Remembering Writer Sujatha

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
falling, like dew,
upon a thought produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions think…”
- Lord Byron (Don Juan- canto III, st. 88)

My facebook wall today is flooded with posts in memory of Sujatha, who passed away this day in 2008. Wielding many pens, he boasted a magnificent sweep of work – his non-fiction oeuvre comprises compelling pieces on technology, philosophy, religion, ancient Tamil literature, encouraging reviews of path breaking efforts of the modern school, ruminations, memoirs…His contribution to Tamil fiction is even more enviable in its infinite variety.. into his short stories, novels and plays, Sujatha inserted themes spanning romance, history, science, crime, fantasies…His prolific works reflect his prodigious genius…. a razor-sharp intellect, keen perception of everyday happenings, well-informed, analytical observations, painstaking eye to detail, usage of simple everyday language, yet in a style that was inimitably elegant, wry sense of humour and an uncanny synchronization with the mindset of current generation at any given time…. Is it any wonder that the giants of Tamil literature, led by the then Chief-Minister and his daughter, turned up in multitudes to pay their last respects to Sujatha?

Besides the hordes of writers, the beacons of Tamil cinema were benumbed at the news of Sujatha’s sudden demise… Director Shankar was at Apollo Hospital, keeping vigil along with Sujatha’s wife all through that terrible night… a grief-stricken Kamalhasan rushed back to Chennai…. Rajinikant, Bharatiraja, Balu Mahendra, Parthiban, Vairamuthu, Vasant, Rajeev Menon, Murugadas and Crazy Mohan were present to share the sorrow…. for they realized only too well that this was an irreparable loss to Tamil cinema… Even Karunanidhi, while recalling honouring Sujatha with the ‘Kalaimaamani’ Award and paying glowing tributes to his writing skills, did not fail to mention Sujatha’s singular contributions to Tamil cinema.

In a well-attended memorial meeting soon after Sujatha’s demise, Kamalhasan unveiled a portrait of the late writer, and spoke on his association with him. In an event marked by the presence of the pillars of the Tamil literary world, Balu Mahendra, Parthiban, Vasant, Satyaraj, Sivakumar, Thangar Bachaan, Vairamuthu, Ravivarman and ‘Pentamedia’ Chandrashekhar represented the sorrowing film fraternity.

In his tribute, Vairamuthu lamented, “oru kadal sattendRu uLvaangi vittadhaippOl uNargiREn…”
Let us travel today on a path that was for most path strewn with thorns and stones for Sujatha
* * * * *

Around the time Sujatha was writing ‘Kanavu Thozhirchaalai’, his novel based on the tinsel town, his novel ‘Gayathri’ which had appeared in Dhinamani Kathir had already been made into a movie. Startlingly bold for its time, the story narrated the travails of a young woman who is married to a twisted villain in a house full of eerie intrigue. Starring the then upcoming Rajinikant with Sridevi and Jaishankar, the movie ‘Gayathri’ (1977) was the brainchild of Panju Arunachalam who drafted the screenplay and dialogues. It was directed by R. Pattabiraman. Ilaiyaraja’s songs like ‘Vaazhve maayamaa’ and ‘Kaalai paniyil aadum malargaL’ added to the movie’s appeal. Years later, Sujatha would recall how he sat watching the preview of the movie along with Rajinikant and had his first understanding of how a story could be compromised for the screen.

‘Gayathri’ was followed by Panju Arunachalam taking up two more works of Sujatha for celluloid adaptation the following year. The first was based on ‘Anitha ilam manaivi’, a novel that was serialized in Kumudam. A chilling whodunit, the movie was titled ‘Idhu eppadi irukku’ (1978). Jaishankar, Sridevi and Y. Vijaya acted in the movie, directed again by R. Pattabiraman. Screenplay and dialogues were by Panju Arunachalam. Years later, when talking about this movie, ‘Major’ Sundararajan remarked to Sujatha that he had acted in the movie without ever understanding his role. “Don’t worry,” said Sujatha to ‘Major’. “You were only a corpse in the movie!” The movie was a commercial failure. Panju Arunachalam was unfazed though, ‘Priya-la eduthuralaamga’ he said confidently.

