From arc light to radiation therapy, from celebrity status to abandonment, Thodupuzha Vasanthi’s life has been full of tragic twists.
P Vasanthakumari (65), better known by her screen name, is a shadow of her former self. The veteran of about 450 movies is struggling to make both ends meet. The actor who started her career as a classical dancer is an amputee now. Her right leg was amputated above the knee on August 17 after diabetes aggravated. Even before she could recuperate from the costly surgery, she was diagnosed with throat cancer.
“My leg was amputated from the knee initially but the infection had spread. So they had to amputate it again above the knee. It cost me Rs 4 lakh. Then I had to undergo the treatment for cancer. I had been subject to 20 radiation sessions so far. The doctor wants to see me after a month. I might have to undergo chemotherapy but I do not have the money to pay for it,” she said from her modest house at Thodupuzha.
She has the mark of the radiation around her neck. She is fed only liquids through a tube poked into her nose. She still has the red bindi on her forehead.
“One of my kidneys is not functional. My hearing is also not good. I need at least Rs 7 lakh for my treatment but I do not know where to find that money. I do not have anyone to help me out. I have earned only this house from my acting career,” she said as tears welled up.
Glorious days
Vasanthi was born into a family of artistes. Her father K R Ramakrishnan Nair was a theater actor who had put together a dance drama troupe called ‘Jai Bharat’. Mother P Pankajakshi Amma was a proponent of Thiruvathira dance.
“I was noted from the time I was a pre-degree student. I preformed a dance item in Udaya’s ‘Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre’ when I was 16 years old. I was paid Rs 100 for my first movie,” she said.
Vasanthakumari adopted the screen name of Vasanthi at the behest of senior actress Adoor Bhavani. “We were both acting in a play titled ‘Penal Code’ when Adoor Bhavani suggested that I should change my name to Vasanthi and also add the place of my hometown to my name,” she said.
Vasanthi’s break came in a character role in Neelakasham. “After that movie, I was stuck in a middle-age stereotype. I rarely got any good roles even though I acted in around 450 movies.”
One such role was Janaki in Alolam which was released in 1982. “K R Vijaya and I were the lead actresses in that movie. It was a typical Mohan movie with a serious theme. I was noted as much as Vijaya. Unfortunately, a role like Janaki never came my way. My last movie was Ithu Thanda Police in 2016.”
Vasanthi has also acted in 16 television serials and around 100 plays. She has received the state government’s award for her performance as a theater actor. She also received a Film Critics award.
The tragic turn
“Cinema was my livelihood. I was busy with at least two movies per day until 2007. That was the time when my father was diagnosed with cancer. He died after a year-long treatment. I took a break from movies after the death of my father who had led me to this career,” Vasanthi said.
The actress was about to make a reentry after three years of break when tragedy struck again. Her husband Rejeendran was also diagnosed with cancer.
“I got married to Rajeendran when I was active in the movies. He was an art lover and the marriage was blissful. But I lost him to cancer. He was bedridden for a long time. I had to cut down on my work. I acted in Elsamma Enna Aankutty in 2010 as per his wish.”
Rajeendran died in August 2010. Vasanthi’s isolation was complete when her mother died soon after.
“I lived happily with Rajeendran for 13 years. We did not have any children,” Vasanthi said.
Disasters visited Vasanthi with alarming frequency. “I was coming home after acting in Ee Thanutha Veluppan Kalathu when the car I was traveling collided with an auto rickshaw. I was seriously injured. My right hand was fractured. I had to undergo medical treatment for a long time.”
Vasanthi had to get back on movie sets to sustain herself but her diseases made work difficult for her. “Heart and eye problems held me back from movies. I underwent an angioplasty and later a surgery to treat glaucoma. I was still sick when I finally returned to movies with Parudeesa. But then I could not continue because of my ill health.”
Earnings of a lifetime
The tiny house with a flaking coat of paint tells no stories. You will find it difficult if someone told you that this belongs to a movie actress. The house has a blue name board, with ‘P Vasanthakumari’ written in white letters.
What did Vasanthi earned from the movies? “I bought an acre of land at Manakkad in Thodupuzha and built a three-room house. The house would leak when it rained. I had to sell 43 cents of land and mortgage 10 cents to meet the expense of my husband’s treatment. I am happy that I could support my siblings,” she said.
Vasanthi started a dance school in her house to earn a living after movies became rarer. “I had to close the school two years ago as my health failed. My brother was running a curry powder unit near my house. Now I have shifted to my sister’s house as the factory irritates me after the radiation sessions.
“I live from the monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes. The association had allowed me Rs 70,000 as medical insurance when my leg was amputated. My relatives and neighbors have been helping me out. I do not know how to go ahead now. I am prescribed more and more medicines. All of them are terribly costly. I am fed through my nose.
“I had a lot of people around me at the prime of my life. None of them care about me now. Some of them call me up once in a while. Some of them ask for my account number. That’s it. Many actors do visit Thodupuzha for movie shoots but no one cares to see me. I do not have any complaints though because I know cinema is far from real life. I am old tired but I would still act if I get to play a character in crutches.”
(Vasanthi has an account with Federal Bank’s Thodupuzha branch. Account number is 11210100032566, IFSC FDRL0001121)