Actor John Kokken who impressed as star pugilist Vembuli in the super hit Tamil movie Sarpatta Paramabara has been conducting an interesting contest for his fans since the last few days. Sharing the pictures from some of the movies in which he played villain roles that went unnoticed; John invited his fans to identify the films or shows.
From ‘blink and miss’ roles to ruthless antagonists who challenged the hero, Kokken has shared the pictures from almost all his movies. However, surprising the actor, a fan had sent him a picture from a television serial that John had almost forgotten. John Kokken had essayed an onscreen character for the first time, in the mid 2000’s, in the super hit TV serial titled Aval Raktarakshassu. In a chat with Manorama Online, the actor gets candid about his first role in front of the camera.
“It was one of my fans who had sent me this picture. He was curious to know whether the person in the picture was really me. Those who were born in the 1990’s would probably remember the serial titled Aval Raktarakshassu. I had essayed the role of a shaman in that serial. That show had very good ratings during those days. Krishnakumar who was the director of that serial later went on to direct movies like College Days and Tiyan. The serial was aired in 2006. I met Krishnakumar when I was in Kerala for the shooting of a few advertisements. When he told me about the role, I said that I didn’t know how to act. He gave me confidence and I took up that role. That serial could actually be called my acting school,” says Kokken.
John, who was settled in Mumbai at that time, says that the production team would pay him the train fare too besides the daily wages. Some times when the filming schedules were already prepared, the crew would book him tickets. But, there had been times when Kokken had to travel in local compartments in the trains from Mumbai to Kerala when tickets weren’t available in the route. “The journey is 32 hours long. It was really difficult sleeping at night inside those compartments. I had slept on the train floor by just spreading a sheet of newspaper. Sometimes, I got space in the luggage rack. These journeys were really difficult; yet I was determined to reach the location. My heart was filled with the desire to become a good actor. So, I wasn’t bothered much by these difficulties,” notes the actor.
“There are scores of youngsters who nurture a dream to become an actor. In the beginning you might get a chance just to show your face onscreen. There won’t be any dialogues or screen space. I too was like that. That is the reason why I am sharing such memories with my fans,” Kokken says.
