Even today Tamil Nadu is associated with film crazy crowds who make giant cutouts of their favourite filmstars and sometimes even build temples dedicated to these actors ! As a young girl, during the family’s annual trip to meet all the relatives down south (all the way from Delhi ), I used to be fascinated by these giant cutouts so prominently displayed on Beach Road – the Big three smiling down at the population crowding Marina beach.

Coming to the Big Three, all three were referred to not by their names but by their titles. Thus Sivaji Ganesan was known as Nadigar Tilagam (or an actor par excellence), MGR as Puratchi Thalaivar ( revolutionary leader- since he was also into politics and since his films always had some social message ) and Gemini Ganesan as Kadal Mannan (King of romance)

Sivaji Ganesan was no doubt an actor past excellence, but sometimes had the tendency to overact emotional scenes. It was every film actress’s dream to act opposite him. His fan following came mostly from the more affluent class . His acting was such that he would mould himself into the character with such conviction that the role would come alive . In an age when no hero would consent to acting in a negative role for fear of losing fan following, Sivaji acted in the role of a spy who betrays his own country in one movie, and a husband who murders his wife in the movie Pudiya Paravai. His acting skills were honed and polished with several of his outstanding performances in movies like Navaratri ( where he acted in nine roles) which was remade in Hindi as Naye Din Nayee Raat (an equally outstanding performance by the late Sanjeev Kumar in the same nine roles), Gauravam, Thanga Padakkam, Tillana Mohanambal , Pudiya Paravai , Bhagapirivinnai,etc. Even today the current generation of heroes in Kollywood try to imitate his style of acting . One of his very last movies was Devar Magan in which he acted in the role of the rigid patriarch of the devar community, who has differences with his son who wants to settle down abroad ( the role of the son played by the very versatile and talented Kamalahasan ). This movie was also remade in Hindi as Virasat.

The other one of the Big three was MGR. Now MGR had a very huge fan following. His movies appealed more to the masses rather than to the elite. His movies were always packed with action, romance ,beautiful outdoor locations and melodious songs (most of them turning out to be hits ) and would always end with the triumph of good over evil. Another important factor was the social message that would be conveyed – in this regard everything ideal would be there – in some movie he would be the modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, he would always be the ideal son always loving,& respecting his parents, the ideal brother, the ideal union leader fighting for his fellow workers – in fact the ideal human being with no vice ! The love for his mother , and the country would be one of the highlights of his movies. He would have several girls swooning over him, but being the ideal man he would love only the heroine and treat all other women as his sisters ! However, his brotherly feelings towards other the other girl would be revealed only after a dream sequence(apparently in the girl’s dream ! ) in which he would shown romancing her ! In the scene when the girl conveys this to him , he will turn around say ” Nee ennudaya thangai pol ” ( You are like my sister )! Immediately the “sister” will break into sobs and cry “ Anna ” ( elder brother )! As such MGR had no great acting skill – it was his portrayal as the ideal hero and his cultivated interaction with the masses (he had affiliation with the DMK the regional political party) that kept his position. It is said that on the day of his film release women from slums would pawn their mangalsutra to buy ticket for Vadiyaar’s (teacher) movie-first day first show. Some of his hit movies were Adimai Penn (costarring former chief minister Jayalalitha), Ulagam sutrum Valiban, Rickshawkaran (which was remade in Hindi as Rickshawwala).

Both Sivaji and MGR were cast together for the first time in the movie, Koondu Killi (caged parrot ) with the hope that the movie would be a big hit – hit it was alright, but a hit to the financial status of the guys who put money into making it ! The makers almost went bankrupt. It so happened that it was the story of two brothers, in which the younger one is irresponsible for which he is reprimanded and beaten by the elder brother- the elder brother’s role being enacted by Sivaji Ganesan, had him berating and beating the younger one (enacted by MGR ). This scene created a furore in the theater with fans of both film actors going in for a free-for- all with each other and breaking the furniture that the theater had to be closed down and the film withdrawn from screening all over the state !

The third of the Big Three was Gemini Ganesan also referred to as Kadal Mannan. His movies were the romantic type. They were less action oriented and more mushy type. Love songs were a prominent feature of his movies. As romantic as he was in the movies he was equally so in real life – there were plenty of affairs and plenty of wives too ! It is said Rekha for a long time held a grudge against him for not having married her mother. It as also rumored that Rekha’s stand that she would never marry a married man stemmed from her own insecure childhood. He normally acted in the role of sensitive and gentle lover, wooing his heroine with songs. Some of his major hit movies were Kalyana Parisu (in which he is forced to marry the sister of the woman he loves (Saroja Devi) )! Konjum Salangai, (in which he acted with the beautiful Savitri whom he went on to marry ), Thenn Nilavu ( co- starring Vyjayanthimala).

