Perilloor Premier League, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, which narrates the stories of a bunch of quirky characters in a fictional village, Perilloor, has proved to be a gamechanger for Jaya Kurup.
The actor plays Gomathy, the no-nonsense better half of Peethambaran (Vijayaraghavan), an unscrupulous and scheming politician. When Peethambaran tricks his niece Malavika (Nikhila Vimal) into contesting the panchayat election to become the president, Malavika tries to get out of it with the help of her aunt. “Gomathy is among the handful of ‘normal’ characters in the village,” says Jaya with a laugh.
Jaya Kurup
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
It is “a welcome break” for the actor who has been doing ‘mother’ characters, starting with Malayankunju (2022), in which she played the mother of the character played by Fahadh Faasil . “It felt nice to finally get a meaty role and also have a different look on screen,” says an ecstatic Jaya over the phone from her hometown, Kattappana, in Idukki.
Jaya admits that PPL has been the toughest project so far for her in spite of the happy vibes on the set. “Besides being unwell, I kept worrying if I was doing justice to the character ,” she says.
Jaya Kurup in Perilloor Premier League
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
In fact, her first scene with Nikhila ran into a dozen takes. “I take time to get into a character, especially when I have to speak a different dialect. Nikhila was extremely supportive,” says Jaya.
She makes note of the support given by Vijayaraghavan in her scenes with him. “I got tense whenever I saw him. It was difficult to match up to the meter of his dialogue delivery. However, he came up with suggestions and that really helped. He also appreciated my performance,” Jaya adds.
Jaya Kurup with Vijayaraghavan in a scene from Perilloor Premier League
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The actor mentions that the director (Praveen Chandran), his assistants and her co-actors, especially Sajan Cherukayil, who plays Chandu, always stood by her. “I haven’t got this much appreciation for any role. Credit goes to Praveen and Deepu (Pradeep, writer) for making it happen. No character in PPL goes unnoticed,” says Jaya.
Veteran on stage
The 45-year-old actor comes with the experience of working as a professional theatre artist for the last three decades. Even though there are no actors in her family, Jaya had a passion for dance from childhood. “But I discontinued my dance classes after a few months. My tryst with the stage was via a ballet troupe, run by my aunt’s friend. In the meantime, I had to discontinue my studies. There were unsuccessful attempts at becoming a nurse, a lab technician and a midwife. By that time I had moved on to drama from ballet,” she says.
Her first play was with the troupe Kottayam Akshaya. “I had not watched a play till then. Theatre became a livelihood once I joined Cherthala Sagarika. In 1998, I became a professional drama artist at Changanassery Prathibha with their play Oru Yathrayude Aarambham,” she says.
Jaya Kurup with Nikhila Vimal in Perilloor Premier League
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
While working with Changanassery Srishti, she married fellow troupe member Narayana Kurup. “I had to take breaks when I had my three children. I was seven months pregnant with my second child when I worked in Thiruvananthapuram Sankeerthana!”
Other troupes with which Jaya has worked include Kottayam Nalanda, Angamaly Anjali, and Vayalar Natakavedi. “When the pandemic hit, I was acting in the play Mazha Baakkivachathu by Ernakulam Dramanandam, which was based on the floods of 2018. I played two roles in it. Later, the lockdown brought everything to a halt until Malayankunju happened.”
Jaya Kurup
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Even though Malayankunju is the first film in which she got noticed, her tryst with cinema happened in Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu (2019). “A lot of actors from Kattappana had auditioned for the film and I had accompanied my husband to watch his audition. I was chosen to play the manager of the bank into which the buffalo barges in,” she says.
Career in cinema
When the enquiry came from the team of Malayankunju for a 60-year-old theatre artiste to play Fahadh’s mother, EJ Joseph, a veteran theatreperson from Kattappana, sent her photo to the team. “I also sent a photograph even though I knew I would be rejected because of my age. I was 41 then. Later when my name came before them via other theatrepersons, they called me for an audition and after some initial hiccups, I managed to get the role,” Jaya says.
She has acted in 17 films so far, including Saajan Bakery Since 1962, Christy, Palthu Janwar and Ayalvaashi. Her upcoming releases include Grrr… with Kunchacko Boban and Kondal with Antony Pepe Varghese.
Jaya Kurup and Aju Varghese in a scene from Perilloor Premier League
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
As for getting typecast into mother roles Jaya says, “I try my best to change my mannerisms in every movie. Right now, I am happy that PPL came my way. A crew member of Christy and later Nikhila had suggested my name to Praveen,” she says.
Jaya Kurup with Nikhila Vimal in Perilloor Premier League
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Describing her approach to acting, Jaya points out that she creates her own backstory for every character. “That has become a habit even when it is not needed for the role. Nithin Joseph, a young director with whom I have done an anthology, taught me this. Cinema calls for realistic acting as opposed to theatre and it is Nithin who helped me with that as well.”
Currently, she is also doing an amateur play, Thottavarude Yudhangal, a production of Kattappana-based Darsana Film Society, which narrates the past and present of Idukki. “Drama is a part of me and I want to do it along with cinema. The challenge is in always reminding myself about the differences in acting for the stage and the screen.”