And that was other story of Sujatha that Panju Arunachalam made a movie of in 1978, ‘Priya’. One of the many Ganesh-Vasant crime novels, the story serialized in Kumudam revolved around a young film actress going to London for a shooting. Though Sujatha wrote that the actress gets murdered,editor SAP convinced him to bring her back to life. Starring Rajinikant, Sridevi, Ambarish and others, the movie adaptation was shot extensively in Singapore. Screenplay and dialogues were by Panju Arunachalam and ‘Priya’ (1978) was directed by SP. Muthuraman. ‘Priya’ was the first stereophonic album in Tamil cinema and Ilaiyraja’s songs hogged the airwaves. Sujatha, though, was thoroughly disillusioned at the way his story was mangled beyond recognition.

Sujatha’s ‘24 Roobai Theevu’ was made into a Kannada movie “Ondidhwani’ by the famed director Nagabharana- here too the crude, commercial elements that crept into the screenplay to cater to the image of the hero Ambrish filled the writer with disgust. When he was coming out of Kino Theater after watching the movie, he overheard one of the men asking another angrily, ‘Who is the writer of this farce?’. Sujatha covered his face in a muffler and walked away.

Sujatha’s next work to submit resignedly to the Kodambakkam crossover was ‘Jannal malar’ serialized in Ananda Vikatan. An interesting take on the efficacy of the prison system in reforming a convict, the movie titled ‘Yaarukku Yaar Kaaval’ (1979) starred Srikanth, Sripriya and Saratbabu. Veteran Malliyam Rajagopal worked on the screenplay and dialogues, besides directing the movie. Sujatha recalled with sarcasm that he had to search for his story in the screenplay! Music-director K.J. Joy is remembered to this day for that wonderful ode to parenthood, ‘Sippiyin ulle muththaadum seithi’.

Though ‘Gayathri, ‘Idhu eppadi irukku’, ‘Priya’ and ‘Yaarukku yaar kaaval’ were all based on Sujatha’s works, he was not directly involved in their making. That opportunity came soon enough. Director K. Balachandar invited Sujatha to come up with a story on a music ensemble interspersed with the romantic entanglement that the lead singer gets himself into, and Sujatha worked excitedly to come up with a plausible script for ‘Ninaithaale inikkum’. Starring Kamalhasan, Rajinikant and Jayapradha, the movie boasted of exotic Singapore locales and a brilliant album by MSV. With all this, ‘Ninaithaale inikkum’ (1979) did not do as well as expected. A bemused Sujatha narrated his first tryst with cinema thus, “Ninaithale Inikkum' for Balachandar was the first script I wrote for a film. Before that, my stories had been filmed, but I had not played any role in writing the screenplay or dialogue. For 'Ninaithale Inikkum,' I had written a totally different kind of screenplay.

Unfortunately, owing to constraints like star dates, Balachandar did not follow my script exactly. He made several changes and looked at the film as an opera on the lines of Abba. My original script was lively and if it had been faithfully followed, it would have been a model screenplay. Anyway, no regrets and I enjoyed working with Balachandar, his assistant Ananthu, Kamal and Rajini.'
‘Karaiyellaam Senbagapoo’ followed sedately in 1981. Sujatha had come up with a murder mystery against the backdrop of ancient folk songs and folklore this time. Though many including Balumahendra evinced interest in the story, it was Director G.N. Rangarajan who set about making a movie of it. Pratap, Sripriya, Sumalata, Sundar and Manorama were the principal actors. The movie was a flop despite Ilaiyaraja’s songs. Sujatha recalled the movie running for a week in Chitra theater and revealed that the remuneration promised for the project had remained a bad debt forever.

Sujatha was never greatly enthused about his works being filmed. In an interview, he said, “Not only I, no writer has ever been happy with the way his/her stories have been converted into films. Asked to give his reaction after his novels were filmed, Hemingway put it succinctly: "Take the money and run." Sathyajit Ray's 'Pather Panchali' is a great film, but the original writer was not happy with it. Hitchcock once said that he would just read the novel he wanted to film, throw away and would never get back to it again during the making of the film.

I am certainly not blaming the directors. It is just that the medium is different. Compared to those who see the film, the readers are a minuscule percentage. Probably my novels would have been read by 30-40 lakh people, but the films were seen by crores. In a medium like cinema where the stakes are high, compromises are unavoidable. They don't affect me. People who have read my novels are unhappy with the film versions, but those who have not read them are happy with the films. That in itself explains the difference in audience tastes.”

