The birth centenary celebrations of yesteryear theatre artiste-turned-film actor S V Sahasranamam were held here on Thursday. The occasion also saw award presentations and a book release.
Born in Singanallur, Coimbatore, Sahasranamam made an entry into the theatre at an early age. Thanks to his interest in acting, he left home to join the Madurai Sri Balashanmuganandha Sabha, a popular theatre group, which was rechristened as T K S Nataka Sabha later. Years later, he started his own theatre group ‘Seva Stage’ and churned out several popular dramas such as Kangal, Irulum Oliyum and Vadivelu Vaathiyar, among others. Those dramas were later made into films and were well-received at the box office. He also adapted novels of noted writers — B S Ramaiah, T Janakiraman and Ku Pa Rajagopalan — and made them into films.
“His self-discipline and empathy were the reasons for his success in his personal and professional life,” said S V S Kumar, Sahasranamam’s son.
Noted industrialist N Mahalingam, who released the book Thirumbi Parkkiren, an autobiography of S V Sahasranamam, said, “He was not only a good actor, but also a wonderful administrator. Today, there isn’t enough place for the theatre artistes to perform. But in abroad, there are separate theatres for stage actors. So, here too we must have theatres.” During the event, lyricist Vaali presented the Nataka Navaratna Award to well-known drama actor A R S. Avvai Natarajan, former vice-chancellor, Tamil University, and actress Sachu were also present on the occasion.