Asianet's Mammootty the Best Actor 2011

This was published in The Hindu Metroplus dated February 24

Come Sunday next and a new reality show begins on Asianet. Actually, not new, but the second edition of a show. (Yawn?) But ‘Mammootty the Best Actor 2011' is nothing like the first one, says M. R. Rajan, Asst Vice President, Asianet. “It's a totally new type of show, lasting for just 13 episodes,” he promises. That's cause for relief, no doubt.

It's a hunt for good actors from Kerala, for Mollywood, as ‘there is a deficiency in that department, in the industry,' as cinematographer Venu, one of the three on the jury, puts it. The other two are actor-director Revathy and director Ranjit.

Of the 3,000 plus applicants, all between 10-30 years, 1,000 took the screen test and the number whittled down to 50. The in-house team did this job at centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Dubai.

New generation directors

At the next stage, 10 new generation directors (many of whom have one or two films to their credit), like Mohan Raghavan who made the absorbing ‘T.D.Dasan Std IV B', Shaiju Anthikkad, Deepu Karun, Radhakrishnan Mangalath and others took over and 10 of the lucky and talented contestants were chosen from among them. Now, these ten directors are moulding them in the several departments of acting like dialogue delivery (maybe dubbing is discouraged, which is a good sign). Well, each director works on one contestant and finally on April 1, in Dubai, the top three contestants will be selected by the super threesome jury.

For Venu, this is his maiden TV show. Why now? “I like asking questions”, he answers. The judgement will not be based on appearance or glamour, but sheer talent, he says. The rounds include those that bring acting potential to the fore.

The ten directors are making ten short segments of films with the contestants, bringing out these qualities in each for the winners to be picked. The quality of moulding and innate talent will go a long way to creating the best actor. Kids from age 12 compete with adults in their late twenties. The 13 episodes will feature these ten contestants going through the grind with the jury.

Mammootty's role

Which brings us to the question: why it's called ‘Mammootty the Best Actor 2011'. Mammooty's role in the show is giving acting tips to contestants, interaction with the ten finalists and the topper will be given a role in a movie made by his production house, Playhouse, according to Rajan.

Yet another question why ‘Mammootty the Best Actor 2011' is telecast by Asianet channel when he is the chairman of Malayalam Communications Limited, which operates the channels under the Kairali TV, is a loaded one for which answers are yet to come.

Anyway, your afternoon nap after a full lunch on Sunday for the next few weeks will be affected. The show is from 2-3 p.m