THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Half a century ago, the twinkle in her eyes must have been brighter, and lovelier, under the charming hood of the long lashes. It must not have taken long for K Balakrishnan to choose her from among the few women performing artists around as the beautiful face who would essay the female lead in his movie ‘Thyagaseema’. Also to make their debut on the silver screen through this 1951 film were two young men, Sathyanesan Nadar and Abdul Khader, who went on to become Malayalam’s legendary heroes - Sathyan and Prem Nazir. The 75-year-old Indira Bayi Thankachi is confused about the years and dates, but is touched by a tenderness when told that on June 15, it is 40th death anniversary of Sathyan, one of the heroes of her only cinematic outing that got stalled even before it took off. Indira remembers very little of the shooting that took place in parts of Pulayanarkotta in the city. She faintly recollects a rest house where the actors and crew had camped. “I remember Sathyanesan as gentlemanly and reserved. Both he and Prem Nazir were very good-looking,” she shared the best of what the ageing memory allowed her to recollect. She also knows that Sathyan had practised for a horse-riding sequence which was to be filmed on some hilly areas around the place. But, she cannot remember what had caused the shooting to stumble midway, if, the teenager she was then, had ever known it at all. When the movie was shelved, Indira decided it was not her forte and went back to practising as a dancer. Soon, she became the official dance teacher of the royal family and tutored a young Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi and Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvathy Bayi at the Kowdiar Palace, and the daughters of Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, who served as Regent for Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last ruler of the kingdom. The great-granddaughter of Irayimman Thampi, the famed court poet of Travancore kingdom, Indira had displayed a remarkable flair for the arts from a very young age. She even went to Thanjavur to perfect her Bharatanatyam lessons, a fruitful stay during which she also became proficient in playing veena, mridangam, tabla and harmonium. The veena that she was gifted from the Palace and the ornamental cot that King Swathi Thirunal had ordered to be made for her legendary great-grandfather that rest in the house near Fort High School have accumulated dust and cobwebs. Among the photographs she has saved from her days of glory, Indira could not find any that were taken on the sets of the forgotten movie.
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