M G R REMEMBERED PART -22

M G R REMEMBERED PART -22

.MGR Remembered – Part 22
Sibling Rivalry and Siblicide in DMK of 1950s
MGR with S.S.Rajendran (in late 1950s)
MGR with S.S.Rajendran (in late 1950s)

Part 21

by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 3, 2014

In the previous chapter, I introduced Erik Erikson’s generativity concept by MGR as a member of DMK in 1950s. As previous observers of DMK politics of that era, especially Robert Hardgrave Jr., had noted MGR was not alone in promoting DMK policies. Due credit should be given to other film artistes, who were MGR’s contemporaries. Apart from leader Anna himself, there were actors N.S. Krishnan, K.R. Ramasamy, D.V. Narayanaswamy, Sivaji Ganesan, S.S. Rajendran (Narayanaswamy’s brother in law), music director-playback singer Chidambaram S. Jayaraman (Karunanidhi’s brother in law), lyricist Udumalai Narayana Kavi, scriptwriter-lyricist M. Karunanidhi, lyricist-script writer Kannadasan and script writer-producer Murasoli Maran (Karunanidhi’s nephew) as well. The death of S.S. Rajendran (SSR) on October 24 at the age of 86, closes one chapter among the DMK’s ‘heavies’ of that era. This death leaves Karunanidhi alone, as the ‘last man standing’!



Difference between Madras and Bombay movies of 1950s

During the 1950s, there were two big differences between the movies produced in Madras and Bombay. First, Hindi movies produced in Bombay, in the spirit of newly independent India, the call was for unity and nation-building. Contrastingly, due to the influence of DMK’s then secessionist principle and its major players in the drama-movie world, Tamil movies promoted separate state idea for Tamils, and the separate culture of Northern Aryans and Southern Dravidians. Secondly, Muslims played a major role Hindi movies as actors (carrying masked Hindu stage names), play back singers, lyricists, music directors and directors. But, in Tamil movies, Muslims couldn’t gain a prominent strong hold. In 1950s, among the Muslims who shined in the Hindi movies the following deserve mention. Actors: Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan), Madhubala (Begum Mumtaz Jehan), Nargis (Fatima Rashid), Waheeda Rehman; Playback singer: Mohammed Rafi; Music director: Naushad Ali; Director: Mehboob (Ramjan Khan); Lyricist-director: Kamal Amrohi (Syed Amir Haider Kamal).

In the Tamil movies, there was one hero with Muslim name – G.M. Basheer. He couldn’t rise to the top rank. Another actor with a Muslim name, M.K. Mustapha, was in MGR’s drama troupe. Though he acted in a few Tamil movies, he couldn’t elevate himself as a top rank hero. Susequently, there was a stunt Muslim actor C.L. Anandan (as a masked name) who became a ‘hit’ for a few movies, but faded soon. Lyricist Ka. Mu. Sheriff, was the only one Muslim who was able gain distinct name recognition in 1950s. There was one music director with the name T.M. Ibrahim, who scored for a few Tamil movies. In his autobiography, MGR mentions briefly about this Ibrahim (as one “who is younger to me by one or two years”), who later became a music director, though he was more interested in acting and singing. Why Muslims couldn’t make it to the top in Tamil movies deserves an in-depth study. Not that, Hindu parochialism ruled the roost in Tamil Nadu. Afterall, DMK preached atheism and anti-Brahmin sentiments in 1950s.



Leading Heroes of Tamil Movies in 1950s

In chronological order of birth, the leading heroes of Tamil movies in 1950s were as follows: K.R. Ramasamy(1914-1971)–singer/actor, MGR (1917-1987), T.R. Ramachandran (1917?-1990), Gemini Ganesan (1920-2005), T.R. Mahalingam (1923-1978) – singer/actor, SSR (1928-2014), and Sivaji Ganesan (1928-2001). Comedian actor N.S. Krishan (1909-1957) should also be added to this list as a senior contemporary. Among these, five other than T.R. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan and T.R. Mahalingam were affiliated with DMK. Among the eight, K.R. Ramasamy, T.R. Mahalingam and N.S. Krishnan belonged to the old school of singer-actor category, and their opportunities waned in the late 1950s, with the rise of triumvirates of Tamil movies (MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan). N.S. Krishnan became an alcoholic and died prematurely in 1957. SSR held on his own, for his polished Tamil dialogue delivery style and occasionally appearing with Sivaji Ganesan, in movies. SSR also appeared with MGR in two costume-adventure movies, Raja Desingu (King Desingu, 1960) and Kaanchi Thalaivan (Leader of Kanchi, 1963).

Karunanidhi (lt) and Sivaji Ganesan (rt) in 1950s
Karunanidhi (lt) and Sivaji Ganesan (rt) in 1950s

Brief Chronology of Political and Cinema Activities of DMK Members (1954-59)

To summarize the activities of MGR’s contemporaries, I provide the following chronology, based on the sources (Film News Anandan, Kannan, Kannadasan, Karunanidhi and Sivaji Ganesan) cited at the end.

1954 March 3: release of Manohara (Manohara) movie, starring Sivaji Ganesan and SSR, scripted by Karunanidhi. A big success in box office.

1954 April 9: release of Illara Jothi (Light of Domesticity) movie, starring Sivaji Ganesan and scripted/lyrics by Kannadasan. A box office failure.

1954 May 25: release of Sorga Vasal (Heaven’s Gate) movie, starring K.R. Ramasamy and scripted by Anna. Moderately received, due to bad mauling by censors.

1954 June 22: First release of Kannadasan’s journal Thenral.

1954 July 22: release of Malai Kallan (Mountain Thief) movie, starring MGR and scripted by Karunanidhi. A big box office success.

1954 July 30: release of Thuli Vizham (Poison Drop) movie, starring K.R. Ramasamy (hero) and Sivaji Ganesan (villain), scripted and directed by A.S.A. Samy.

1954 Aug. 26: release of Koondu Kili (Caged Parrot) movie, starring MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. A box-office failure.

1954 October 15: release of Rathak Kanneer (Blood Tears) movie, starring M.R. Radha and SSR, with Chidambaram Jayaraman as music director. A big success

1955 July 29: release of Gul e Baghavali (Gul e Baghavali) movie, starring MGR. a big success.

1956 January 14: release of Alibabavum 40 Thirudarkalum (Alibaba and 40 Thieves) movie. The first Tamil movie to be produced in color (Geva). A big success.

1956 April 13: release of Madurai Veeran (Hero of Madurai) movie, starring MGR. A big successful movie for MGR, in which the hero character dies at the end!

1956 September 4: release of Thaiku Pin Thaaram (Wife after Mother) movie, starring MGR. The first successful movie in a social theme for MGR. A big success.

