Kamal Haasan pays a tribute to the doyen of Malayalam and Tamil cinema, Sukumari

“Filmmaker Priyadarshan and his wife Lizzie were at her deathbed. Sukumariji was a mother to Lizzie. And she wasn’t alone. Sukumariji mothered generations of her adopted children, me included. She knew the most powerful people. But she liked to live a simple life, never flaunted her connections. She never asked for a favour for herself, always for others. Though she was Malayali she spoke impeccable Tamil. I knew her as I woke up about the cinema at the age of 3 ? . She was my first director A Bhim Singh’s wife. At that tender age I got to know her as the lady who brought different kinds of idlis to the sets for breakfast. She loved cooking and feeding everyone. I remember asking her for some idlis. She took me in her lap and fed me idlis. From that day onwards I became the king of her lap. We continued to run into one another on the sets of different films even when I began doing adult parts. I’d hide shyly among the crew. But she would seek me out and greet me warmly. She continued to feed me breakfast. Her attentions boosted my stocks among the film unit. Other actors would barely acknowledge me as the child actor who had now grown up. But she gave me special attention. I think it’s a trait common to many Malayalam actresses. They’re very nurturing. During breaks they serve meals to the entire unit. I saw Sukumari Amma decide the meal of the day with the entire unit. Then she’d sit and joke with the crew. Then she’s ask me to sing. With her on the sets shooting was a picnic.I miss that kind of camaraderie among other units today. If a lightboy felt ill Sukumari Amma arrange a blanket for him and ask about him between shots. Later on Sukumari Amma’s husband Bhim Singhji was supposed to direct me in a Malayalam remake of a Tamil film that starred my mentor Sivaji Ganesan. It was the same film that starred Sunil Dutt Saab. The role required me to be afflicted with paralysis on one side of my body. Look at the cruel irony. Bhim Singhji had suffered a paralytic stroke and he too was disabled on one side of his body.” Haasan continues, “To enact a paralytic character in front of him was very embarrassing. But that’s one of the paradoxes of this profession. You end up doing things that pain you. On the pleasure side I got to bond with Sukumari Amma once again after so many years. There was a lot of nostalgia. We became very close. I remember when Bhim Singhji was going to buy a camera Sukumari Amma asked me to help ensure he didn’t waste his money...I wish I had more opportunities to work with her. I didn’t attend her funeral. I didn’t want to see her that way with 60 percent burns. This was no way for a lady like her to go. She caught fire in her Puja room. I am surprised. She was such a cautious woman. I kept inquiring about her. But I couldn’t bring myself to visit her when she was critically ill. I want to remember her as very sharp agile dancer. Not a dying woman.” Sukumari breathed her last on 26 March 2013.