Cinema was a passion. So, although my father had his own tailoring shop at Balaramapuram, I met actor Madhu and requested him to give me a job in his Uma Studio. By then I had dropped out of Class eight and was assisting my father. But I was star struck. Madhu sir was kind enough to give me a job. I had to water the garden, keep the place clean and so on. After a while, I realised that instead of doing odd jobs, I should ideally be learning my father’s profession. Since I knew the basics, I went back to my father’s shop and learnt cutting and tailoring from him.
However, the cinema dream had not come to an end. I went to Chennai and began working with costumers who would make the dresses for song and dance sequences. Even leading stars had their clothes tailored by veterans on the set who knew exactly what the director and the actor had in mind. So I began working with a master like that. I have tailored costumes for all the big stars of Malayalam cinema, right from Prem Nazir to Mohanlal and many of the young stars of today.
Why, I have done the tailoring for Mr. Fraud too. Now, of course, Mohanlal has his own designer. But I began tailoring at a time when there was no such concept of an individual costumer for the stars. So, for both actors and actresses, we would tailor their costumes. At times, we would not even have their measurements. We would have to make an inspired guess and do the work. However, I manage to get it right.
For the last 20 years, I have been working for award-wining costumer S.B. Satheeshan. I prefer working in a team to leading one myself. My first major work in such a team was for Priyadarsan’s Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu . I enjoyed the work and very soon I was part the team that functions on the sets. I worked for many Priyadarsan films. We would be given the designs by the costumer and we had to tailor it like that.
At present, I am working for Rajesh Pillai’s Mili . The leading stars have their own costumers now. So we make the clothes for all the other actors. Our caravan, a makeshift one with sewing machines, is on location to make alterations or tailor clothes as and when required. Satheeshan is the costume designer of this film. I have been working with him for the last 20 years.
It has been a great experience. I did try leading a team as chief for Shaji Sir’s [Shaji N. Karun] film Swaham . A few films followed but working in a team is what suits me. Of the many films I worked with Satheeshan, one of the biggest was Yugapurushan .
I am 55 years now. My wife, Sudhakumari, and daughter Rajitha continue to stay in Balarampuram. It has been a interesting journey and I would not want to change it in any way.
(A weekly column on the men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