1956 November: Tamilnadu suffered from disruptive cyclone damage. DMK launced a fund drive to support victims. Sivaji Ganesan also became a victim of sibling rivalry and discord in receiving deserved recognition. The instigator of such a design, was not identified by him openly, but he hints Karunanidhi.

1957 March 31: Madras State Assembly election. DMK candidates contested for the first time, under Independent label. While Karunanidhi won at Kulithalai constituency, SSR and Kannadasan lost in their respective constituencies Theni and Thirukoshtiyur.

1957: Sivaji Ganesan sidelined from DMK and dissociate himself from the party, after a visit to Tirupathi temple. MGR receives prominent treatment. Kannadasan openly attacks Sivaji Ganesan, in his journal Thenral.

1957 August 30: death of comedian actor and senior contemporary N.S. Krishnan.

1957 December 9: Prime Minister Nehru delivers a speech at Tiruchirapalli that he was ready even for a war against secessionist tendencies promoted by DMK.

1958 January 6: Black Flag protest to prime minister Nehru during his visit to Madras. MGR detained at Madras jail with SSR.

1958 February 22-23: DMK’s regional conference held at Deva Kottai at Ramanathapuram district. Opening address delivered by SSR. Karunanidhi scripted drama ‘Rising Sun’ staged for the first time.

1958 March 1: DMK receives ‘Rising Sun’ as its official symbol from the Election Commission.

1958 June 27: release of Malai idda Mangai (A Virgin, who garlanded) movie, starring T.R. Mahalingam; produced by Kannadasan. Success in box office, but not for Kannadasan!

1958 August 22: release of Nadodi Mannan (Vagabond King) movie, the first movie under ‘MGR Pictures’ banner. A big success in box office.

1959 January: DMK wins prominently at the Madras municipal council elections. DMK candidates won 45 seats (compared to Congress Party candidates winning 37 seats) for 100 seat assembly. Subsequently A.P. Arasu of DMK was elected as the mayor of Madras city. At the felicitation meeting held, Kannadasan was disillusioned with the recognition Karunanidhi received from the hands of Anna.

1959 February: At the general council meeting of DMK held in Puthukottai, E.V.K. Sampath (then ranked no. 2 in DMK hierarchy) accused Anna and Nedunchezhiyan for not spreading the party message to other three (Andhra, Kannada and Kerala) states.

1959 May 6: release of Veera Pandiya Kattabomman (Heroic Pandiya Kattabomman) movie, starring Sivaji Ganesan in the title role. A big success in box office.

1959 May 19: release of Sivagankai Seemai (Distant land of Sivagankai) movie, starring SSR, produced by Kannadasan; failure in box office.

1959 June 16: Left leg injury to MGR at the drama stage in Sirkazhi.



Sivaji Ganesan autobiography front coverSibling Rivalry and Siblicide among DMK Artistes

In early 1950s, DMK was promoted in prose, poetry and stage as a ‘party of siblings’, following the leadership of leader Annadurai; a play on the leader’s personal name ‘Anna’ which means elder brother. As the above chronological synopsis indicates, generativity of DMK-affiliated artistes was unquestionable. But, such generativity also generated rivalry, jealousy and distrust among the participants. As a consequence, siblicide became a factor in eliminating weaklings.

Luckily, one can rely on the autobiographies of four principals – Kannadasan, MGR, Karunanidhi and Sivaji Ganesan – to learn about the inner currents which prevailed then. I have listed the four names in the chronological order they had recorded their versions. Truth has many shades, and one can infer what really happened by comparing notes. Reading these four autiobiographies, one finds that MGR had not mentioned about the friction he had with Sivaji Ganesan, which led to latter leaving DMK fold in 1957. Not only MGR, even Karunanidhi (in his volume 1, which covers his life up to 1968) and Kannadasan do not mention this conflict with Sivaji Ganesan. In a subsequent volume, Karunanidhi had implied that it was MGR who worked ‘behind’ actively to push Sivaji Ganesan out of DMK.

Sivaji Ganesan’s Gripe

I present Sivaji Ganesan’s version of truth, as he reminisced to his interviewer before his death.

“…in 1956, the mother of all storms hit Tamil Nadu and disrupted normal life for many persons. Arignar Anna appealed to all of us to raise funds for flood relief. I raised funds in my individual capacity. I spoke the Parasakthi dialogue in Virudhunagar and collected the money that was placed on the cloth that I spread out for this purpose. The first to donate was a man from the Nadar community. I handed over the collections to the party and left for Salem for a shoot. Anna was conducting a function to felicitate the person who raised the maximum collection…I waited at home presuming that someone would telephone or invite me personally for the function but there was no communication. The function took place at six in the evening and for the first time MGR was called on stage and honoured. Such irony! It was I who had collected maximum funds, but the honour went to MGR. Anna had apparently asked the party workers why I was not present and he was told that I was unable to make it! Some elements hovering around Anna wanted to send me away from him. Kalignar [i.e., Karunanidhi] was also present. We were so close, yet he was unable to insist that I be invited. Well! What could he do?

No one acknowledged my presence a fact which unsettled me. I had always been patient, and impervious to all insults but this incident drove me crazy. I had been part of this movement from the time I was very young, and without warning, I was dismissed as someone of no consequence and my anna MGR, admitted instead. He was not in the least bit connected with this movement at that point. They did this just to sideline me. This is the truth and I swear by it. Many were aware of these facts but for reasons best known to them kept the truth under wraps. I wish to disclose everything. This autobiography is like my last will, so I do not wish that anything be hidden.”

In Sivaji Ganesan’s version, both MGR and Karunanidhi were mentioned. But, he had noted, MGR “was not in the least bit connected with this movement at that point.” That more or less leaves Karunanidhi as the plotter in this episode. There are two more issues which deserve consideration. First, Sivaji Ganesan’s autobiography also indicates that he “have never been a member of the DMK…I accepted the principles for which the party stood, but did not become a member.” May be, giving the benefit of doubt to Karunanidhi, (as Sivaji Ganesan had remained outside the party membership since Dec. 1949), MGR who had joined DMK and become a member in 1953, it could be argued that Sivaji Ganesan was eliminated from consideration on a technical point! Secondly, as indicated in the chronological synopsis above, MGR’s three released movies of 1956 had box office success. It could be that he might have donated more funds ‘silently’ to the party coffers without any publicity, as his philanthropy came to be recognized later, even by his enemies. Thus, MGR’s contributions came to be publicly acknowledged. One also finds it difficult to accept, that this particular insult of not receiving due recognition made Sivaji Ganesan so bitter with DMK hierarchy. After all, he was not a stranger to such insults in the cut-throat world of Tamil cinema, before the success of his debut movie Parasakthi in 1952. It is on record that notable producers of that era like A.V. Meiyappa Chettiar, S.S. Vasan, director P. Neelakandan and cameraman Jeeva had ‘insulted’ him with words such as one with ‘horse face and fish mouth’!



