CHENNAI: It is no secret that Chennai is a film hub in south India that continues to churn out movie after movie till date. In his talk, Hindi films in Madras, film actor and enter-trainer Mohan Raman spoke about south Indian producers and directors who made Hindi movies and shares interesting anecdotes he has been told over the years. Here are some excerpts from the talk.
Beginning with SS Vasan, founder of Gemini Studios, Raman explained that Vasan had gone into serious debt while producing his magnum opus, Chandralekha. After the release of the film in Tamil, Vasan had some funds, but not enough to pay back his debts. Kasthuri Srinivasan, journalist and businessman, who helped Vasan financially, recommended that he release the movie in the north.
What followed was the blitzing of Bombay with publicity. When other films only spent `1 lakh on publicity, Vasan spent `10 lakh on press and boarding alone. The film did roaring business, and Vasan could pay back his debts. According to news reports, the movie made an estimated `750 crore. Vasan paved the way for south Indian producers in the north, said Raman.
He then shared a story from the sets of Ek Duuje Ke Liye, starring Kamal Haasan, and directed by LV Prasad. One of the scenes from the movie had Haasan speaking in various Hindi accents. Prasad shot primarily in then Bombay and told Haasan on the first day of filming that this particular scene would be shot the next day. “Kamal, without knowing Hindi, spoke all the accents fluently, and the whole unit, who thought ‘Yeh Madraasi kya karega? (What can this Madrasi do?)” stood up and clapped at the end of the scene,” said Raman. In this way, Prasad ensured that his actor would gain some respec, and that the tag of him being a ‘Madraasi’ would be lessened.
Another interesting story Raman shared was of the producer Chinnappa Devar. He approached Rajesh Khanna in 1969 in Bombay and paid a huge advance to him to act in his film. A year later, Devar approached Khanna, much after his 1969 Aaradhana fame, with the intent to check for his current price for acting in his movie.
Khanna received Devar with the greatest courtesy, and when Devar asked him about his current rate, Khanna brushed him off, saying that he had already paid the amount. Khanna had used that money to buy his first house. “ ‘Mr Devar, you recognised the star in me when the rest of India did not know me. It is unfair to ask more of you. I will come to Madras on the dates you have said’. Haathi Mere Saathi, later on, became the inspiration for Nalla Neram. If you are familiar with Kodambakkam, it was in SP Balasubrahmanyam’s Kothandapani Studios that used to be the animal farm for Devar, where he housed all the animals that were trained for the film,” said Raman.
The event was interspersed with video clips and movie posters from the 60s and 70s hits in Bollywood, and
the audience sang along to the popular tunes.