Non-stop entertainer

MEET MADHU Mohan, the man who revolutionised the concept of television production. He is writer, director, chief make-up man, producer and lead actor, all rolled into one.

Says Madhu, who is supported by a loyal band of technicians:"I do not depend on unions for a workforce. Besides state-of-the-art studios, shooting houses and equipment in Chennai and Calicut, I have permanent staff and each of them is trained to do more than one job. I give them work throughout the year in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi serials and films. I take care of their interests and we work like a family. Some of them have even discarded their union membership, which speaks volumes about their pleasure working with us," says Madhu Mohan, whose latest serial 'Edir Neechal' is being telecast on Jaya TV.

But he is more popular in Kerala and is a household name there. "Over the last 14 years not a day has passed without the telecast of my Malayalam serial. I have produced more than 2000 episodes for Doordarshan, Trivandrum, till date, and another 1000 episodes in Tamil. In fact, I was one of the earliest to jump into television software production.Basically, I am an actor. The other responsibilities were thrust on me by circumstances," he says with a smile.

He developed an interest in acting during his student days and won several prizes in college. After graduation, he moved from Palghat to Delhi to work in TELCO, but yet continued to participate in drama fests, conducted by local associations in Delhi. "Marriage brought me to Chennai and television. Doordarshan had just started telecasting 13-part serials. I acted in some of them and became a producer.

I started with Sivasankari's 'Mookanankayaru' and went on to do Balakumaran's 'Irumbu Kutharaigal', 'Aadivarum Thennai' etc. In Malayalam, 'Manasi', a mega soap made me popular.

The actor-director is now coming up with another mega soap 'Satya Maindan', a serial on the life of M.G. Ramachandran. "I am playing the role of Gopala Menon, father of M.G.R. The serial deals with hitherto unknown facts about the childhood of MGR. The Kerala portions of the shoot are over. We will be shooting in Sri Lanka and other places in Tamil Nadu in our next schedule."

Madhu Mohan wants to prove his mettle in G.V. Iyer's 'Ramakrishna Paramahamsa' in Hindi. "I play the role of the great saint."

Besides, he is also producing a mega-serial 'Indulekha' in Malayalam, directed by renowned film-maker, M. T. Vasudevan Nair.

M.L. NARASIMHAM

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