Kannadasan autobiography vol. 1
Kannadasan autobiography vol. 1

Kannadasan’s Troubles

Kannadasan did have serious sibling rivalry with Karunanidhi, since 1951. In his autobiography, Kannadasan had noted a few. He mentions that, in 1951 when he married second time (while his first wife, married in 1950, was alive), Karunanidhi had criticized him strongly, even though it was his personal affair. Karunanidhi also ordered him not to participate in the party conference. Kannadasan also mentions that in 1954, when the movie Illara Jothi starring Sivaji Ganesan was released, to which he had written the script, Karunanidhi had mixed ‘a little poison’ about him in his own journal, that a segment to that particular movie was scripted by himself (i.e, Karunanidhi). To this mischief, Kannadasan had mentioned that he delivered a zinger, comparing Karunanidhi to Shakespeare, with a caption ‘Shakespeare gained fame by stealing’! This was after he (Kannadasan) had learnt that even Shakespeare’s play plots were not original. Kannadasan mentioned that in those days, there was a common belief that the writings of Karunanidhi were not his own!

In the 1957 elections to the Madras Legislative Assembly, both SSR and Kannadasan lost. DMK didn’t receive official party recognition then. The election records show, Kannadasan came third, contesting Tirukoshtiyur (constituency 99) as an Independent. He received 9,389 votes (20.15% votes polled), against the victor N.V. Chockalingam’s (Congress Party) 20,611 votes (44.2% votes polled). In between these two, was the Communist Party candidate S. Shanmugam who polled 11,533 votes (24.75% votes polled). For this loss, Kannadasan blames his political naivete. Comparatively, SSR performed better, contesting Theni (constituency 134) as an Independent. He received 31,404 votes (21.9% polled) against the victor N. R. Thiagarajan (Congress Party) 38,185 votes (26.6%). In his autobiography, Karunanidhi had mentioned that the lack of a party symbol was a hindrance for the DMK candidates in that election. As ‘rising sun’ was an independent symbols, in some constituencies other Independent candidates not belonging to DMK had the same ‘rising sun’ symbol. Thus, it was difficult to ask for vote for the ‘rising sun’ symbol in some constituencies, and in other constituency (especially Salem, where DMK leader Nedunchezhiyan contested) another symbol had to be pleaded for voters. In that Salem constituency, Nedunchezhiyan contested under rooster symbol, as another independent candidate had received the ‘rising sun’ symbol.

To contest this 1957 election, Kannadasan had mentioned that he received a loan for 3,000 rupees. To retrieve this sum, he attempted to make a movie, having MGR in the hero role.

In his autobiography, Kannadasan adopted an unusal style, of referring himself in third person singular (he). Thus, depending on the context, in the translation of Kannadasan’s story, ‘he’ appears to reflect himself (Kannadasan) and his acquaintances as well. To quote, “He wrote a story entitled, ‘Oomaiyan Kottai’ [Fort of a Dumb Man]. One well known actor of the party was his close friend. [note by Sachi: Kannadasan do not mention MGR by name; but it was an open secret.] It was wrong to belief that he (MGR) was also a friend in day job; because of friendship, he had made contract with him. Because both were friends, another friend was willing to finance. He talked that ‘he would finish this movie, like that of his own’. But after two months, 62,000 rupees had been spent. The actor didn’t offer call sheets. He didn’t even talk to one’s face. The movie stopped abruptly. The financier lost trust, and he filed a case.”

Kannadasan continued his story further. I translate his story here, because he had provided real numbers for movie production costs during that period. “It was January 5th. The next morning, would be January 6th [1958]. On that day, DMK had planned to make Black Flag protest to Nehru. The news reached in Tiruchi on 5th that many had been arrested. He had received money and car. He feared that if he reach Chennai, he also would be arrested. He feared that those who lent money would distrust him. As such, rather than going to Chennai, he reached Bangalore. Only after the Black Flag protest events, he returned to Chennai. He wrote a poem about Black Flag protest, and escaped from the ‘sin’ of not participating in such a protest.

He had written a story based on Sarath Chandra’s ‘Chandranath’ and titled it as ‘Maalai idda Mangai’ (A Virgin, who garlanded). With 17 songs, he produced as a movie. It was over within three months. It brought him success. But, as he had sold the rights to another guy, all the profit moved to him. Then, he produced a movie with the title ‘Sivagankai Seemai’ (Distant land of Sivagankai). [note by Sachi: The hero of this movie was SSR] There was pro and con debate during the production of this movie. He produced it, in confrontation with another movie [note by Sachi: That movie was Veera Pandiya Katta bomman, with Sivaji Ganesan in title role. There was bad blood between Sivaji Ganesan and Kannadasan then.] Though that movie was of some quality, it flopped in box office, relatively to its competing movie. Credit had increased from 62,000 (rupees) to 150,000 (rupees).”

After describing his conflict and disatisfaction with Anna and Karunanidhi on how his efforts were ignored, following the 1959 Madras municipal council elections, Kannadasan had described his troubles as a third time producer. To quote, “Rather than the disgusting thing Annadurai did to him, what he did to himself was more disgusting! He produced his third movie, entitled, ‘Kavalai Illatha Manithan’ [A Man without any Troubles], as a shareholder. Uncomfortable mind. Couldn’t think seriously without worries. Situation was that one had to produce a movie in borrowed money. His partner would sign carelessly without checking what’s on the paper. Under these circumstances, he thought of something, but wrote another thing and produced it as a movie. All he had done for that movie was wrong. Troublesome story. Miscasting of actors…With all these complications, when the movie was released in September 1960, he became credit unworthy. He had lost, 590,000 rupees, in those days. Later, with interest, the amoung ballooned to 700,000 rupees.”

In sum, Kannadasan had antagonized Karunanidhi, Sivaji Ganesan and was not in good terms with MGR in late 1960s. Though I don’t have documents in my hand, I have read that singer-actor K.R. Ramasamy (who was a favorite of Anna, and senior to Karunanidhi by 10 years) was also sidelined in 1950s due to his conflict with Karunanidhi. Here is a tally, in which Karunanidhi had a dubious hand. Sivaji Ganesan quit his affiliation with DMK in 1957; K. R. Ramasamy was sidelined in DMK during late 1950s; Kannadasan quite DMK in 1961; SSR was sidelined in DMK during late 1960s; MGR was thrown out of DMK in 1972.



