Krishnan Balakrishnan can’t tell you when and why he became an actor. He connects it to certain incidents that “might have inspired” him. The winner of the Kerala State Television Award for the best actor for his role in Kali Gandaki, Krishnan has an enviable portfolio, having worked with acclaimed filmmakers such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N. Karun, Dr. Biju, Lenin Rajendran, and Santosh Sivan. Kali Gandaki is the only television serial in his career and he is still trying to figure out how his character, Nakulan, got noticed by the jury. In many of his interviews post the award, Krishnan had mentioned that he should have kept at least a photo or a television grab of the role. “Nakulan is a watchman at an art gallery where the story takes place. He is not the protagonist. However, he has a quirky way of dealing with each character in the serial and perhaps that’s what fetched me the award. That’s only my assumption!” Krishnan says. It was his close association with Madhupal, director of the serial, that landed him the role. In fact, his friends have been the mainstay of his career. “Growing up in Thiruvananthapuram, I met the right people at the right time. My family stayed near a house named ‘Thampu’ where actor Nedumudi Venu chettan and his group of friends-cum-theatre persons got together. Their gatherings piqued my curiosity because the entire neighbourhood used to talk about them. That was a time when theatre was more popular than cinema. Perhaps that’s how I started taking an interest in theatre,” says the 40-year-old. His friendship with Sivakumar, son of actor Krishnankutty Nair, was among the many factors that pushed him further into theatre. And the training ground was theatre doyen Kavalam Narayana Panicker’s Sopanam Institute of Performing Arts and Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram. “They were looking for new faces as many actors had left the institution. My first play was Theyya Theyyam. It was there that I learnt what theatre was about and I became serious about stagecraft. Usually, it takes six to eight years for an actor of Sopanam to be cast in a lead role. Nevertheless, in 1995, a year after I had joined the centre, I played the lead in Poranadi. Thanks to Sopanam, I undertook my first train journey — to Chennai for a theatre festival,” he says. Many foreign trips followed as he went on to act in Malayalam and Sanskrit productions of Sopanam such as Kallurutty, Kalivesham, Apprakan, Madhyamavyayogam, Oorubhangam, Swapnavasavadattham, Charudattam and Prathimanatakam. As his friends’ circle expanded, he ventured into cinema with Oraal directed by Kukku Surendran in 2005. He shared screen space with Mukesh and Shreya Reddy. Krishnan bid adieu to Sopanam the same year because he felt he could not do justice to theatre. However, he could not keep away from the stage for long. He was invited to join Soorya Krishnamoorthy’s newly-launched theatre group and his first work was the acclaimed Melvilasam. “It was a red letter day in the history of Malayalam theatre. Krishnamoorthy sir had roped in the best actors from theatre groups across Kerala. The play received rave reviews. I also acted in his Ente Rakshakan as Jesus Christ,” Krishnan says. Soon, there was a windfall of roles. Adoor cast him in Oru Pennum Randaanum, which was based on stories of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Shaji N. Karun’s Kuttysrank came next. Lenin Rajendran then took him in for his stage shows based on famous poems and as an assistant in Makaramanju. “On the set of Makaramanju, I met Santosh Sivan, who, later, asked me to assist him in Urumi and gave me a small role,” he smiles. Krishnan also has a close association with Dr. Biju with whom he has worked with in Perariyathavar, Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal, Kaadu Pookkunna Neram, Painting Life and Veyilmarangal, which is currently being shot. Among his other films are Thriller, 24x7, Friday, Left Right Left, Pinneyum and Minnaminungu. He is also acting in Shankar Ramakrishnan’s directorial début, Pathinettam Padi. “I might have done hardly 25 films and not all roles were significant. But I haven’t been typecast. I am proud that even if I was in one scene, I had put in my best. Short films such as Frog, Mouse Trap and Ranthal also gave me a lot of appreciation,” he emphasises. A theatre activist, Krishnan was among those who were instrumental in developing Manaveeyam Veedhi in the capital city as a cultural corridor. “It has evolved as a platform to showcase art, be it drama, music, fine arts, poetry... It has become a brand in itself and that is a dream come true for me. It was indeed overwhelming when I was felicitated at the same space by my friends and well-wishers after I won the award,” he says. Krishnan reiterates that the award hasn’t changed anything. “It is not the summit for me. I am part of a race and I have to keep on running to stay in the industry.” So what keeps him going? “There is that moment when I am about to get on the stage or face the camera. I am then in a particular state of mind; it’s like meditation. I still go through that phase and that is important for me. Acting is also about breaking free of one’s inhibitions. One has to keep on doing that,” he says. Krishnan doesn’t rule out directing a play or film in future. “I am more confident now than I was earlier.” Summing up, Krishnan says, “Sopanam has played a major role in what I am today. I was also moulded by the people I have met and the places I have been to. But the learning is not over yet.” On June 26, watch him play Panchuruli in Kavalam’s Kallurutty at ‘Kavalam Mahotsavam’ at Sopanam Auditorium, Kollam. Time: 7 pm.

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