Amid the clattering of swords and students demonstrating their skills for National Federation Cup Kalaripayattu Championship at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium, there stood a man, free from the aura of stardom, watching the throbbing vitality in those young kalaripayattu enthusiasts.
He is Kishore Kumar G., leading actor playing anti-hero in Tamil. He was in Kochi to watch his son, Vali, contesting in the championship. Hailing from a small town in Karnataka, Kishore Kumar was a lecturer before he became a film actor, and marvels at the way life has changed.
“We used to laugh at people from cities who had ‘walking’ as a part of their exercise regimen,” Kishore breaks into a disarming grin. “But we used to walk wherever we went to our village.”
For him, being localised is equivalent to going back to the roots. That explains his simple attire and down-to- earth behaviour. So, his decision to send his son for kalaripayattu didn’t come out of the blue. “Kalaripayattu is a martial art rooted in our local culture,” he said. “My son and I personally preferred kalaripayattu to any other martial art form. I have never forced my son to do anything. Let him live on his terms.”
Though he has been part of many commercial movies, Visaranai by Vetrimaran is what he likes to call ‘my kind of movies’. Vetrimaran movies are haunting with the shrill realism accompanied by criticism towards the establishments.
“During the shooting of Visaranai, I never used to pick up calls whenever Vetrimaran called,” he recalled. “I was scared of him. The stunt master woke up having nightmares during the shoot. The movie itself was like a nightmare. We were forced to experience those otherwise neglected reality. Its emphasis on reality was depressing.” He is currently working with Vetrimaran for the upcoming movie Vadachennai.
Born into a family of farmers, Kishore shares his dream of organic farming. Farming, for him, is a selfless act. And he has reasons for his love for his type of farming. “It takes seven to eight years for a plant to give us something in return. Within that time, it may become food for pest and worms. The pests have an equal right to live as much as the humans do. So, the survival battle must be fought by the plant alone without the support of pesticides. And he has found a connection to kalaripayattu, too: “It’s similar to the struggle undertaken by a performer for learning kalaripayattu.”