MGR and SSR in detention in January 1958

In his autobiography, MGR had described briefly about the time he spent in detention about that Black Flag protest event, which Kannadasan had deliberately avoided. Excerpts:

“That particular Black Flag demonstration was decided to criticize because [Nehru] had insulted Periyar’s [talk] as nonsense, and not for accepting the wishes of Tamilnadu people. Because, that demonstration was not directly decisive to nation’s welfare, artistes, lawyers and students were exempted from that protest. I returned home from shooting after midnight 12 o’ clock, and took notes for the next day’s shooting and went to bed around 2 am. I thought, I was being waked for next day’s shooting. Then only, I realized that it was the police personnel.

I asked him: ‘Where is thamby SSR? Where is Mr. KRR? Are you taking me to the place where they are? If so, I’m happy. ”[Initials KRR refers to actor K.R. Ramasamy.] I was greeted with silence. I was taken to Mylapore police station. The officer there asked me to sit in a bench, and took care of his work. Not a word with me.

After a while, thamby SSR also arrived. Like me, he also had asked the same questions. “Where are Mr. KRR and MGR?”

Mr. K.Subramaniam, late director and one who treated me like his elder son, worried much and talked with Mr. Bakthavatsalam [then a cabinet minister in Kamaraj ministry] to release artistes like us. We received a message that we had to express our apology for participating in Black Flag protest and hereafter we’ll not take part in such a protest. We had informed that we cannot offer such apology. We also received again a message, that if our nearest kin can offer such an apology, it would suffice. Though we wished to contact our nearest kin, we couldn’t contact them. Somehow, we were released next day afternoon.”



Nehru’s Firm Hand

M.J. Akbar, one of Nehru’s biographer, noted that in late 1950s, Nehru’s firmness on the question of Indian unity strengthened with time. Thus, by guile, Nehru deflated the separatists raising their heads in Kashmir (leader was Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah), Nagaland (leader was Zapu Phizo) and the then Madras state (leader Annadurai). As far as DMK was concerned, Nehru was lucky in that he had Congress Party (then led by K. Kamaraj) in power. Karunanidhi’s ambition to raise himself to the top after Anna’s demise notwithstanding, in hindsight, one may wonder whether a couple of bureaucratic officials in alliance with the Congress Party in power manipulated defections of E.V.K. Sampath and Kannadasan from DMK in 1961. Why I pose this question is because, Karunanidhi himself had alluded to such ‘soft blackmailing’ by Central government’s tax officials dancing according to the whims of Indira Gandhi, in pulling MGR out of DMK in 1972. Creating friction between number One and number Two of rival parties has remained a time-tested Chanakiyan or Machiavallian strategy of political enemies. To the best of my knowledge, positive evidence for such a defection to deflate secessionist tendencies in Tamil Nadu has not been offered, but M.J. Akbar alludes to such Nehruvian guile in the cases of Nagaland and Kashmir. Two specific facts do provide meager support to the ‘soft blackmail’ theory. First, Sambath was one of the two DMK MPs elected in 1957. Thus, Central government officials might have had easy access to him at New Delhi. Secondly, after leaving DMK in 1961, Sambath in association with Kannadasan, floated a short-lived Tamil National Party (TNP) for a while, but merged his party with the Congress Party within a few years.



.

PARTHIBAN ,OLD ACTOR REMEMBERED AS JACKSON DURAI

PARTHIBAN ,OLD ACTOR REMEMBERED AS JACKSON DURAI 

நீர்தான் ஜாக்ஸன் துரை என்பவரோ..?

‘’கிஸ்தி... திறை... வரி... வட்டி...’’ - சிவாஜியின் அனல் பறக்கும் இந்த வசனத்தை மறக்க முடியுமா? ரசிகர்களின் நாடி நரம்புகளைச் சூடேற்றிய இந்த ‘வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மன்’ காட்சியில் ஜாக்ஸன் துரையை கவனித்திருக்கிறீர்களா? யெஸ்... அவரேதான் இவர். நிஜப் பெயர், பார்த்திபன். பளீர் கலரில் மிடுக்கான துரையாக பட்டையைக் கிளப்பிய இவருக்கு இன்று 90 வயது . அவர் உற்சாகமாக நினைவு கூர்கிறார் அந்தப் பொற்காலங்களை...

‘‘வேலூர் மாவட்டம் வாணியம்பாடியை அடுத்த, கேதாண்டப்பட்டி கிராமம்தான் சொந்த ஊர். ராஜாஜியின் பரம்பரையில் வந்தவன் நான். அப்பா, சக்கரவர்த்தி ராமசாமி. அம்மா, ராஜலட்சுமி. சகோதர, சகோதரிகள் ஐந்து பேரில் நான்தான் மூத்தவன். எலிமென்ட்ரி ஸ்கூலில் படித்தபோதே என்னை நாடகங்களில் நடிக்க வைத்தனர். சென்னை வந்து லயோலா கல்லூரியில் இன்டர்மீடியட் படித்தபோதும் கல்லூரி விழாக்களில் நடித்தேன். எந்தக் கூட்டத்திலும் நான் மட்டும் பளிச்சென தனியாகத் தெரிவேன். பலரும் ‘நீ யாரப்பா... சினிமாவில் நடிக்கிறவனா?’ என்று ஆச்சரியத்துடன் கேட்பார்கள். இதனாலேயே எனக்குள் நடிப்பு ஆசை விஸ்வரூபம் எடுக்கத் தொடங்கியது.

ஆனாலும் குடும்பத்தின் வற்புறுத்தலால் 1953ல் தலைமைச் செயலகத்தில் வேலைக்குச் சேர்ந்தேன். அப்போது எஸ்.ஜே.ஆச்சார்யா என்பவர் கெஜட்டட் ஆபீஸராக இருந்தார். வேலை முடிந்தபிறகு அவரே இயக்கி நாடகம் நடத்துவார். ‘கோடையிடி’ என்ற அவரின் நாடகத்தில் முதல்முறையாக நான் ஹீரோவாக நடித்தேன்! பிறகு சேலத்தில் ‘மெட்ராஸ் செக்ரட்டேரியட் பார்ட்டி’ சார்பில் நடத்தப்பட்ட ‘வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மன்’ நாடகத்தில் புதுக்கோட்டை மன்னர் வேடத்தில் நடித்தேன்.

சினிமாவை மனதில் வைத்துக்கொண்டு அரசாங்க வேலை பார்க்க முடியவில்லை. ஜெமினி ஸ்டுடியோவில் வேலை கேட்டு ஒரு போஸ்ட் கார்டு போட்டேன். தலைமைச் செயலகத்தில் அப்போது எனக்கு 82 ரூபாய் மாதச் சம்பளம். இவ்வளவு பெரிய சம்பளத்தை விட்டுவிட்டு ஏன் போக வேண்டும் என்று வீட்டில் வருந்தினார்கள். அப்போது ஜெமினி ஸ்டுடியோவில் ஜெமினி கணேசன் பார்த்த வேலையை ராஜினாமா செய்துவிட்டதால், உடனே எனக்கு அந்த வேலை கிடைத்தது. சம்பளம் 150 ரூபாய்.

