Saravanan Natarajan writes:
அஞ்சலி: Ceylon A.E. Manoharan (1944- 2018)
My Srilankan friend Jana who hosts Tamil radio programs in London came on WhatsApp yesterday- ‘நம்ம மனோ மோசம் போயிட்டாரு தெரியுமா?’ he messaged. Manoharan, who was 73 years old, passed away on Monday night, apparently due to kidney-related ailments. He was living in Kadanchavadi, Chennai. He is survived by his wife Leema Theresa, twin daughters and a son. His children are well-educated and happily settled, with children of their own.
I expressed my sorrow to Jana at the news of Ceylon Manohar’s demise, for I knew Jana had known Manoharan personally and could sense the anguish behind the lines. Jana had even interviewed him for his radio program many years back. Jana was nostalgic about how he dropped Manoharan back to the house in Wimbledon where he was staying at the time and how all through the drive Manoharan shared his memories of their home country and the good old times.Manoharan had made a name for himself both as an actor and as a singer. Born of parents who were teachers and good singers themselves, he developed a passion for singing at an early age. He was part of the choir in the local church and was an active participant in all the cultural programmes in his school. His first public performance was at Kotahena, a suburb of Colombo, singing as a member of a music troupe. Singing ‘Suraangani’, he soon became an icon of the Baila music, with the song gaining an eternal popularity- popularity that transcends decades and geographical boundaries.
Here is Manoharan singing a multi-language version of 'Surangani' at a recent show in London. His infectious enthusiasm and joie de vivre seem ageless:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9sHkoXH_q4
* * * * * *
A few lines about the Baila. The word ‘Baila’ is derived from the ‘bailar’, which in Spanish means ‘dance’. The Portuguese settlers landed in Sri Lanka in the 15th century, and the island swayed to the music of the guitars, ukuleles and the cantiga ballads that the Portugese brought with them. The Portuguese also brought along African slaves called Kaffrinhas, who further enriched the vibrant music fiber of the island with their unique dance music that came to be known as Baila.
In the early years of its appearance in Sri Lanka, Baila consisted of vocals supported by guitar and handclaps. Improvised percussions came along soon. Modern day Baila, though still retaining its essential flavor, boasts of electric guitars, synthesizers etc. Baila has now become the country’s most popular music genre, and can be classified broadly into 3 categories: the original 'Manja', still prevalent among the descendants of the Kaffrinhas in Sallan Kandal colony in Puttalam; 'Vada Baila'(debate Baila) forms found in the southern area, Mount Lavinia, Panadura & Lakshapathiya - Moratuwa; and Chorus Baila which has been popularized by the great pop singers of Sri Lanka. Artistes like C.T. Fernando, M.S. Fernando, Milton Mallawarachchi, Clarence Wijewardene, Annesley Malevana, Indrani Perera (with their Moonstones, and later Super Golden Chimes bands) Anil Bhareti, Mariazelle Goonetilleke, Corinne Almeida, Rajiv Sebastian and bands like the Gypsies, Las Bambas, Humming Birds and Los Muchachos have all helped in keeping the Baila flag flying high.
* * * * * *
Manoharan, along with others like Nithi Kanagarathinam (Remember the endearing ‘சின்ன மாமியே’?) was the pioneer in Tamil Baila songs, which soon became immensely popular even in Tamil Nadu, thanks to Radio Ceylon. Manoharan performed all over Sri Lanka, raising money for charitable causes and in temple and church festivals. He worked for a while in the commercial section of the Srilankan Broadcasting Corporation and released many numbers in Singhalese and Tamil. His genre of music began to be known as ‘Thullisai’ or ‘Popisai’ and Manoharan was awarded the title ‘Popisai Chakravarthi’ by Chelliah Kumarasuriah, the then Minister of Post and Telecommunication, at a scintillating music festival in Jaffna in 1973.
In the mid-70s, Manoharan came to India to perform in few stage shows and after a particularly rousing performance at Vani Mahal in Chennai where he brought the house down with his ebullient charm and energetic singing, HMV came forward to bring out a record of his Baila songs.
His well-built frame and arresting persona soon had film producers knocking on his door. The first Indian movie he acted in was the Telugu action venture ‘Toofan Mail’ directed by K.S. Reddy, marking the beginning of his trust with Indian Cinema. He went on act in all the four southern languages, besides Hindi. However, not many are aware that much before Toofan Queen, even as a student of St. John’s College in Jaffna, Manoharan had acted in the pioneering Sri Lankan Tamil movie ‘பாச நிலா’ (1966), made by Joe Dev Anand. More than a decade later, Manoharan also acted the path-breaking ‘வாடைக்காற்று’, based on Senkai Aaliyan’s novel on the lives of the Srilankan fishermen.
