Indian expat family in UAE reveals untold stories of actor Sreenivasan, who never carried air of celebrity

Sharjah: For the family of Pooja Jenson, an Indian expat in the UAE, the passing of legendary Malayalam actor, screenwriter, film director and producer Sreenivasan on Saturday goes beyond the loss of a cinematic icon. It is intensely personal.

Her father, Cyriac Philip, a retired assistant bank manager currently visiting Pooja’s family in Sharjah, was Sreenivasan's friend from their college days in the early 1970s, and the families remained close for over five decades back home in Kerala.

“It is a great loss to the Malayalam film industry, but it is a big personal loss to us, especially my father,” Pooja, an admissions officer with a British school in Sharjah, told Gulf News.

“He would have gone to see Sreeni uncle had he been in Kerala. He is still struggling to come out of that grief,” she said.

The friendship began in 1972 at Pazhassi Raja NSS College, Mattannur, Kannur, where Cyriac, who is from Mananthavady in neighbouring Wayanad district, had just enrolled for his BCom degree.

Sreenivasan, who had completed his degree the previous year, had already made a name for himself as the college arts club secretary, known for his comedy and magazine writing and winner of the Best Actor at the Calicut University Youth Festival.

“He was very famous in college," Cyriac recalled. “Then Sreeni came back to the college campus to work as the canteen manager cum cashier. That's when we became friends.”

Cyriac lived in the college hostel with his friend Balachandran, who later moved to Malaysia, and his cousin Mathew. Since there was no mess in the hostel, students had to walk to the college canteen next door, where hostellers maintained accounts. This daily routine brought the young men together.

The trio later moved out of the hostel to VR Nair Lodge, and Sreenivasan became a regular weekend visitor. “He would spend Saturday and Sunday with us. He continued coming to us and even came to my house in Mananthavady and stayed with us,” said Cyriac.

Later, he said, Sreenivasan began teaching at a parallel college in Kuthuparamba. His father and some friends also bought a bus, in which he occasionally worked. Despite his growing commitments, the friendship remained strong.

After completing his degree, Cyriac started working as a contractor in partnership when Sreenivasan was about to join the film institute in Madras, now Chennai, to learn acting.

“He came to meet me before he left for Madras. I did help him in some way,” Cyriac said, without elaborating on the nature of his assistance.

Years later, the friends met again under unexpected circumstances. Sreenivasan came to Mananthavady for a film shoot. If Cyriac's memory serves him right, it was for the movie Ottappettavar, in which the actor had a small role.

“He stayed in the TB (Tourist Bungalow). But he came to my home in the evening. Since I was not there at that time, he passed a message asking me to reach Valliyoorkavu Bhagavathy Temple at 10am the next morning. We met and spent some time together,” Cyriac recalled.

However, the friends lost touch after Cyriac secured a job with South Indian Bank and was posted to Delhi and later Bangalore. The reconnection happened when Cyriac's cousin Metty Grace asked him to invite Sreenivasan as a guest for a Kerala Samajam event in Bangalore.

“I did not know where Sreeni was, and I sent a letter to his Pattiom address,” Cyriac said. “But I didn't get a response for many days, and he didn't come for the event.”

A month and a half later, Cyriac received a call at the bank. He had written his office number in the letter. “He called back and said he was out of station and just got back and read the letter. And then we got reconnected,” he recalled.

Sreenivasan later made up for missing the Bangalore event by attending as a guest at Kerala Samajam in Mysore, where Cyriac had settled after his marriage. He visited again with his wife Vimala and elder son Vineeth when they were travelling to Chennai for Vineeth's plus two admission at an SBI Officers Association School after he completed his SSLC from Rani Jai School in Kuthuparamba.

“They came to our house and stayed with us for a day,” Cyriac said.

Pooja vaguely remembers Sreenivasan's first visit to Mysore, but her memories of his second visit are vivid.

“I was very small when he first came. But I clearly remember the next time when he came with family,” she said. “Vineeth Ettan (elder brother) was very friendly. I remember us going to the park and having popcorn. We also went around Mysore city with them.”

The families remained close, inviting each other for special occasions. “We were so happy when Sreeni came for Pooja's engagement. We were invited for both his children's weddings,” Cyriac said.

“Pooja couldn't make it for Vineeth's, but she and her daughter joined us for Dhyan's wedding.”

Cyriac continued staying in touch with Sreenivasan over the phone, but contact gradually reduced when the actor fell ill. “He stopped attending calls. So, I used to talk to Vimala teacher occasionally. I also used to get updates about him from our common friend Sreenarayanan, who is his neighbour,” Cyriac said.

The last time the two friends met was in August 2023. "We had gone to Kothamangalam when my cousin died. Then I went to meet Sreeni at his house in Kandanad in Kochi. My wife Lizzy, my brother Babu and his wife were with me," Cyriac recalled.

What was meant to be a brief visit turned into a two-and-a-half-hour conversation. "We chatted a lot and took photos. He was very happy and kept talking to us even when he had some difficulty talking. He asked us to stay there, but we had to leave."

During that meeting Sreenivasan discussed a political subject for which he wanted to write a screenplay. “But I don't think that happened. It was a great subject. I wish he could fulfil his plan,” Cyriac said regretfully.

News of Sreenivasan's passing came as a shock to the family. Cyriac sent a condolence message to Vineeth, apologising for not being able to attend in person. “He replied to that,” Cyriac said.

Reflecting on the man behind the legendary screen presence, Pooja said: “Sreeni uncle is the simplest and humblest celebrity that we have ever seen. He never carried an air of his celebrity status around him. You could spend hours listening to him. He behaved like a common man and always wrote about common man's issues and played the roles of common man.”