1955ல் திலீப்குமார், தேவ் ஆனந்த் நடித்த ‘இன்சானியத்’ என்ற இந்திப் படத்தில் அம்ஜத் கான் வில்லனாக நடித்தார். அவரது வில்லன்கள் குழுவில் ஓர் ஆளாக நடித்தேன். முதன்
முதலில் கேமரா முன் தோன்றிய படம் அது. அப்போது மாதம் 300 ரூபாய் சம்பளம் கொடுத்தார்கள். கேன்டீனில் மூன்று வேளையும் சாப்பாடு கிடைத்தது. தினமும் ஷூட்டிங்கிற்கு அழைத்துச் சென்று வர கார் வரும். இப்படி முதல் படத்திலேயே எனக்கு சொகுசான வாழ்க்கை அமைந்தது. 1957ல் கலைஞர் வசனங்களால் புகழ்பெற்ற படம், ‘புதுமைப்பித்தன்’. இதில் டி.ஆர்.ராஜகுமாரியின் அண்ணனாக நடித்தபோதுதான் எம்.ஜி.ஆரை முதல்முறையாகப் பார்த்தேன்.

‘நல்லவன் வாழ்வான்’, ‘நான் ஆணையிட்டால்’, ‘தாலி பாக்கியம்’, ‘பறக்கும் பாவை’, ‘மாட்டுக்கார வேலன்’, ‘சங்கே முழங்கு’, ‘இதயக்கனி’, ‘நவரத்தினம்’ ஆகிய படங்களில் எம்.ஜி.ஆருடன் நடித்தேன்’’ என்கிறவர், மெல்ல ‘வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மன்’ அனுபவத்துக்கு வருகிறார்...

‘‘1958ல் ஜாக்ஸன் துரையாக நடித்தபோது எனக்கு வயது 27. சாலிக்கிராமத்திலுள்ள நடிகை பானுமதியின் பரணி ஸ்டூடியோவில் இரவு நேரம் நடந்த ஷூட்டிங்கில் அந்தக் காட்சி படமாக்கப்பட்டது. ஒரே டேக்கில் நடித்தால் காட்சி தத்ரூபமாக அமையும் என்று டைரக்டர் எதிர்பார்த்தார். ‘ம்... நீர்தான் வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மனோ?’ என்று நான் தொடங்க, பின்பு அனைத்து வசனங்களையும் நாங்கள் பேசி நடித்தோம்.

சிவாஜியுடன், ‘அவள் யார்?’, ‘இரும்புத்திரை’, ‘ஸ்ரீவள்ளி’ உள்பட நிறைய படங்களில் நடித்த நான், அவர் மகன் பிரபுவுடனும் ‘கோழி கூவுது’ படத்தில் நடித்தேன். தமிழ், இந்தி, ஆங்கிலம் என 120 படங்களில் நடித்திருக்கிறேன்.

கலைஞர், எம்.ஜி.ஆர் படங்களில் நடித்திருக்கிறேன்.ஜெயலலிதாவின் ‘வைரம்’, ‘மூன்றெழுத்து’, ‘அன்று கண்ட முகம்’, ‘மாட்டுக்கார வேலன்’ படங்களில் நடித்தேன். மூதறிஞர் ராஜாஜியின் கதையான ‘திக்கற்ற பார்வதி’ என்ற படத்தில் நடித்தேன். பிறகு பேரறிஞர் அண்ணாவின் வசனத்தைப் பேசி, ‘நல்லவன் வாழ்வான்’ படத்திலும் நடித்தேன். தமிழில் என்.டி.ராமாராவ் தயாரித்த ‘ராஜசூயம்’ படத்தில் முனிவர் வேடத்தில் நடித்தேன். இப்படிப் பார்த்தால், 6 முதல்வர்களுடன் நான் இணைந்து பணியாற்றியிருக்கிறேன்" என்றவர் மீண்டும் வீரபாண்டிய கட்டப்பொம்மன் பற்றி கூறுகிார்.

ஒரு வருஷத்துக்கும் மேல ஓடின காவியம்யா அது. நம்மள்ல யாருக்கு கட்டபொம்மனைத் தெரியும்? இப்ப படிக்கிற பசங்களுக்கெல்லாம் சிவாஜிதான கட்டபொம்மன். ஆனா சும்மா சொல்லக்கூடாது, சிவாஜிக்கு கட்டபொம்மன் மேல அவ்வளவு மரியாதை. எனக்கும் அந்தப் படத்தாலதான் பேரு.

இதோ, 61 வருஷம் கடந்தும் எல்லாரும் நினைக்கிறாங்களே'' என்றவர், சில நிமிட மௌனத்துக்குப் பின் தொடர்ந்தார்.

''அந்த படத்துல நடிச்சதுல நான் ஒருத்தன்தான் இன்னும் மிச்சமிருக்கேன் தம்பி. ஷூட்டிங்ல சிவாஜி...'' எதையோ சொல்ல வந்தவருக்கு அது நினைவுக்கு வர மறுக்க, ''90 தாண்டிடுச்சுல்ல, அதான் நினைவுல வரமாட்டேங்குது...'' என்றவர், ''ஆனா அந்த வசனம் எனக்கும் மறக்கலைய்யா... 'என்ன மீசையை முறுக்குகிறாயா... அது ஆபத்துக்கு அறிகுறி...' '' எனத் தான் பேசிய வசனத்தைச் சொல்லி சிரிக்கிறார்.

90 வயதான இவர் தற்போது சென்னை மடிப்பாக்கத்தில் வசித்துவருகிறார். முதுமையின் காரணமாக வாக்கர் உதவியுடன் நடக்கிறார்.

கிஸ்தி, திரை, வரி, வட்டி.. வேடிக்கை! வானம் பொழிகிறது பூமி விளைகிறது. உனக்கேன் கொடுக்க வேண்டும் கிஸ்தி? எங்களோடு வயலுக்கு வந்தாயா, ஏற்றமிறைத்தாயா... நீர் பாய்ச்சி நெடுவயல் நிறையக் கண்டாயா... நாற்று நட்டாயா, களை பறித்தாயா அல்லது கழனி வாழ் உழவருக்கு கஞ்சிக் களையம் சுமந்தாயா... மானங்கெட்டவனே.''
தென்தமிழகத்தை ஆண்ட பாஞ்சாலங்குறிச்சி வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மன், ஆங்கிலேயருடன் இப்படி அழகு தமிழில் வாதிட்டிருப்பாரா எனத் தெரியாது. ஆனால் 'கட்டபொம்மன்' என்றால் தமிழகம் இந்த வசனத்தை என்றும் மறக்காது.

