CHENNAI: We are inseparable. My relationship with Kathadi Ramamurthy Sir is akin to that of the famed Hollywood comedians duo of Laurel-Hardy,” says veteran actor of the Tamil stage and script writer S Lakshminarayanan, better known as SL Naanu in the grapevine.
That set the tone and tenor of the hour-long chat where Naanu shared his thoughts on the impact of his characters. “Yes, 17 of my script writing out of 28 has been for ‘Stage Creations’ Kathadi, which is an apt reflection of our understanding. I do not belong to the school of one-liners and developing that in tune with the needs of the production house. Invariably, I pen six to seven pages of writing, which Kathadi fine-tunes to the needs of the script. You will find only the essence in the way Kathadi shapes up the content. You can call it a chemistry or a bond but the fact is, our association has been the most fruitful one in terms of content, quality and above all capturing the pulses of the audience,” he explains.
Taking to the stage
For Naanu and Kathadi, humour is fine in a script but it should not be thrust as it will take the sheen out of the main content. “Humour is part of one’s life and when placed judiciously in a script for a family audience, it has its magnetic power,” says Naanu.
Citing an instance, Naanu reveals the impact of his play ‘Ninathathedalam Nadanthu Vittal’, where he deliberately created a sense of insecurity in Kathadi’s character. “There is the tendency of older men to fear diseases which they have heard the ones of their age getting afflicted by them. On the face of it, any individual could have done justice to that character. But in Kathadi, there is an artiste with the ability to give a dead-pan effect to each of his characters.
There is a spontaneity in him, a delight for any writer and director to get the best out of him. The truth is, Kathadi slips into any character with the ease of a rally driver, negotiating the bends with an air of assurance backed by years of experience,” he shares.
Rewinding his summers, Naanu says acting first kindled him during his school days in Kolkata. “There was an amateur troupe which spread its arms to welcome the young minds. The seed was sown there, when I was part of many stage plays, even donning the role of a father still in school pants! There was no looking back, once I landed in Chennai, post father’s retirement,” he says.
During his years at Vivekananda College, Naanu was introduced to Kathadi, thanks to his friend Srinivasan. “I started with small roles but my involvement was total, not missing a single rehearsal. Kathadi had so much confidence in me that invariably I was the substitute for any characters who failed to turn up,” he says.
One such moment was ‘Dowry Kalyana Vaibhogame’ where Delhi Ganesh, who played the main character, Mambalam Kuselar, had to pull out due to food poisoning just on the eve of the play. “I was the Man Friday for Kathadi, entrusting the job, and said he was confident that I would pull it off. With the script in hand, I rehearsed with Kathadi just two hours before the play. The audience’s adulation at the end of it and the gentle pat from Kathadi for a job well done was the moment of my life. The icing was when Kathadi told the audience that so long as Naanu is on his side, he never bothered even if the lead actors played truant,” he shares.
Naanu’s personal favourite is the play ‘Neengal Yaar Pakkam’ where Kathadi’s character brings out the selfish ways of the children, using their parents for domestic work. “That parents are the unpaid workers was the message, which had a huge impact on the audience, who have had a taste of that happening.”
Churning scripts
Accepting that hard-hitting scripts laced with a speck of humour are his forte, Naanu feels ‘Pillaiyar Pidika’ was one of his better scripts, which had the audience in a thrall. “I homed in the pertinent point that the present generation of women is more demanding in the matrimony world. One or two conditions are fine, but disturbingly they pump in so many conditions which may be good enough for the likes of director Visu to dish out a commercial entertainer. In most of my plays, I detailed the shrewdness of the older generation women. They accepted the reality but found their ways to ensure peace all around. A bit of give and take is fine in a joint family syndrome had been my hard-hitting statements. Happy that the family audience read between the lines and their feedback had ensured my longevity in the industry,” he explains.
As an actor, Naanu says, he had evolved himself in scripts where he deliberately played the second fiddle to whom-you-know. “I surprised myself playing a paati character in a play for my employers, BSNL. I have penned many scripts for All India Radio and Doordarshan dramas. As a B High Artiste of All India Radio, I am still part of their productions as an actor,” he notes.
Awards in the form of Best Script Writer, Best All Rounder, and Best Dialogue Writer besides the Achievement Award and Nadaga Mamani title, sit lightly on the 62-year-old. Much like his pen having done all the talking all through the four decades, Naanu has a bagful of literary awards for his short novels, the high point being the top prize for Garuda Sevai in the KI Va Ja short story competition conducted by Kalaimagal Magazine.
Ask him about his comfort zone — is it acting, directing, or penning scripts? “Writing is a habit and the free unbridled flow happens when the mind is open. When you pick a pen, the first instinct is to ensure that there is no room for any bias. I have written more than 100 short stories, and scores of novels which are published in leading Tamil magazines,” he says.
In the process of writing the screenplay for two feature films, Naanu says he is not branching out but only trying his hand at a more meaningful reach to his work. “Having penned and helmed eight short films, I am not short of ideas and motivation. Pocketing a slew of State and international awards for the dialogues of the movie ‘Radio Petti’ had been a huge shot in the arm,” he says.
Any ideas for starting his stage troupe, you wonder? “No way it can see the light of the day. My world was created in Stage Creations founded by Kathadi. It can only get better and better like the century-old wine. It is the lingering taste which matters, long after the play is over. There is the owner’s pride attached to it. At the end of it, a little nod of the head and a gentle smile from Kathadi is good enough to relay the message of another job meticulously done,” he signs off.