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A Lesson in Gratitude from the Movie Maestro Sivaji Ganesan by Sachi Sri Kantha - Courtesy Net
It is always enchanting and heart-warming to read and listen to real life events, which are educational at any time to individuals of all age ranges.
In this spirit, towards the end of the year, I provide the following two anecdotes from the life of Tamil movie legend, Sivaji Ganesan (1928-2001). In these two anecdotes, Sivaji Ganesan had taught to many, what is gratitude and why it deserves recognition and popularisation.
The first anecdote was from a memoir book about the Tamil movie world which I read recently, It was authored by distinguished Tamil movie script writer Aroordhas, who had known personally and professionally Sivaji Ganesan for decades.
The second anecdote was oral history I heard in Colombo three decades ago from one of my music mentors,violinist Vannai G.Shanmuganantham.
Both anecdotes have a few inter-linking threads. The oral story I heard around 1975 neatly gelled with the written story which I read recently.
Sivaji Ganesan and his tutor K.D.Santhanam [written story]
Sivaji with Aroordhas
Renowned script writer and director Aroordhas (born 1931) has a five decade track record in Tamil movie history. His stage name Aroordhas is a clipped version of his full village cum personal name of Tiruvaroor Aarokiyadhas. His memoir book, Naan Muham Paartha Cinema Kannadigal [The Cinema Mirrors I have Looked At; Kalaignan Publishers, Chennai, 2002, 224 pages] carries a delightful collection of anecdotes on the personalities who moved the movie world of South India. I was rather touched by a reminiscence provided by Aroordhas on Sivaji Ganesan in section 18 of the book (pages 109-113). I provide my English translation of this entire section below.
“The Madurai Mangala Bala Gaana Sabha was a drama troupe managed by Ethaartham Ponnusami Pillai of Thiruvathavoor, Madurai. This troupe stationed themselves in Tiruchi and conducted dramas at the Thevar Hall.
From Sangili Aanda Puram, a boy aged 6 or 7 had joined this drama troupe with his friend, a neighbor’s son. In this drama troupe, there was a Tamil tutor (Vaathiaar) who taught drama and Tamil to the young charges. He was short in stature and was extremely strict. With or without sense, this tutor punished his young charges by cane beating, even for smallest errors. Because of this, the young boys had their bowel leaks, when they saw or even dreamt about this extreme disciplinarian cum tutor. In their dreams, he appeared like a charging lion.
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Contd....
But that Tamil tutor had a great gift. He could compose beautiful, rhyming Tamil songs based on poetic grammar. One day, at the stage, that boy from Sangili Aanda Puram was acting in the role of a young widow. And by carelessness on that day, he was wearing a blouse. This had been noticed by that disciplinatrian tutor.
In that era, wearing blouse by widows was rather inappropriate according to societal norms. At the end of the scene, that Tamil tutor harshly gave a cane beating to that young boy; ‘Can’t you be so careless and unrealistic in your profession?’ was the complaint against that young boy.
Guess who was that young charge, who received such a beating? Maestro Sivaji Ganesan. Who was that cane-loving tutor? My most respectful and admired elder and great poet, K.D.Santhanam (S).
43 years ago, during the shooting of the movie ‘Pasa Malar’, I met elder K.D.S. at the old Neptune Studio and paid my respects. In that movie, when Sivaji Ganesan (the hero) becomes rich, he is met by a character named ‘Rajaratnam’. KD.Santhanam played that character.
That young charge V.C.Ganesan never forgot about, in his illustrious career, from whom he received the cane-beating and from whose beating he learnt the alphabets of acting and Tamil diction. It was he, after establishing his fame in the movie world, who recommended his harsh disciplinarian tutor for that particular character in his great movie.
During the shooting days, Sivaji would be seated outdoors near the shooting floor with crossed legs and be in conversation with me, while having a cigarette in his lips. Then, elder K.D.Santhanam would occasionally pass us from the make-up room towards the shooting floor. At the instant when Sivaji sees his old tutor, he would dutifully stand up in respect, and hide the cigarette behind his back. Though noticing that homage silently, the old tutor K.D.S. pretend ignoring us and with bowed head pass us quietly.
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It would touch my heart, when watching that simple, elegant and meaningful respect Sivaji paid for his old tutor. What a class! What a grateful protégé! I mention this anecdote because the younger generation should be informed of this humility and gratitude shown by maestro Sivaji.
Once, after K.D.S. had passed us and went beyond the listening distance, Sivaji sat back and told me: ‘Aarooran! On this Santhanam tutor (Santhana Vaathi) who passed us. The amount of beating I got from him isn’t a few. During dance training (when a step is missed for a beat), during dialogue training (when a word is missed), he beat us severely! Oh Mother – He’d chase and chase us and beat us! Even when he went to the toilet, he carried his cane. Now he is passing us like a young girl with head turned towards the floor. Even when I thought about him in those days, I’d shiver.’
