Madampu Kunjukuttan was a rebel in every sense: Shyamaprasad

We are going through difficult times; we have lost a lot of dear people. Madampu Kunjukuttan was a literary and cultural figure of the 1970s and 80s; a torchbearer of modernism that was rooted in our local culture and mythology, mixed with modern lifestyle. That was at variance with the sensibility of the 1970s. He was an inspiring personality of the times and someone I used to look up to as a reader.
Then when it came to my 1999 film Agnisakshi, which was set in the 1930s, he was the only choice I had in mind to play the patriarch of Manampalli mana. He was excellent as he understood the dilemma of the times, more than me. So he was a guiding spirit and worked closely with me to pin down the details.
In my 2012 film Arike, he played a modern day swami with a different voice from the traditionalist; he was an iconoclast, who advocated freedom of choice. Again, he was a perfect fit because his own personality shone through.
He was a rebel in every sense. He was associated with many traditional movements, but the traditionalists would consider him a rebel, as much as he was considered so by west-looking intellectuals. You couldn’t fit him in a box, with his free-spirited lifestyle. He was a friend, but I was also in awe of him.
As told to Anna Mathews