Sheela’s 60 years of Malayalam film acting. She was the first woman to write, screenplay and direct a film in South India. Sheela opens her mind to the ups and downs alone.
Sheela starred in Bhagyajataka in 1962. Sixty years. Sheela is still the only Malayalam actress in Malayalam cinema. About 500 films in various South Indian languages. About 300 roles in Malayalam alone. She was the only heroine who was paid more than the hero at the time. Sheela is the first woman in South India to write, screenplay and direct a film on her own. She has directed two films in Malayalam. He has written scripts for three films. He has published over thirty short stories and two novels. Is a painter. After a gap of 22 years, she returned to acting and won state and national awards for Best Actress. Sheela lives in a spacious house called ‘Sheela Castle’ in Mylapore, Chennai with her son George Antony, daughter – in – law Smitha and grandchildren Athena and Adria.
She has always been a fan of filmmakers. But what did Kerala give back to Sheela? Only one JC Daniel Award too late in 2018. Prem Nazeer and Sheela are the most acted couple in the world. Prem Nazeer was honored with the Padma Bhushan by the country forty years ago. But Sheelamma, who holds that Guinness World Record, has not been awarded a single Padma Shri to date. However, this evergreen heroine is remembered and revered more than the recipients of the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan. Seen for this interview, their cradle brother George is in bed. Two days later, Sheelamma announced the news of her death. They said, ‘George’s death was a great shock. He did not think he would go so fast. Anyway I wrote a will years ago. I have to be buried in the electric cemetery after my death. The ashes should be distributed in Bharathapuzha. ‘
Highlights from the conversation with Sheila:
First Studio and Studio Experiences
The first film ‘Pasha’ was shot at Vahini Studio in Madras. See five or six acres. There is no information other than that it is a big place. It’s amazing to remember now. Maintaining so much space means … ten to fifteen floors. There will be ten shootings in different languages at the same time. In those days we were called caravans of trees. We are all sitting under a tree. Now there is no Vahini studio, no Udaya studio. It’s terrible to see all those places. My lucky studio was Gemini. The indoor shooting of ‘Shrimp’ was there. In the scene where Madhu and I finally hugged, it was shooting on the terrace of our apartment. There is some flour in the back of that house. The terrace had all the peaks. That’s where the scene was taken.
While living in Ooty, his father died and his mother and seven siblings struggled to survive. To support the family, the second daughter, aged thirteen, signed a contract to act in a play – that’s how Sheelamma’s acting career began. ?
SS was one of the great actors of the time. Rajendran and his wife Vijayakumari. Their play takes place in Ooty. We went to see the play. SS Rajendran’s first wife Pankajam is a Malayalee. Mother told them of our suffering. They looked at me and asked: ‘Will she act in the play?’ The mother said: ‘Oh, I will act.’ ‘Then I can go to Chennai and write a letter.’ They said. I was angry when I heard that. When I returned, I shouted at my mother. ‘Why did my mother say I would act? I do not know how to act, I do not like it. ‘ ‘Then tell me, how do we maintain this family?’ The mother asked back. A week later their letter and ticket money arrived. My mother and I went to Chennai. So he joined SSR’s theater company.
Memories of the first play?
The title of the play was ‘Raja Annamalai Mantra’. The character is the daughter of a sculptor. No more conversations. A king would come and look at the sculptures and say to me, ‘This sculpture is good.’ Then the sculptor will say, it’s not the sculpture, it’s my daughter. The first show of the play was near Paris in Chennai. MGR and director T.R. Ramanna had also come. They liked it when they saw me. They talked. It confirmed me on that stage for the next film to be directed by Ramanna. He was only thirteen years old. My play ended the day I debuted.
The first days in front of the camera?
