Malayalam actor Salim Kumar, who rose to legendary heights and won a National Film Award, had faced severe rejection and humiliation during the initial days of his career. During the shoot of the film Nee Varuvolam, directed by Sibi Malayil, Salim Kumar was publicly criticized by veteran actor Jagathy Sreekumar over his acting timing, which eventually led to him being quietly dropped from the project.

Salim Kumar had secured the role of a parallel college peon, which was originally meant for Kalabhavan Mani. While he completed nine of his eleven scenes successfully, the remaining scenes required him to pour drinks for characters played by Jagathy Sreekumar and Thilakan. Jagathy was highly dissatisfied with Salim Kumar’s comic timing, repeatedly stopping the shoot, and eventually told him to leave the profession if he did not know the work, in front of the director, crew, and onlookers.

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Following the incident, Salim Kumar was left stranded at the Kottayam railway station without any money by the production team, and had to borrow twenty rupees from a stranger named Sunny to return home. He later learned about his complete removal from the film through PRO Vazhoor Jose, a fact even his close friend and the film’s lead actor, Dileep, had hidden from him. Despite these early hardships, Salim Kumar went on to become an indispensable part of Malayalam cinema before his passing due to pneumonia.