நான் என் சின்ன வயதில் இந்தப் படத்தில் ஜாக்ஸன் துரையை பார்த்து இப்படிதான் வெள்ளைகாரர்கள் இருப்பார்களோ என்றும்,வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மன் பிடிபடாமல் இந்த வெள்ளைக்காரனை கொன்றுவிட வேண்டுமே என்று சாமியை வேண்டிக்கொண்டே படம் பார்த்ததும்,வீரபாண்டியன் பிடிப்பட்டதும் எப்படியாவது காப்பாற்று சாமி என்று மனதில் வேண்டிக்கொண்டதும்,தூக்கில் போட்டதும் அழுததும்,அந்தகால டூரிங் டாக்கீஸ் மணலில் என்னோடு அமர்ந்து படம் பார்த்த உறவினர்களின் நினைவும் வந்து செல்கின்றது.

அந்த 'வீரபாண்டிய கட்டபொம்மன்' படம் ரிலீஸான நாள், மே 16. சரியாக 61 ஆண்டுகள் இன்று நிறைவடைந்திருக்கின்றன.

.

MGR REMEMBERED

MGR REMEMBERED

Sexuality and Ménage a Trois
by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 28, 2014

Part 15 

Costs of Film Production in 1950s

Historians of Indian film, Barnow and Krishnaswamy had included the currency conversion rates, as follows: For years 1949 to 1963, one American dollar equaled 5 Indian rupees. Thus, 200,000 to 2,000,000 rupees (the range cost of production of a film in India in 1950s) equaled $40,000 – $400,000. Satyajit Ray, India’s prominent auteur director, had stated in his memoirs, that the budget cost for his first movie Pather Panchali (aka, Song of the Road, 1955) was only 70,000 rupees (~$14,000). For his second movie in the Apu trilogy, Aparajito (aka, The Unvanquished, 1956), the budget was marginally increased to 106,000 rupees (~$21,000).

MGR with his second wife Sadhanandavathi A
MGR with his second wife Sadhanandavathi

For comparison, I provide the comparative budget figures for five of Hollywood’s hit movies in 1950s in chronological order, as provided by van Gelder (1990).

Singin’ in the Rain (1952), directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Cyd Charrise. Produced by Arthur Freed. $2,500,000.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955), directed by Nicholas Ray, and starring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. Produced by David Weisbart. $600,000.

Some Like It Hot (1959), directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Joe E.Brown and George Raft. Produced by Billy Wilder. $3,000,000.

Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, Martin Balsam and John Gavin. Produced by Alfred Hitchcock. $800,000.

The Magnificent Seven (1960), directed by John Sturges, and starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn and Charles Bronson. Produced by John Sturges. $2,500,000.

The range of production costs for these five movies were $600,000 – 3,000,000, all had established stars. Compared to this range, the Guinness Movie Facts & Feats (1991) indicate that the average Hollywood budget for a feature film in 1955 was $900,000 and in 1960 was $1,000,000. As is visible, even the highly successful ‘low-budget’ Hollywood movies of 1950s (Rebel Without a Cause and Psycho) had a higher production budget than that of a Tamil movie of that era. Their world-wide appeal for entertainment was wider than the range Indian Tamil movies could have. Then, international market for Indian Tamil movies was limited to only Ceylon, Malaysia and Singapore, where a sizeable Tamil-speaking population was residing.

In mid 1950s, MGR would decide to produce, direct and act in his own movie ‘Nadodi Mannan’ (The Vagabond King) for which he’d opt to spend a fortune and test his ‘sex appeal’ and ‘staying power’ as a marquee actor in Tamil cinema. The budget for this production was recorded at the highest end of the film production range in India. More about this venture will appear later.



Sexuality and Ménage a Trois life in 1950s

M.S.S.Pandian, one of the foremost critics of MGR’s movie and political careers, had tackled the issue of sexuality and ‘Menage a Trois’ of MGR, in his 1992 tract ‘The Image Trap’. To discuss vital theme, readers should be presented first with Pandian’s views, which I do first, citing his text.

“The repressed sexuality of the Tamil woman finds its momentary and unreal liberation in observing these sequences.” One may query, what are these ‘sexy’ sequences, Pandian had bothered to find? Pandian identifies,

“short-sleeved shirts, bare chest, rippling muscles and tight fitting clothes – MGR on the screen revels in his physicality and, in this context, a certain auto-eroticism communicates itself most effectively to female viewers.” Then, Pandian identified ‘at least three points’ which influence the sexual ‘freedom’ of the ‘female audience’. These are, to quote Pandian’s words,

“First, in a society where female voyeurism is censored as culturally unacceptable, the darkened atmosphere of the cinema hall is perhaps one of the very few places where women can indulge in voyeurism. Thus, the flickering images on the screen gain an added relevance for women spectators.”

“Secondly, by attributing desire to the heroine and at the same time distancing the hero from desire, these films assert MGR’s masculinity. This notion of the ‘distant’ hero also proves effective in deferring female sexual gratification and, thereby, definite patriarchal limits are set to this ‘free release’ of female sexuality.”

“Thirdly, MGR being represented on the screen as an idealized ‘object’ of female desire does, at another level, turn him into an ego-ideal for the male audience themselves.”

MGR and V.N. Janaki pair in Mohini
MGR and V.N. Janaki pair in Mohini

My simple criticism for this sort of selective, cherry-picking analysis by Pandian is that he had been making a mountain out of a mole hill, without due control samples of MGR’s contemporary heroes from Tamil cinema. For instance, in expanding his second point (stated above), Pandian also had included the following sentence. “It is important to note here that in several of MGR films more than one women desires and pursues the hero and, unlike the usual Tamil films, the hero does not marry in the course of the film but only at the end, that is, once his ‘other’ more important worldly/manly duties are performed.”  (p.83) Opposed to this line, many examples do exist in MGR movies that in the story plot, his character is married to only one woman at the beginning or in the first half of the film, and not at the end. The best examples are, Koondu Kili (The Caged Parrot, 1954; the only movie in which he starred with Sivaji Ganesan), Maha Devi (The Great Devi, 1957; the first movie he starred with ranking Southern star Savitri), Thai Magalukku Kattiya Thali (Thali tied by mother to her daughter, 1959; story plot from C.N.Annadurai). In fact, few pages later, Pandian had covered the story plot of Maha Devi film in detail (p.89), thus contradicting his own view.

Another specific issue which Pandian picked up was that in his movies, MGR impressed his world-view on siding with the rural folks in preference to that of uppity behavior of educated urban women. In Pandian’s words, “Interestingly, the woman who is tamed by the hero [MGR, that is] is normally urban, educated and from the upper class, indulging in a bit of English on and off. In the dichotomized social universe of MGR films, this helps the hero not only to affirm male domination, but also to play upon the rural-urban divide and to stamp the countryside with a certain authenticity and constitute it as a repository of culture.”