Sujatha teamed up with Kamalhasan next, and wrote a story exclusively for cinema, strategically serialized in Kumudam before the movie’s release. ‘Vikram’ (1986) starring Kamalhasan, Dimple Kapadia, Satyaraj, Lizy and Amjad Khan, was a stylish adventure movie set in an imaginary Middle-East country. Sujatha wrote later how the story went haywire in the second half due to various factors- he had to write a fresh episode of the story every week in Kumudam even when the filming was not going as per schedule due to call-sheet issues of Dimple Kapadia & Amjad Khan. To cap it all, Director Rajasekhar abandoned ship midway and Santthana Bharathi directed the remaining part.
Another movie that Sujatha was associated with the same year was ‘Unnidathil naan’. Produced by Sujatha’s friend, the U.S based Shankar Ramani (along with Joesph Enok and Paul Pandian), the movie was directed by Arun Veerappan. Netaji, Shyam, Nalini, Devilalita, Thengai Srinivasan and Mouli were in the cast. Cricketer Kapil Dev made a special appearance in the movie. The story narrated the changes in the lives of two men as a consequence of a bet between two rich friends. Sujatha’s dialogues were simply brilliant. Thayanban had composed two scintillating songs for the movie, ‘Ninaithaal unnaithaan ninaippen’ and ‘Naan unnidathil naan’.

The third movie based on Sujatha’s works to be released the same year was ‘Poi Mugangal’. The movie was adapted from ‘Kaagitha sangiligal’ which had been serialized in Saavi. The story recounted the desperate search of a young woman for a kidney donor to save the life of her husband. SP. Muthuraman commenced an adaptation of the story with Suman and Ambika, but the project was given up. The version that had the Kannada actor Ravichandran and Sulakshana in the lead roles and directed by C.V. Rajendran made it to the screen. The story was a heart-rending account of a young woman’s futile search for a kidney donor to save the life of her husband who is suffering from renal failure. Sujatha brought into the narration the plethora of ramifications that surround a kidney transplant and the varied experiences of hospital life. The reactions, misconceptions and reluctance of even kith and kin to donate a kidney to save the life of a young man in their family showed, with stark candour, how fragile human relationships are.

It was some years before Sujatha next associated himself with Tamil cinema, and the director who made the return possible was Bharathiraja. Enamored of Sujatha’s ‘Raththam ore niram’, the director asked Sujatha to come up with a story set in the pre-independence era. But to Sujatha’s disappointment, Bharathiraja made some major changes in the story, and the movie ‘Naadodi thendral’ (1992) starring Karthik and Ranjita turned out to be quite different from Sujatha’s expectations. Ilaiyaraja’s songs like ‘maNiyE maNikkuyilE’, ‘sandhana maarbilE’ and ‘yaarum viLaiyaadum thOttam’ became hugely popular. Reminiscing on the movie later, Sujatha said, “The original story I gave was about the assassination of a collector and I had put in a lot of effort. But Bharathi Raaja changed it into an ordinary triangular love story set in the pre independence backdrop”. His later collaborations with Bharathiraja- Kangalaal Kaithu Sei (2004) and Bommalaattam (2008) were also disappointing to say the least. Sujatha went on to rationalize thus, “I don't blame the directors for these failed projects. As I told you, the target audiences are different and the directors know the medium better!”

In 1993 came Director Joshi’s ‘Airport’ (1993) starring Satyaraj, bearing some startling similarities to Sujatha’s ‘J.k.’

Sujatha worked with Kamalhasan on the script of the ambitious ‘Maruthanaayakam’, but the movie is yet to be made. In fact, it was Sujatha who suggested to Kamal the story of ‘Maruthanayakam’. He said in this connection, “For the last 7 or 8 years Kamal had been searching for the right story to make a historical. He even had plans of doing a historical musical on the lines of 'Ambikapathi' and toyed with the idea of making a film which had only verses for dialogue. While he was examining so many ideas, I suggested why not we go into immediate past history instead of going to ancient period. It was around that time I came across a folk ballad edited by Tamil scholar Vanamamalai and published by Madurai Kamaraj University. Impressed by the ballad, I showed it to Kamal to find out if it has the potential of a good film. Kamal was initially reluctant, but agreed to go through the ballad. In the elaborate and excellent introduction was a footnote which said, "This Yousuf Khan was originally a Hindu Vellala called Marudha Naayagam. Kamal immediately jumped at it and felt that the story had all the potential of a good historical film”.