The Big Three ruled Kollywood for more than two decades before yielding place to a new generation of actors, to new wave cinema and to a new breed of directors who created movies very different from those of 50s and 60s thereby bringing to end an era of stereotyped hero oriented movies. They however continue to be remembered for their acting even though they are gone, leaving only memories.

The host – a man of generous proportions (khathey peethey type – like Obelix of Asterix fame !)- set about the task of preparing the dish while giving a running commentary.

Whoosh! He dipped his hands into a bowl of water and took out the pieces of fish and placed it on a dish. (by now I was feeling a little queasy- but curiosity continuing, I watched ! ). Using his hands he took out onions, tomatoes , chillies, garlic- ginger paste and put them into the kadhai for frying. Wiping his hands in his white apron (no doubt a new apron being used for every show ), he proceeded to take out the spices and the required masala from the containers using his hands once more. Not once did he use any spoon or spatula except while handling the kadhai ! By the end of the show, there he was standing with the dish laid out before him – with his apron clearly (rather, messy !) bearing the proof of his efforts !

The secret probably lies literally in his haath ka kamaal ! Whether suraa kuzhambu is prepared using only hands to get that extra flavor or not I cannot say – for obvious reasons ! In the meanwhile only those who dare to prepare suraa kuzhambu in the above mentioned manner ( using only hands !) can pass a judgment on that ! After all yeh to zubaan wali baat hai !

Roja, released in 1992 has come to be clubbed in that genre of semi-patriotic movies that grace our television sets every Independence Day/ Republic Day/ Gandhi Jayanti. The other favorites being Karma, Bombay (?), Bhagat Singh (both movies) and the occasional Mother India.

Grave mistake, I believe. A classic case of being successful for all the wrong reasons. Roja wasn’t a patriotic story at all. Well yes, it had some nationalistic flavour, given the setting and situation. But it was the story of a young girl facing difficult circumstances and how she dealt with them.

If there ever was an example of ‘Lost in Translation’ it has to be this movie. I’ve had the good fortune to watch the movie in both languages (Tamizh and Hindi) and be able to discern the differences they caused. The same story told with the same film but in two different languages has caused very different impressions. I’m rather partial to the Tamizh version (the original in my mind since Hindi was the dubbed version) which is think is a far more sensitive and original story.

Roja is a young girl who grows up in a small village in Tamil Nadu and typically knows no language other than her mother tongue and has had no real exposure to the outside world. Quite literally a wide-eyed innocent, a babe in the woods. The movie follows her abrupt uprooting from her safe world ensconced in Southern sun and catapults her into the state of matrimony in New Delhi. Almost immediately she finds herself in Kashmir, towing along with Rishi, husband of a week, whom she has just recently managed to accept. Her link to this strange new world is the handsome young stranger that she is just getting used to thinking as husband.

And then suddenly, Rishi is kidnapped by militants, demanding the release of one of their captured men in return for Rishi‘s freedom. Roja, alone in the cold confines of Kashmir, unable to understand what the newspapers say, unable to understand the language or make herself understood to the police and the military that takes over Rishi‘s case…what does she do?

A particularly noteworthy scene that brings out the essence of the story in the Tamizh movie is Roja‘s meeting with the cops and then the armyman. The Hindi-speaking cops have no idea what the hysterical young woman in a saree is screaming, no clue that she was present on the scene of the kidnapping. All they’re able to offer is advice to go home and wait. Emotions can transcend words and make themselves understood…seem to be Mani Ratnam’s lesson to us all in this scene and ones that follow. Roja‘s pain and her steely determination flash through when she declares that she will not leave Kashmir until her husband is found…nor stop hounding them for news.

When she asks for the captured terrorist to be freed to bring back her husband and is told that it is not in the national interest to do so…

If this were a minister’s son or daughter, would you tell them the same thing? Is my husband’s life any less valuable than that of a minister’s son or daughter?

…Roja asks and her point is well-taken.

There is a reason this movie was called Roja and not Kidnapped or Fight against Terrorism. This is a story about Roja, not about Rishi or the Kashmir situation.