So what? If in a population of 1.21 billion (2011 census), 7 out of every 10 Indians live in villages, and if easily accessible education (via entertainment and songs) for rural folks is one of the pillars of MGR’s policy in his movies, then one cannot find fault with this approach of MGR. The recent statistics on Indian population living in villages is available in infographic form at the Hindu (Chennai) website. Pandian had conveniently ignored MGR’s other vital focus of his movie characters; (1) no physical or mental violence against women, and (2) no indulgence in smoking or alcoholic drinks. Admittedly, this self-adherence did restrict the roles MGR chose to play, but he was more than satisfied with his choice and was successful in it for almost 30 years as a hero.



MGR’s Life with More than One Woman

Additionally, Pandian’s peeve on MGR’s successful career was that he was a hypocrite. This is because, while MGR’s movies preached and valorized (1) ideal family values and chastitity for woman, (2) monogamous family, in his real life MGR failed to practice such values. In Pandian’s words, “MGR’s ‘personal’ life was quite contradictory to the monogamous familial norms which he time and again preached on the screen. In fact, his real life would, would, within the cultural codes of Tamil society, meet all the requirements of a notorious home-breaker. First of all, he married thrice and was living with his third wife, V.N. Janaki, while his second wife was still alive. Secondly, he married his third wife while her earlier husband was still alive.”

I think this is the appropriate juncture to disentangle and discuss MGR’s marriages since 1942. It is true that MGR married three times. There was nothing wrong that he married second time in 1942 at the age of 25, following the premature death of his first wife Bhargavi (Thangamani). It was his mother Sathyabama who chose his first and second wives from Kerala state for him, as previously mentioned in Part 6 of this series. MGR’s second wife was Sadhanandavathi. In his autobiographical memoirs, MGR had described amply in early 1972, (1) with unusual openness, his marital life with Sadhanandavathi from 1942 until her death in 1962; (2) his relationship with actress V.N. Janaki – how it began in late 1940s and how he led a ménage a trois life with her, with the consent of his legally married wife during the 1950s.

MGR in Maha Devi (2) movie
MGR in Maha Devi (2) movie

I’ll rely on MGR’s own descriptions and provide English translation below. One should note that among the four books in English that had appeared, as I had indicated previously in part 7 of this series, only Pandian includes references to MGR’s serialized autobiography. This indicates that Pandian was fully aware of the specific details of MGR’s married life, as the movie star had described. But, to substantiate his argument, Pandian had ignored the vital details on why MGR led the ménage a trois life in 1950s. Furthermore, Pandian also had ignored the situation faced by actress V.N. Janaki in her previous relationship with her then husband Ganapathy Bhat. In my understanding, MGR identifies this guy courtesously as ‘a sort of guardian’ to her.



Heroine Actress V.N. Janaki (1923-1996)

It becomes important to deduce, when and where this Janaki- Bhat relationship began and how it detached and deteriorated eventually to the satisfaction of Janaki, after she met MGR. In attempting to portray MGR as a ‘notorious home breaker’, Pandian had ignored the sentiments of Janaki, who had opted to spend the rest of her life with MGR since 1950, at the adult age of 27. Janaki’s date of birth is Nov.30, 1923 and she died on May 19, 1996, at the age of 72. As the three principals (MGR, Janaki and Ganapathy Bhat) had died, the only living link currently is J. Surendran, the son of Bhat – Janaki union.

I checked the age background of Surendran, from newspaper reports. It was revealed in a write up on Feb.1, 2004 by P.C.Vinoj Kumar, when he had a copyright law suit case about MGR’s autobiography at the Madras High Court, that he was 65 years. This makes Surendran’s current age as 75 years, and his birth year can be assumed as 1939. This suggests that Janaki would have given birth to him, when she was only 16 – as a minor. When Janaki got married to Ganapathy Bhat, whether she had parental consent is a moot point. This corroborates with the view point that MGR described the ‘individual’ who gave trouble to him and Janaki was ‘a person like guardian’. It can be assumed that at that age, she wouldn’t have entered the cinema field, and Bhat took on the role of ‘guardian’ for Janaki, when she was a minor. It is plausible to infer that, after 10 years or so, the relationship between Bhat and Janaki might have suffered badly for whatever reason known only to themselves, and Janaki was looking for ‘exit’ and MGR offered his hands. In the meantime, circumstances and luck had favored Janaki, to become one of the leading heroines Tamil movies by 1948.

In his autobiography, MGR had acknowledged the following facts. (1) He first saw Janaki’s face in the movie, Thiyagi (The Donor, released in August 1947). And it strongly reminded him of his late first wife, Bhargavi. (2) Janaki had higher earnings from movie roles in late 1940s, compared to him. (3) In a court case to detach herself from the tentacles of her ‘guardian’, then prominent Tamil movie personalities K. Subramaniam (director), S.S. Vasan (producer/director) and S.D. Subbulakshmi ( heroine) either supported Janaki or offered evidence on behalf of her. (4) Though she had higher earnings from movie roles compared to him, Janaki was more than willing to quit acting and continue her life in a legally unsanctioned role as a ‘partner’ [‘thunaivi’ is the Tamil word used] of MGR, and she did so to prove her love and alliance to MGR.

Six of the notable movies V.N. Janaki starred in late 1940s were, Ayiram Thalai Vankiya Apurva Sinthamani (1947), Thiyagi (1947), Raja Mukthi (1948), Chandralekha (1948), Mohini (1948), and Velaikari (1949). Among these, she paired with MGR in Mohini.  Artistically most successful was Velaikari (The Servant Girl), a paradigm-shifter in Tamil movies, scripted by MGR’s mentor C.N. Annadurai. Popularly most successful was Chandrakekha (1948), produced by mogul S.S. Vasan, at the then most expensive cost of 3,000,000 rupees for an Indian movie. The first and third movies listed, though not featuring MGR, had MGR’s elder brother Chakrapani in star listing.



MGR’s version of his marriage with Sadhanandavathi

Though MGR did not mention the year of his marriage to Sadhanandavathi, it could be deduced circumstantially that the marriage probably took place in 1942, immediately following the death of his first wife. At that time, he was 25 years old. It could be guessed that his wife would have been younger to him. Chapters 100, 101 and 104 of MGR’s memoirs offer rich details. Reminiscing about this life 30 years later, when he was 55, one could feel the distress he had to endure in his professional circles about being issueless. There were circumstances that MGR had to endure behind-the-back gossip and ridicule in the print media about his virility and inability to produce an offspring in real life, though he projected a macho image in the screen. Here are MGR’s reminiscences in chapter 100, with the caption ‘I’m Your Wife’ – the words of Sadhanandavathi to him.

