Ask a Malayali if he/she knows Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai and in all probability, the answer will be a resounding 'no'. Ask the same person about Dileep, and the answer will be in the affirmative, as if he is an acquaintance.
Still, the mighty William Shakespeare asked, 'What is in a name?'.
In a story that's nothing short of a thriller, the name Dileep is the story of a man who rose from nothing to conquer the Rs 675-crore Mollywood. Maybe, the glory and power got the better of Dileep, or a humble Gopalakrishnan, who always enjoyed entertaining those around him.
Once a people's hero, Dileep, fondly called 'Janapriya Nayakan' (most popular hero) by his fans, has finally turned villain with his arrest in the February 17 actress attack case. But the life of Dileep turns out to be more racy and thrilling than a potboiler.
Though Gopalakrishnan started his film career as an assistant director, what paved his way into the filmdom was his tryst with the art of imitation or mimicry. In his early days, the actor assisted director Kamal in various films including Ulladakkam, Vishnulokam, Ghazal and Champakulam Thachan. During the period, he also secured small roles with the help of Kamal and others, who unraveled the 'flexible actor' in him.
Gopalakrishnan was set rolling through the 1994 hit movie Manathe Kottaram, directed by Sunil, in which the actor played the lead role of Dileep, who aspires to become an actor. However, his first break came through the movie Ee Puzhayum Kadannu in 1996, directed by Kamal. This was closely followed by Sallapam, directed by Sundar Das.
The box office successes of these films helped the actor to anchor his position in the Malayalam film industry. In 1998, Dileep married his co-star Manju Warrier, who was then at the peak of her career.
The birth of the new millennium saw hits such as Mister Butler and Darling Darling. The following years saw a series of box office hits like Ee Parakkum Thalika (2001), Ishtam (2001), Mazhathullikkilukkam (2002), Kunjikkoonan (2002), Meesa Madhavan (2002) and Thilakkam (2003).
Soon, his films became the biggest family entertainers of the time. With slapstick comedy and love stories, the actor turned women and children his biggest admirers. A middle-class family's entertainment budget during festival seasons was incomplete sans a Dileep movie. Instantly, he became the youth's hero who could be any one's neighbour and hence, fondly called 'Janapriya Nayakan'.
Dileep's willingness to take risks, unlike most of the actors in the Malayalam cinema, ensured he was en route to stardom. His decisions and adaptability to new situations surprised the public and industry alike.
Perhaps, it is quite rare to find someone like Dileep in any industry—always willing to take risks for those depended on him. His first production—Johny Antony's CID Moosa—a project that many feared would fail, had a dream run in the box office.
Even at the peak of his career, he did not hesitate to do side roles such as those in Thenkasipattanam and Twenty-Twenty, which had won people's appreciation and industry's respect alike. He took calculated risks and came to be known as the daredevil, producing and acting in films which no one dared to touch.
His masterstroke came with Twenty-Twenty, the multi-starer film which he produced and instantly, turned savior to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), the Malayalam actors' body, when the organisation was in severe financial crisis.
With this, he cemented his influence and his empire expanded rapidly. He became an influential member of Kerala Film Producers' Association (KFPA), Kerala Film Exhibitors Association (KFEA) and Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA). He even created a new exhibitors association, Film Exhibitors United Organization of Kerala (FEUOK), over a dispute with some exhibitors in KFEA. He was the the founding chairman of the group of 64 theater owners.
Meanwhile, in early 2000, he had turned his eyes to real estate and hotel businesses. As an investor, he never hesitated to take the leap of faith. Of course, he was an ambitious artist who never liked to taste failures.
Even after the attack on the actor, which had sent shockwaves across the state, the actor did not appear shaken. He was quick to come out in support of the actor and added that the film fraternity, including himself, shared the victim's pain.
He appeared calm and composed even during AMMA's solidarity meet, held in Kochi. Maybe it is this never-say-die attitude that fooled even his close friends, including Salim Kumar, Nadhirshah and AMMA president Innocent, who staunchly stood by the actor even as the media cried foul. They never suspected Dileep until the news of his arrest broke on Monday evening.
Most of them were and are still in shock. Those who fiercely supported him in the AMMA meeting suddenly fell silent. His co-stars who had vociferously vouched for him faced the media with trembling voices. The fall of the man, who was a king-maker once upon a time, had by then shattered their trust—for this scar is too deep and grave to heal anytime soon.
-The article first appeared in onmanorama
