Book Review by Sachi Sri Kantha
A Valuable Source Book about the Tamil Movie History
Many may remember their very first visit to a movie theater during their
innocent childhood days, in the company of their parents and elder siblings.
I do. My first movie-watching experience was in Eelam�s Mullaitivu town in
1958. Like the faded movie posters, the name of the theater has faded from
my memories now. It might have been a �tent� theater. Also lost in my
memories was the story line of the movie I saw then. But, I haven�t
forgotten one particular scene and the first movie song which thrilled me.
The hero Gemini Ganesan (1920-2005) was driving a car. A young boy was his
companion in that car. The hero was lip-synching a sweet melody sung by
renowned Telugu composer and playback singer Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao
(1923-1974). The song carved in my memory was, �Suya nalam peritha � Pothu
nalam peritha; Intha sollin unmai thannai enni paarada� [Is selfish spirit
is big? Or the civil spirit is big? Just think on the truth of my words].
The lines of that gifted lyricist A. Marudakasi (1920-1989) song seem so
timeless. That movie which enthralled me as a boy was captivatingly named,
�Yaar Paiyan� [Whose Boy?].
For years, I have wanted to know more on the details and individuals who
were associated with the first movie I saw - Yaar Paiyan. But I didn�t know
where to check at. Has there been a source book on facts on Tamil movies?
None, until the book in review, compiled by �Film News� Anandan, appeared in
late 2004. This is one of a kind of book. I can assure this because I have
been searching for such a source book on Tamil movies in either Tamil or
English for a long time. Here are the details provided for that �Yaar
Paiyan� movie in Anandan�s book.
Released 26-7[July]-1957; [Length] 15,600 feet; Producers -
N.S.Thiraviyam and T.A.Durairaj; Director - T.R.Raghunath; Music
arranger - S.Dhakshinamurthy; Lyrics � Marudakasi; Art � Ganga; Dance �
Thangaraj, K.C.Reddy, A.K.rattan; Still � Tiruchy K.Arunasalam; Lab �
Vijaya; Studio � Vauhini; Cast - Gemini Ganesh, Savithri,
N.S.K.[rishnan], Balasaraswathi, T.R.Ramachandran, Vidyawathi,
Sarangapani, P.S.Gnanam, V.K.Ramasamy, Kusalakumari, Ambika.
�Yaar Paiyan� was only one of the 30 �direct� Tamil movies released in
the year 1957. Another 13 movies released in that year were �dubbed� from
another Indian language. Since India is a land of multiple languages, with
artists, producers and directors fluent and comfortable in working in
languages other than their mother tongue as well, �dubbing� from a sister
language was a quickie method for additional revenue for the movie moguls
and studios.
This year marks the 110th anniversary of the introduction of movies into
India.
As per the archival data presented in the book �Indian Film� (1963) by
Erik Barnouw and S.Krishnaswamy, a Times of India newspaper advertisement of
July 7, 1896, had invited Bombay residents to witness �living photographic
pictures in life-sized reproductions� by Messers.Lumiere Brothers. This year
also marks the 75th anniversary of the first release of a Tamil movie in
1931. The first Tamil movie which was produced in Bombay and released on
October 31, 1931 was �Kalidas�, directed by H.M.Reddy. Its length was 10,000
feet. Its cast included, P.G.Venkatesan, L.V.Prasad, T.P.Rajalakshmi,
Rajambal, T.Susila Devi and M.S.Santhanalakshmi.
From 1931 to 1942, 289 �direct� Tamil movies were released, and the first
�dubbed� movie in Tamil was released in 1943. But in the years 2000, 2001
and 2002, the annual number of movies �dubbed� from another Indian language
into Tamil (95, 104 and 110 respectively) had over-reached the annual number
of �direct� movies produced in Tamil (69, 82 and 83 respectively). Chalk
this to the convenience of computer-generated technology in all aspects of
the movie production. Between 1943 and 2003, a total of 1,606 �dubbed�
movies into Tamil had been released.
Anandan�s compilation is a treasure on statistics of released Tamil movies
until the end of 2003. Here are some interesting threads.
