Land of ‘Maro Charitra’ excites Suresh Gopi

Visakhapatnam: In a state marked by dominance of leftist ideology, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Tourism and actor Suresh Gopi exudes confidence that the BJP is set to grow in future. During his maiden trip to Visakhapatnam, the Malayalam actor shares with The Hans India that he has a strong connection with the people of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu through the medium of cinema.

The first BJP Lok Sabha MP from Thrissur constituency mentions that he chants Hindu slokas with ease and equally reposes faith in Islam and Christianity as well. “I am a very religious person. But if you ask me whether I am a spiritual person or not, I am not pretty sure about it as I feel I have to tread longer towards the path to imbibe the essence of spirituality,” admits the actor-turned-politician.

Sharing his love for Tamil, the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Tourism, says, “If at all I have to switch to another language from my native language Malayalam, my first choice would be Tamil.

Even though they say it is ‘Sen’ Tamil, I define it as ‘then’ (honey) Tamil’ as the language is aesthetically pleasing to listen to. Also, Tamil is in my DNA,” says Suresh Gopi, while recalling how his father, a film distributor, produced a couple of Tamil and Telugu-dubbed films along with a number of Malayalam movies decades back.

After landing in Visakhapatnam, Suresh Gopi mentions that he wondered where those rock hills were shot in the movie ‘Maro Charitra’.

“I was a teenager when the film was released in Kerala where my father half-produced it in Malayalam,” he shares, while humming one of the background scenes of ‘Maro Charitra’.

While talking about the influx of devotees descending on Sabarimala, Suresh Gopi notes that Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala is more worshiped by the devotees from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Recalling the quality of education taught in Christian educational institutions decades earlier, Suresh Gopi underlines how the institutions back then contributed to the cultural and economic growth of India.

“Education and discipline taught in those educational institutions is incomparable to the ones that we are passing through at the moment,” he observes.

After taking part in ‘GVL Maha Sankranti celebrations’, Suresh Gopi appreciated the manner festival like ‘Sankranti’ is being celebrated in Visakhapatnam with such pomp and added that he would soon be revisiting the City of Destiny.