I asked him jokingly: ‘Then, why did you recommend him for this role?’
[Sivaji said] ‘You don’t know. Because of those beatings I received from his hand, I’m now sitting comfortably like this as Sivaji Ganesan. When I joined the drama troupe, I was a zero. From him only, I learnt how to speak dialogue and how to act. Do you know, what a classy Tamil poet he is? What a poetic touch he carried in his hands? The songs he wrote for the Ambikapathi [1957] movie I acted: Ah! What sweet Tamil, and what lilting rhythm! I tolerated all those beatings because of his blessed Tamil knowledge. Otherwise, I’d have quit the troupe and ran back to my home during any one of those nights.’
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Later, when elder K.D.S. was alone at the shooting floor, I approached him and politely mused;
“Elder Sir, I’ve heard that you gave severe beating to Sivaji Annan in his young days.’
[K.D.S.] ‘Oh! He has told you about that. Oh! That was in those days. Now I’m becoming senile. I cannot remember your script now. Not only that, when Thambi Ganesan stand in front of me, shouldn’t I look at his face and deliver my dialogue? When I look at him now, I’m getting nervous! Because of that, can you prepare me for my dialogue by repeating your script not once but four times? It may be a bother. Kindly oblige.’
How Time did change? The same great tutor who taught dialogue to Sivaji Ganesan in his young days, with disciplinary cane at his hand, now he feels nervous to stand in front of his illustrious protégé, and ask me to prepare him well for a scene in which he faces his protégé.”
When I read these pages from Aroordhas’s book, I was touched by three inter-twined elements;
(1) a thankful protégé’s devotion to an extremely strict, but sincere, mentor,
(2) repayment of intellectual debt by an esteemed protégé, and
(3) the mentor’s heart-felt pride on the grade made by his protégé.
What Sivaji Ganesan said of the touching poetic feel of his mentor K.D.Santhanam was no exaggeration. The 16 lines of that one sweet melody in the Ambikapathi [a historical love yarn set in the 12th century Chola Kingdom, along the lines of the more popular Romeo-Juliet story] movie, beginning with the lines ‘Kannile Iruppathenna Kanni Ila Maane’ and sung by P.Bhanumathi as well as T.M.Soundararajan were from the fertile mind of K.D.Santhanam.
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Sivaji Ganesan and his boyhood pal E.Subbiah Pillai [oral story]
Around the time [in 1961 or 1962] when his signature movie Pasa Malar was released, Sivaji Ganesan visited Colombo. I heard the following story from my mentor Vannai G.Shanmuganantham, around 1975, who was an eye-witness.
E.Subbiah Pillai
At a cultural function held at the Saraswathie Hall, Bambalapitiya, Sivaji Ganesan was the guest of honor. With his roving eye, he had a glance at the orchestra performing at the side of the stage. During intermission, he rushed to the orchestra team and stood in front of the clarinetist E.Subbiah Pillai, who was calm and composed. With stretched hands, Sivaji greeted him, “Neenga Subbiah Annan ille” [Aren’t you Subbiah elder?]. The clarinetist softly responded in the affirmative. Then, Sivaji immediately hugged his long-lost boyhood pal, and was overcome with emotion. The words fumbled from his mouth.
“Anne! Suhama irukeengala? Eppavo, Ceylonukku oodi poonatha sonnanga. Athukappuram, oru sethiyum kiddaikale.” [Brother, are you keeping fine? Those days, I heard that you have run to Ceylon. After that, I didn’t hear any news about you.]
Then only it became known to the fellow members of that orchestra team that Sivaji Ganesan [a junior] and Subbiah Pillai [a senior] were boyhood pals in a boys drama troupe, and one day [partly because of the disciplinary tactics of their tutors and partly because of the lure provided by a sea-crossing trip to Ceylon], Subbiah Pillai had moved to Ceylon without announcing his decision to his then clique. Thus, the pals became separated.
In the intervening 25 years or so, while Sivaji Ganesan became a famous movie star in Chennai, Subbiah Pillai established himself as a clarinetist in the Radio Ceylon artiste. Subbiah Pillai, as a senior to Sivaji Ganesan, might have taught a few ‘steps’ in the art world then, to the talented rookie. Sivaji never forgot the face of his senior.
I personally knew Subbiah Pillai ‘Master’ in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, for my flute debut performance [Arangetram] held on December 3, 1971, at the Bambalapitiya Sammangodu Vinayagar Temple, my mentor T.P.Jesudas honored him by requesting him to ‘keep the Talam [rhythm keeper]’ in front of me.
