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29th Jan 1:30 pm… I was out with my friends and Amma called me up to inform me about the demise of Bharath Gopi. The news gave me a shock and its strange that I feel this deep sadness nowadays when I hear such news …may be the closer i get to movies the more it hurts… I almost feel as if I have lost someone dear to me!!! I enquired immediately if it was his Paralysis that could have resurfaced and caused it !! No it was an attack she said.
I have lived most part of my life outside my home state of kerala, and never had a chance to actually see many of Gopi sir’s movies. I wish I could write and discuss extensively about him and give him the rightly deserved ode in PFC. But I know his work only superficially
So what I present here is a collective view and info that I received from many who have been Gopi sir’s fans and have extensively followed his work !!

I had my first ever discussion about this “actor par excellence” with “kuttan” our helper in kerala who had moved with my grand mother to our house as a 10 year old boy and has ever since been with us. I remember him describing a scene where Gopi sir would enter the screen as a servant and serve the entire course on the table for a lunch or dinner as if he was serving it for his master, placing things so perfectly and then standing back to judge his work … a sigh of appreciation… and then he would come out and have the meal all by himself!!! I could not find anything funny in it but kuttan would always break into a laughter every time he would describe this scene to anyone. I wondered how such a scene could be remembered and on retrospect even cause such a laughable moment!!! It was no doubt the actor at his best getting into the skin of the roles that he played!! Kuttan would have visualized himself on screen as the scene played and I am quite sure he would have dreamt of dining on the very table on which he served food for my grand father!!!
Born in the year 1937 as V Gopinath Nair in Thiruvanathapuram, He started of his career in movies with Adoor sir’s movie “Swayamvaram” and then went on to act as Shankaran kutty in the movie that earned him his name “Kodiyettam Bharath Gopi” … he was graced with the Silver lotus for his role in the same movie. The whole state celebrated the arrival of this acting talent and the career looked at greater heights. He went on to act in movies like Kallan Pavitran, Ormakkayi ,Ente Mamattukutti Ammakku, Eenam, Ettillam, Kattaththe Kilikoodu, Chidambaram etc over the next few years winning awards for almost all the roles that he touched. I remember my father announcing at the dining table that Gopi was probably today’s answer to the yesteryear’s Satyan.
Inspite of his late entry into films Gopi had managed to stamp his presence in the industry within the first few years of his arrival. 70 s and 80s of the Malayalam film industry was probably the greenest phase in its history. Malayalam cinema had managed to carve its own form in these years and it was during this same period that it found gems like “nedumudi venu” “thilagan” “murali” “jagathy” “mohanlal” … the list could only be topped with a name like “Kodiyetum Gopi”!

He lived the roles he played and Fate had other plays unfolding, almost at the peak of his career he had a stroke in the year 1986 which left him paralysed. This caused him to stay away from his passion for almost five years. Hitting bottoms no one could even imagine. The industry preferred to move on. A pitiful state for any artist let alone a man of his caliber. “Revathikku orru pava kutti” (a k a ‘a little doll for Revati’) was actually said to be his last movie as he was paralysed just after that and Sathyan Andhikad the director of that film recollects Gopi telling him “njyanum orru pava aye” (now .. even I am a doll) as he rested numb in his house.

After a Bsc from Kerala University, Gopi worked in the electricity board during his early days. He got the taste of theatre at a very young age but refrained from being actively involved in it till he completed his studies. In the late 50ies he along with G Shankaran Pilla formed the drama troup “Prasadhana little theatres”. They tasted success together even though Gopi was against Shankaran Pillai’s western influences, as he strongly believed that it wasn’t right for the kerala audience.
Thabalist Ayyapan of “Yavaniga” and Mamachan of “kallan pavithran” are the characters that come to my mind when I think of this thespian.
He was acting in Balachandra menon’s “de ingottu nokiye” when he passed away. Mamooty said to the press that Gopi sir wanted to narrate a story to him which Gopi sir himself believed would bring a change in Malayalam cinema and Gopi sir also had plans of directing the same. He had directed 5 movies till then.
He had inaugurated an ambulance of the KIMS hospital three months before his death and the doctors recall him saying that he dint expect to use the same ambulance so soon when he was taken in it to the hospital just before his death.
With an active period of just 12 years in the film industry Bharat Gopi has probably given the most one can give in that short period to any form of art.
He leaves behind a rich body of work for us to study and understand, he will live in us for ever through the characters that he has essayed !!! He will live for me as a ‘shankarankutty’ or an ‘ayyapan’ or even the ‘mamachan’!!!

Thank you sir … we will miss you !!!