If some has lived by the maxim ‘age is not a barrier for any achievement’, it has to be theatre artiste-actor V S Raghavan. At 90, he is an epitome of confidence and can put a youth to shame with his quick stride and sharp memory. With around 1,000 films to his credit, besides several soap operas, Raghavan still takes up roles that come his way. “I prefer to continue acting because I don’t want to be the stereotypical old person who has retired from life. I have films like Kaathadi and Mael Naatu Marumagal in my kitty,” he says. Raghavan quickly adds he doesn’t want to do tele-serials anymore because he finds it quite taxing.
Ask the veteran character artiste if he thought of becoming an actor, he says ‘no’. “I wanted to become a journalist. For three years, I worked as a subeditor in Thumilan’s magazine called Malathi. Then, I joined a printing press. That was in the late 40s. I used to act in amateur stage plays. I started a drama troupe with my friends, Indian National Artistes (INA). K Balachander, Malli, Vadiraj and Nataraj were its members,” he reminisces.
Ask him about his fascination for acting,Raghavan says how he enjoyed playing the hero’s or heroine’s dad when he was barely 30. “But in real life, I got married only at 40,” he says with a sigh.
A self-confessed Sivaji Ganesan fan, Raghavan says he considered him as an actor of international calibre.
So, what excites him more, theatre or the movies? He poses another question — “Which is more exciting, real life or virtual life?”
With all praise for director Sridhar, he says he was one of the directors who gave him fabulous roles in Sumai Thaangi, Kaadhalikka Neramillai and Nenjirukkum Varai.
Raghavan says he was the first to use the one-set technique in Tamil theatre. “Thanks to Ranganna’s imaginative screen décor, who helped us achieve it, with the screen coming down to close one part of the stage, and going up on the other.”
He turns a little sober, when he talks about Nagesh. “He used to enter my home, screaming ‘Enaku oru strong filter coffee’. It’s rare to find an actor like him and rarer to find a human being like him. We were close friends and he should have lived for at least for a decade or so. He made me quit stage; I entered cinema because of him. It is ironical that most comedy actors, who spread laughter in the world, lead sorrowful lives themselves, but he had an enormous mental power,” he says.
Ask Raghavan why he is not doing too many films “Once, I was part of almost every MGR film. But that’s not the case now. Directors of 60-70s were impressed with my performance and hence they called me. Now, I guess, I’ve not made an impression with the next-gen directors. I don’t blame anybody, but myself. There are a few directors whom I like, which include KS Ravikumar and Chimbudevan. However, I’ve not acted under Ravikumar’s direction, but Chimbudevan has cast me in his films like Imsai Arasan 23-aam Pulikesi, Arai Enn 305-il Kadavul and Irumbu Kotai Murattu Singam.” “I grow nostalgic when I recollect the movies I did. I am a simple person and have had no great aspirations. I am still acting because I’ve my own expenses, bills to pay, but not for awards or recognition. I need to bid a peaceful goodbye soon and that’s all what I want,” he says with a soft smile.
