Saravanan Natarajan writes:
Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal
For us, avid readers of JK, not a day goes by when even for a fleeting moment we do not turn to JK when a twist of phrase, a peculiarity of characterization, an attitude or a turn of events, or even a quizzical glance or a pregnant silence brings in a sense of déjà vu… for didn’t JK draw all his stories from life itself?
Having dwelt on Paathai Theriyuthu Paar, Yaarukkaga Azhuthaan & Kaaval Deivam earlier, let us resume our journey today tracing his tryst with Tamil Cinema… Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal…
With his earlier forays into cinema filling him with dissatisfaction and worse, disillusionment, JK took a conscious decision to steer clear of the tinsel town in the late 60s, and concentrated on his writing in the years that followed.. He never saw a movie in those years not did he keep himself abreast of the changing trends or the new generation of artistes and technicians.
Sometime in the early 70s, Director A. Bhimsingh had approached JK, through his son Hridayanath, evincing an interest to take up JK’s Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal for celluloid adaptation. Writer Poovannan also met JK with the same message from Bhimsingh. JK gave his acquiescence to the emissaries. However, Bhimsingh was preoccupied with his other ventures and this project was put on the backburner…
Everything happens only in its own good time… In the meantime, in an interview to Kumudam, director C.V. Rajendran showered encomiums on JK and his works and revealed that he was working on a screenplay for SNSM. Accompanied by actor Srikanth, who was part of JK’s friends circle, Rajendran even met JK at his residence in this connection. It was this turn of events that spurred Bhimsingh and his associates into action and they approached JK again for the rights to the story.
And it is at this juncture that I ask myself the question that has had me bewildered- what made Bhimsingh, of all persons, venture into what is known as 'parallel cinema', and then make such an exciting success of the experiment?! For Bhimsingh, the ‘Monrach of melodrama’ is more remembered for his sentiment-filled family epics, star-studded affairs presided by Sivaji, emotional conundrums that had the viewers sobbing happily and asking for more. Surely, Bhimsingh turning to Jayakanthan is one of Tamil Cinema's most exquisite ironies!
But was this change of mind as sudden as it seems? As I muse over Bhimsingh's life and times, I conclude that it could not have been so. For I recalled that even as the 'pa' series movies were petering out in the mid-60s, Bhimsingh set about making some pioneering off-beat movies. No, he didn't direct them himself, but elevated his assistants Thirumalai-Mahalingam to call the shots, satisfying himself with financing the projects (under a new banner 'Sunbeam Productions'), besides drafting the screenplay. Saadhu Mirandaal (1966) and Aalayam (1967) were interesting experiments in this line. Both were made within modest budgets and defied valiantly the vicious 'hero-heroine-love-family-villain-action-all is well that ends well' permutations.
Bhimsingh had heard a lot from others about what a difficult man JK was. And so, it was with some trepidation that he called upon JK at his residence to discuss the making of SNSM. But he was in for a pleasant surprise, JK welcomed him with warmth and affection and happily gave his nod for Bhimsingh to proceed with making SNSM the movie. He asked Bhimsingh to develop his own screenplay and to feel free to use the dialogues from the story.
Having given Bhimsingh carte blanche to develop his own screenplay, JK was not entirely happy. For, as he says in his ‘Oru Ilakkiyavaathiyin Kalaiyukaga Anubhavangal’, even while writing a story, JK would visualize each situation ‘frame by frame’, would see his characters move, converse and react, and only then put pen to paper. So he felt that a screenplay by someone else for his story would not have the same effect as what he had envisaged. So when Bhimsingh’s associates came back to him with the screenplay that the team had attempted, JK did not give it even a cursory glance. For nearly a month and a half, he kept aside all his other commitments and dictated the screenplay and dialogues, scene by scene to Thirumalai and Mahalingam.
