CHENNAI: Amidst the bevy of VIPs, of whom a majority were politicians, payingb their obeisance to the man whom they had known as a leading political commentator, there were a few voices offering a tribute of their own kind. A tribute, it must be said, that celebrated the life of Cho Ramaswamy, when he was engaged in theatre that would eventually lead him to immense popularity.
He was hailed as having a brilliant mind, a tough taskmaster, a great encourager of fellow performers, but what stood out from the various tributes was that Cho would never compromise on the script. "He was so confident that he would refuse to entertain calls for cuts in scenes. There was no editing or no revision. It takes place when the play is staged before the first audience," R M Sundaram, who knew Cho's brother Rajagopal since he was five years old, said.
It is worth mentioning that Cho was not part of the Viveka Fine Arts Club (founded by his brother 'Ambi' Rajagopal in 1956) from its starting days. Then a law student, he would only join the theatre club three years later in 1959.
Speaking to Express, Rajagopal, said Viveka Fine Arts Club was first started by him and two others at Vivekananda College, but Cho would eventually find himself joining as several discussions would be held at home.
"He was not into acting at that time. I guess Cho got interested as he had the ability to write. In total. he must have written about 25 plays, one every year, but were screened over the next 30 years," Rajagopal said.
While Cho is well known for introducing political satire, Rajagopal stated that it was not until the fourth or fifth play when the plays assumed a political colour.
"It was in Quo Vadis (latin for where are you going, 1962) where he first started it. The play had a character of a MLA, upon reaching a remote island, introducing methods of current politicians there," he said.
According to Cho's theatre associates, all his plays had scripts which were shaped by his own thoughts and beliefs. They said that Cho used to use drama as a tool for communicating what people thought of
politicians.
"When we staged Tughlaq for the last time in 2004, Cho took to the stage and said the reason why the play, written in 1964, was well received even now was because of the politicians. He said they (politicians) kept it alive as there has been no change," Rajagopal said.
Offering his tribute, another long time associate, Uday Shankar, said "Cho knew what role would fit whom. He was a tough task master. But what was really unique of him was that he would finish writing in a short time." More than that, Uday remembered for the fine human Cho was.
"It was a big family. We used to spend five six hours daily as Cho preferred to be with us. For him, everyone mattered be it, stage managers, make up man or musicians. He took everyone together and
offered constant encouragement," he said.