CHENNAI: The unmistakable flutter among a section of the audience is a clear signal of the entry of a lithe figure to the stage. Be it in the seventh scene or a cheeky cameo at the fag end in the recent Tamil play Kattangalum Kashtangalum, this septuagenarian has done enough over the summers.
“As an actor, I have my limitations,” says Velukudi Pranatharthiharan Sethuraman Sriraman. Simply known as Sriraman, the actor concedes with all modesty that Sridhar (a household name in Dummies Drama) is a versatile actor. But then, the track record of the soft-spoken man hums a different tune in the impact he had created with no fuss in the approach.
Drama buffs note that Sriraman has the rare ability to silently slip into the character and play his part in the final denouement. One such was Kattangalum, the play he helmed where he made his presence in the final two scenes and expectedly stole the show. “I have my own set rules and do not believe in stealing the thunder,” he says. Detailing the way he got into the Tamil stage, Sriraman says it was due to his like-minded friends in the bank, who found theatre the best place to unwind in the evenings.
Finding his call card in Poornam Theatres New Stage, had Sriraman slowly drawn into a world which was all Greek and Latin in the formative years. “Pornam Viswanathan sir was a master in the true sense, imparting his wisdom of experience to the freshers. There was nothing I did not do when a new play was inaugurated. Learning the nuances of acting right from the positioning of hands to observing the body language of fellow artistes and all the backstage work gave me confidence. Most importantly, Poornam taught me the way a dialogue has to be delivered keeping in mind the character of the artiste concerned,” he shares.
Part of Gurkulam since 1995, when Poornam decided to call it a day due to his failing health, the new name had magical effects on the bunch. “The onerous task was to keep up the good work of a stage veteran, who was the ultimate in my view in his involvement and the unselfish ways where he played second fiddle to the main characters. The invaluable lessons were of the top drawer stuff and determined was the bunch that every play of Gurukulam should leave the stamp of a play conceived straight from the heart,” he explains.
Inevitably, the conversation centres around Kattangalum where the director in him had said loud and clear that even in the present era the womenfolk believe in astrology. “Cashing in on that weakness, it is a sad commentary on the women being exploited. How can a few lines in one’s horoscope can alter one’s karma? Once a horoscope is set, be it in one’s birth or in the teenage, no way it should be tampered with,” he says.
Be it in the garb of a Saiva temple priest or lending his weight playing the Nadathoorammal vaishnavite character ( a priest, who has mastered the four vedas and brought out in its pristine form) in Ghantavatharam (helmed by Ananthapadmanabha Swamy in YouTube), Sriraman has done poetic justice to all and sundry.
In his first play Kaduval Vandirthar before the Gurukulam days, Sriraman played a reporter with a nose for juicy content. “I have little complaints about the range of characters falling in my lap. When the director places his faith in you, half the battle is won,” he adds.
On his low percentage of directing and penning scripts, Sriraman notes that the ultimate aim of Gurukulam was to give content-oriented package. “In a team game, what matters is the final result. Understanding that there were lots of give and takes reflected in the quality, we kept in mind our targeted middle-age audience. I have a strong penchant for dialogues, even one solitary one in a play is good enough to be remembered,” he says.
Walking away with the Mylapore Academy award in the way he effortlessly played the lead in Yadhumagi Ninrai and Karthik Award of Excellence in 2021 for his theatrics deeds, Sriraman says, “An artiste should not end up chasing the awards, which will come in the way of one’s performance. I always believed in underplaying the characters for the best effect. The dialogue delivery and the body language will take care of the scenario. When the audience is following the happenings, there is little need to go over the top. Less will be more but it is imperative for the sharpness of the dialogues to send across the message.”
About the strengths and pertinent weaknesses, the actor shares, “When I essayed a rich industrialist character, I ensured the pronounced body language to offset my fragile frame. Importantly, the richness of the character has to be brought out. When you don the garb of a gurukal, there should not be any fancy stuff. Likewise, in scripts tailored to bring out the travails of a middle-class family, there is little need to play to the gallery. I guess, these are my strengths. Could be my weaknesses too, depending on the viewpoint of the discerning section of the audience.”
A good number of 28 plays for Gurukulam in three decades is a telling commentary on his staying prowess and the strike rate. On meeting the audience’s expectation, post each of his plays, he says all through his career he has never put pressure on a prefix. “I had not set any goal for myself, good enough to offset any self-inflicted pressure. Like no two days are the same in the daily walk of life, I had been fortunate to have donned characters of varied hues and colour. My mantra is to casually slip into my character, amid the cauldron of varied ones. In a family theme, it is relatively simple. When you look at my career graph, I had seldom played the main lead, happy to lend my weight in supportive characters, much like a bridesmaid.”
Andrum Endrum in this edition of Kodai Nataka Vizha, saw the veteran at his delightful best. In the character of a sanyasi, Sriraman hit it off with his nephew. “Learning to accept what you get instead of brooding over the happenings that are not in one’s hands, is the recipe for happiness,” he says. The underdog tag has been a boon for Sriraman. These days, he is still sought after to pen scripts, and his expertise is profitably used behind the stage as director. But he is happy, to be in front of the stage, doing his best.
That is fine for the audience, who knows what to expect when the man is on the job, with blinkers on. Cut out the frills, play your part, and walk out with your head held high had been the mantra. Possibly, his recipe for success.