Mask keeps extending his paw and refuses to let go once I touch him; while Simba is in his own world playing with a ball, Jo is like a fidgety child.
This is a celebrity rendezvous for me. These canines have ‘acted’ in films, short films, ad films and television serials. Their latest claim to fame is the second season of the web series, Kerala Crime Files (KCF), directed by Ahammed Khabeer, streaming on JioHotstar.
I ‘meet’ them on the first floor of an under-construction building, around 100 metres from the busy Balaramapuram junction in Thiruvananthapuram. There are seven other dogs, two Persian cats and Kathu, an indie cat, all of which belong to Jijesh S and Shaji Balaramapuram, who train animals and birds for the camera.
Dogs are crucial to the narrative of KCF, an intriguing police story about a missing civil police officer and an ex-convict. While Simba, a labrador, plays Terry, a police dog with an incurable medical condition that becomes crucial in the investigation, Mask, an indie, appears in the CCTV footage as a stray dog, which eventually leads the police to the culprit. Jo, the beagle, is Roby, the pet of the character played by Arjun Radhakrishnan.
It was overwhelming for Jijesh and Shaji when the dogs were mentioned in the end credits of the series, along with their photographs. “We were elated when Mask was invited as chief guest at the success celebration of the series held in Kochi recently,” Jijesh says. Adds Shaji, “Premkumar [director of Meiyazhagan and 96], a huge fan of the series, attended the event and asked specifically about Mask. He clicked photographs with him.”
Jijesh S with Mask, the indie dog
| Photo Credit:
SREEJITH R KUMAR
Mask is friendly and that worked to their advantage, Jijesh says. “A difficult scene to execute was the one where Simba is taken to spot where a theft had taken place and he has to stay still when his handler pulls the leash. Since he was not familiar with the actors, that scene took some time,” says Shaji.
The dogs are kept in this building, under the supervision of three employees when Jijesh and Shaji are away working. A few others are housed at their homes.
The indies shown as stray dogs in KCF also belong to the duo. “We trained them to move around like stray dogs. We take care of around 12 indie dogs, most of which are under the care of our friends,” Shaji adds.
The indie dogs are either those rescued or adopted by them. Mask was around a year old when they found him on the roadside at Killippalam. Two others, Chill, who acted in Maranamass, and Maya, a ‘junior artist’ in KCF, were found in sacks on a rainy day, when they were barely a month old. “We are also taking care of two indies as their owner passed away. We will start training them soon,” Shaji says.
Simba, the labrador, who played Terry in Kerala Crime Files Season 2
| Photo Credit:
SREEJITH R KUMAR
Jijesh points out that abandoned pups have to be given extra care. “They need help to come out of the trauma. Training makes them confident and comfortable when they are in a crowd,” he says, citing the case of Mask.
Shaji adds that since dogs are often scared of loud noise, they take them for walks along busy roads and by the railway tracks so that they get used to high decibel sounds during shoots and while travelling.
Shaji Balaramapuram with Brownie, the Chippiparai breed, on the set of Vilayath Buddha
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Among the other ‘actors’ in the building are Brownie, a Chippiparai, a sighthound breed from Tamil Nadu. She ‘acted’ in Kanguva, Padakkalam, and will be seen in Prithviraj’s upcoming release, Vilayath Buddha.
The senior most of the lot is Tinku, a Labrador, whose health is failing because of his age. He has acted in Parava, Laika, and a few short films. He is one of the dogs housed at the shelter home in KCF.
Chill, the indie dog, with actor Basil Joseph on the location of Maranamass
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Shaji says that Chill was busy early this year. “In the morning he was filming for Khusboo, a new movie, in Thiruvananthapuram and she had to be in Kochi for Maranamass in the evening.”
Jo, the beagle, who acted as Roby in Kerala Crime Files Season 2
| Photo Credit:
SREEJITH R KUMAR
Luca, the Great Dane, comes with a legacy! His father had acted in Pulimurugan, one of the biggest hits in Malayalam. Luca was in Panchavarnathatha and a few other movies.
