ya was it for acting more than 1000 films or something? :roll:
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ya was it for acting more than 1000 films or something? :roll:
yes. For acting in more than 1000 films.. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghlli
Manorama in Hindu, quite sometime before.
WITH GRATITUDE, she remembers the late Kannadasan, who changed her life forever when he cast her in his film, `Maalayitta Mangai', in 1957. Today, Manorama is an established actress, a celluloid phenomenon with over a 1,000 films to her credit. Unbelievable? Not quite! Manorama, South India's ace comedienne, is an epitome of perseverance and dedication. :thumbsup:
The actress has been in the showbiz for well over 40 years. But her looks belie her age, and the hard life she had as a child. She harks back to the days when she was just another "poor girl" hailing from Rajamanargudi in Thanjavur district. Her parents had parted ways and her mother left home for Palathur with a barely one-year-old Manorama. Later, Manorama started singing for plays. She had a melodious voice and a fantastic memory. "I could memorise 200 odd lines of dialogue in less than 24 hours," she says. :clap:
Lady Luck smiled upon her, when a heroine, for whom she was to sing, refused to perform on stage. The organisers became worried. And Manorama stepped in. The rest, as they say, is history. She has done about 5,000 stage performances including `Shivaji Kanda Samrajyam' and `Udaya Suryan'. :!:
The breakthrough came when Kannadasan chanced to see her perform. He cast the 13-year-old in his film, `Maalayitta Mangai'.
"He (Kannadasan) told me that if I did that comic role, I'd come up in life. Today, his words have come true and I owe my career to him. Kadavul has been kind to me."
Manorama shot into limelight with her portrayal of Jil Jil Ramamani in `Thillana Mohanambal'. The Nagesh-Manorama pair captured the hearts of cine-goers. She has portrayed over 800 comic characters and more than 250 character roles. She has acted in Tamil, Telegu and Kannada films. :thumbsup: "Till the day I die, I suppose I'll act. I wish my health and age permit me to do that. Acting is my life," she says. :thumbsup:
Care to tell us about any character that she's longed to portray and yet couldn't? "Yes, there's one such character, that of a eunuch." :!:
Why this particular role?
"Eunuchs are looked down upon by society. Many eunuchs have come and told me that they wish to see me portraying their lives -- the agony of being a eunuch, the misery of living in a world where none accepts their existence. But no one has come to me with a script that centres on such a character. I'm still waiting."
She cherishes her role in `Chinna Gowndar'. The actress has acted with all the three film star-turned-chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, MGR, Karunannidhi and Jayalalithaa.
"The most difficult thing is to make people laugh. It is easy to make them cry," she says. :notworthy:
Manorama is a success because she's an all-rounder -- she can sing, dance, make people laugh and cry with equal aplomb. Her niche is definitely comedy, but not the add-on-humour variety.
Manorama infuses the comic element into her roles, for she believes in using humour as a "natural channel of expression" rather than "digression from the main theme of the film".
These days she's busy with her small screen show titled `Musirama', a musical comedy.
What does she do when she does not have to go for a shoot? "I have no secretary, I handle my own call sheets. So I take time off now and then. I go to Tirupathi whenever I can, and also to the Amman kovils."
What does she pray to God for? "In my next birth, I wish to be born as Manorama, to the same mother. And I want Bhupathi as my son again. My husband, mother and siblings are no more."
"Ours is a simple home. We do not lead an extravagant lifestyle," adds Bhupathi, her son who dabbled in films and does TV serials now. The four cars she owns today remind the actress of her rags-to-riches story.
"Whatever be the role, I give it my best."
So the show goes on -- from matinee to primetime on TV and back.
SMITHA SADANANDAN
Thirumaran
nice article
pls also post Achi's spontaneous reaction what you had put in NT thread here also....
IMO, Aachi and NT shared a real brother and sister relationship
Wasnt she divorced from her husband or something like that?
The following is the remebrance of Manorama on Shivaji. This interview was taken 3 days after the death of Shivaji.
It was in 1955 that I first met 'Nadigar Thilakam' Sivaji Ganesan. I was acting in a drama company in Thindivanam, and Sivaji had come to watch a performance of ours.
The play was Neethipathi.
I can’t say how excited all of us were when we came to know that he would be coming to watch the play. We had seen his films like Parasakthi and were great fans of his. On that day, all I could think of was Anna’s visit. I could not even think of what I was going to say on stage.
I had a double role in the play; I was the heroine and also the villain. Anna watched the whole drama intently and then spoke.
He said, "The girl who played a double role in the drama acted superbly. She enacted both the roles so differently that it is difficult to find that it was the same person. I am amazed. It is not at all easy to do a double role in a drama. I can only compare her acting talent to that of Anjali Devi." :thumbsup:
I was in the seventh heaven. Anjali Devi was the topmost heroine those days. When Anna compared me to her, I could not control my tears.
