Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhavgavathar is a bequest to the Malayalam theatre and cinema heritage. With tremendous oeuvre that spans as wide canvases as theatre, stage, vocal and literature, his name needs no introduction to the Malayalam stage and film fraternity.
This is a modest attempt by his grandson, Sunil Elias to paint the vivid aura of the doyen of Malayalam stage and screen. Fascinating accounts of his thespian encounters on stage, screen and life are presented here in as much detail as possible. Precious literatures, photos and memories shared by stalwarts have been included. This web site is dedicated to the fragrant memories he sprinkled on his path to eternity for the coming generations to walk on……….
For this account on his life as an artist, we have relied on facts from his own literature. Bhagavathar himself had ornately described his eventful journey in his autobiography, dedicated to his beloved wife, Marykutty. “Oru Nadante Aatmakadha” ( ഒരു നടന്റെ ആത്മകഥ) is a delectable literary account of his personal as well as professional voyage through the greatest of all stages, the life itself!. Confessing his enticing fascination for theatre, he charmingly narrates his journey in this biography to make it the epitaph of Malayalam theatre of his era. His trysts with the Malayalam theatre was also vividly described in his other literary works such as “Kalavediyil” (കലാ വേദിയിൽ), where he illuminated many facets of bestowing a drama on stage by conscientiously describing nuances of the stage such as organizing drama committees, casting, songs, music direction, rehearsal, light, sound, background score, makeup, advertisement etc. His other work, “Nadakasmaranakal” (നാടക സ്മരണകൾ ), published posthumously by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy in 1986, is a striking recollection of stage plays where he craftily aligns play writers, artists, organizers, producers, harmonists and percussionists by portraying hundreds of stage artists, their life stories and the drama committees is book was published.
Bhagawathar’s first love was always theatre, but as history would account it, it was his brother Alleppy Vincent who introduced him to the filmy world by casting him in his famous film “Jnanambika”. Mr. Vincent wanted to explore the artist in his brother, who had already been accomplished in theatre then. The film became an artistic as well as commercial success, and is still considered a milestone in the annals of Malayalam movie for its cinematography, music direction, sound editing etc. The audience had the first ever fortune to experience the singer in Bhagavathar through his famous solo songs and duets in this film. After his experience with Jnanambika, he continued it with many good movies such as “ Jeevitha Nauka”, which was a major success then, and was shown in theatres for more than two hundred days continuously. The songs of this movie were very popular as well, with the most renowned “Aana thalayolam” which he sang with his daughter, Pushpam is still being played in radios and televisions on request.
His notable works included Navalokam”, penned by Ponkunnam Varkey, which portrayed the hardships and sufferings of the struggling working class. In “Achan”, released in 1952 under the banner of Udaya Studio, his comic role won laurels. Thikkurussi penned for Bhagavathar in “Sheriyo Thetto (1953) where he donned the role of a notorious and unscrupulous moneylender. “Balyakalasakhi”, by Merriland Productions in 1954, “ Snapaka Yohannan” , Minnal Padayali” and “Vidhi thanna vilakku” in 1959 & 1960 also were quite popular amongst his silver screen works.
As you flip the pages of this website, you would realize what Bhagavathar was as a person and his explorations in stage, film and literature. We would be gratified if our efforts lead to further interest in his works and to know him as a person too.