The numbers hereafter refer to �direct� movies only and not to the
�dubbed� movies. From 1931 to the end of 2003, a total of 4,186 movies had
been released. It took 34 years (from 1931 to 1965) for the release of first
1,000 movies. Then, it took only 16 years (from 1966 to 1981) for the number
to reach 2,000. At the end of 1981, the released Tamil movie count stood at
2,034. The speed accelerated further and took only an additional 9 years
(from 1982 to 1990) for the number to reach 3,000. At the end of 1990, the
released Tamil movie count stood at 3,023. At the end of 2002, the released
Tamil movie count cumulated to 4,003. As a cynic may note, the quality of
the Tamil movies - with notable exceptions- understandably showed a decrease
with the increasing number of released movies.
In my view, like humans, any institutions (such as cities, industries,
buildings and political parties), infrastructures and productions created by
humans also inevitably show aging. And the Tamil movie industry cannot be an
exception. If the �salad days� of humans are liberally equated to the span
between 15 and 40 years, the same 25 year period of the Tamil movie history
falls between the years 1945 and 1970.
Thus, it may not be an exaggeration to allude that the best quality Tamil
movies spanning all genres � mythologicals, musicals, historical costume
dramas, social melodramas and comedies � appeared between these �salad days�
of the Tamil movie industry � the so-called �Golden Period� of Tamil movies.
What had passed in the last 35 years are, with occasional exceptions, either
repetitive carbon copies or skillfully plagiarized models of earlier
versions of Tamil movies or artfully dodging adaptations from movies
produced in other languages and in Hollywood.
Another vital index revealing the senility of Tamil movie industry is the
number of studios, currently in operation in Tamil Nadu. As per Anandan�s
count, only seven studios (AVM, Arunachalam, Karpagam, Murugalaya, Prakash,
Prasad and Vijaya-Vauhini) are open for production now. A total of 29
studios which produced Tamil movies from mid 1930s have gone out of
business; 10 in Chennai, 11 in Kodambakkam, 3 in Salem, 3 in Coimbatore and
2 in Madurai.
If I were asked to select the ten landmark Tamil movies, spanning all
genres, which delighted the multitude of fans immensely, my choices (in
chronological order) would be as follows: Meera (1945), Velaikkari (1949),
Parasakthi (1952), Raththa Kanneer (1954), Madurai Veeran (1956), Nadodi
Mannan (1958), Kalyana Parisu (1959), Pasa Malar (1961), Server Sundaram
(1964) and Thillana Mohanambal (1968).
Sure, there were other landmark Tamil movies, but my emphasis is on
movies �which delighted the multitude of fans immensely�. My selections are
primarily influenced on the contributory aspect of the movies to the
elocution, music and drama components [the iyal, isai and nadagam
respectively], delineated by the traditional Tamil culture. Anandan�s book
provide the details on the personalities (actors, producer with producer
banner, director, music arranger, lyricist, and script writer) who
collaborated in the production of these landmark movies. For the movies
released upto the year 1960, the details of the acting cast are given in
detail. Since 1961, only the names of two leading actors are provided and
the reduction in detail is unavoidable and attributable to space
limitations.
Apart from the chronological listing of Tamil movies released from 1931
to 2003, other inter-related factual tidbits provided in the book include,
(1) Novels which have been made into Tamil movies
(2) Dramas which have been transformed into Tamil movies
(3) The details of awards received by Tamil movies and the recipients of
awards
(4) A synopsis of Tamil movie history
(5) Thumb-nail profiles of 212 �movers and shakers� of Tamil movie world
(6) Birthdays and months (but not years!) of personalities of Tamil movie
world
(7) Deathdays and months (but not years!) of personalities and Tamil movie
world
These details compliment the information presented in the available
authentic source book on Indian film history, Encyclopaedia of Indian
Cinema, edited by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen (1999, Oxford
University Press, New Delhi, New Revised edition, 1999). Even for this
source book, the editors have acknowledged the contributions of �Film News�
Anandan on filling the details on the information pertaining to Tamil movies
and Tamil movie personalities.
Though quite a number of Ceylon-born (or Ceylon-bred) youngsters
valiantly attempted to make a grade in the Tamil movie industry since its
inception, many couldn�t make to the top. But, five names stand out
prominently as polestars in the marks they set during the past seven
decades. These are,
M.G.Ramachandran aka MGR (1917-1987) as one of the lead heroes for 30
years; Arul Susai Anthony Sami aka A.S.A.Sami (1915-1998) as a trendy script
writer-director in late 1940s and 1950s; K.Thavamani Devi (? � 2001) as the
first Tamil singing-sexy starlet [a cross between Maureen O�Sullivan and
Marilyn Monroe] in Tarzan and mythological genres of 1940s; J.P.Chandrababu
(1932?-1974) as the ranking comedian cum singer of 1950s and early 1960s,
and Benjamin Mahendra aka Balu Mahendra (1946 - ) as one of the New Wave
cinematographer-directors in late 1970s and 1980s.