In 1998, Sujatha wrote the dialogues for Director Ravichandran’s ‘Kannethire thondrinaal’ starring Prashant, Karan and Simran. During this time, Sujatha worked on Gandhi Krishna’s ‘Engineer’ starring Arvind Swami and Madhuri Dikshit, but though a major part of the movie was completed, it was given up due to various reasons. When Rajeev Menon set to work on an adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’, it was Sujatha who penned the dialogues for the movie ‘Kandukkonden kandukkonden’ (2000). An off-beat movie that Sujatha scripted in 2001 was ‘Nilaa Kaalam’. Directed by Gandhi Krishna, the movie fetched Master Udayaraj the National Award for the Best Child Actor. Sujatha wrote the dialogues for JD-Jerry’s taut thriller ‘Whistle’ (2003).

P.C. Sreeram was the next to try his hand at adapting one of Sujatha’s stories for the big screen. ‘Irul varum neram’, Sujatha’s riveting account of the gruesome horrors of rape and the trauma that its aftermath evokes that was serialized in Kalki was made as ‘Vaanam Vasappadum’ (2004). He also helped in polishing the screenplay and dialogues of ‘Chellame’ (2004). Later, he wrote the youthful dialogues for Jeeva’s college caper ‘Ullam ketkume’ which saw a belated release in 2005.
Earlier, Sujatha had got to work with Director Maniratnam on ‘Roja’ (1992) and this marked the commencement of a refreshing chapter in the history of Tamil cinema. Sujatha’s dialogues added sheen to Maniratnam’s works such as Thirudaa Thirudaa (1993), Kannaththil Muththamittaal (2002) and Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004). It was Sujatha who developed the story of ‘Dil se’ (1998) from a plot narrated by Maniratnam.

Director Shankar’s association with Sujatha dates back to 1996 when Sujatha worked with Shankar in ‘Indian’ (1996). His collaborations with Maniratnam and Shankar gave Sujatha immense satisfaction. In an interview in 1998 he said, “My most satisfying efforts were Mani Ratnam's 'Roja' and Shankar's 'Indian,' though I wrote only the dialogue for these films. 'Roja' especially was a gratifying experience because I participated in all the discussions during its making. For 'Indian,' the director did the thinking, gave me the sequence order and after I wrote the dialogue, Shankar would choose what he wanted.” Sujatha even wrote a primer on the art of screenplay writing titled ‘Thiraikkadhai ezhuthuvadhu eppadi’. Sujatha and Shankar continued their collaborations in Mudhalvan (1999), Boys (2003), Anniyan (2005) and Sivaji (2007). In his last days, Sujatha was working on the script of ‘Robot’, Shankar’s magnum opus with Rajinikant. While handing over the completed script to Shankar, Sujatha is reported to have remarked in jest, "Shankar, I completed my work satisfactorily. Hereafter, there is no tension for me; even the film may well be my last one!"
Sujatha was a whiff of fresh air in the stifling avenues of Tamil cinema. Dhool salutes the unassuming genius.
* * * * *

Presenting here a song of timeless allure from ‘Idhu Eppadi Irukku’ (Sujatha remarked wryly that even Panju Arunachalam’s ploy of renaming ‘Anitha Ilam Manaivi’ with Rajini’s punch refrain from 16 Vayathinile could not salvage the movie!) My take is, even this song of surpassing magnificence could not help the movie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1thQz0vpjp4




Discussion at:
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இப்படியும் ஒரு பெண்- Part 4

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

2. Nallathambi (4.2.1949/ NSK Films)

N.S. Krishnan was pronounced a free man on the same day as Bhagavathar. At that time, his NSK Films was in the midst of making a movie with S.V. Sahasranamam, MGR and T.A. Mathuram playing the lead roles. Now that NSK had returned, a role was created for him and the story slightly modified accordingly. Directed by the young duo Krishnan-Panju, ‘Paithiyakkaran’, the movie did good business.

‘What next?’ was the question that NSK now asked of Krishnan and Panju, and was taken aback when they replied that he would be the hero of their next project. Highlighting instances of comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Red Skelton and nearer home K. Sarangapani (En Manaivi) and T. R. Ramachandran (Sabapathi) who had been successful as lead actors, the director duo convinced a reluctant NSK that with the right script, he could carry it off as well.

Now came the question of a suitable story. The director duo had to earlier decline the prestigious offer of directing the movie adaptation of Annadurai’s Velaikkaari when they were preoccupied with the making of Paithiyakkaran. Knowing this, NSK took them forthwith to Kanchipuram to the house of Annadurai. Hearing them out, Anna agreed to work on a suitable script for them. Without much ado, he got ready and the car sped back to Madras, to the offices of NSK Films at Venkataraman Street, T. Nagar.

