Dubbing artiste Bhagyalakshmi has been a part of the Malayalam film industry for four decades and has lent her voice for actresses including Shobana, Suhasini, Revathy and Urvashi.
As a dubbing artist, she has worked in over 3,000 films, but her catalogue isn’t as robust when it comes to acting. She played the lead in Manassinte Theerthayaathra, but it’s Jude Anthany Joseph’s Oru Mutthasi Gadha that may prove to be a game changer.
She plays Susamma, the mother to Lena. She’s on call to take care of Lena’s grumpy mother-in-law while her daughter is out of town.
“I was never comfortable acting, so I quit cinema, but continued dubbing for actresses,” said Bhagyalakshmi, who started working at 10, to dub for a child actor. “I am not one given to display of emotions and [I] find it difficult to act [in] such situations. I believe in facing life head-on and without relying on the sympathy of others.”
But what attracted her to the role of Susamma was that she could be herself in this role.
“Susamma [lured me] with her individuality, courage and bold attitude and [was] very much like me. She is a positive person who believes in [fulfilling] her wishes on her own. And, she infuses the same spirit in the muthassi who could not be happy since she was holding on to grudges for many things in life,” she added.
Working in cinema today, is different believes this mother-of-two. Melodrama has given way to realistic performances.
“Today actors are expected to behave like a character and not act,” said Bhagyalakshmi who received the Kerala Sahithya Akademy award for her autobiography Swarabhedangal.
But her life isn’t about films alone. Activism comes naturally to her.
Bhagyalakshmi was recently in the news for exposing a 2014 gang-rape incident. The victim, a resident of Thrissur and a mother of two, had been raped by four of her husband’s friends. The victim approached Bhagyalakshmi after watching the dubbing artist’s television talk on sexual abuse and rape.
Bhagyalakshmi’s post on her social media about a policeman asking the rape victim a humiliating and insensitive question — “Who gave you most pleasure?” — went viral.
A fortnight ago, she also called a press conference in Tiruvananthapuram where the victim and her husband (with their faces covered) spoke about the harrowing experience and revealed the names of the four men.
And, one of them was a politician. The policeman and the politician have been suspended from work and party respectively.
While films are a large part of her life, Bhagyalakshmi is actively working towards causes concerning women and the under-privileged.
“I have always believed in women empowerment and this is my life’s meaning,” she added.
