He might be 50 and one of Malayalam cinema's controlling superstars but Gopi says his best is up till now to come.

The worst is over, declared the Malayalam actor, who has seen several ups and downs in his career and life. He mislaid a daughter in a train accident, which he survived, and was badly injured when a sword pierced his leg while shooting opposite Mammootty.

Accidents, he recalled, had constantly been a part of his life. It had all been forecasted long before and had come true.

"And that's why I say my most awful times are over and the stage has by now been set for the best of my times. Of course, I can sense that I am going on a track of glory... wait and watch... everybody will be taken by shock," Gopi told IANS in a chat at his plush residence here.

Now back from site shooting on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border and tending his painful back, the 50-year-old is at present filming "Rama Ravanam".

"I have just completed applying an ayurvedic medicine on my back since I was doing a fight sequence for 'Rama Ravanam'. The landscape was rocky and it was a sturdy act and now I have to take care of my body before I begin my next film," said Gopi, who has given hits like "Thalastanam" (1992), "Ekalavyan" (1993) and "Commissioner" (1994).

When asked how he would endure in the highly spirited Malayalam film industry at his age, he shot back saying "artistes don't grow old, as a substitute they grow younger".

"It is at this stage and age that people put things in viewpoint; they make older decisions. All of us make mistakes and one learns from the bitter lessons of the past," he said.

Gopi bowed silent when asked concerning his future ventures. He said one of the lessons he had learnt the firm way was to keep mum in relation to future ventures.

"Why should I proclaim to the world what my projects are? When the apt time will come, everyone will know about them," he said.

"I am a person with no worry and I live on hope, but the difference is that I do not give and take on hope. An artiste like me can never be pleased because it is the dissatisfaction that helps me grow and achieve what I want to," he added.

Apart from acting, Gopi plans to set up a cattle farm on his extensive property in Tirunelveli.