The movie was titled ‘Nallathambi’. Krishnan-Panju were the directors and the movie introduced C.N. Annadurai M.A. as the story and dialogue writer. However, truth was the story was lifted from the 1936 English movie ‘Mr. Deeds goes to town’. Based on Clarence Budington Kelland’s story ‘Opera Hat’ and adapted for screen by Robert Riskin, ‘Mr. Deeds goes to town’ was directed by Frank Capra. It told the story of a small-timer Longfellow Deeds (Gary Cooper) who suddenly finds himself the heir to an enormous fortune. When his eyes open to the travails of the unemployed poor, he decides to put his fortune to good use- he offers the poor vast farmlands for free if they would work on them. A crafty attorney who had planned to usurp the fortune by keeping Deeds under his thumb finds all his calculations going awry at this unexpected gesture of Deeds. He joins forces with some relatives of Deeds and tries to get Deeds declared insane. However, Deeds proves his mental competence and all is well that ends well.

Sahasranamam and director Krishanan had been highly impressed with the movie and sat with C.N. Annadurai to work on this story and amend it appropriately to suit the native milieu. Accordingly, Annadurai created the Soppanapuri Zameen. Pushpa and her cousin Nallathambi are the joint heirs. While the city bred Pushpa is highly conscious of her status and upbringing and has the haughtiness of the idle rich, Nallathambi is a diehard socialist, passionate in the upliftment of the poor.

Krishnan and Panju were determined that the movie should be a mere comic caper and hence expressed their opinion that it would be better not to have Mathuram pair with NSK, as the pair would bring in expectations of a full-length comedy. They were working with Bhanumati at the time on ‘Ratnakumar’ and wanted her to essay the role of the strong-willed Pushpa in “Nallathambi’. Mathuram was woebegone at being left out of the project and NSK did not appear to be enthused with the idea as well. Sensing this impasse, Annadurai cleverly inserted into the script the character of the nurse Rani for Mathuram. The story was altered to show that Pushpa wants to marry Nallathambi, but Nallathambi has brought along with him his lover Rani who had the same zeal for social reforms. Bhoopathi, a distant relative had been eying this enormous fortune, and now steps in to create a wedge between Pushpa and Nallathambi. He carries tales to Pushpa of Nallathambi’s secret love. At this time, Nallathambi commences co-operative farming to help the landless poor. Goaded by the cunning Bhoopathi, Pushpa files a suit that Nallathambi is of unsound mind and not capable of managing the property. As in the English original, Nallathambi proves his saneness in the end.

Annadurai worked on the script at his house in Kanchipuram and completed it within a fortnight. A assistant at NSK Films called Challamuthu was assigned to write down the dialogues dictated by Annadurai. Krishnan & Panju took a month to prune the script to a workable version and the filming commenced at a brisk pace. NSK played Nallathambi, Mathuram was his lover Rani and Sahasranamam was the wicked Bhoopathi. And as desired by Krishnan-Panju, for the role of the supercilious Pushpa, NSK brought in Bhanumati.

NSK ensured that all members of his NSK drama troupe were accommodated in the cast of Nallathambi. The NSK films office was bustling with activity all day long with the cast and crew of ‘Nallathambi’ occupying the premises. Though it was the time of the food crisis and rationing, NSK ensured that the entire staff had a sumptuous spread thrice a day. It is said that there were some men, not connected with the film in any way, who would quietly come in and partake of the meals. One of them, when questioned, answered innocently that he had assumed that the building was a free ‘sathiram!’

After most of the movie was made, NSK felt that the proceedings were a tad serious and needed some lighter sequences. And in doing so, he also intended to address some of the ills that plagued the society at large- He persuaded Krishnan-Panju to insert his ‘Kindanar’ discourse condemning untouchability and ‘Kudi keduththa kudi’, a street play to propagate prohibition.

When Annadurai was screened the completed movie, he famously remarked ‘My story has been nicely sandwiched between Therukoothu and Kaalatchebam!’. However, he left at that, accepting that NSK had made the changes keeping in mind the expectations of the people. NSK was proved right, the movie was a commercial success. Annadurai named NSK’s son born at the time of the movie’s release as ‘Nallathambi’. However, fearing further such interference, Annadurai declined to work for NSK’s subsequent project titled ‘Thambidurai’ citing lack of time and the project was shelved soon thereafter.