Pasham was shooting in Telugu and Tamil at the same time. Telugu starring NTR and Sharda in the first shot. Tamil where MGR and I act in the same light in the next shot. She will tell me to look at Sharda and act. The MGR set never spoke to me. But talk to mom. He said: ‘Listen to the name Sheela. It is very small. I have a cousin – Subhadra Devi. Let’s put that name ‘. Then my mother said, ‘We came here to act against everyone in the country. If the name is changed, they will not understand that Sheela acted. ‘ ‘Then let’s call her Sheila Devi,’ he said. So my name was Sheila Devi in that movie. Her full name was Sheila Celine. Celine is my dad’s mother. I am the second child of my father and mother. Chechi Saranya and I were ten years apart. He has two brothers and eight sisters. Three died at a very young age. My sisters are Anita, Shobha and Latha. Brothers George and Peter.
He acted with Chief Ministers MGR, NTR and later Jayalalithaa.
I did not know MGR and NTR then. I have never seen any of their movies. No news read. So I had no fear. MGR’s ‘new land’ after ‘Pasha’. It’s the ‘money garden’. There were only two or three scenes in it. At that time I had a lot of movies in Malayalam too. The shooting is according to MGR’s call sheet. Producers say you should not go to another movie until you get it. But I went to Kerala as Sathyan Mash and other great Malayalam artists were waiting at the location for the outdoor shooting.
To the great annoyance of the MGR. He acted in two scenes in total. That character was truncated. With that, I had some difficulty with MGR.
However, MGR once came to my house when I was CM. Jayalalithaa was at home then. After talking for a while, he left. When I got home my driver told him:
‘My daughter’s wedding is sir …’ There will always be someone named Madhavan with MGR. I immediately told him, ‘Get the address.’ The driver’s daughter’s wedding jewelry was donated by MGR.
Although he first acted in ‘Pasha’. Released is ‘Lucky’. How do you remember the first hero?
Sathyan Mash gave me the confidence to act. One of the unforgettable memories is that ‘Shrimp’ went to a meeting with Sathyan Mash last time. Near the beach in Thrissur. A large crowd. At that moment, someone ran up to me and hugged me. Is tight. Sathyan came quickly and pushed him down and kicked him four or five times in the chest. That was the day I met Inspector Sathyan. Until then I know someone who does not even speak loudly.
The decision to end the movie?
The movie stopped me enough. I was so tired. I wanted to see a world other than this one. Within a month of giving birth to Monet, she starred in the movie ‘Chuck’. I acted in the movie ‘Kanyaka’ till the eighth month of my pregnancy. The day I decided to stop acting in the film, I went straight and bought Arakilo Mysore Pak. He had not eaten anything until then, thinking that it would keep the wood. To this day, I have no life without sweets.
Where are my aunts and uncles now?
Chechi Saranya was looking after all my things. Chechi was married off in Salem. She had been in treatment for some time to have a baby. Suddenly one day she had a stomach ache. The man died on the way to the doctor. Was tubular pregnancy. The body was brought to this house. Then I became the one who had to look after everything in the house along with my busy acting. That day Jayalalithaa would ask me: ‘How do you look at all this together?’ That. Later I asked them back if the person who asked that question was not looking at the whole country now.
I no longer have a birth, I experienced everything as a mother, sister and wife. I haven’t told you about my dad yet. About Ravichandran. Let me tell you now. Ravichandran has acted in super hit films. Pictures that ran for 250 days. But it was alcoholism that ruined Ravichandran’s acting career. She came to act in Malayalam when the market in Tamil was declining. He quarreled with his wife and got a divorce. There were three children in that relationship. We acted together in the movie ‘Omana’ directed by JD Thottan. In the group that spoke, I was told that the aunts’ wedding was over. If the mother is in bed that day. J.D. Thottan and Ravichandran were close friends. Thottan asked, ‘Your wife is gone and Sheelamma is alone. Can’t you get married?’ Then Sethumadhavan and MO Joseph insisted. That’s how the wedding ended. Ravichandran had not lived with me since my son was born. There is another house. Will go there. I will not agree to stay there. It is said that one can stay here. But I will come here and go there in two days. His mother and sister were in T Nagar. It was only later that I came to know that Ravichandran had another family. Then I said, I will not live with you anymore. Two and a half years later we separated. I’m married a lot of people. But my marriage alone was not right. Other than that, I’m happy about life.
English Summary: Actress sheela, 60 years in Film industry