After the function, he came to me and said, “I am certain you will come up in life. You have a great future.”
That was my first meeting with Sivaji Ganesan -- an unforgettable one.
Later, I came to Madras and started acting in Kalaignar Karunanidhi’s dramas.
Anna would watch them and tell others that I acted very well. Not once did he tell me directly that I was good. :)
Even when I gave a good shot, he would say, "It was good but you can do better."
He said so because he wanted me to excel.
But he would tell others, "There is no one who can beat Mano in emoting," and those people would come and tell me. :)
It was only after I did Thillana Mohanambal with Anna that people started accepting me as an actress. I was very frightened before the shoot began. The very thought of me acting opposite Sivaji made me a nervous wreck. :P
There was a scene in the film where I had to listen to him play the nadaswaram, and then play the same ragam. We had to compete with each other; it was a memorable experience.
Another scene will be etched in my mind always -- his line was: “We should be brother and sister not only in this birth but in all the other births too.” Then, I was to reply: “Anna, even now, I am your sister and that will never change.”
I can't forget these dialogues and the way he delivered them. You had to be there near him to enjoy his skill. I was one of those fortunate people. :D
Only once did he tell me that I acted well -- that was on May 26 this year. It was my birthday. And, as usual, I had gone to take blessings from my Anna. He blessed me and gave a Rs 100 note as a gift. :)
We started talking about various things, and his wife happened to comment about somebody else who made a mess while delivering dialogues in the Madurai dialect.
Immediately, Anna looked at me and said, "Come on, is there anybody else here who can talk in different dialects like Mano? She is the only person and she is an expert." :thumbsup:
Those words still resonate in my ear; they transported me to heaven. That was the first time he directly praised me. :)
I don't want to say how good an actor he was -- everybody knows how good he was. All those who came after became famous because of his dialogues.
Even Kamal Haasan as a little boy got attention in Kalathoor Kannamma by repeating the dialogues that Anna said in Veerapandiya Katta Bomman. Why? Because Anna was the authority in acting. :notworthy:
He was an acting encyclopaedia. :notworthy:
Have you seen his introductory scene in Parasakthi?
S S Rajendran was trying to wake him up but he was not supposed to. When he did, you should see the way he threw away the sheet and looked at the camera! It was like a lion getting up from his sleep.
The lion which woke up from his sleep, nearly 50 years ago, never slept after that; he was roaring ever since. :thumbsup:
Have you heard of any other actor who rose to such heights with one film? There is only one -- Sivaji Ganesan. No one else has such talent, ability and good luck.
God has given him such luck that it never left him till the last moment. I am witness to it.
After the day’s shooting at a casino in Kathmandu, we decided to try our luck out.
Anna put in a 50 paise coin and turned the knob. You should have seen the number of coins that poured out! He put one more coin. Again, there was a flood of coins.
That is why I say he was born with the luck of a king, and he remained a king even after his death.
One of my dreams was to act in a film directed by him. Unfortunately that was never fulfilled. :(
In real life too, he was my brother. I would enter his house and run upstairs, where he would be resting. :)
I shared everything, both happiness and sorrow, with Anna. He would console me whenever I was down.
He was not like my own brother; he was my own brother. When my mother passed away at 5:45 hrs one morning; Anna was at my home in fifteen minutes. He wanted me to inform my brothers and sisters. When I said, I had none, he pacified me by saying, ‘You have me, your Anna’. He immediately took charge just as my own brother would and sat outside till the body was taken to the crematorium.
How could I repay him?
He knew to act only before the camera; he never acted in front of people. He was genuine.
The moment I came to know of his death, I ran to his house and sat there near the body. I didn’t get up till his body was taken out. I refused to even to drink a drop of water.
Later on, I stood in the lorry for three hours and accompanied his body to the crematorium. The others told me to eat; but I refused. I wanted to punish my body and show my gratitude to my Anna. How else could I show my love for my own brother? :cry:
In October, he would complete 74. We wanted to have a huge celebration for his 75th birthday, but that was not to be.
I have lost my own brother. My only wish is to be born as his own sister in the next birth.
:cry:
Yes. She was divorced. She wrote abt her personal bad experiences she faced from few males including her husband quite some time.Quote:
Originally Posted by ssanjinika
It was very disheartening to read the difficulties she had come through in her personal life. :cry:
Thirumaran dear
thank you very much for posting Aachi's reaction....
The whole message had come spontaneously from her heart
Indeed its a very emotional and touchy message
thanks once again for it
Balaji,
:D
i know i'm so clever :D :lol:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thirumaran