Poet Laureate Kannadasan

[mahendra raj]

PADITHAAL MATTUM POTHUMA

Just as I was reeling with the pleasant after effects of 'Raktha Thilagam' another blockbuster which was screened by Star Vijay TV last night in the Astro satellite station has prompted me to write another nostalgic piece. 'Padithaal Mattum Pothuma' was the memory jogger. What a classic!

First the trivia. I remember vividly when it was playing to full house in the Coliseum cinema (it is still in service) in Kuala Lumpur way back in 1962 the film's distributors gave away match boxes as door gifts to patrons. What is so unique about that you may ask. The match boxes had ' Padithaal Mattum Pothumaa' publicity labels affixed instead of the manufacturer's brand label! To my memory there had been no such a publicity campaign for any films, Hollywood included. I mean the novelty in advertising a film in safety matchboxes and converting it to door gifts to patrons and a Tamil film at that. Anyway, I presume it must have been handed out as souvenirs since why should any patron need such an enticement wherein fact he or she is already in the theatre to see it.

And here comes the mother of the story.

The film distributors also held a contest asking patrons to identify whether it was Shivaji or Savithri who caused the death of Balaji. An announcement was made in the Tamil media that the contest has been closed and the panel of judges will choose the winners shortly. A pleasant surprise awaited patrons who had gathered to watch the evening show and also to hear out the names of the contest winners. The chief guest was none other than Shivaji Ganesan himself!

After appearing on stage and presenting he gave a short impromptu speech. News of his presence spread like wild fire and soon the whole area was filled to brim requiring the urgent presence of police personnel for crowd control. It was a surprise to see Chinese, Malay, North Indians and Eurasians in large numbers besides the massive Tamil crowd. (The late Raj Kapoor also made a scheduled visit to this theatre in 1972 when his film 'Mera Naam Joker' played but the crowd present was just a fraction of Shivaji's although the former was internationally popular).

Actually Shivaji was en route to the US from the Cairo film festival where he made history by being the first Afro Asian award winner for 'Veerapaandiya Kattabomman'. While he was in Kuala Lumpur he had an audience with the then Prime Minister and other dignitaries. One sad incident marred his otherwise pleasant maiden trip to the then Malaya. A Malaysian of Sri Lankan Tamil descent died in a mishap while on his way to the Kuala Lumpur International airport based in Sungei Besi then to be part of the anxious crowd to receive Shivaji. It was raining heavily which caused the electric pole to collapse on the road when this unfortunate chap became victim to the live wires.

When this unforeseen mishap was conveyed to Shivaji upon his arrival he immediately condoled and consoled the grieving family members although not in person. This news was splashed in all the main stream papers the following day. During his short stay in Kuala Lumpur he was obviously the talk of the town.

When he went down south to Singapore it was reported in the press that he will be committing to act in a local Malay film with the reigning heroine at that time, Maria Menado. I still remember vividly the make-up artiste doing the touch-up on Shivaji's face who was in a full Malay traditional bridegroom costume with Maria Menado by his side. That photograph which was published in the media was the talk of Singapore. Prior to this Shammi Kapoor donned the Malay attire for the Hindi movie 'Singapore' which had Padmini as the heroine and shot extensively in Singapore. But, thereafter no news were forthcoming and it was assumed that the project has been dropped.

And now back to 'Padithaal Mattum Pothuma'.

Barring 'Pathi Bhakti' and 'Bandha Paasam' all films of Bhimsing starting with the sentimental 'Pa' series had Kaviarasu Kannadhasan as the lyricist and of course, Viswanathan Ramamurthy for the music score, not forgetting the protagonist, Shivaji Ganesan. In my opinion, 'Padithaal Mattum Pothuma' was the best in the series. Although it was the lesser amongst the others like 'Paalum Pazhamum' and 'Paava Mannippu' which became colossal success nevertheless My personal vote will go to 'Padithaal Mattum Pothuma' for its superb production and a heavily-studded star cast who all played out their roles diligently.

Fresh from leaving the DMK which he co-founded Kannadhasan's heart was still with its charismatic leader, Annadurai. It was an open secret that Karunanidhi and his clique were the prime reason for him to abruptly to leave the party. He was annoyed and dismayed the way he was treated in the party's fold. He was even more pissed off with the hypocrisy of the party's commanders. 'Padithaal Mattum Pothuma' provided the impetus for him to vent his frustrations.

The title song 'Oho oho Manithargalae' was a direct criticism aimed at DMK leaders and 'Annan Kaatiye Vazhiamma' was a subtle reference to Annadurai. In both these hit songs Shivaji excelled himself. If he had had horseback songs prior to this they were in period films. How refreshing to see him riding a horse in a social film!

Something is wrong with this post as it is incomplete although I had written lengthily. Will try and recollect what I wrote and post later. Dear Administrator, anyway for retrieving the actual text? If it is not possible I will continue tomorrow. Thanks,