Some weeks ago, the town of Thoothukudi saw posters springing up overnight and old Tamil songs being played at street corners. It was to mark the birth of one of Tamil cinema’s legends — thankfully not yet forgotten — by the people of his hometown at least.
If there was a contest for the most misunderstood actor of all time, then Tamil cinema’s multifaceted genius JP Chandrababu will certainly be the winner, if not one of the finalists. “Not only was he misunderstood during his lifetime but even after his passing away, many have been writing about him without the correct facts, “ says his brother JP Jawahar.
For a start, his name was Joseph Panimayadas Rodriguez, not Fernando or Pichai. Babu, as he was affectionately called and was born on August 4, 1927 and not the August 5 as mentioned in a few books. Babu’s father was Joseph Pichai Rodriguez and his mother Roselin.
This probably accounted for a few people adding “Pichai” to his name, while the family still wonders how “Fernando” was added to Babu’s name as Fernando was the maiden name of Mrs Jawahar.
Babu was born in Tuticorin, the sixth child to his parents. His father, a freedom fighter, ran a paper called 'Sudhandhira Veeran', which, along with the family
assets, was seized by the British government. His father was arrested in 1929 for participating in the salt Satyagraha and was exiled to Colombo on being released.
Babu studied in Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School, Colombo, up to his Intermediate. It is this Lankan experience that probably helped him sing the first ever “Baila” tune-based film song — 'Bambara kannaaley' for the film, 'Manamagan Thevai' (1957) under the music direction of G Ramanathan.
After the Second World War took its toll on life in Sri Lanka, Chandrababu and his family came to Chennai in 1943. They lived in Triplicane and struggled to make ends meet, as his father earned a meagre salary while employed at the Dinamani newspaper.
In these early years, Babu, with dreams of a career in cinema, wandered about and made the acquaintance of actor Sriram, BR Panthulu and through them TR Mahalingam. They were amazed at his talent in singing and mimicking famous Hollywood stars like Charles Boyer. Babu made his debut in the film 'Dhana Amaravathi' in 1947.
After this came several failed attempts to meet producers and directors.
One day, in a fit of depression, he consumed poison and collapsed in the Gemini Studio canteen. He had written a suicide note explaining the reason and that his body was to be handed over to BS Ramaiah, the director of his first and only film.
He was rushed to a nursing home and when the case came up for hearing, Babu told the magistrate his sad tale. The judge asked Babu to prove his acting ability. Babu rendered a Shakespearean monologue that so impressed the judge that the latter advised him to keep trying and not give up. One of the witnesses examined in this case was R Ganesh, later to become “Gemini” Ganesan. When SS Vasan came to know of this episode, he promised Babu a role and later gave it in the film 'Moondru Pillaigal' (1951).
Babu also did 'Chinnadorai' and 'Mohanasundaram' the same year. In 'Chinnadorai', produced and directed by TR Mahalingam, he sang the song 'Poda Raja Podi Nadaya' which was the first time that “yodelling” was heard on the Indian film screen. Kishore Kumar, the other famous yodeller, did so much later. There is a version that Kishore yodelled (uncredited) in a song — 'Duniya mein ameeron ko aaram nahin miltha' in the 1949 film 'Kaneez'. There is no yodelling in this song but a voice, sounding much like Kishore, does a lot of vocal gymnastics in between the singing of Rafi and SD Batish.
Babu was paid Rs 200 for his role in 'Mohanasundaram'.
The family was hoping he could contribute to the rent and provisions when he walked in with a gramophone record player and a number of records. Babu loved western music and learnt the art of yodelling listening to songs of singers like Gene Autry and Hank Williams. Babu used to sit outside his home in the verandah from 10 at night and sing till the early hours of the morning, much to the amusement of his neighbours and passersby.
Chandrababu was multi-talented. He was an actor, a singer, a great dancer, a mimic, a writer, a director and a producer. The film industry had never seen such a person. When AV Meiyappan completed the film 'Sahodari', he watched it and found that it lacked something essential for it to succeed in the box-office. He called Chandrababu over and showed him the film. Babu added a comedy track for himself, wrote it and even sang the famous song 'Naan oru muttalunga', for the film, converting what would have been an average film into a hit.
As years rolled on, Babu became the star he always wanted to be. Poverty was a thing of the past. His love for western music, dancing and dressing was evident from his songs and films. The paradox is that it was Chandrababu who first spoke the slang “Madras Baashai” and popularised it; he learnt this dialect from the rickshaw pullers and street vendors near his home in Triplicane and later Mir
Sahib Pet.
Babu went through a broken marriage about which many a story exists. The true reason was that Sheila, his wife, told him that she loved someone else and they divorced. Over the years Babu helped her till she left the country.
His attempts at film production and direction led to financial disaster. A group of south Indian actors had gone to the border to entertain our jawans. They stopped at Rashtrapati Bhavan and met President S Radhakrishnan. Babu sang the song 'Pirakkum podhum azhugindrai' and Radhakrishnan appreciated it, when Babu in his child-like manner jumped on his lap, held his chin and said “Nee rasiganda kannu” (You are a true fan). Babu’s friend, music director MS Viswanathan, who was present on that occasion to me this story.
He passed away on March 7, 1974, impoverished but not penniless as is often reported. But yes, the man who made millions laugh was one who laughed rarely in his own life.
— Mohan is an actor and an entrepreneur.
mohanraman@gmail.com