Coming back to this side of the Palk Strait, it was fellow compatriot V.C. Guhanathan who gave Manoharan his first opportunity in Tamil Cinema in ‘மாங்குடி மைனர்’ (1978). Manohran made a riveting debut as a villain, acting alongside Vijayakumar, Rajinikanth & Sripriya. not content with this, Guhanathan also wanted to give Manoharan an opportunity to sing. As his behest, Chandrabose made Manoharan sing for Rajinikanth in the song ‘உன்னிடம் சொல்வேன்’, a straight lift from ‘Pyar ka samay’ the equivalent song in the Hindi original ‘Rampur Ka Laxman’. Interestingly, Manoharan appears in the song as well, trying in vain to shoot Vijayakumar.
Here is Manoharan singing for Rajinikanth, while TMS sings for Vijayakumar and Janaki for Sripriya:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKyz1wLKHyM
Deepavali of 1978 saw 2 Tamil movies being released in which Manoharan was involved. One, of course, was the ambitious Indo-Srilankan joint venture ‘Pilot Premnath’. Director Thirokachandar and MSV decided that a Baila song would be appropriate for a party sequence, and enlisted the help of Manoharan. Manoharan was thrilled to be working with the great MSV. Considering that the song was to be filmed on Jayachitra who was playing a Singhalese character, Manoharan suggested that the song open with the lines of a popular Singhalese Baila ‘Udaratta menike manahara kanthuratta tilake’ (popularized by Clarence Wijewardene of the famous ‘Super Golden Chimes’ troupe) and sang them to MSV. The master developed the tune further. Manoharan and Vaali wrote the remaining lines in Tamil, beginning with ‘கோப்பித்தோட்ட முதலாளிக்கு’. Manoharan also lent his voice along with L.R. Easwari to this foot-tapping number.
கோப்பித்தோட்ட முதலாளிக்கு:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_tg7MNWW14&feature=youtu.be
The other movie released on the same day with which Manoharan was involved in was R.C. Sakthi’s ‘மனிதரில் இத்தனை நிறங்களா’. Here, Manoharan played a supporting a role and also let his vocals, singing alongside Kamalhasan for the drunken ditty ‘அட மாமா’, composed by Shyam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC_vxB7O-JM
It was during this time that Manoharan befriended the young Malayalam actor Jayan and acted in almost every Jayan starrer in the late 70s and early 80s- Maamankam (where Manoharan played K.R. Vijaya’s suitor), Thadavara, Aavesham, Kazhukan, Sakthi, Thadavar and Kolilakkam- Jayan died while enacting a stunt sequence in this movie.
Manoharan acted in several Tamil movies, eliciting notice in some of them such as Thee, Lorry Driver Rajakannu, Ponnagaram, Varuvaan Vadivelan, Thunive Thozhan and Kashmir Kadhali. After a gap of many years, he made his re-entry in Tamil Cinema with Saran’s ‘Jay Jay’ (2003). In this second innings, Manoharan acted in movies such as Virumbugiren ( he sang the song ‘பத்தல பத்தல’ with Malgudi Suba in this movie), Thotti Jaya, Vaaliban, Kaadhal Kaditham, etc. In recent years, Manoharan was acting in TV serials such as Anjali, Thirumathi Selvam, Aththippookal, etc.
However, all along, Manoharan was steadfast and loyal to his first love- The Baila. He performed all over the world. In the UK, Canada and Australia, he sang to packed houses where Tamils of Sri Lankan origin gave him a thunderous ovation for every song, for he brought back to the old-timers memories of their home-country and its music, and for the new generation it was a magical window to a joyous legacy of a distant time and place. I have watched a live performance of Manoharan at Hotel Breeze in Chennai, and found myself jiving and clapping
to his vibrant charm.
Some years back, Manoharan returned to Sri Lanka after decades and performed in Jaffna. It was an overwhelmingly emotional moment for Mano. Moved to tears, he said that he had thought he would never see his land again and it was a blessing to be back in his soil. Needless to say, the show was a stupendous success.
Here is Mano’s loving ode to his country:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Civi6RQc4J4
Some popular numbers of Manoharan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOPMFy5XxtE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p0_gQOwxgs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3l72G-P6A&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALpWEOdGaUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHwyBCB0K88
Au Revoir, Mano! It is 3 days since you passed on and I am certain the angels up above are dancing non-stop to your tunes by now...give them a breather!
Discussion at :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1018417744856618/permalink/1864653790233005/
No comments:
Post a Comment