The Hindi version sacrifices Roja‘s linguistic dilemma and loses the essence of the rose, so to speak. Did you know Roja means ‘rose’ in Tamizh? If you didn’t….remember when Rishi looks out of the window of his locked room in the terrorist hideout….in the distance are the snow-capped mountains and right beneath the sill, a red rose blooms out of the snow. Would you understand the poignancy of that scene? Or understand why it leads into the song Kadal rojaavei (Roja jaaneman)? If you didn’t know, my dear non-Tamizh speaking friends, I’m afraid that the beauty of this movie was totally lost on you.

Arvind Swamy probably never looked as good as he did in this movie. His debut movie Thalapathy received rave reviews but he was still the young (and slightly under-nourished) debutant who shone in the star Rajnikant’s reflected glory. His later movies like Bombay showed a much podgier and definitely-not-eye candy Swamy to the unimpressed Bollywood audience. Which might be why he retired from Hindi cinema soon after to seek his fortunes in the South industry. But Roja was the showcasing of a classic good-looking South Indian man.

Roja was also the movie that made A.R.Rahman a household name in India. His earlier offerings like Duet (Anjali, Anjali, pushpanjali…) were nothing more than a build-up to the grand orchestra presenting his work to the entire nation. Roja of course, was followed by a very successful Bombay and many others thereafter.

Roja was neither Mani Ratnam‘s first movie, nor his last. But it appears to have been a memorable milestone since it earmarked his moving from ‘talented Southern director’ to ‘Indian director of acclaim’.

Madhoo, the rose of Roja herself disappeared into oblivion after this movie. Just as well, perhaps since the audience will always remember her as the fresh-faced innocent rose of a movie that was neither her first nor her last…only her most memorable.

Roja then, neither the first nor the last in anyway, remains still, a single cherished rose in the garden of good cinema.

Coming back, here’s the ad I saw….it is for a product called Krd Rys. Before you think that’s some exotic East European brand of clothing, try saying it out loud. Yup. So finally the humble ‘thair sadam‘ gets its due credit while some smart marketers put it in a neat box and stick a smart-alecky brand name onto it. The ad shows a guy (played by actor Prakash Raj) receiving a call from his wife who says she forgot to give him lunch. He whoops for joy with a telling “This is what I’ve been waiting for!” and trots over to the nearest shop to pick up his favorite meal – the manna for Tams world-over – Curd Rice!!!!

I have to say that as a self-confessed thair-sadam conoisseur, it looks pretty appealing in the ad. If I were in Chennai, I’d trot right out to pick up a box. And yeah, I loved the name! So who says the South doesn’t have a sense of humour? Remember ‘Quick Gun Murugan’? You got it….mind it!

The Mahotsav, to be staged between March 22 and April 1, 2007 at the Kalina Campus of the University of Mumbai , will present plays by renowned directors like Ratan Thiyam, Ramesh Verma and Ranjit Kapoor.

Famous Indian theatre groups like the Chorus Repertoire Company from Manipur, The National School of Drama Repertoire Company and the Mysore Rangayan will be performing in Mumbai after a long time. “This is the speciality of the festival. There will be plays in various Indian languages by some of the prominent directors this country has produced,” says Mr Waman Kendre, Director of the Academy. Along with this, several theatre luminaries like Anupam Kher and Naserrudin Shah too might grace the festival. Professor Waman Kendre himself is a very famous Marathi Theatre artist.

The entry for this festival is free. But the catch being that interested people need to pick up the Free Entry Card at the Kalina Campus of Mumbai University. The passes will be available from 20th March,2007 between 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. at Academy of Theatre Arts, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhawan, 2nd floor, Vidyanagari Campus, Kalina, Santacruz(E), University of Mumbai. The organizers of this festival are available on these numbers for any other detailed inquiry: 022-26508200, 9869115199, 9820686506.

The festival will take place at Marathai Bhasha Bhawan as well as at Muktakkash Rangamanch, Lecture Hall Complex,Vidyanagari, Kalina Campus

Some of the outstanding plays that Mumbaikars will have the pleasure of watching are:

Chakravyuha directed by Ratan Thiyam. This Manipuri play has been staged over a 100 times around the globe by the Chorus Repertoire Company.

Chakravyuha

Maya Sita Prasanga directed by Ramesh Verma from Kerala. This Kannada play is one of the more famous works of Mr Verma.

Maya Sita Prasanga

The NSD Repertoire Company will bring its famous plays Ram Nam Satya Hai and Shortcut.

Shortcut

Shri. Ratan Thiyam’s equally important play Ritusamharam will also be presented in this festival.

Ritusamharam

Mr Kendre will present his famous play Janeman, which is based on the life of Hijras or Eunuchs. The adaption of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus too will be presented twice. This play is called Vedhapashya.

Janeman