CHENNAI: River Bhavani, which runs through the villages, Vellipalayam and Paalapatti, near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore might still remember the scenes of Uthiripookkal directed by legendary filmmaker, J Mahendran, who passed away recently. He gave the river a character.
“During the early years of my marriage, Uthiripookkal was shot at the river bank of Vellipalayam. Though I did not know who the actors were then, I enjoyed watching the shoot,” says Sakunthala, now a widow. The film made an indelible impression on the minds of the villagers, especially actress Ashwini as Lakshmi.
“Look, that was the house where Ashwini was bedridden due to her illness,” Sakunthala points at a tile-roofed house. The tragic scene of Lakshmi’s death in Uthiripookkal made Sakunthala feel as if it was real. Any viewer would be moved to tears if they watch the scene with the background score of Azhagiya Kanne Uravugal Neeye by Ilayaraja.
The villagers, often walk innocently behind the characters in several scenes. Of them, Kalisamy and Rajendran made their appearances in the film, when they were just around seven years old.“Perhaps, Mahendran sir wanted a boy with a shaven head for a scene, in which, senior Tamil actor Samikannu played the role of a barber. And it was a coincidence that I had just got my head shaved following my mother’s demise. Though it has been 40 years now, I still remember how he explained the scene. You can find me on the scene, sitting on the pyol,” says 48-year-old Kalisamy, an agricultural labourer.
Rajendran remembers the scene of Samikannu massaging his head with water for a hair cut. “Whenever Uthiripookkal was telecast on TV, I never failed to show the scene of my appearance to my family. I was shocked to know that he is no more,” says Rajendran, an agriculturist in Vellipalayam.The title card of Uthiripookkal still expresses gratitude to the people of Vellipalayam and Palapatti. “Mahendran sir also provided us with free tickets for the movie. I have a dim memory of watching the film at Sivaranjani theatre in Mettupalayam,” Rajendran reminisces.