Dubai: As Indian actor Jagathy Sreekumar fights for his life following a near-fatal road accident this weekend, his colleagues are in a “state of shock” as they pray for his speedy recovery. Award-winning actor Jayaram, who was shooting with Sreekumar for his next film Thiruvambady Thampan a day before the accident on Saturday, was still grappling with the tragedy.
“More than anybody else, I am the one who can’t believe what happened. Just before we said goodbye to each other on Friday night, we wished each other ‘safe journey’,” Jayaram told tabloid! on Sunday.
Though he was initially reluctant to speak about the tragedy, Jayaram said they parted ways after a productive day of work. In the film, Sreekumar plays Jayaram’s father, and their reunion was touted as a blockbuster in the making.
“After filming scenes, I proceeded to Mysore while he went to his next shooting location. At this time, we can only pray hard for his recovery. What else can we do at this point? I am just shocked. I don’t even know what to say – I don’t even know if it’s even right to talk. Let’s all pray,” added Jayaram.
Sreekumar, who has acted in more than 1,000 films, suffered critical injuries when his car rammed into a divider and overturned near Tenhippalam, in Kozhikode, Kerala while on his way to Kodagu in Karnataka early on Saturday morning.
Doctors on Sunday told press he is stable and has been responding to treatment. “The condition of Sreekumar is stable. He is holding on and responding to medicines well and that is a good sign,” said Dr Abdulla Cheriakkat, Managing Director of Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences where the actor was admitted.
The 61-year-old actor, who suffered multiple injuries to his chest, abdomen, legs, will remain on a ventilator for another 48 hours, reported PTI.
Actor Anoop Menon, who was slated to work with Sreekumar and Mohanlal for a thriller titled Grandmaster, described the comedian as a person with an indefatigable spirit.
“He will definitely bounce back. I know him as a friend and as an actor – he’s a great human being too. I am praying for his health right now. We all are.”
Dubai-based producer Santhosh Kumar, who has produced hits such as Neelatamara, described the comedian as the backbone of Malayalam film industry.
“He’s an integral part of Malayalam cinema. He has given our cinema some of its iconic comic moments - even today people have those witty lines memorised,” said Kumar.
Another UAE-based producer, Naveen Sasidharan, who produced the Abu Dhabi-based tale Oru Marubhoomi Katha, said that he had roped in Sreekumar for his next untitled project starring Mohanlal.
“We were due to begin shoot for it in August in Mumbai. We wanted to re-create the Jagathy-Mohanlal movie magic with my next film. Remember Kilukkam is one of Jagathy and Mohanlal’s landmark films. I hope he recovers quickly,” said Sasidharan.
Actor Indrajit Sukumaran, who teamed up with Sreekumar in hits including Classmates and Meesha Madhavan, is convinced that he will be back on his feet soon.
“He’s a strong man and he will come back stronger,” said Indrajit over an SMS to tabloid!.
