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VOL. XXIII NO. 17, DECEMBER 16-31, 2013
Tamil theatre, a lost legacy
by V. Ramnarayan

Koothapiran N.V. Natarajan.

Na. Muthuswami’s path-breaking work with ‘Koothu-p-pattarai’, a fertile training ground for Tamil actors, is an oasis in the desert of Chennai’s serious theatre scene. In the mainstream, not even a handful of amateur theatre groups offer more than fluffy comedies. And unlike the vibrant atmosphere in the English theatre world of Chennai, albeit often of dubious quality, its Tamil counterpart does not enjoy much audience support.

Things were much better for the stage industry in the last century. While entertainment (other than films) in the Madras of the 1950s and sixties consisted mainly of Carnatic music, the city also offered a monthly dose of amateur theatre. If your earliest ideas of classical music were fashioned by the voices and instruments of the stalwarts of the day – Ariyakudi, Semmangudi, Madurai Mani, Maharajapuram, GNB, MS, MLV, Pattammal, Palghat Mani, Lalgudi, Krishnan and many more – Tamil drama offered considerable variety too.

Such dramatisations of the novels and novellas of Devan as Mister Vedantam, Tuppariyum Sambu or Kalyaniyin Kanavan were popular hits. A Tamil version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which the lead roles were played by the towering C.G. Seshadri, was so frightening that the walk home afterwards could be a nightmare. If I Get It by YGP was a thriller all the way with never a dull moment, at least to an impressionable pre-teen fan. Unforgettable was Koothapiran (N.V. Natarajan), who is still going strong, with some six decades of experience on radio and stage behind him.

TKS Brothers

The great dramas of the period were staged by the TKS Brothers, with T.K. Shanmugham and T.K. Bhagavathi playing major roles in all their lavish spectacles. Shanmugham was so convincing as Avvaiyar that when the wonderful K.B. Sundarambal played the sage-poetess on the screen, it was initially disappointing seeing the role taken away from TKS.

The eponymous Kappalottiya Tamizhan and Veerapandia Kattabomman were both runaway successes. Both eventually had Sivaji Ganesan eassying the star roles in his inimitable style on screen.

Another veteran theatre personality was S.V. Sahasranamam whose Seva Stage was a well respected troupe. Nalu Veli Nilam, Policekaran Magal and Nawab Narkali were among their ever-green hits, some of which were filmed successfully.

R.S. Manohar was as much known for special effects and gigantic sets as for unconventional perspectives on well-known myths and epics. His plays had Manohar in roles such as Ravana in Lankeswaran, Sukracharya and Naganandi.

The stage decor was predictably theatrical in most of these productions, with palaces, streets and temples painted on scene-specific drop-down-roll-up backdrops. Comic relief was mandatory and actors like Sarangapani, Sivathanu and Sambandam drew the most laughs.

The 1960s also brought to the fore such larger than life theatre personalities as United Amateur Artistes’ YGP, whose son Mahendra is still going strong on stage and in films, and K. Balachander. In Balachander’s Regini Recreations flourished such future stars of the screen as Sundarrajan and Nagesh. Sundarrajan’s stirring performance as Major Chandrakanth prefixed the title of the army officer permanently to his screen name. The brilliant comedian Nagesh’s Server Sundaram, adapted for cinema, became an all-time classic.

Viveka Fine Arts ‘Cho’ Ramaswamy’s plays, a complete departure from the prevailing genre of ‘social’ drama, lampooned the political classes and their corrupt way of life that was increasingly pervading Indian society.

A later development was the growth of light drawing room comedies of the strictly Madras variety, the handiwork of natural humorists but with no hidden depths or subtlety. ‘Kathadi’ Ramamurthi, S.V. Shekhar and Crazy Mohan belong to this category.

When Poornam Viswanathan, originally famous for his work on radio and the play, Under Secretary, moved from Delhi to Madras, he found a well-run outlet for his acting ability in the productions of Kala Nilayam, in which, along with committed amateur artistes of the calibre of Chandrasekhar (of the musically talented Sikkil family) and others, he was able to take part in such super hits as Savi’s Washingtonil Tirumanam and Marina’s Tanikkudittanam and Oor Vambu. Kala Nilayam is still going strong despite the odds stacked against it.

Viswanathan later formed his own group to stage some excellent works with serious content, mainly, plays by Sujatha, such as Kadavul Vandar, Indira Parthasarathy’s Nandan Kathai, Aurangzab and Ramanujar. These are serious works which, like Poornam’s earlier efforts, lack support from sponsors and audiences alike, a sad commentary on the prevalent theatre culture of Tamil Nadu. Parthasarathy’s plays have met with far greater stage success in their Hindi translations than in the Tamil originals.

Theatre of the old Nawab Rajamanickam or Boys Club kind is still reputedly alive and kicking all over the state, together with Terukoothu and other forms of folk theatre, but urban Tamil Nadu has the reputation of not supporting or enjoying serious Tamil theatre any more. In fact, a worthy recent attempt to revive Sujatha’s Kadavul Vandar, by Bharati Mani – a character actor who has relocated here from Delhi post-retirement – had to be funded entirely by him. For all the favourable reviews and audience response the play has received, Mani will not find it easy to obtain sponsorship for further productions of serious plays.

The lure of cinema and television is blamed for the lack of an informed, interested audience for plays other than the joke-a-second or slapstick variety. The huge crowds that Magic Lantern’s Ponniyin Selvan drew a few years ago at the YMCA Open Air theatre, however, suggested that the blame for the situation did not lie with the audiences alone.

The last few years have seen a surge in the number of theatre festivals in Chennai, usually staged at venues like the Dakshinamoorhty Hall in Mylapore and Narada Gana Sabha. Some of the plays, including a few by troupes from Delhi and Mumbai, even the U.S.A., have attempted serious themes, or relatively sophisticated comedy, in a departure from the Mylapore formula of yore, but the productions often suffer from lack of infrastructure as well as training. The sets are a throwback to the era of Manohar and TKS Brothers or, even worse, are imitations of TV plays with their strange furniture and stranger interiors. The actors often stand in front of microphones and declaim their lines to the audience, and the acting belongs strictly to the realm of melodramatic excess. Yet no one seems to mind. It is time both our theatrepersons and our theatregoers were exposed to quality fare from other parts of India. – (Courtesy: Sruti)

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Restoration sans any regulation
Banners the Bane of Our City
Masters of 20th Century Madras Science
A Landmark year for M.S. Swaminathan
A Search for Identity
The Wooing of Isabella Druitt
A Printing Press In a Garden
Tamil Theatre a Lost Legacy
Dates for Your Diary
An All Time Madras XI

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