She worked for only two years, delivered only classics and blockbusters; Mohanlal once ‘saved her life’ at Kodaikanal’s Suicide Point

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While she worked with cinema legend P Padmarajan’s pathbreaking Deshadanakkili Karayarilla and widely acclaimed Kariyilakkattu Pole, she also played the female lead in Sathyan Anthikkad’s Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam and Gandhinagar 2nd Street. Besides appearing as the heroine in legendary filmmaker Bharathan’s Neela Kurinji Poothappol, she also headlined Priyadarshan’s Thalavattam with Mohanlal. Her performances in Kamal’s Unnikale Oru Kadha Parayam and Joshiy’s January Oru Orma also earned acclaim. Meanwhile, she appeared in two Tamil movies: Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan’s classic crime drama Nayakan and Fazil’s Sathyaraj-starrer Poovizhi Vasalile.

Interestingly, she was mostly cast opposite Mohanlal, and the duo quickly became a fan favourite ever since they first shared the screen in Deshadanakkili Karayarilla. Needless to say, most of their ventures were successful or critically acclaimed, or both.

Now, veteran screenwriter Kaloor Dennis, who penned January Oru Orma (1987), has shared an intriguing anecdote from the movie’s sets, revealing how Mohanlal saved Karthika’s life once. Sharing that the film went on floors in Kodaikanal towards the end of 1986, Dennis wrote in Grihalakshmi that he, along with director Joshiy, reached the location two days before the commencement of the shoot as he had to write the script as well and had only a start-to-end scene order in hand at that time. Mentioning that he met Karthika for the first time on the first day of filming, Dennis shared that she was a soft-spoken woman who smiled without showing her teeth.

Karthika with Mohanlal on the sets of January Oru Orma. (Credit: thecompleteactor.com)

“After the movie’s switch-on ceremony, the first scene to be filmed was an outdoor sequence featuring Mohanlal and Karthika. It was a scene where his character, an unauthorised guide, takes her, an educated young woman visiting with her family, to see the Suicide Point (Green Valley view point) in Kodaikanal. Since it was the first day of the shoot, I had gone to the location along with Joshiy to watch Karthika’s performance,” he recalled. As they walk along the path near Suicide Point, Raju (Mohanlal) begins explaining how it got its infamous name. However, whatever Raju says, Nimmi (Karthika) responds with sarcasm, playfully pulling his leg.

“A suicide happened here recently. A college beauty. It seems it was due to some love failure. She flew from Madras (now Chennai) to Madurai, took a taxi to get here, jumped, and died,” Raju says, to which Nimmi replies in jest, “Oh, is that so? So this is a famous spot for love failures, huh? Well then, let me try jumping too!” Saying this, Nimmi mischievously makes a move to jump, but Raju suddenly grabs her wrist and pulls her back. “When she felt Raju’s touch, a sense of wonder spread in Nimmi’s eyes. Seeing this, he slowly let go of her hand,” Dennis wrote.

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‘What if Mohanlal hadn’t quickly grabbed Karthika’s hand?

The director called “cut,” and the entire unit clapped in appreciation for how beautifully the scene had been captured. However, Dennis couldn’t join them, as he was still battling a chill that had just shot down his spine. “I was preoccupied with the thought: what if Mohanlal hadn’t quickly grabbed Karthika’s hand and pulled her back when she leaned forward? Wouldn’t a massive tragedy have occurred then and there? It felt to me as if Karthika’s foot had accidentally slipped. Perhaps it was just my imagination — something no one else noticed, not even Karthika herself.”

Also starring Suresh Gopi, MG Soman, and Jayabharathi in key roles, January Oru Orma hit the screens on January 25, 1987, and became a blockbuster, cementing the stardom of both Mohanlal and Karthika in Malayalam cinema. After bidding goodbye to the film industry, Karthika now lives with her family in her hometown of Thiruvananthapuram.