Maniyanpilla Raju recalls witnessing a director assaulting his ‘prominent actress’ wife: ‘As I was about to leave, he heard the sound of the door and turned around…’

Also Read | Alia Bhatt says the ‘old me’ is gone after birth of daughter Raha Kapoor: ‘I am like who is this new person, who am I?’

During the chat, Maniyanpilla Raju also recalled being screamed at by renowned filmmaker AB Raj when he went to meet him for the first time. “I had a letter of recommendation from my teacher with me. When I reached AB Raj Sir’s house, a girl in a petticoat called me inside. I walked into the hall, and she pointed towards a curtain. When I moved the curtain and said, ‘Sir’, he asked, ‘Who is this?’ I told him I had come to act. He retorted, ‘Get out. Did you come here to get into the bedroom?’ I explained that his daughter had called me in, and he snapped, ‘Do you obey whatever young girls say?!’ Then his son-in-law saw me and asked why I looked disturbed. I explained the situation and admitted I may have been wrong to enter. He took the letter inside.”

However, Raj’s behaviour towards him changed immediately after learning the content of the letter since it was penned by Raju’s teacher, ASA Sami, whom Raj considered a “guru”. “I scolded you only because you came inside the house uninvited,” he told the actor. The relationship between them that commenced that day landed Raju a role in the filmmaker’s Seemantha Puthran, featuring Prem Nazir and Jayabharathi in the lead roles. He also shared that the little girl in a petticoat who led him into Raj’s bedroom was none other than his daughter, Saranya (Saranya Ponvannan), who grew up to become a National Award-winning actor.