Cochin Haneefa was a trend setter in Malayalam cinema. Maya Krishnan takes you through the unparalleled trends he made and the never-to-be-filled vacuum he left in the world where he lived until 20 hours before.

“Saidikka…Ingalu nadannolin..njammalu pinnalendu”(Go ahead… I’m here with you..). Any Malyalee ever forget this dialogue laced with a true Malbari Muslim lingo? Cochin Haneefa told this dialogue to none other than Mohan Lal in the ever hit Malyalam movie ‘Kireedam’, which brought National laurels to the protagonist, Mohan Lal. But never such recognitions came in Haneefa’s way. But he was ever behind those who fetched the adorations in the State and National levels.

Withering season in Malayalam

It is usual for the media to celebrate the death of a celebrity. When such zealous festivities scroll on the TV screen, flashes lash out  upon the wailing and shocking faces, no logic, no reasoning would ever work out. Only the struggle for existence and its aftermaths reflects. As Edavela Babu told in this occasion, “it is useless and untimely if we talk anything of ‘would have been’. Nothing happened. At present, we lost him, that’s all”.

In fact, this was an era of loss to the Malayalam film industry. Beginning with Lohita das, Murali, Rajan.P.Dev, Adoor Bhavani…. A list of talents withdrew behind the screen within a short span of 5-6 months. Cochin Haneefa stands at the end, today.

Cochin Haneefa, born in Kochi, retained his native place’s name all along with his ups and downs.  Even after Cochin became Kochi, Haneefa glued on to the Cochin of localities. (His real name was Salim Ahammed Ghaush, but who cares for ‘the real’?) From the applauds of St.Augustin’s Shool, Kochi , through the recognitions of  St.Albert’s College, Kochi, Cochin Haneef, also drifted to Kodambakkam, and wandered through the turmoil of its streets, as the ultimate haven of any cinema aspirant of those days.  From Sivaji Ganeshan to Vijay in Tamil films and from Prem Nazir to Prithviraj in Malayalm films, Haneefa proved his flair as a real supporting actor.

A  trend-setter

Kamal Hassan’s ‘Mahanadi’ was the ‘real’ break of Cochin Haneef in Tamil. Audience ‘abhorred’ Haneef as much as they adored Kamal. It was the birth of a real villain in the reel. Later with Rajnikant in ‘Sivaji’ and with Vikram in ‘Anniyan’, he did his villainous part, memorable.

In Malyalam also, he started his career as a villain actor, then to a handful of character roles which have got marginalized into the tracks of ‘supporting’ roles. Later, in ‘Kireedam’, it was Siby Malayil, who contributed a different lineage of villains to the Malayalam cinema. Through the howls of Haneefa, “Keerikkadan chathe..” , not only Mohan Lal, the whole Malyalees startled,  and after some time, came to realize that it was a historical start of a new trend of villains and the deplorable but eventual  downfall of the protagonist. This image followed Haneefa thereafter, and Haneef came on the screen just to make the audience laugh to rolling, contrary to his earlier ‘rape actions’ and ‘yes boss’ dialogues. In this category, that is, the villains who make us laugh by their muzzy mannerisms, only Janardhanan stands abreast with Haneefa.

Though Haneefa was not excelled in infinitesimal facial expressions, with a unique body language of his own, and the victorious background he owns in the field of mimicry, he could justify with whatever roles came in his way. Can we keep aside the mannerisms he projected while describing the place names in the film ‘Punjabi House’? Can we ever forget the political satire, Lal Jose passed through the panchayath Member in ‘Meesa Madhavan’?

Along with Dileep and Harisree Asokan, he worked out the best chemistry of Malayalam cinema. ‘CID Moosa’ is the best example of such a heady combo. Along with children, all Malyalees, rolled down in the theaters with laughs. From the ‘rapist’ image to the comedian dear to children is really an embarrassing task. Once , Haneefa himself admitted that it was a metamorphosis for the good.

There after, every Malyalee began to call a cowardice who boasts of his bravery as ‘Cochin Haneefa’. In the college campuses of Kerala, we met a lot of ‘Cochin Haneefas’. It was a wave he created in his own State, but only on a later stage. Started with Mono Acts, later through the Cochin Kalabhavan, which contributed a lot of talents like, Jayaram and Kalbhavan Mani, Haneefa’s play ground was also that of mimicry. This pedigree supported in his acting career a lot with his innate nature of observation.

That made the completion of an actor, but he never admitted he was ever.

In the year 2001, he was recognized by the Kerala Government with the award for the best Supporting Actor. One cannot simply disregard the affectionate middle aged man in a brothel, keeping a soft heart all along in the film ‘Soothradharan’. He was doing such character roles and villain roles at the same time with great aplomb. In the movie ‘Pathram’, he could essay these two aspects, beautifully synthesized, to portray the role of the cantankerous police officer and an affectionate father, balancing the two extremes well.

Multi-faceted

Apart from being bannered as a mere actor (in his own words ‘the simplest job’), he was a Director, a Scenarist, and a story writer. He penned for a number of Malyalam and Tamil films and directed a lot other. The Tamil movie’ ‘Pasa paravaigal’ done by Haneefa was actually penned by none other than Karunanidhi, with whom he kept on his friendship unto his last. He has done a few Hindi films also. He was well versed in Hindi language.

The Malayalam movie ‘Vaalsalaym’ was the brain child of Cochin Haneef. That film portrayed the patience and sufferings of a family man typical of a Kerala scenario, two decades back.  Mega star Mammooty has played the lead role in that movie, in which Haneef himself appears in the title song. The frame shows a nostalgic vignette of Kerala of those days. The canning of each frame told the audience the chore of the theme, which is nothing but ‘vaalsalyam’ (affection) of a homely man. In the real life also Haneefa was such an affectionate family man, who lived for the sake of his family. He could marry only in a late age and that made two four year girl children, hapless and his young wife, drab.

Adieu…. Haneefikka

When the media people approach, every one tells that Haneefa’s death was a great loss. Though seemed to be a usual quote on a cele

brity death, it is a fact with deep roots. Now there is nobody left in the Malayalam film field to soothe as ‘ingalu nadannolin’ to a superstar here. While penning these lines I see his body is being exhibited in the Ambedkar Hall, Kochi, for the public to pay the last tribute, and for the media to take a last snap. But never a shooting location, neither in Kerala nor in Tamil Nadu, would reverberate

a spontaneous bursting laughter again, to recharge the ‘set’ and enliven a ‘timid villain’.

Let any mimicry artist, not ‘remake’ a Cochin Haneefa again and again (as they do to the late actor Jayan), to portray him as a mere joker before the upcoming generations.

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