THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the hails to Lord Ayyappa fill the foggy days and nights of ‘Vrishchikam’, Hari often takes that trip up the hills of memory. He would search on the age-laden face for vestiges of the graceful eighteen-year-old, who had dressed up as Lord Ayyappa and rode a ferocious tiger.The first movie to be made on the legend of the adolescent god and his abode, ‘Sabarimala Sree Ayyappan’, is part of the history of Malayalam film industry. Yet, few would recognise the septuagenarian Hari, who lives a quiet, retired life in a rented house at Pappanamcode, as the boy whose charm on the Eastman colour reel was befitting of a deity. Film buffs and old-timers would better remember Harikesan Thampi, who refused to adopt a screen name and settled on the shortened version, as the lead actor of the National award-winning Malayalam movie Manimuzhakkam (1976). His histrionic talent was spotted quite early on by the legendary P Subramaniam, who owned the Merryland Studio. When a sprightly eight-year-old Hari was roaming the sandy courtyards of a temple near his childhood home atSasthamangalam, acting out imaginary tales, little did he know that a pair of discerning eyes was trained on him. “I had watched very few films and had absolutely no idea what was going on when I acted as a child artist in ‘Avakashi’, the 1954 movie which had Prem Nazir in the lead,” remembers Hari. “But, I had offers coming in plenty and went on to do movies such as ‘Sree Harischandran’ (1955), ‘Seetha’ (1960) and many others. Even when I donned the role of Swami Ayyapan, I was only doing what I was told,” he laughs in his baritone, which sounds distinctly familiar. ‘Sabarimala Sree Ayyappan’ was directed by the South Indian director Sreeramulu Naidu under the banner of ‘Sastha Films’. The elaborate set for the movie, which included forests that Hari would wade through on a trained circus beast, was laid in Pakshiraja studio, Coimbatore. The movie ran to packed theatres throughout the Sabarimala season, remembers Hari.“In 1975, Merryland Studio produced the super hit movie ‘Swami Ayyappan’ and Subramaniam sir himself directed it. He invited me to do the role of Narada Maharshi. I was also part of the cast of ‘Sree Ayyappanum Vavarum,’ released in 1984. Having greyed by then, I was given the role of the Rajaguru. I would like to believe that it was by some will of the providence that I came to be part of all the major motion pictures made on Swami Ayyappan,” Hari smiles. His last screen appearance was in 2009 for the movie “Igneyaum Oral’ directed by Kabir Ravuthar. Hari’s voice has, however, breathed life into scores of characters played by Devan and Captain Raju. The voices of actors such as Tamil superstar Jayasankar and Bollywood doyen Shammi Kapoor when they acted in Malayalam movies were also Hari’s. A trip to Sabarimala was part of his annual calendar ever since the screen incarnation as Ayyappa.While ‘Swami Ayyappan’ was in the making, P Subramaniam formed the Subramaniam Religious Trust, which built the Swami Ayyapan Road to make the journey to the Lord’s abode less arduous for pilgrims. The Devaswom officials had invited thewhole crew of the movie for a felicitation at the temple. “That was when I had the first breathtaking view of the hill, the valley and most importantly, of my dear Lord. But now, age has caught up and I find it difficult to stand in the long queues for hours. My prayers still ring out from my heart though,” says Hari who longs to have a second innings on screen.
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