Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema

When MGR asked him whether drinking tea often would not harm his health, he replied that he liked tea very much and that he liked another seven ‘T’s. He continued and said – “Duty, Surety, Quality, Security, Responsibility, Sincerity and Punctuality! And, you’ve the eighth ‘T’, namely Personality!” While returning, MGR told me in a lighter vein that Dr. Radhakrishnan had left out the ninth ‘T’, that was ‘Pondaatti’ (wife) and that he had two instead! MGR gave me a book written by the former President and asked me to translate it. MGR enjoyed ‘Madigal’ part of that publication very much. After this incident, on the third day, MGR’s second wife Ammukutty died of tuberculosis despite very good treatment. MGR gave up tea after her death in her memory.

MGR’s personality, briskness and the socialistic views expressed through his films attracted all. I remain his fan even today because of the many good things that I learned from his films. Part of the shooting for the film ‘Ther thiruvizha’ of ‘Sando’ Chinnappa Devar was held near Covelong River. The shooting crew included big stars like MGR, Jayalalitha, Muthuraman, Asokan, Vijayakumari, Nagesh and Manorama. The shooting continued for one week and everyday, there used to be huge crowd of fans. The way MGR controlled the crowd and ensured safe return of the artistes to the lodge where they stayed was really amazing. When the police lathicharged to control the crowd, MGR requested the police over mike not to beat the fans and said that if the police continued their action, the shooting would be cancelled and the crew would return to Madras without completing the work. At this, the crowd instantly became disciplined! While leaving the place after completion of the schedule, MGR thanked his fans for their cooperation from an open van. The fans were excited …