The birth locations of MGR, Sami, Thavamani Devi and Mahendra were Kandy,
Colombo, Jaffna and Batticaloa respectively. Chandrababu was born in
Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu), but bred in Colombo. Among these notable five, MGR
and Chandrababu were irreplacable talents and the void created by their
departure has not been filled by any alternates. Thus, Anandan�s book is
also a mine for prospective biographers on these talented artistes.
Between 1970s and early 1990s it was fashionable among the progressive
Marxist-Communist opinion makers like K.Sivathamby and M.S.S.Pandian to
deride the Tamil movie material as nothing more than mere bourgeois escapist
treat for the entertainment of illiterate masses. But, a contrary view of
how Tamil stage/movie actors influenced the spoken language trends and
became the arbiters of informal consensus has been provided by Tamil
language scholar Harold Schiffman, of the University of Pennsylvania. In an
interesting research study entitled �Standardization or restandardization:
The case for Standard Spoken Tamil� (Language in Society, 1998; vol.27,
pp.359-385), Schiffman has identified one particular benefit of movies to
the Tamil society. This is relating to the advancement of Standard Spoken
Tamil (SST) across physical barriers. I cite two paragraphs from this
analysis. According to Schiffman,
�I claim that Standard Spoken Tamil [SST] also emerged via an
informal decision making-process, similar to the way British RP
[Received Pronunciation] and American Broadcast Standard evolved; but
its emergence involved decision-making about the grammar and syntax as
well as pronunciation. After a certain consensus was reached on the
broad features of SST, it could become the natural choice for use in the
�social� film. It was thus disseminated widely to Tamil speakers
everywhere, serving both as a model of �correct� speech. This variety
was spoken by the central characters, the hero and heroine, while the
character actors cast as buffoons and rustics provided models of
�incorrect� speech; the �Jerry Lewis� character Nagesh was famous for
this in the Tamil film, and other linguistic cultures have their
equivalents.�
Schiffman�s observation is distinctly illustrated in the dialogue
presented in the popular �Thillana Mohanambal� movie. While the hero and
heroine characters (played by
Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini) speak the standard variety, the comedian
characters (Nagesh and Manorama) deliver the sub-standard variety. A third
type presented in this movie was the specific niche variety spoken by the
musician characters (played by T.S.Balaiah and K.A.Thangavelu). To quote
Schiffman�s another related paragraph,
�In the mid-20th century, it is clear that the chief disseminator of
this SST has been the modern Tamil �social� film. There is remarkable
uniformity of SST irrespective of whether the studios were dominated by
the DMK political party or the Congress � that is, usage is similar in
MGR films and Sivaji Ganesan films, to take only two examples. Despite
the DMK�s public oratorical style, which emphasizes a purified,
archaized, and highly alliterative Tamil, their films used SST that
varied hardly at all from the kind found in other studios� films, except
when the hero expatiates in the special DMK-preferred alliterative
style. This variety is also found in the stage dramas of the social
variety that have a symbiotic relationship with the Tamil film
industry��
The material presented by Anandan may also help the students of Tamil
linguistics in deciphering the transformation of predominantly mythological
plots with Brahmin-caste dialogues (from 1931 to 1948) into the contemporary
social themes (from 1949 onwards) in Tamil movies. The contributions of a
galaxy of movie script writers such as poet Bharathidasan, C.N.Annadurai,
Elangovan, A.S.A.Sami, P.Neelakandan, B.S.Ramiah, M.Karunanidhi, poet
Kannadasan, C.V.Sridhar, K.S.Gopalakrishnan, K.Balachandar and Aroordhas,
who catalyzed such a change by their powerful scripts deserve further study.
Anandan provides a statistic that Tamil Nadu has 2,540 movie theaters;
and among these, 1,513 are permanent theaters and the remaining 1,027 belong
to the non-permanent (tent-type) theaters. If one agrees with the view of
Schiffman that the Tamil movies were influential in promoting the standard
spoken Tamil, then by extension, one can infer that in the past 75 years,
these 2,540 movie theaters also had functioned as alternate �language and
culture� schools for masses.
