Thiraichuvai          By Majordasan

Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema - Actor R. S. Manohar

Actor R. S. Manohar, Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema , kalyanamalai tamil weekly magazine

I had acted in more than 300 films. ‘Vannakili’, ‘Keidhi Kannayiram’, ‘Iru vallavargal’, ‘Vallavanukku vallavan’, ‘Pallaandu vaazhga’, ‘Arasa kattalai’, ‘Adimaipenn’, ‘Aayirathil oruvan’, ‘Sorgam’, ‘Agathiyar’, ‘Naan’ and ‘Raja’ are some of my unforgettable films. I had directed and staged 31 plays and there were 8,000 programs in total. My friends are insisting that I should apply for entry in the Guinness Book of Records for this achievement. Among my plays, ‘Inba naal’, ‘Ilankeswaran’, ‘Chankya sabhatham’, ‘Dhronar’, ‘Kaadakamutharaiyan’, ‘Viswamithran’, ‘Sukracharyar’, ‘Druyodhanan’, ‘Durvaasar’, ‘Surapadman’, ‘Narakasuran’, ‘Kumbakarnan’, ‘Thirunavukkarasar’, ‘Varagunapandiyan’ received very good response. I had never thought of making my stage plays into films because I am well aware of the hardships the producers face.

I learnt to organize things from TKS troupe. I learnt from Sivaji’s company that all should do their own jobs by themselves and should not depute others. Sivaji used to differentiate between theatre and cinema in his style of performance and I followed him in this aspect. I learnt from MGR how to impress the masses and to appreciate those who deserve mention. I would never miss the plays of Major Sunderrajan. I always enjoyed his delivery and his majestic voice. Jayalalitha taught me to be honest in voicing views and she is responsible for my reading habit.

I’ve no children. Padmanabhan, who was in my troupe since his childhood, was living with us. We adopted him as our son. He is now married and has two daughters. Nagarajan and his helpers who are in charge of the stage were with me since my early days. I had given all my set properties to him free of cost. Today, he is renting them out to both the theatre and the cinema.”

On the night of 22nd December, 2005, Manohar slipped down on the steps of the staircase in his house and incurred heavy head injury. He was diagnosed with a blood clot in his brain and was given intensive treatment. But he died on 10th January, 2006 despite treatment for twenty days. He was 81 when he died. People from all fields gathered at his residence at Abhiramapuram to pay their homage and last respects.

Manohar was very keen in establishing a ‘School of drama’ in Tamil Nadu on the lines of those in Kolkata, Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka that are functioning with the assistance of the Central Government. He had been appealing to all the successive chief ministers of Tamil Nadu including MGR and Jayalalitha, but his dream had not come true till date. He used to express his disappointment over this failure and he was anxious about the future of drama. Let all of us wish and hope that Manohar’s dream is realized soon.