MGR

Marudhur Gopalan Menon Ramachandran @ MGR has been the most charismatic public figure to have ever had a spectacular success in the movies and politics of Tamilnadu. I was in primary / secondary schools during his last couple of stints as the chief minister of the state. Our household was a den of Cinema Payithiams : Meena patti, Lakshmi Periyamma, Bhama Chitti, et al.  (I have watched the most drabbest of movies with Bhama chitti in Naaz, Raja, and Irudhaya theatres in Coimbatore- she was also the ready-reckoner for any trivia on Tamil movies of the time) I am told that Kala Chitti used to be one too; it was she who had faithfully collected the Tamil movie song books - a 'song book' was small booklet that contained the lyrics of all the songs of a particular movie. It used to cost 10 or 15 paise (cents) then, and I have not seen such publications for a long time now. Well, Kala had dutifully bound these booklets into a single  (vellum-bound?) volume that yours truly carried all over, singing and producing strains after mirthful strains…

Well, the cinema payithiams would take me to the movies all the time (or I would exploit their weakness for movies to steal a chance to watch one), and they would wow us with stories about vathiyaar (master) as MGR was fondly called. I used to be a fan of his movies then (more than Shivaji Ganesan’s) just because MGR movie promised some stunts and fight scenes, which was the sole reason I watched movies then. MGR sported a syrup (my favourite Cockney rhyming slang for a wig - 'syrup & fig') and also had an artificial moustache stuck on him as he sang his duets and fought his duels in the movies. Sanjeevan, my trusted and close friend and an eternal mischief-monger, had me believe that the on-screen MGR was actually a different person from the then Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu,  MGR. “Look at the CM, he has a cap, wears sunglasses and has no mousche”, he would convince me. We were at the tender age where we never for once suspected that our favourite action hero could be a bald-headed man in his 60s. This was a real puzzle for me. When I asked the elders, they would just laugh it off. I had to find out for myself.

It must have been the early 1980s. MGR, the then chief minister visited Coimbatore, and was about to attend a function at Vellalore, a village close to Podanur, our abode. At the Vellalore pirivu, a road junction where Vellalore road meets Chettipalayam road, there appeared some road-side decorations, with a loud speaker repeatedly playing ADMK party songs and MGR movie songs. Intermittently, they announced that MGR was closer and would pass that place any moment (varugiraar, varugiraar, vandhukondey irukkiraar) I would have made at least ten trips to the roadside and nobody appeared. It was already dark as dusk fell, and then there was a sudden convoy of vehicles speeding, getting everybody excited. As a broad car that had a strange pink light passed, I could have a fleeting glimpse of a man clad in white, with his wrist-watch bearing right hand waving tentatively at the crowd. I waved back happily (which gives me the privilege of naanga ellam andha kaalathilaye MGR ukku ta ta kaatinavanga) I was there when the convoy returned from Vellalore, but probably only noticing that the queer pink light was even brighter in the night. Following the convoy was the Chandran 55 the local town bus (plying the Vellalore - Gandhipuram route; this was the one that became the famous Nagappa) that was overflowing with MGR fans who were singing in chorus in ecstasy.

But this did not settle my doubt. Along came another chance to see the pon mana chemmal (Gold-hearted righteous man, as he was called)  in close quarters. Lakshmi Periyamma was working in the TN Govt in their social welfare department as a social welfare officer. She oversaw a small center in Ramanathapuram, a Coimbatore suburb, where some under-privileged  women learnt tailoring, and this was run by the government. In another visit to Coimbatore, MGR was slated to address a public gathering near the town hall, and he was giving away Sewing machines to women, and some of those women belonged to the center periyamma managed. So I tagged along with her. There was a huge stage set at the junction of town hall, with 3 sides open  - the road coming from mani koondu - the clock tower, the road coming from 5-corner, and the road going towards Ukkadam. Periyamma and I got seated near the Coimbatore Municipality office, that was a good 50 yards from the stage. The CM eventually appeared, and took to the stage. I was all eyes at him, taking him in as much as I could. Then, as he addressed the crowd, I could make out the slight difficulty with which he spoke, owing to the mishap where he got shot at his throat. The tinsel town hero had the same quality to his voice. My doubt was cleared, and I proved to Sanjeevan with empirical evidence that the on-screen and off-screen MGRs were one and the same.

I have still not come to understand why he was so popular and in what ways he had touched the lives of the thousands that thronged to see him or backed him to victory in back-to-back elections. But one thing was sure: he could act. He was a talented person in his own right, and had a lot of flair and on-screen energy. He had the ease and a whopping screen-presence. He was shadowed by his extremely-gifted contemporary, the enigmatic Shivaji Ganesan.  Shivaji was supposed to have the acting prowess and MGR, the charm and charisma. But people often fail to notice his flamboyant, spontaneous acting. I would compare his charisma and flamboyance to Rajinikanth, who was often compared to Kamalahassan. 

MGR took to politics and he used his career as an actor to a great advantage. He donned positive roles, always fighting for the down-trodden, and used cinema as a platform for propaganda. His roles became stereo-typed and fell into the image-rut, making political mileage more of a priority than his performance as an actor. He was very successful in shaping his political career this way. Mu Ka Muthu tried cloning MGR, as a competition to MGR in both movies and in politics.  Mu Ka Muthu made some movie appearances as hero, with MGR-like hair do and mannerisms, and I understand that he failed miserably.  I think this was a gross under-estimation of the talent and the hard-work behind MGR’s huge success.

Saroja Chitti, a die-hard fan of vathiyaar was the saddest in our family when MGR passed away. I have heard that she  was inconsolably in tears that day.  Indeed, he left an indelible mark on many of his devout followers and a void in the Tamil cinema industry. No other person, including Rajinikant has managed to convert the fan-following to a thundering success in politics as he had done. (I don't think Rajinikant will ever get near as successful)

I will end with a small piece of my favourite MGR scenes, just to give you a glimpse of the man’s talent. This is a skit within a movie (EngaL Thangam) and TM Soundararajan is the person we hear.

Watch it with your family and enjoy!