25 years of Sobhana!

I have been having a "Sobhana fixation" ever since I saw her in "April 18"- her debut Malayalam movie as a leading lady; which was released way back in 1984 (I would have been 5 years old then!). The one remarkable scene in that movie is where Sobhana asks her husband Balachandra Menon to adjust the pleets of her sari and he stoops down at her legs and does the job. Menon plays the Sub Inspector of Police in the movie and he says- "No other person will get this kind of luck!" While the sequence was playing in the theatre, my father asked me- "Haven't you seen this happening at our place too?" That probably is the reason why I remember this scene so emphatically.

Over the years, I have seen April 18 umpteen number of times and for a teenager of 14 years, I felt that Sobhana did justice to her debut role. It was followed by impressive performances in Balu Mahendra's "Yathra" and I V Sasi's "Kanamarayathu" (for which she won her first Kerala State Award for Best Actress!). The best thing about Sobhana is and has always been the fact that she can be paired up with any actor and put in any kind of role- she will emerge victorious. At the same time, she could play the love interest of Mammootty, Mohanlal, Rehman, Balachandra Menon, Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Manoj K Jayan, Rajanikanth, Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Sathyaraj, the list is endless...

Though she has flirted with movies in languages other than Malayalam, her strong foothold has always remained in the Malayalam film industry which recognized her abundant talent by providing her with roles of substance one after the other. April 18, Yathra and Kaanamarayathu were followed by memorable performances in Vaasthu Haara, Ananatharam, Ennale, Pappayude Swantham Appoos, Meleparambil Aanveedu, Mazhayethum Mumbe, Minnaminunginum Minnukettu, Sindhoora Rekha, Hitler, Kaliyoonjal, Magalkku, Agni Sakshi and many more.

She also holds the record for having done the maximum number of lead roles opposite both Mammootty (~60 films) and Mohanlal (~30 films). Her pairing with Jayaram is considered the best and the 8 films they did together have all been winners at the Box Office. She has also worked with directors of all genre, moving in and out of films with commendable ease. Her association with directors like Balachandra Menon (April 18), I V Sasi (Kaanamarayathu), Joshi (Mambazhakkalam), Fazil (Manichithrathaazhu), Sathyan Anthicaud (Sasneham), Jayaraj (Makalkku), Priyadarshan (Thenmavin Kombathu), Sibi Malayil (Sindhoora Rekha), Syamaprasad (Agni Saakshi), Kamal (Mazhayethum Mumbe), Bharathan (Chilambu), Padmarajan (Ennale), Mohan (Pakshe), G Aravindan (Vaasthu Haara), Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Anantharam), Thulasidas (Minnaminunginum Minnukettu), Anil Babu (Kaliyoonjal), Siddique (Hitler), Manirathnam (Dalapathy), K Balachander (Rudhra Veena), Revathy Menon (Mitr- My Friend), Pamela Rooks (Dance Like a Man) have all been equally successful.

One of the few actors who could balance mainstream cinema equally with serious cinema, Sobhana's career touched a peak when she bagged all awards in town for her wonderful performance in Fazil's Manichithrathaazhu (1993) including the coveted National Award. The role was later attempted by accomplished actors like Soundarya, Jothika and Vidya Balan in other languages but none of them could match up with Sobhana. She won nation wide recognition once again for her performance as the lonely housewife in Silicon Valley in Revathy Menon's sensitive Mitr- My Friend (2001). Over the years, there have been many performances of hers that are considered classics!

25 years later, Sobhana still continues to enthuse us and picks up those stray roles in films that come her way. Appearances in "Mere Baap Pehle Aap" and "Sagar Alias Jackie Reloaded" may not justify her talent or screen presence but her dance performances always draw full audiences regardless of which city in India she performs in. Her ballet "Maya Raavan" was acclaimed by critics and commoners alike and the talented lady is working on her second ballet rumuored to be based on the life of Lord Krishna. Her fans still tune into Vanitha Rathnam 3 on Amrita Television- a show that she judges and keep looking forward to those odd films of hers, expecting yet another of those power house performances!

Lasting for 25 years as a leading lady and still commanding respect from generations of film lovers is no mean feat and Sobhana, having achieved that, is truly continuing the legacy of her aunts- the timeless Travancore Sisters (Lalitha, Padmini, Ragini). Lets hope that we get to see the beautiful Sobhana more often on screen tackling one challenging roles after another...