When Robin Williams donned a gown and called himself Mrs Doubtfire, many watched him in awe. Closer home, when Kamal Haasan adapted the story for the Tamil audience and portrayed a burly woman in Avvai Shanmughi we were left in splits. Much before these stalwarts, a dramatist from Chennai walked a similar path in the early 70s. Bombay Kannan, the famed actor-director-writer of Tamil stage plays, took up the challenge of playing a female character in an inter-collegiate competition. A graduate from Vivekananda College, Kannan had no qualms about slipping into the garb of a woman when there were several reluctant faces around. That was not the only bold step he has taken in his decades-long career.
Set up for stage
Kannan’s foray onto the stage is all thanks to his friend who introduced him to YG Partharasarathy, whose United Amateur Artistes troupe was the trendsetter for others. “My journey took wings by playing a small character in Flight 172. Even today, I can recall all the dialogues of all the characters, which helped writer Mouli when he made the drama as a television serial,” he recalls.
While that was a stepping stone, Kannan wanted to experiment with some of his own ideas and went on to form his troupe, Nadagakaran. And what whacky ideas he presented! The audience was in for a visual treat in Kadukan Varungal Naguka when Kannan played the dual role of father-in-law and son-in-law. “I hit upon the idea of the two characters with similar faces, leading to a laugh riot. There was the challenge of changing the costumes with little time between the scenes. The media were lavish in their praise of my three avatars as producer, actor and director. The segments which floored the audience were the ones when the police looked askance at the identity crisis — much like the movie Ram Aur Shyam where the innocent Ram had to pay the price for Shyam’s misdeeds,” he shares.
Some of his ideas were also much ahead of the times. Like live-in relationships, which he presented in Eru Veedu Oru Vaasal. He effectively portrayed the character of Kannan desiring for an experimental relationship without any commitment. “In the 90s, such a concept was unheard of and I was in a knife’s edge with the audience's approval. But throwing in the comic elements helped defuse the seriousness. From the initial idea of a month-long relationship, it boils down to just 12 hours where the two hearts get to know each other better. A strong message was sent across that it is not out of bounds for two adults to know about the institution of marriage in simple ways where the elders are spared the financial ordeal,” he explains.
Kannan goes on to add that he chose this subject because he often wondered why doesn’t the younger generation choose their life partner instead of leaving their fate in arranged marriages. “Marriages in the south are a huge burden for the bride’s father where a broker pitches in to take his cut. Educated brides falling victim to unsolicited weddings was a disturbing factor that got the prominence it deserved in that script. If the mindset had changed since then, I see it as a victory; not for me but for the ones who had to shell out their lifetime earnings in one wedding.
The success of the play made me present it as a telefilm in DVD format. I felt the compelling need for exclusive telefilms to the home audience,” he says. Spelling out the other strong reason to step into a new horizon, Kannan shares that staging plays had become a financial constraint. “There was the support of cable channels in the wake of school and college students evincing interest in telefilms not forgetting the patronage of retired ones.”
Tribute to a legend
Moving to Mumbai in a transferable bank career, opened new avenues for Kannan. “New ideas were appreciated by theatre buffs and my experimental plays had a new set of admirers. Back in Chennai after five years, I was happy to give a platform for emerging talents. One such script was Bosskey’s which I found good enough to act and direct — Vanga Vanga Uyirai Vanga.”
Kannan wanted to do something out of the ordinary in an era when there were a number of drama troupes churning out social plays. “Grinding the same thing seemed out of sorts for me when the idea germinated to try my hand in converting the stage plays into DVD-VCD format,” he adds.
In his wife’s name, Kannan floated Subha Creations and lost no time to convert the popular story Appusamiyum Apprikka Azhagium as a telefilm. “The popularity of Appusamy stories penned by Bhagyam Ramasamy in the Tamil weekly Kumudam was beyond words to surmise. There was a deep desire in me as to how much the viewers could connect with that when the characters came alive,” he says.
Not tired of experimenting, Kannan took to the audio medium to launch three DVDs of Kalki’s epic classic Ponniyin Selvan at a mindboggling 80 hours time. “To say that it was a marathon effort will be an understatement. I worked on it for six months involving around 60 artistes by way of lending their voices. There was a good 15 songs in the audio. It was my way of paying respect to a legend like Kalki. To make it listener-friendly, I had made the 293 chapters in individual files,” he says.
At a time when audiobooks were not popular, an unforgettable moment for Kannan was when a group of people with visual impairment told him that through his work, they could relate with the characters which they were not fortunate to view. “After converting three novels of Kalki — Sivakamiyin Sabatham, Parthiban Kanavu and Ponniyin Selvan — as audiobooks, it was a split decision to hit the DVD mode. I felt that Kalki’s works deserved to be read and heard by every individual. I had only played my part in lending my voice to Kalki’s characters with the urge to be heard in every nook and corner of the world,” he shares.
His idea of filming stage plays has been met with a lot of queries. “The idea was to drive out the stale factor where the local channels telecast only film songs, comedy scenes or resorting to the desperate means of old serials. I found a good patronage for my plays besides it being financially viable. My telefilms are confined to a wide range of subjects good enough to sustain the viewers’ interest. When classic plays get converted as telefilms, the viewers get an insight of the work of famous writers. The concept also benefits playwriters whose work gets noticed in a wider range. I see it as a win-win situation for all concerned,” Kannan explains.
The dramatist is presently working on a documentary on Srirangam Temple. “Precisely on the time when the deity had to be shifted from one place to another 700 years ago. The plan is for a two-hour single episode for the viewer to view it from the comfort of his home,” he says. For Kannan, the burning desire is for innovative things, which come at a price. “Profit is not my motive and the earnings in audio and DVD are invested in another format. I have a few more goals and will keep hitting at it,” signs off the septuagenarian.