As an actor, Poovai Dhayanidhi feels accomplished. When this contentment took over him fully, Dhaya, as he is fondly known, felt that he had a lot to contribute as a writer. The writing bug had already bitten him when he used to assist his father, Poovai Senguttuvan, who had penned scores of books in all forms, besides being a movie lyricist, known for his catchy lines in scores of MGR hits.
Around 700 stage shows in Tamil theatre are an apt reflection of the sway Dhaya had on his admirers as an actor. “I had a strong penchant for comedy, and interspersing that in serious plays, gave a different sheen to the end product.”
In the 80s, serious plays had a strong audience. “I was happy to play my part in any troupe, which ensured a range of characters with little restriction on the age limit. Matured roles invariably brought the best out of me. That was an era where women characters had a lot of respect in the way they were depicted. That was a strong reason for me to branch out as a writer with any number of opportunities coming my way,” he shares.
Dhaya fondly remembers En Nenjam Unakkaga, his first social play as a writer, where the late cine actor SS Chandran played the lead role with telling perfection. To this day, Dhaya believes that it was Chandran’s dialogue delivery that was the clinching factor for the play to draw a repeat audience. “Handling the story and dialogues gave me an impetus to try out my brand of storytelling. Gauging the audience response helped in getting skin deep into the characters in future plays,” he adds.
Besides social dramas, Dhaya had his fill with historical plays, all of which were produced by Madurai Kannan. Acceding that it was a tough call to handle historic subjects, which had been given a new coating by two of the veterans of Tamil Stage — RS Manohar and Heron Ramasamy. What stood in his favour was the range of inputs from his father and like-minded friends, urging him to leave his stamp in the style the audience desired.
The floodgates opened in Raja Yogam, which had an incredible 20 shows on a trot. “I kept my lines simple in a strong theme where a good section of the people craved for the rule of the common man, following the inept ruling of the king. As a common man in the audience, I could gauge their pulse. That was the best way, as inputs were needed to send across strong messages in tune with the scripts meriting the audience’s attention,” he shares.
Then came Vanjagama Nee Vazhga, which had an average run, as the love story and family sentiment did not cut much ice with the audience. After that, Veerapandia Kattabomman brought him instant fame. Dhaya believes he had a winner at hand in the famous dialogue exchanged between Kattabomman and Jackson Durai. “To lure the audience, I had to try something different, as right from a child to a nonagenarian, every scene (from his work) had been poignant in the audience’s mindset. I tried my brand of comedy, and a foreigner mouthing a slice of slang Tamil caught the fancy of the motley crowd. In a strong story, the job of a writer is to ensure that the facts are not tampered with. Some liberties could be taken in the dialogues, which the audience simply love and the appreciation reflects in the thunderous applause,” he explains.
Dhaya’s personal favourite is a play for all seasons, Karaikal Ammaiyar, which drew a repeat audience. Dhaya playing with the dialogues brought the house down.
Strongly believing that even historical scripts could do with a bit of fine-tuning, Dhaya brought to light a few qualities of Karaikal Ammaiyar, not told before. “One among the three Nayanmar, the eldest one, had walked with the support of her hands on Kayilai Hill, which prompted Lord Siva to deem her as ‘Ammaiye’. That she was born in Karaikal resulted in her being called as the title signifies, giving an insight into the character which not many were aware of,” he narrates.
Meanwhile, Veera Mangai Velu Nachiar was another audience favourite. In Dhaya’s esteem, it was a script much ahead of its time. People had only heard of the exploits of Jhansi Rani, with very few pages depicting the towering persona of Nachiar. “Here was a warrior who fought a lonely battle to exact revenge on the murderer of her husband. Nachaiar’s confrontations with her daughter Vellachi were the life and soul of the plot, each having a different view on how to get even with the perpetrators. The exchanges were lively, where the dialogues had to ring in the prevalent mood of the actors. Chaste Tamil had a special place in an era where even a small fumble brought in a long frown from the die-hard historic fans,” he notes.
In devotional plays, Dhaya’s way of portraying Lord Shiva, which had many layers and dimensions in scores of plays involving Shiva and Parvathi, was always a win. “It boiled down to letting the mind go overboard, shaping the characters of a Shiva devotee. One such play, Kannappa Nayanar, brought to light the feelings of a young devotee wondering at the dearth of talent in the kingdom ruled by incompetent heads,” he says.
Now, Dhaya is still game to mix social plays with the historic ones. Talking about this, he recalls the 80s when his play James Bond 007 had a massive following. “Bhairavan was the name I had coined for the Bond, and the opening line went in the same fashion as all of Bond movies — The name is Bhairavan, struck an instant chord with the viewers. Some of my well-wishers fondly call me by that name even today, which should be seen as a victory for the character and not for the writer,” he notes.
Presently working on Manimegalai and Desa Bakthargal for two production houses, Dhaya says he always desired that his hands are full. That one script is based on Silapadigaram, and the other one on the five greats of Tamil history — Kodikatha Kumaran, Vanjinathan, VO Chidambaram, Mahakavi Bharathiar, and Jhansi Rani — has only added to his excitement.
At 68, Dhaya feels he still has miles to traverse as a writer. New scripts still excite him. “Every dive is a new experience and the feel is beyond words to comprehend,” he signs off.