மலர்ந்தும் மலராதவை # 15
கூவம் நதி தீரத்திலே.....
Circa 1979. One sultry evening, ALS. Veeriah was at a loose end when he received an intriguing summons from Jaishankar to call on him the next morning. Veeriah had been lounging at home for he had nothing else to do. He went to bed wondering what the summons meant and what the morrow would bring.
The movie production executive who was rarely at home and had been almost a stranger to his own children all these years now had all the time in the world for them. The young man whom Kannadasan had brought from Devakottai in the late 50s to work in his ‘தென்றல்’ press had observed life in all its ups and downs. He had seen at close quarters the machinations of the dream merchants of Kodambakkam, their facade of sparkle and splendour; and the decay, deceit, despair and decadence that gnawed at the vital within.
Over the years, he had had earned the trust and affection of Kannadasan- he had even chauffeured the bard all over the state when the regular driver was unwell; he had looked after the accounts of the bard’s publications, involved himself in election campaigning, worked tirelessly for all the movies scripted or produced by Kannadasan. And when Kannadasan’s brother A.L. Srinivasan wanted him to work as production executive for the movie ‘செந்தாமரை’, Veeriah began a long tenure of loyal service as production executive with ‘ALS Productions’. He even affixed the prefix ‘ALS’ before his name. Seeing his tireless and diligent work during the making of ‘கந்தன் கருணை’, director A.P. Nagarajan was so impressed that he got Veeriah a car and promised Veeriah to make a movie for him. Veeriah continued to work as 'Production Executive' and graduated to 'Production Manager' for the movies made by ALS.
The years rolled by. ALS fell ill after ‘சினிமா பைத்தியம்’ and passed away shortly thereafter. Veeriah worked for ‘சட்டம் என்ற கையில்’ at the request of Director T.N. Balu whom Veeriah knew since the days when Balu was a car driver for film financier Singaram Chettiar. Veeriah started working for Balu’s next venture ‘சங்கர்லால்’, but Balu’s sudden demise brought to an end to Veeriah’s association with the movie. He had earlier tried to meet APN to remind him of his promise to make a movie for him, but an embarrassed APN who at that time making ‘நவரத்தினம்’ with MGR, declined to meet him and conveyed his regrets through an assistant. APN too passed away soon thereafter.
It was then, as I started to say, that Veeriah received a summons from the ‘மக்கள் கலைஞர்’. When Veeriah reached Jai’s house, he was given a warm welcome. Jai enquired if Veeriah was engaged in any project. When Veeriah replied that he had been unemployed for quite some time, Jai was saddened. The affable actor knew well the wide knowledge and experience that Veeriah had gathered in all aspects of film making and now assured him that they would commence making a movie with Veeriah as the producer. Veeriah was overjoyed at this sudden turn of events and Jai asked him to return after a week.
In the meantime, Veeriah’s family friend and businessman Venkataraman came forward to finance the project. Veeriah took him to meet Jai, but when Venkataraman wanted Jai to sign as guarantor for the amount, Jai was outraged at the lack of trust and declined the offer. Jai assured Veeriah that he would obtain funds for the project and deposited a significant amount in a separate bank account. The Production Company was named ‘Mukundalaya’ by Jai.
Veeriah was taken aback when Jai suggested that they take up his good friend Cho’s famed stage play ‘Quo Vadis?’ for their project, for the drama was a political satire with controversial innuendoes.
The story was about a remote island that remains untouched by modern developments. The island is ruled by a good King, and the innocent people lead happy, untroubled lives. A ship that leaves Madras gets caught in a storm and is shipwrecked on the island. How the visitors corrupt the minds of the islanders and how a good samaritan amongst them comes to their rescue forms the rest of the tale.
Worried at the controversies that the narrative may trigger, Veeriah requested Jai to take up some other story. However, Jai was adamant on this point. Cho was roped in to tweak the story into an engrossing screenplay and direct the movie himself. Jaishankar, AVM. Rajan, Jayachitra, Radhika, Ashokan, VKR and Manorama were engaged to play the main roles.
