The posting in the harringtonpostnews.blogpost.com by my
friend about the Karrikan Villa murder led me to think about this murder case
that rocked Kerala. The main gang leader Reni George serving sentence in jail
had led to my over sleeping in a cell in the block earmarked for lifers. My
first outing inside a prison and that too with Mammooty as my cellmate . Yet
another memory that comes is about Thampi Kannathanam ( a big time producer-
director) who is no more). Like anybody arriving in Kerala from Chennai is seen
today as chen -nayi ( wolf) after Covid,
the Karikkan villa case gave all from Madras the title of Madrasile Mon.
Sometime in the eighties , I had to go and restore a house bequeathed to my
mother by my Late father. The tenant refused to vacate the house. I went with
my mother to our house and she said – He is my eldest son. Tenant- Oh,
Madrasile Mon. Do you think you can scare me? I realized that we people in
Madras have this image, like we have in Mumbai – Madrasi. Now is it Covid karan
?.
Getting back to Poojapura Central Jail and Reni George. It was the
shooting of ` Mathilukal’ in the jail. Mammooty told me that I had to be at the
entrance when the cast and crew went inside. I was not shown as journalist as
it will need higher- up permission. The cell block where we set up the unit was
an empty one. Each cell was makeup room, resting room etc. As with director
Adoor’s practice, everybody spoke in hushed tones. Nobody shouted Lights,
Camera, Action and Cut. Most of the time Mammooty was leaning on the jail wall and
smiling and saying dialogues. Sometimes walking. In between breaks, Mammooty came
to the cell where I was sitting on a cement bench (the bed of prisoner). We had
our lunch. We were chatting and having cups of black tea. In walked a person in
convict dress. He and Mammooty seemed to know each other. He asked if everything
was okay. I thought he was a side actor given charge of looking after the unit.
As Mammooty was called for the shot, he told the actor in convict
dress – “Keep him engaged. He is a friend “.
I asked him his name and he said Reni. I asked him if he had any good
scenes. He laughed and said – I am a life prisoner in this jail. I looked
around and there was nobody around. Me
and this lifer in a deserted cell. I cursed myself, as I had said that the
shooting was too boring and not to make me come and see it. Slowly, I asked him
about what was the crime? He said – So, Mammuka has not told you about me. I am
the famous Madrasile Mon of Karrikan Villa murder case. The next line he said
took my breath away. “Time for my prayers. May God bless you, my child,” and
Reni walked away. I just spread my legs on the cement bench and went into a
trance. Visuals of Ravikumar- Raveendran- Mohanlal- Ummer- Sheela from
Madrasile Mon played out in my subconscious. Sound of stick beating on the jail
gate, I heard and when it grew louder, I woke up. A man in Khaki dress with a
stick asked me – Do you want to stay here forever?
The whole crew was waiting at the gate. They cannot go
without leaving behind one person. As I was not a crew member, nobody
remembered me. Only at the gate, they were told that I was missing. Anyway,
later in the hotel room, I asked Mammooty about this Reni. He said that as he
had been coming many days before me, Reni and he became friends. Reni and his
friends were once terror inside the jail and out on parole, he got
`enlightenment’ at a prayer meeting that he thought was a place to hatch a
robbery. Years later, I met Thampi Kannathanam who spoke about his start of
friendship with Mohanlal on the sets of Madrasile Mon. Thampi had acted in the
film. I told him about the meeting with Reni. Thampi said after two years of
the film’s release, the producer Malliath Brothers had a visitor. It was Reni
out on parole. He said pay up for using him and the case for the film. He was
paid Rs 50,000 cash and Thampi says that the money was given to a jail
official.
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