Besides dogs, the duo has been training cats, horses, bull, goats, birds, ferret etc for movies. They have provided a bull and horses for Tovino Thomas’ ongoing production, Pallichattambi. “Tarantula, hedgehog and snow glider are among the exotic animals in our keep,” Jijesh says.
Until last year, the duo worked separately. Jijesh has been a dog trainer for over 15 years. “Since I loved dogs, my father had got me a book on how to train dogs when I was in school. When I got my first dog, a cross between indie and Pomeranian, I tried the methods on him, and later on my labrador. Later, I trained a friend’s dog and there has been no looking back.”
Sirajudheen Nazar with the labrador Simba in Kerala Crime Files Season 2
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
YouTube tutorials and books have come handy while training other animals and birds, Jijesh says. “Once you know the base you can work around that. Each animal or bird is a challenge. But if you are willing to spend as much time with it, the task becomes smooth.”
Shaji also has been a pet lover from childhood. “An inspiration has been Sanjayan KP, veteran dog trainer who was with the BSF. I used to watch his videos and tried that on my dog. Later I bought a horse and trained it. I sought the help of a friend in Mysore when I had to do verticals,” says Shaji, 48.
His major works are Pulimurugan, Parava, Panchavarnathatha in which he trained several animals, including emu, horse, donkey, camel, goat, iguana, etc, Kayamkulam Kochunni and Uriyadi.
Shaji Balaramapuram with his rooster Mani, who ‘acted’ in the movie Poovan
| Photo Credit:
SREEJITH R KUMAR
In Poovan he trained a rooster for the first time. “I came across this fiesty rooster in my neighbourhood, who was sold to a meat shop after his owner had enough of him. However, I paid a hefty amount to buy him and named him Mani. Initially, it was difficult even to catch him. But eventually he became friendly. In Poovan, he would crow at any time I commanded, provided we gave him treats! Mani was also in the web series Perilloor Premier League,” says Shaji, who has also acted in a few films.
Rooster Mani in a scene from Poovan
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
For Jijesh, 43, the big ticket to cinema was Valatty, in which he trained the dogs that played the main characters. His other projects include Sufiyum Sujathayum, Anveshippin Kandethum, Nna Thaan Case Kodu, Rudhiram, Kanakarajyam, Malayankunju and the web series Masterpeace in which Jo has acted.
Jijesh S and his beagle, Jo, with Nithya Menen on the location of the web series Masterpeace
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
It was on the sets of Kanguva (2024) that Shaji and Jijesh decided to work together. “Shaji chettan had brought Brownie and I was there with a Rajapalayam dog that belonged to a client. We have known each other for years and felt that it would be good if we worked together,” Jijesh says.
Together, they have worked in Maranamass, Ponman(trained the ducks), the sitcom Uppum Mulakum (Persian cats), Padakkalam, Oru Anveshanathinte Thudakkam, Bramayugam, Thudarum etc.
“We read the script before we start training the animals. There is always a risk especially when dogs have scenes on busy roads. The indie dogs are street smart and so they easily adapt if a situation arises whereas other breeds do not have the same reflexes,” Jijesh says.
Iliana, the ball python
| Photo Credit:
Sreejith R Kumar
The profession gets risky for the trainers too. Shaji, for instance, once broke two ribs, when the buffalo he trained for the web series Perilloor Premier League, got scared during an action sequence and stamped him on the chest.
The duo stresses that they send health reports of the animals to the Animal Welfare Board every three months.
In spite of the challenges, the profession has its share of fun as well. Like, working with ferret in Bramayugam and rat in Malayalee from India and Rudhiram. “It took time to tame the ferret. Books and videos helped. As for rat, I guide it using a rattle. It is one animal that never strays off the route once we teach it. We keep mealworms and superworms as well, which are often used as feed for our exotic pets. These worms are needed for scenes where they show decomposed bodies,” Jijesh says.
Finally we are introduced to Iliana, the ball python, a star in several photoshoots and horror movies. “She cannot be trained but can be tamed,” Shaji says.