Cho commenced making the movie titled ‘பாருக்குள்ளே நல்ல நாடு’ in right earnest and shooting progressed at a brisk pace in sets erected at the AVM Studios when the first hurdle struck. Ashokan suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. They decided to shoot the portions that did not need Ashokan’s appearance and take him back on-board after his recovery.
The second hurdle was a report that the State Government was not pleased at this movie being made and that MGR take it as a direct censure of his stewardship. The rumor-mongers even suggested that MGR had heard that some of the sequences in the movie had cotemporary, critical hues. Fresh from the success of ‘வண்டிக்காரன் மகன்’ and acting in ‘ஆடு பாம்பே’ at the time, Jai was considered as being against the government and there was a close watch on the projects that he was engaged in. However, when an anxious Veeriah brought these reports to the notice of Cho and Jai, they seemed only more determined to go ahead with the movie.
The cast and crew then traveled to Rajasthan for the next schedule of shooting. Sequences were shot in the rich, regal locales. They returned to Madras, only to hear the sad news of Ashokan’s demise. The filming was discontinued for a while leading to mounting costs. As most of the movie was made, Veeriah played the canned shots to prospective distributors. He perceived then that the political insinuations in the narrative had put off the distributors- they were afraid of the repercussions from the powers that be. While some of them predicted that the movie would never get a censor certificate, others said they would not commit until the movie cleared the censors.
Months rolled by, and despite the best efforts of Jaishankar and Veeriah, the project had to finally abandoned. A disenchanted Veeriah was back at home, waiting for another summons…..
* * * * *
MSV had been engaged to compose the music for the movie. One of the songs from the album captured the imagination of the blessed Radio Ceylon and was played for a brief time before being buried in the relentless sands of time.
Here, then, is the song …. A gorgeous classical setting for a mirthful duet. The besotted man suggests suitable locales in Madras for a romantic rendezvous… the haughty lady dismisses each suggestion with hilarious contempt! TMS and Vani seemed to have relished rendering the lines…the enjoyment shows in their song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8bEwLeDRlY&feature=youtu.be
Discusion at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1842056442492740/
கூவம் நதி தீரத்திலே.....
The movie production executive who was rarely at home and had been almost a stranger to his own children all these years now had all the time in the world for them. The young man whom Kannadasan had brought from Devakottai in the late 50s to work in his ‘தென்றல்’ press had observed life in all its ups and downs. He had seen at close quarters the machinations of the dream merchants of Kodambakkam, their facade of sparkle and splendour; and the decay, deceit, despair and decadence that gnawed at the vital within.
Over the years, he had had earned the trust and affection of Kannadasan- he had even chauffeured the bard all over the state when the regular driver was unwell; he had looked after the accounts of the bard’s publications, involved himself in election campaigning, worked tirelessly for all the movies scripted or produced by Kannadasan. And when Kannadasan’s brother A.L. Srinivasan wanted him to work as production executive for the movie ‘செந்தாமரை’, Veeriah began a long tenure of loyal service as production executive with ‘ALS Productions’. He even affixed the prefix ‘ALS’ before his name. Seeing his tireless and diligent work during the making of ‘கந்தன் கருணை’, director A.P. Nagarajan was so impressed that he got Veeriah a car and promised Veeriah to make a movie for him. Veeriah continued to work as 'Production Executive' and graduated to 'Production Manager' for the movies made by ALS.
The years rolled by. ALS fell ill after ‘சினிமா பைத்தியம்’ and passed away shortly thereafter. Veeriah worked for ‘சட்டம் என்ற கையில்’ at the request of Director T.N. Balu whom Veeriah knew since the days when Balu was a car driver for film financier Singaram Chettiar. Veeriah started working for Balu’s next venture ‘சங்கர்லால்’, but Balu’s sudden demise brought to an end to Veeriah’s association with the movie. He had earlier tried to meet APN to remind him of his promise to make a movie for him, but an embarrassed APN who at that time making ‘நவரத்தினம்’ with MGR, declined to meet him and conveyed his regrets through an assistant. APN too passed away soon thereafter.
