”recollects Prathibha.

The docu-fiction is titled Katha. It was shot entirely in Thakazhi’s home and Alappuzha and is to be released soon. “I had four days of shooting. I had asked elders in our neighbourhood about the young Kathamma prior to the shoot. That helped me to do justice to the character. I really enjoyed the shooting.  It was a prestigious moment for me be in her home and think and behave like her,” she says.  “It taught me a new lesson too. I realised that people love film stars more than social workers. I have been working for the society since my teenage; however people’s love for me increased after acting in Katha.”

The director is planning to make it as a movie. But, Prathibha is not sure about acting in that. “I may have to spend at least 30 days for the film. For that, I need consent from the party,” she concludes.