Though the role of Pushpa was truncated to accommodate Mathuram’s Rani, Bhanumati was scintillating even in the limited space. The role was that of an inflexible, overbearing young woman who finds her defences crumbling when she falls in love with Nallathambi and retains her dignity and poise even in her unrequited love. Bhanumati was just the choice to define the contours of the complex characterization to sculpted perfection. The bashful smile of hushed desires that her lips curl in as she is asleep and dreams of wooing Nallathambi, the plethora of expressions that dance upon her face when she confronts Nallathambi with Rani- incredulity, hurt, fury, jealousy, scorn and despair- they all have their say in those fleeting seconds, her look of wry resignation at the end when she remarks to Bhoopathy that times have changed…A bravura performance that only she was capable of…. Bhanumati cast some iridescent hues even upon a canvas whose warp and weft was wholly NSK, and that was some achievement!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uf3Cp0_rg

C.R. Subbaraman composed the music; Udumalai Narayana Kavi and K.P. Kamkshisundaram penned the lyrics. Bhanumati had some noteworthy songs in the movie. Listen first to the amazing ‘Enadhu uyir Egypttu’. The song is Bhanumati’s show all the way. Hark at the soprano humming she affects before declaring ‘Enadhuyir Egypttu’, and the hauteur that she manages to put across the lines….Fascinating stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-7WbqxEdjo

‘Malarthanil oru azhagu mayil’ This was the famous ‘Cleopatra’ sequence with Bhanumati appearing as the Egyptian empress and NSK as the love-struck Anthony. The song is a rare instance of NSK not singing for himself. His lines are sung by Ghantasala. Ghantasala’s first song in Tamil had been ‘Kuyil pola isai paadum’ in ‘Paithiyakkaaran’, and it was C.R.Subburaman who again gave him this opportunity to sing a few lines in ‘Nallathambi’. Listen to the magnificent prelude, one that extends to well over 2 minutes before ‘Malarthanil oru azhagu mayil’. In a careless wave of his magic baton, the brilliant Subbaraman transports us to the exotic banks of the Nile.

Watch at 1.44.48 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwWwT3rqik

Watch now the quaint ‘Varuvaare dear varuvaare’ which Pushpa sings with the joyous expectations of Nallathambi’s arrival (by ‘Boat Mail’!). Bhanumati bestows all this happiness into the opening humming itself,and the song portrays the love that Pushpa has for Nallathambi, much before the scoundrel Bhoopathi corrupts her thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRY1XumhXxI

Another song is the remorseful ‘Naan vanangum deivam’ that a repentant Pushpa sings. Her song is tinged with the sorrow of a rather late realization of the error of her ways and the innate greatness of Nallathambi. Pride, they say, goes before a fall, and the truth of this adage is witnessed all over the song. Bhanumati brings the newly found humility and penitence of Pushpa into her song.

Bhanumati’s performance, her ‘Cleopatra’ extravaganza in particular, was one of the factors that all the magazine reviews mentioned with awe. Annadurai’s lifelong admiration for Bhanumati began with ‘Nallathambi’; he would anoint her as ‘Nadippukku ilakkanam’ in future years. Speaking of ‘Nallathambi’ in an interview (The Hindu/ V. Gangadhar), Bhanumati grumbled good-naturedly, “This was a film where I could not do anything even when the hero Nallathambi distributed my entire wardrobe of saris to poor women!” Touché!

To be continued...

Discussion at:

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இப்படியும் ஒரு பெண் - Part 3

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

Entry in Tamil Cinema:

Thus when Bhanumathi came to Tamil cinema, she was already a name to reckon with in Telugu, and was consolidating her position therein day by day. With her well-established credentials and stern demeanor that would brook no nonsense and being a married woman and a mother to boot, her co-actors, members of the technical team and even her directors and producers held her in awe and treated her with deference. Her arrival in Tamil cinema was unprecedented in grandeur. For never before had the ruling male stars of Tamil cinema vied with each other in trying to get Bhanumati to pair with them. They considered it a rare privilege to make it known that Bhanumati was to co-star with them in their forthcoming movies. She acted with reigning legends like M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, P.U.Chinnappa, Honappa Bhagavathar, N.S.Krishnan, T.R.Mahalingam and M.K.Radha and complemented their performances with her own, be it acting or singing.