Bhimsingh was delighted with the excellent shape JK had given to the screenplay and dialogues. Even the minutest details were written down and filed, which proved to be of immense help when the actual filming commenced. JK recommended Srikanth for the role of Prabhu and Lakshmi was the unanimous choice for Ganga. JK did not interfere with the choice of the rest of the cast and crew. He penned the two songs and then left it all to Bhimsingh. Bhimsingh recounts JK’s reaction upon seeing the movie: ‘idhanai idhanaal ivan mudikkum endraaindhu adhanai avankan vidal’, a contended JK quoted an apposite Thirukkural, filling Bhimsingh with unsurpassed elation.
Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal, the movie (1.4.1977/ ABS Productions) won critical acclaim for its sensitive adaptation of the novel. A National Award winning, heartwarming performance by Lakshmi was backed by stupendous performances by Srikanth, Nagesh, YGP and Sundaribai. A realistic look at middle-class values, on-screen characters whom we meet in everyday transactions, scintillating conversational dialogues, (some entirely in English!), effective use of silence, brilliant black & white frames, taut editing and two unforgettable songs… they all added immense value. The film remains among the best Tamil movies ever made, and surprisingly for its genre, was a modest commercial success as well, crossing 100 days in the urban centers.
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Recalling again the famous JK quote on what a writer does:“Nothing has a right to live without a purpose. We don’t create our lives, but we create in our lives. Sometimes people may not be able to articulate the purpose in their lives. That's what a writer does. He gives... voice to those who can't speak; eyes to those who can't see; a mind to those who can't think; a heart to those who can't feel….”
And so JK gives himself a role in the proceedings of Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal. R.K.Viswanatha Sharma (played by Nagesh with nonchalant brilliance) a library attender who is a writer as well, notices a college girl accepting a lift from a stranger on a rainy evening. Thereafter his imagination takes over; he spins a story of what could have happened, and with a rare catholicity, gives his surmise a cathartic conclusion; a solution that is an exercise in compassion, common sense and courage. He titles his tale ‘Agnipravesam’, for he deems his heroine’s redemption a trial by fire…
But is that what actually happened? Did Ganga’s story really have this happy ending? Years later, Ganga happens to read the tale and is riveted by the startling resemblance it bears to what had happened to her, though she was not as fortunate as the girl in the story. She seeks out RKV, and thereafter commence some of the movie’s delectably poignant moments.
The raconteur himself playing a part in his parable is nothing novel- it is as ancient as our ancient epics, but Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal remains the only instance in Tamil Cinema wherein the writer slips into the story as one of the characters, and ensures that the movie has adequate allusions to its wellspring.
For Agnipravesam was the short story that JK wrote in 1966, and it appeared as part of Suyadharisanam, a collection of JK’s sort stories (1967/Meenakshi Puththaga Nilayam) I believe that the revolutionary ending of the story evoked some protests. As though bowing to popular demand, JK altered the ending to a conventional, convenient conclusion, but had the last laugh as he developed the story further into a remarkable novel spanning situations that are far from conventional or convenient. Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal (1970/Meenakshi Puththaga Nilayam) won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972.
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As a child, movie outings were very rare for me, but I did manage to tag along with my parents when they went to watch a late night show of Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal at Leo Theater, Chennai ( then Madras). Quite naturally, I did not understand the proceedings at all and soon went to sleep. But I woke up at this song, and even now recall laughing aloud at Nagesh’s antics….he sits in a park with a sheaf of papers, and a sudden gust of wind blows some of them away…as he runs to retrieve them, it is the turn of the papers he has left behind on the bench to fly…. and he now runs behind these with an expression of comical dismay…What a gifted performer he was!
M.S.Viswanathan wisely sings JK’s profound lines himself, for his mystic voice rings as the voice of the soul, the voice of the conscience within that seldom manages to get heard without…the guitar strings lending their approbation throughout, the violin and whistles painting a melancholic hue into the interludes, the unobtrusive percussion providing scintillating support…the master is in his elements here…
https://youtu.be/dtWMrA98Gjs
- Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal to continue
Discussion at:
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