Fallen Leaves - Chapter 7
Adam Ayub
My second foray into the world of cinema was a celebrated affair. All my friends had come to the railway station to see me off. They wished me good luck and hoped that I would come back a star! As the train chugged on the tracks towards Madras, my imagination was rushing even faster into the future. By the time the train reached Madras the next morning, I had already become a super star in my imagination!
I rented a room in a lodge near the railway station. The Institute was situated in the sprawling compound of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, near the Gemini circle. It housed the offices of the Chamber, a preview theatre and the recording studio of HMV, besides the institute. There were about forty students from the four south Indian states. Our principal was Mr. Raja Ramdas, who had a Master’s degree in cinema from the University of California. We had both theory and practical classes, and individual teachers for each language. The lecturer for the Malayalee students was Mr.Prabhakaran, who had attained his diploma from The Film & Television Institute of India, Poona. Most of the students were from good financial backgrounds. Since there was no official hostel, all the students were staying in private accommodations. I could not continue in the lodge for long, paying daily rent.
By this time, I had become friendly with my classmate Raveendran Vakkanadu. He and I were the only college graduates in the Malayalam batch. Others like James, Francis, Indra Balan and Rajkumar all had either Secondary or Higher Secondary school qualifications. Raveendran was staying at Uma Lodge in Kodambakkam. I relocated into that lodge shortly thereafter. It was a haven for struggling actors and those who were trying to enter the film industry as assistant directors, writers and so on. They had all come from Kerala, hoping to make it big in cinema someday. They were all strugglers who had big dreams and empty pockets. They spent the days scouting for chances, meeting producers and directors, wandering the streets of Kodambakkam, braving the scorching sun, and returning to their rooms at night with broken spirits and tired bodies. At night, they’d sit around and recount their experiences. Most of them went to bed on empty stomachs. One of the lucky ones among them was Mr. Innocent. He had a business back home. During the period of my short stay there, he had bagged a notable role in the film “Urvashy Bharathy”, directed by Thikkurissi. Though he had only a couple of scenes in it, he was ecstatic about it. When he came back after shooting, everybody assembled around him to hear his experience. He regaled everybody with his characteristic jokes in the Trichur dialect. He became the star of Uma lodge, as the first one to bag a notable role in a film. Yes, I am talking about the same Innocent who is a star comedian and character actor today. I did not have much association with Innocent as I stayed in the lodge only for a week. I moved into a Malayalee’s house in Nungambakkam with my other classmates, as a paying guest.
Four of us were staying there. James and I were in one room, and Francis and Indra Balan in another. It was at this time that a new girl joined our class as a late admission. Though she came from Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, she was a Malayalee. She was a very short and thin girl, but she had a beautiful face. Her name was Rajani. (Name changed) There were only four girls among thirty six boys. Rajani had bright mischievous eyes and full pouting lips. She was aware of her good looks and flirted freely with the boys. My friend Rajkumar fell head over heels in love with her. But she did not seem to want to be confined to one person. She did not reciprocate the way Rajkumar wanted. It was at this time that an incident happened in our residence. The head of the house where we were staying as paying guests, was a nice man during the day. But as night fell, he’d become drunk. Most nights, he used to come home in a highly inebriated state. Fortunately, we used to go to bed early after closing the doors of our rooms firmly.
One night, he came home in the worst condition ever. He started shouting and abusing his wife. We heard kitchen vessels and utensils being thrown and smashed. It was as if a war was going on outside our room.
We were lying still in our beds, not daring to stir. After some time, the chaos subsided. But then the worst thing happened. He came to our door and tried to open it. Finding it locked, he started peeing onto our door. The urine flowed into our room like a small puddle from beneath the door. The stench was unbearable but we held our breath. We could not sleep the rest of the night. I decided immediately that I was not going to stay there even for one more day.
I had to find an alternate accommodation urgently. Next day, I told Rajani of my predicament. She said she could arrange accommodation for me if I came alone. I agreed.
She gave me an address and asked me to go there next evening to see the room. She had some connections with a missionary school. She was staying on the upper floor of a part of the school office. She was staying there all alone. An Ayah used to come and sleep there at night as a sort of company and protection for her. She had told me she could arrange for me to stay in one of the staff quarters. By the time I reached her place, it was late evening. She was waiting for me. She said that the accommodation she had in mind for me was in another building, located farther away. She told me that the Ayah would come to take me to the place and show me around. Though night had fallen, she had not switched on the lights. She was staying on the first floor. The light from the street lamp, streaking through the window, gave an unusual glow to her eyes. She showed me around. Then she took me to her bedroom.
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