She progressed with equal ease to pairing with the actors of the next generation. As in Telugu where she was senior to A.Nageshwara Rao and N.T.Rama Rao, she had become an acclaimed heroine in Tamil when MGR was still climbing his way up and no one had even heard of Sivaji Ganesan. Gemini Ganesh was only a casting assistant in Gemini Studios when Bhanumati came to act in Gemini’s ‘Apoorva Sagotharargal’. In fact, MGR and Sivaji never addressed Bhanumati by name- they called her ‘Amma’. She acted with them all, and carved an enviable niche for herself as an actress who could carry a film on the strength of her performance alone. Long years after actresses stopped singing, Bhanumati continued singing her own songs and made fetching forays into other areas of film making as well.

Her first Tamil film was released in 1948, her last Tamil film was released in 1992, and she acted in 48 Tamil movies in all. And she sang in most of them. Bhanumati has thus left behind indelible prints in the archives of Tamil Cinema, and we shall travel year by year and try to pick out each silken thread of this glorious tapestry…

As we have seen, with ‘Swarga Seema’, Bhanumati plunged into her renewed career with vengeance, and Telugu film offers came pouring in. She cemented the success of ‘Swarga Seema’ by another fine performance in ‘Grihapravesam’ (1946/ Sarati Films). This was the first film directed by L.V. Prasad, and he donned an important on-screen role as well. But it was Bhanumati playing the modern girl Janaki and spewing feminist views at the drop of the hat who stole the show with her breezy nonchalance.

Tamil producers and actors were watching this phenomenon called Bhanumati hold the Telugu film world in a spellbound trance, and realized that it was to their advantage to hasten and harness her talents in their Tamil ventures. The first overture came from Murugan Talkies who were planning an extravaganza titled ‘Ratnakumar’ with the redoubtable singing star P.U.Chinnappa playing the title role. The producers approached Bhanumati to play the leading lady opposite Chinnappa and booked her dates by paying her Rs. 25,000/, a sum unheardof those days, that too for a debutante!

And the whopping sum had arrived at the right time, for it was just then that Bhanumati and Ramakrishna were toying with the idea of establishing their own production company and make movies of their choice to canalize their creative urge and at the same time make commercial profits. And this amount was the catalyst that transformed what was mere wishful thinking into a realistic proposition. With this sum as the initial outlay, the couple floated their company, calling it ‘Bharani Pictures’ after their son.

As ‘Ratnakumar’ was filmed in infrequent spurts and its progress was way off the schedule, Bhanumati went ahead and launched the first film under ‘Bharani Pictures’- the Telugu movie ‘Ratnamala’. Scripted by Samudrala,‘Ratnamala’ was based on an ancient folklore of a woman who is forced to marry the infant prince Chandrakant; Of course, as the result of her penance, the Gods transform the child into a handsome youth. Filled with the wondrous compositions of C.R. Subburaman and directed by Ramakrishna, ‘Ratnamala’ (1947/ Bharani Pictures) was a grand success and proved an auspicious harbinger of the greater successes that would grace ‘Bharani Pictures’ in later years.

And realizing that ‘Ratnakumar’ would be some time in the making, Ramakrishna decided to launch his wife in Tamil under their own banner, and Bharani Pictures’ ‘Pulendiran’ starring the young T.R.Mahalingam and Bhanumati was announced with great fanfare. However, due to various reasons, ‘Pulendiran’ could not make headway.

In the meantime, Bhanumati got a few other prestigious offers in Tamil and many of them were released before ‘Ratnakumar’ eventually saw the light of the day in late 1949.

Let us now proceed to a chronological retrospective of Bhanumati’s Tamil movies, enumerate her songs therein, and listen to many of them.

On to the ramble in nostalgia…

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1. Rajamukti (9.10.1948/ Narendra Pictures)

M.K.Thyagarja Bhagavathar was acquitted in the Lakshimikantan murder case and released on April 25, 1947. Emerging a free man at around 11 in the forenoon, Bhagavathar went first to Vadapalani Murugan temple and then proceeded to Trichy, where he spent a few days in the blissful company of his family. He was soon approached by producers who wanted him to return to the arc lights. But Bhaagavathar had had enough of these avaricious and ungrateful men- for they had shown themselves in their true colours when he was in prison. They had not only demanded back the advances that he had taken for acting in their movies before his incarceration, but without a second thought got him replaced by other actors in their movies, believing firmly that Bhagavathar would remain behind bars for many years to come.

Bhagavathar thus decided to produce a movie himself. Naming his banner ‘Narendra Pictures’, Bhagavathar’s first venture was an elaborate costume drama called ‘Rajamukthi’. He commissioned the legendary Pudhumaipitthan to pen the dialogues. Nanjilnaadu T.N. Rajappa had a hand in writing part of the dialogues. Raja Chandrasekhar drafted the screenplay and directed the film.

