JK & Tamil Cinema Part 2

Saravanan Natarajan writes:

JK & Tamil Cinema Part 2:

Yaarukkaga Azhuthaan

“They hold a notion that I have all along been writing about people of the lower strata. However, haven’t I really been writing about high level people among the so-called lower strata? Who belongs to the higher strata and whom to the lower strata? That cannot be determined by their position or by their place of living. It is based on how they are-how they live-that a determination should be made….”

- Jayakanthan

Sometime in the late 50s, Jayakanthan’s story ‘Yaarukkaaga Azhuthaan’ had appeared in Ananda Vikatan, fetching widespread critical acclaim. Actor Chandrababu had befriended Jayakanthan during that time, and expressed his eagerness to adapt the story for the screen and act in the lead role of Joseph. However, the ideas that Chandrababu put forth on the screenplay were not to JK’s liking.

It was a little later that actor A. Veerappan came to JK with the news that Producer G.N. Velumani was desirous of making a movie of ‘Yaarukkaaga azhuthaan’, and wanted to meet him in this regard. JK met Velumani and agreed to give him the rights to the story on the condition that Veerappan play the lead role of Joseph. Velumani agreed to JK’s terms at the spur of the moment, but when the press announcements were made, it was Sivaji Ganesan who was playing the lead role! The movie was to be a star-studded affair with Savitri, Rangarao and Baliah taking on the supporting roles. Velumani had appointed Sridhar to direct the venture.

Though Velumani had gone against his word, JK remained silent as he felt that a producer who was investing money in a project could not be bound by a mere verbal assurance. Later on, Velumani informed JK that Sridhar was desirous of holding discussions with him on the adaptation, and requested JK to meet up with Sridhar. JK called upon Sridhar at the latter’s Chitralaya office, and Sridhar elaborated his ideas on making the movie. With mounting frustration, JK felt that his story was being mangled beyond recognition. Reminiscing on this incident in his ‘Or ilakkiyavaadhiyin kalaiyulaga anubavangaL’ JK says that when Sridhar related to him how he would film the end of the movie with Joseph kneeling in front of a wooden cross and breathing his last, JK lost his cool and retorted that considering Sridhar’s ideas, it would be more appropriate to rename the movie ‘yaarukkaaga seththaan!’

With that, JK kept away from the making of the movie. Reports reached him, however, that Velumani had started expressing apprehensions on Sivaji fitting into the character of Joseph, and that Sivaji had become aware of the producer’s misgivings. JK, who was nowhere in the picture by then, suddenly found himself in the center of a controversy as there appeared some false reports in certain sections of the vernacular media that it was JK who was not in favour of Sivaji donning the role of Joseph.

Subsequent reports indicated that Chandrababu was now being considered to play the role of Joseph. When the press sought JK’s reaction, all that JK said was it did not matter who would be playing the lead role, what was important was how realistic performances would be extracted from the actors and how the story would be filmed. This was again misrepresented in some sections of the press that JK was not happy with Chandrababu as Joseph either. The next day’s Dhinathandhi carried Sridhar’s irked reaction that if JK did wanted neither Sivaji nor Chandrababu, would JK himself play the role? A furious JK gave a prompt rejoinder to Sridhar in Janashakti. In later years, JK regretted the harsh terms he had employed in his response.

The partially made movie was then abandoned after several lakhs of rupees had been expended on it. Chandrababu came to JK’s house soon thereafter, offering Rs.75, 000 for the rights to ‘Yaarukkaaga azhuthaan’. When JK informed Chandrababu that the rights were still with Velumani, Chandrababu replied that as Velumani had given up the project, he would give the rights to Chandrababu if JK urged him to do so. JK refused to do this, and with this the idea of filming ‘Yaarukkaaga Azhuthaan’ was shelved.

In the meantime, as we have seen earlirt, along with a horde of talented communist comrades, JK involved himself in the making of Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar (1960/ Kumari Films). Though it was a commercial failure, JK was satisfied with the way the off-beat movie had shaped up. Soon thereafter, Producer ‘Venus’ Krishnamoorthi professed a great admiration for JK and wanted him to make a movie for them. JK expressed his opinion that none of his stories would suit the screen. At Krishnamoorthi’s request JK wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the Tamil adaptation of a Bengali movie titled ‘Takka Aanna Paisa’. However, Krishnamoorthi had lost interest in the project, and now asked JK to work on the script of another Bengali story involving a dual role for the heroine. JK had completed penning the ‘treatment’ of the screenplay when he felt a torrent of misgivings overcome him and informed the producers that he was no longer interested in the assignment. The movie came out later as Kaathirundha KangaL (1962/ Vasumathi Pictures).

It was during this time that JK’s friends, K. Vijayan and N. Bhaskaran in particular, were urging him constantly to take upon himself the filming of any one of his stories. Their argument was that just as DMK had ingratiated itself into the psyche of the populace solely through cinema, they too could counter this assault through the same medium, making truly good movies in the bargain. JK then decided to make a movie of his ‘Unnaippol Oruvan’ and approached Venus Krishnamoorthi with the idea. Krishnamoorthi agreed readily to finance the project. However, when the script was read out, Krishnamoorthi expressed an opinion that the proceedings seem to drag on with the characters eating and sleeping all the time.

JK walked away in a rage, and then with the encouragement of his friends floated his own film company, calling it ‘Asia Jyothi Films’ after Nehru who had passed away just then. The starkly realistic ‘Unnaippl Oruvan’ (1965) scripted and directed by JK under this banner, won critical acclaim and the National award for the 3rd Best Feature Film. The movie, however, could not run beyond a week. In his memoirs, JK reveals how the movie was removed after just a week from Krishanveni Theater in Madras, though the collections were more than average, and how he had to sell the movie to a Soviet Film Entity called Sovexport. However, despite all this, the financial woes of ‘Asia Jyothi Films’ were such that JK and friends decided to recoup their losses by making another movie.

This time JK picked his ‘Karunaiyinaal Alla’ for adaptation. A new found acquaintance called Mothi Rajagopal agreed to finance the project in part. JK then approached the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) for funds. However, the stringent conditions imposed by FFC filled JK with reservations. It was at this opportune moment that an old friend and owner of Mars Advertising, Udhuman Mohaydeen who went by the name Minnal accosted JK with the welcome tidings that his friends who were owners of a company called Chempi Traders were willing to wholly finance the celluloid adaptation of ‘Yaarukkaaga Azhuthaan’ if JK was ready to make the movie. So JK gave up his efforts to film ‘Karunaiyinaal Alla’ and approached Velumani to get back the rights to film ‘Yaarukaaga Azhuthaan’. The good-hearted Velumani returned the rights to JK without a demur, and wished him all the best to make a successful movie of it.

Thus JK commenced making ‘Yaarukkaaga Azhuthaan’. He felt intuitively that this particular story was such that the impact the book could never be reproduced on the screen. However, the financiers insisted on ‘Yaarukkaaga Azhuthaan’, and considering the livelihood of the members of Asia Jyothi Films, JK went about making the movie.

- Yaarukkaga Azhuthaan to be continued.

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