“My mother had a strong wish that I should have a child. As I was unlucky not to have one with my first wife, my mother wished that I should have one with Sadhanandavathi. While noticing that she was weak, one day my mother took her to a doctor and requested to give an injection to her to retrieve her health. The doctor had given an injection, without examining wife’s body status. The result turned out to be horrible. In reality, Sadhanandavathi had conceived. But, because of shyness and immaturity, she couldn’t express it openly. Severity of injection had caused miscarriage. How much wish my mother had about me having a child, the opposite turned out as a result. Since then, Sadhanandavathi’s health was affected badly.”

MGR continues further. “She was taken to her native village, and given ayurvedic treatment…When she returned to Chennai later, her condition had worsened… At the insistence of elder brother Chakrapani, we took her for medical consultation. Then, we received the bad news. That was, she was at the early stages of tuberculosis (TB). Lungs had been affected. In those days [circa early 1940s], TB was considered as an incurable disease and, it could be easily infected to others. It was told that, no curative drugs were available.”

Sivaji Ganesan (lt) and MGR (rt) in 'Koondukili' (2)   movie
Sivaji Ganesan (lt) and MGR (rt) in ‘Koondukili’ (2) movie

About his professional status, MGR had written, “What was my financial status then? Occasionally we borrow money. No, our mother borrowed money. Almost all the small jewelry in the house (we didn’t have any ‘large’ jewelry) had been pawned. In those occasions, somehow I was offered small roles. We satisfied ourselves with the advances received for those roles. Though Sadhanandavathi and I had opportunity to enjoy life for some time, even such opportunities were mishandled by my mother and her mother.” MGR does include the conflicts his mother and mother-in-law had in the joint household, pertaining to MGR’s previous marriage and his poverty.

In the subsequent chapter 101 entitled, ‘You are lucky’ – the words of Dr. Vasudeva Rao, who treated Sadhanandavathi to him, MGR frankly described his sexual feelings briefly. He had written, “Even though doctors asserted that [she – Sadhanandavathi] is recovering well, due to scary thoughts she, me and our household folks had, we had been extremely cautious. For one or two years, though married, we two lived a life with non-conjugal demands.” MGR had mentioned four doctors who treated Sadhanandavathi, namely Dr. Vasudeva Rao, Dr. Santhosam, Dr. U. Ananda Rao and Dr. P.R.Subramaniam. Among these four, Dr. Vasudeva Rao and Dr. Santhosam (both TB specialists) had predicted only three months for his wife in 1944. Subsequently, Dr. Subramaniam (who was a general physician, and later became the family physician of MGR) treated Sadhanandavathi with injections and drugs. MGR mentions that she did receive 200 injections altogether, beginning with 2 injections per day. “Somehow with luck, Dr. Subramaniam’s treatment allowed my wife to live for 18 years since then.”, according to MGR.

Chapter 104 in MGR’s autobiography, entitled ‘Little Rest for Her Soul’ was a fascinating chapter, among all the 134 chapters. In it, MGR had revealed his thoughts openly of being an expectant father and how his hopes were dashed. The situation was described by him in chapter 101, while he was shooting ‘Marma Yogi’ movie at Coimbatore Central Studio, one night he received a telegram “Danger for Ammukutti [the pet name of his wife]. Come immediately.” He expressed his concern to Mr. M. Somasundaram, the boss of Jupitor Pictures. At that time there were no trains. The boss kindly offered his car to MGR and advised, ‘Don’t travel during night. Even though there’s a delay by two hours or so, its better to start early in the morning’. As ‘Marma Yogi’ movie was released in February 1951, one is not sure when this incident happened. MGR also didn’t identify the specific year in his recollections.

Then, in chapter 104, MGR recollects the event as follows: “Rather than the worries I had about why Sadhanandavathi had to undergo a surgery, when I learnt about the reason for that surgery, my worry did multiply manifold. How can I feel helplessness when one of my biggest wishes in my heart, and what is naturally common to any man getting shattered becoming a reality? Is it wrong to have a wish to become a father? If nature had given the verdict that one cannot become a father, then that person can be comfortable with the situation. But, when nature and deeds had proved perfectly that one can become a father, but the situation and reality was deprived beyond control, how could one feel not hurt? My situation was like that.

Pandian s The Image Trap book cover 1992
Pandian s The Image Trap book cover 1992

The nature convinced us that my wife Sadhanandavathi and I could have a child. Doctors also attested to it. First time, she conceived; but she miscarried. This time also, she conceived. But to save her life by surgery, the fetus was prevented from developing…I arrived at the hospital with these thoughts…One day she had screamed at home due to extreme stomachache. Dr. P.R. Subramaniam checked her and gave medicine for stomachache. But recurring intolerable stomachache made the doctor to invite a lady doctor for checking. Then, it became known that she had conceived. But, Dr. P.R.Subramaniam had insisted, “It cannot be. I had told MGR strongly, not to have intercourse. He wouldn’t have disobeyed. So, this cannot be pregnancy.” The X-ray revealed that the pregnancy was an ectopic one, and as the tube could burst anytime, surgery was decided to save the mother and lose the fetus…Dr. P.R. Subramaniam didn’t like to see me. He was extremely angry that though he had explained to me her health condition, I had had intercourse. He was a doctor; he did his duty. But for me, having lived more than two years without conjugal relations, I had failed in the game with Nature. Then only I realized that such a  loss of mine had turned detrimental to the life of Sadhanandavathi. I had cussed my feelings, why I couldn’t tolerate for some more months…Though I could somehow convince myself, I found it difficult to convince Dr. P.R.Subramaniam, about my selfish deed. He didn’t even want to look at my face. Only after she recovered her health and returned home, Mr. P.R.Subramaniam talked to me. I expressed my heart-felt excuse. But, I asked him, ‘How long do you expect me to live like this? How do you trust that I have to live without any sexual desire and control myself?’ He did understand my situation. But, he responded, ‘To achieve a great deed, somehow we have to sacrifice something. Like this, if you wish Sadhanandavathi to live, then you have to adapt to inconveniences and setbacks.’

MGR’s autobiography re-released

Thorough the courtesy of my friend and fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan, I was informed that MGR’s autobiography ‘Naan Yean Piranthen’ [Why I was Born?] had been re-released last January in two volumes.  He also took the trouble to gift me copies of two volumes, and I express my debt to him for this kindness. The publisher is Kannadhasan Pathippagam, and the publishing editor is Gandhi Kannadhasan (son of poet Kannadhasan). He had successfully negotiated the publishing rights with the current holder of copyrights, J. Surendran (the son of V.N.Janaki and Ganapathy Bhat). Part I, consisting first 63 chapters in 736 pages, is priced at 460 Indian rupees. Part II, consisting of chapters 64 to 134 from 737 to 1488 pages, is priced at 500 Indian rupees.