Bhagavathar played the hero- King Rajendra Varman of the Vyjayanti empire. V.N.Janaki played his wife, Mrinalini. An upcoming MGR played the neighboring king and rival Mahendra Varman. M.G.Chakrapani played the wily minister, and Bhanumati played the minister’s daughter Kannika who is in love with Rajendra Varman, and aims to attain him at any cost. Serugalathur Sama, P.S.Veerappa (debut), M.R.Swaminathan, P.G.Venkatesan and C.T. Rajakantam were the others in the cast.

Hesitant to shoot the movie in the city where he had been imprisoned for more than 2 years, Bhagavathar booked the legendary Prabhat Studios in Poona and took on lease a sprawling bungalow to accommodate his cast. Most of the technicians- editor M.D.Jadhav, art director Vasudev Stolikar and cinematographers Pandurang Naik and Surendra Pai who worked in the movie were from Prabhat Studios.

It was Bhanumati’s exquisite delineation of an interesting character with shades of gray in ‘Swarga Seema’ that must have prompted Bhagavathar to pick her for the role of Kannika, for this role too had subtle shades that oscillated between good and bad, though finally settling on the latter. V.N. Janaki might have been the official heroine, but it was Bhanumati who cornered a greater share in the proceedings.

Ramakrishna and the little Bharani had gone along with Bhanumati to Poona. One day, seeing the child moving his hands as though playing a violin when a song was being rehearsed, the delighted Bhagavathar is said to have presented Bharani with a new violin!

And this convoluted tale of palace intrigue, suspicion, unreciprocated love, seduction, villainy and piety was interspersed with excellent music- Papanasam Sivan’s lyrics set to C.R. Subbaraman’s enticing tunes.

Way back in 1945, CRS was booked to compose music for a movie called ‘Udayanan-Vasavadattai’ with MKT and Vasundra Devi as the lead actors. Excited at the thought of Bhagavathar singing under his baton, CRS had worked painstakingly on the songs when Bhagavathar was arrested and sent to prison. The movie was later taken up with GNB playing the lead role and C.S.Jayaraman composing the music. CRS had bitterly disappointed at the turn of events, and so was naturally thrilled now that Bhagavathar had singled him out to compose music for his comeback vehicle.

Bhagavathar sang several appealing songs in ‘Rajamukthi’: ‘Unai allaal oru thurumbuasaiyumo, O Paanduranga!’, ‘Maanida jenmam meendum vandhidumo’, ‘Nee palli ezhunthaal’,‘Piravikkadal thaandiye’, ‘Manam ninaindheginene’ etc. CRS introduced a new female singer called Madras Lalitangi Vasantakumari to Tamil cinema through ‘Rajamukti’. Though MLV had already made a mark as a vocalist of rare merit, it was in ‘Rajamukti’ that she made her debut as aplayback singer. She sang for V.N.Janaki on screen, and her songs include ‘Kulakkodi thazhaikka’, ‘Aaraaro nee aaraaro’ (both solos), and ‘Ingum angum engum inbame’ and ‘Enna anandam’ (duets with Bhagavathar). Serugalathoor Sama sang ‘Indirajaala vidhdhaikkaaran’ and P.G.Venkatesan sang the comic song ‘machchi un mugathil meesaiyai kaanom’ .

In the midst of this formidable array of stalwart singers, Bhanumati distinguished herself in her songs ‘Sarasa sallabam seiyya arugil vaarumaiyya’ (solo), ‘Swami arunkanigal ivaiye paareer, amudhathil melaana theenchuvaiyaagum’ (with Bhagavathar) and ‘Sandhoshamaai anbar varuvaaradi’ (with MLV).

Bhagavathar got T.N.Rajaratinam Pillai to play the Nadaswaram for a sequence. The music records of ‘Rajamukti’ witnessed record sales even before the movie’s release. But for all its impeccable testimonials,‘Rajamukti’ was not a success. Not only ‘Rajamukti’, all of Bhagavathar’s subsequent ventures were commercial catastrophes;‘Rajamukti’ marked the beginning of the end for Bhagavathar.

Nevertheless, Bhanumati had made a praiseworthy debut, eliciting notice even when pitted amongst a challenging ensemble.

The following year saw five movies of Bhanumati release in quick succession....

To be continued.

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