It was then, as I started to say, that Veeriah received a summons from the ‘மக்கள் கலைஞர்’. When Veeriah reached Jai’s house, he was given a warm welcome. Jai enquired if Veeriah was engaged in any project. When Veeriah replied that he had been unemployed for quite some time, Jai was saddened. The affable actor knew well the wide knowledge and experience that Veeriah had gathered in all aspects of film making and now assured him that they would commence making a movie with Veeriah as the producer. Veeriah was overjoyed at this sudden turn of events and Jai asked him to return after a week.
In the meantime, Veeriah’s family friend and businessman Venkataraman came forward to finance the project. Veeriah took him to meet Jai, but when Venkataraman wanted Jai to sign as guarantor for the amount, Jai was outraged at the lack of trust and declined the offer. Jai assured Veeriah that he would obtain funds for the project and deposited a significant amount in a separate bank account. The Production Company was named ‘Mukundalaya’ by Jai.
Veeriah was taken aback when Jai suggested that they take up his good friend Cho’s famed stage play ‘Quo Vadis?’ for their project, for the drama was a political satire with controversial innuendoes.
The story was about a remote island that remains untouched by modern developments. The island is ruled by a good King, and the innocent people lead happy, untroubled lives. A ship that leaves Madras gets caught in a storm and is shipwrecked on the island. How the visitors corrupt the minds of the islanders and how a good samaritan amongst them comes to their rescue forms the rest of the tale.
Worried at the controversies that the narrative may trigger, Veeriah requested Jai to take up some other story. However, Jai was adamant on this point. Cho was roped in to tweak the story into an engrossing screenplay and direct the movie himself. Jaishankar, AVM. Rajan, Jayachitra, Radhika, Ashokan, VKR and Manorama were engaged to play the main roles.
Cho commenced making the movie titled ‘பாருக்குள்ளே நல்ல நாடு’ in right earnest and shooting progressed at a brisk pace in sets erected at the AVM Studios when the first hurdle struck. Ashokan suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. They decided to shoot the portions that did not need Ashokan’s appearance and take him back on-board after his recovery.
The second hurdle was a report that the State Government was not pleased at this movie being made and that MGR take it as a direct censure of his stewardship. The rumor-mongers even suggested that MGR had heard that some of the sequences in the movie had cotemporary, critical hues. Fresh from the success of ‘வண்டிக்காரன் மகன்’ and acting in ‘ஆடு பாம்பே’ at the time, Jai was considered as being against the government and there was a close watch on the projects that he was engaged in. However, when an anxious Veeriah brought these reports to the notice of Cho and Jai, they seemed only more determined to go ahead with the movie.
The cast and crew then traveled to Rajasthan for the next schedule of shooting. Sequences were shot in the rich, regal locales. They returned to Madras, only to hear the sad news of Ashokan’s demise. The filming was discontinued for a while leading to mounting costs. As most of the movie was made, Veeriah played the canned shots to prospective distributors. He perceived then that the political insinuations in the narrative had put off the distributors- they were afraid of the repercussions from the powers that be. While some of them predicted that the movie would never get a censor certificate, others said they would not commit until the movie cleared the censors.
Months rolled by, and despite the best efforts of Jaishankar and Veeriah, the project had to finally abandoned. A disenchanted Veeriah was back at home, waiting for another summons…..
* * * * *
MSV had been engaged to compose the music for the movie. One of the songs from the album captured the imagination of the blessed Radio Ceylon and was played for a brief time before being buried in the relentless sands of time.
Here, then, is the song …. A gorgeous classical setting for a mirthful duet. The besotted man suggests suitable locales in Madras for a romantic rendezvous… the haughty lady dismisses each suggestion with hilarious contempt! TMS and Vani seemed to have relished rendering the lines…the enjoyment shows in their song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8bEwLeDRlY&feature=youtu.be
Discusion at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1842056442492740/
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