An eccentric journey progressing from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai, Pratap Pothen chiseled his dynamic signature in the film world.
As a debut in Thakara, later extending to become a director, scriptwriter, producer, and ad filmmaker; the bygone era of Pratap Pothen will be remembered for his versatility and a non-conformist attitude which was the need of the film industry in his times.
If it wasn’t for the Tamil director K. Balachander’s appetite for introducing new actors to film, the entire course of Pothen in the acting world would have rarely happened or been different. Accompanying Balachander, Kamal Hassan and Ananthu went to The Madras Players where the three happened to watch G.B. Shaw’s play Androcles and the Lion. Inspired by the performance of the young Pratap, he took his first step in the Malayalam film world with Aravam(1978) directed by Bharathan.
“Luck was definitely on my side. I won a Filmfare Award for the first film I starred in and projects and offers kept coming my way from there.”
Receiving his education in Ooty and graduation from Madras Christian College, Pratap spoke worse Malayalam but had a strong English accent. By then addressed as Pratap by many, he starred in three more films Thakara, Lorry, and Chamaram.
Pothen as a Transition in the Tamil Cinema
The Tamil cinema world analyzed his true potential and extracted the best of him. Even though a slim and bespectacled man, Pratap played the lead role with his co-star Shoba (late) in Aziyatha Kolangal (1979), a coming-of-age film directed by Balu Mahendra. Emerging as a transition in the industry, he quickly made his style of acting visible to the world by strumming a guitar and striking the iconic tune En Iniye Pon Nilave synching perfectly with Illayaraja’s music. A person who wore bell-bottom jeans and dungarees stole the heart of people surrounded with his mind-numbing performance in En Gaanam in the film Eera Vizhi Kaaviyangal.
Image Source: The Hindu
Even as a co-star in films like Nenjathi Killathe, his performance proved to be ideal with the lead role. Pothen mentioned in his several interviews that, “it did not come easy,” and the times when his career panned out.
Other best films that introduced this nonconformist to the cinema world include Moodupani, Varumayin Niram Sivappu, and Panneer Pushpangal. He earned his distinct place in Tamil cinema for the movie Varumayin Niram Sivappu, directed by K. Balachander, which received three Filmfare Awards South and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Pothen : A Controversial Director
Pratap was no stranger to controversies, his film always consisted of psychological narrations and dark, misty settings. His debut as a director commenced with Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai, which straight away won a national award. The usage of Steadicam in Tamil films came with the film Veetri Vizha starring Kamal Hassan, and directed by Pratap Pothen.
Image Source: Indian Express
His famous gesture of wrapping his right palm tightly and beating along the chin is now a trend to denote stress management, the best example being the Tamil movie Padikkathavan starring Dhanush.
Films often raise controversies, Pratap never stepped down even though criticisms from his colleagues overpowered and lost many of his close bonds. Pratap concurred aptly with the psychological elements in movies like 22 Female Kottayam(2012), D 16(2016), Anjaam Pathirana(2020), and Forensic (2020), which were huge success.
An Avant-Garde in Sentiments
Pratap defined his matrimony as ‘a new-gen life of those days.’ With two failed marriages, his concept was vivid when he explained it as “just an adjustment. There is no love, no passion. We prepare a route and try to travel along that path. But it could be boring.”
“All my relationships were experiments in joining together with another person. But those experiments failed.”
But as avant-garde to sentiments and relationships, his films swept across the shores of Kerala with romantic waves. Exemplary films include Rithubetham, Daisy, and Oru Yatra Mozhi.
Honoring his Performance
Associated with more than 100, Pratap also marked his eternal signature in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi movies. He has received National Film Awards, Kerala State Film Awards, Filmfare Awards South, South Indian International Movie Awards, Asianet Film Awards, and Vanitha Film Awards. Physically traveled from the soil on 15 July 2022, his characters and films are engraved in the hearts of his people.