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Then, after I entered the university, due to demands on time, I lost much contact with those older generation of musicians. One day [before I heard this Sivaji Ganesan anecdote from violinist Shanmuganantham Master] I received the news with shock that Subbiah Pillai ‘Master’ had died in Jaffna hospital, following a medical misadventure after an operation. Even now, I get a lump in my throat when I think about the calm and composed Subbiah Pillai Master – a senior to Sivaji Ganesean of old drama troupe days - who was the only clarinetist I knew in Colombo in those days.
"If there was a matinee idol in the realms of Indian cinematic history who received as much accolades and an equally strong bout of criticism for his histrionic abilities, it was Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan. Given that he never achieved the national status that he deserved perhaps is a reflection of the complexities of the language of his mother tongue that required strong grammar, poetic undertones and louder decibels for dialogue delivery. Film critics and audience forming the majority in the North of the Vindayas who were used to the much softer, subtle shayaari and ghazals perhaps found it difficult to applaud Sivaji’s daredevilry in characterization of roles he depicted in his film career. Perhaps if he were to be born out of the Dravidian State and culture, there would have been a national consensus that he was the greatest actor Indian cinema ever produced.
It is indeed a misfortune to know that Mr. Nehru pleaded ignorance of the actor when President Nasser of Egypt enquired dearly about him after seeing his stellar performance in “Veerapandia Kattabomman” in the Cairo Film Festival. Nehru did make amends when he made Sivaji the main host when Nasser visited India subsequently!.."
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OBITUARY
A doyen among actors
SIVAJI GANESAN, 72, one of the brightest stars on the Tamil film firmament for nearly five decades, passed away at a Chennai hospital on July 21. With more than 300 film roles to his credit, he inspired a whole generation of artists, virtually creating a new school of acting.
His acting career, which began at the age of eight, could be divided into three phases - 1936 to 1952, when he acted only on stage; 1952 to 1974, when he acted for the big screen and also gave stage performances; and 1974 to 1999, when he acted only in films. (His last film was Pooparikka Varigirom.)
V. SUDERSHAN
Villupuram Chinniah Ganesan, or V.C. Ganesan, was born on October 1, 1928, in Villupuram, which was then in Tamil Nadu's South Arcot district, to Chinnaiapillai, a railway employee and freedom fighter, and Rajamani, in whose name he was to launch later a successful film company, Rajamani Pictures.
Smitten by a street drama about Kattabomman, the feudal Polagar of Panchalan-kurichi who defied the British, young Ganesan became enamoured of acting and abandoned school when he was in Class Two. Forsaking home, he joined the Madurai-based Bala Gana Sabha drama troupe first, and later the troupe run by Ethaartham Ponnusamipillai. From child roles he graduated to female roles and then on to the "raja part", the role of the hero, as it was known then. The first landmark in his career was his portrayal of the Maratha warrior Sivaji in the drama ''Sivaji Kanda Samrajyam'' written by Dravida Munnetra Kazha-gam leader C.N. Annadurai, who went on to become the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. E.V. Ramaswamy, the patriarch of the Dravidian movement, acclaimed his stellar performance and referred to Ganesan as 'Sivaji' Ganesan. This was in 1946. The sobriquet stuck.
The big break in Sivaji's career came in 1952, when he acted as the hero in Parasakthi, a film directed by Krishnan-Panju. The dialogue, written by DMK leader and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in fiery and flowery prose with a surfeit of alliterations, the hallmark of Karunanidhi's style, came powerfully alive in a stunning performance by Sivaji, unparalleled in Tamil cinema. The monologue uttered as an address to Tamil Nadu in the earlier scenes and the courthouse speech in the closing stages of the film were classic instances of delightful oratory. A star had arrived in Tamil cinema.
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The Karunanidhi-Sivaji combination made an explosive impact. The writer's rich prose, brimming with vitality, was given emotive and impressive expression by the actor. Every film in which they collaborated was a success. Notable among them were Thirumbi Paar, Manohara, Kuravanji and Iruvar Ullam.
Sivaji had an extraordinary flair for dialogue delivery. He pioneered an exquisite style, diction, tone and tenor. (Later other scriptwriters, such as Solaimalai, Sakthi Krishnaswamy, Aroor Das, and 'Vietnam Veedu' Sundaram, were to provide dialogue that tapped his diction, which rendered the Tamil language euphonious.)
A generation of actors and aspirants modelled themselves on his style. Despite this mass attempt to imitate and emulate him there was no replicating or duplicating the veteran. This stylish, dramatic presentation was essentially considered to be a feature suitable for the stage rather than the screen. A device used frequently in his earlier films to give an outlet to his histrionic talents was the inclusion of short historical dramas - on the Chera King Senkuttuvan, Akbar's son Salim or Jahangir, Socrates, Emperor Asoka among others - within the main plot, often dealing with a social theme.
