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Remembering a great actor
The souvenir brought out by the P. J. Antony Memorial Foundation is an attempt to strengthen the hold of the legendary actor, P. J. Antony, on our minds. For this, the editorial board members have collected memories from those who knew him, and those who were close to him - in life and death.
However, those who take up the book for a serious analysis of Antony's contribution to Malayalam theatre would be disappointed. There are no efforts in this direction. The editors admit that their efforts have not attained fruition, in its fullest sense. But there are times when efforts are more important than the results.
The souvenir is definitely a collector's delight. It does give an idea about the multi-faceted talents of P. J. Antony. Also, there are some rare photographs, even though most of them are from the films that Antony had acted. Such an effort attains greater dimensions, considering the fact that many from the present generation are ignorant about the mighty presence that Antony maintained over our theatre.
As someone said during a discussion on the theatre held recently in the city, no historian of Malayalam theatre has mentioned about P. J. Antony. He was cherished and promoted by the common man, for whom he created works. He did not associate himself with any of the cliques, so as to reserve a space in the annals of history. Worse, he dared to take on their hypocrisies. So, only the commoner remembered him. And memories about him and his plays perished with them.
This souvenir could end up as an effort to speak about a deliberate silence in our history. Somewhere in the collection, there is a remark that goes like, "had Antony worked outside Kochi, he would have attained more fame and recognition.'' Even if we ignore the constraints of regional politics, the truth remains that Antony was not given his due.
But the editors could have taken more time and effort in chiselling a finer product out of the material they had with them. For, there are many repetitions. Almost all of the articles in the collection mention how P. J. Antony expelled the classical musician and harmonist from the proscenium and breathed in a new life into the Malayalam theatre.
There are also outlines of works done by the Foundation and photographs of the members of the Foundation committee. Both of them look a little bit awkward for those who take up the book to learn more about P. J. Antony, the man and the artist. Even for minor failings like this, the effort is a good one and it should be made available to a wider audience. This is definitely more meaningful than naming roads after him or building statues.
By Anand Haridas
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