His acting ability received maximum exposure in the bantering arguments Veerapandiya Kattabomman has with his British adversaries in the eponymous film. Sivaji received the best actor award for this role at the Afro-Asian film festival held in Cairo in 1960.
Sivaji's talents were by no means restricted to his oratorical prowess and powerful dialogue delivery. He could emote all the nine moods (navarasas) realistically. This skill found scope in all his films and came out into full play in his 100th film Navarathri in 1964, in which he played nine different characters signifying wonder, fear, compassion, anger, gentleness, revulsion, romantic passion, courage and happiness.
His other commendable multi-role performances were in Uthama Puthiran in a dual role, and Deiva Magan and Bale Pandiya in which he did three roles each.
Sivaji Ganesan played a wide range of characters, from god and king to commoner. Whether it was the mercurial Chola emperor Raja Raja Cholan, Lord Siva, Lord Muruga, Saivite saint Appar, Vaishnavite saint Periyaalvar or Tamil poet Ambigapathy, Sivaji was always at his scintillating best. He was equally splendid in contemporary roles and stereotypes making every performance a memorable one.
Superb among them are his roles as Bharatha in Sampoorna Ramayanam, the patriotic lawyer Chidambaram Pillai in Kappalottiya Thamizhan, the nagaswaram play
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Sikkal Shanmugasundaram in Thillana Mohanambal, Prestige Padma-nadha Aiyer in Vietnam Veedu, Barrister Rajanikanth in Gauravam and Police Superintendent Chaudhury in Thangapadhakkam.
Despite achieving stupendous success on the screen, Sivaji remained faithful to his first love, the stage, and acted in plays for decades. Scenes from some of his films remain etched in memory: the 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini' song sequence in Uttama Puthiran, where Sivaji's mannerisms would remind present day movie-goers of Rajnikanth's style; the physically challenged Ponniah in Bhagapirivinai, the inimitable gait as the fisherman in Thiruvilayadal and the clash with Tamil scholar Nakkeeran in the same film; his duel over artistic superiority with Padmini in Thillana Mohanambal; particularly during the 'Nalanthaana?' song sequence; and the Othello drama sequence in English with Savithri as Desdemona in Iratha Thilakam.
Sivaji had an astounding capacity to synchronise lip and body movements to playback renditions making it appear as if he was actually rendering these songs. Singers Chidambaram Jeyaraman, Tiruchi Loganathan, Seerkazhi Govindarajan and A.M. Raja in the earlier days and T.M. Soundararajan later gave voice to his songs, making the singing and speaking voices blend as an indivisible entity.
Several directors, among them Krishnan-Panju, T.R. Sundaram, L.V. Prasad, B.R. Panthulu, T. Prakash Rao, A. Bhim Singh, K. Shankar, A.P. Nagarajan, A.C. Tirulokchandar, Sridhar, P. Madh-avan, K.S. Gopalakrishnan and K. Vijayan, directed Sivaji in vastly different roles, bringing out his versatility.
It was Sivaji's tragedy that as the years progressed, opportunities for him to display his acting talent became scarce. But he did act in cameo roles, often stealing the scenes, as in Thevar Magan, which won him the National Awards Jury's Special Jury award in 1993. (Sivaji, incidentally, declined the award.)
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Ironically, the man hailed as a great thespian never won a national award for best actor. He was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke lifetime achievement award for meritorious service to Indian cinema in 1997.
THE film journal Pesum Padam gave him the honorific 'Nadigar Thilagam' (doyen of actors). Sivaji was honoured with the titles Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan and the Tamil Nadu government conferred on him the Kalaimamani award. The French government honoured him with Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Literature.
Sivaji served as a member of the Rajya Sabha. But despite his vast popularity as a film actor he was not successful in politics. Starting out as a Dravida Kazhagam and later DMK activist, he crossed over to the Congress in the late 1950s. When the Congress split in 1969 he stayed with the 'old' Congress of Kamaraj. After Kamaraj's death he joined the Congress led by Indira Gandhi. In 1989, he formed his own Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani and struck out alone only to suffer a humiliating defeat in the elections. Later he functioned as leader of the Tamil Nadu Janata Dal for a while, but soon ceased to be active in politics.
Essentially a creature of the stage when he entered films, Sivaji Ganesan brought that baggage with him and superimposed it effectively on the film medium. Yet his brilliant acting made this so-called violation of screen norms the accepted norm of film acting. Generations of Tamils learnt to appreciate the beauty and power of the Tamil language because Sivaji Ganesan breathed new life into it.
Sivaji was no stranger to Sri Lanka. His movies ran to packed houses in the island. Several of his films were adapted and remade in Sinhala. Substantial portions of Pilot Premnath and Mohanapunnagai were shot in Sri Lankan locales with Sri Lankan artists Malini Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe in the lead female roles.
