Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema - Actor M. N. Nambiar

Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar – this is the full name of the veteran villain actor M. N. Nambiar. He was born in the month of March in the year 1919 in a hamlet called Manjeri in Kerala State. He put his stamp and special style in the expression of villainy by his gesture of rubbing his palms while plotting or challenging others.

I wrote a letter to Nambiar in the year 1977 congratulating him for his acting talent and appreciating his performance in various films. I got a reply after several months. In his reply, he apologized for the delay in replying, thanked me for my taste and put the performance of ‘Nadigar thilakam’ Sivaji Ganesan above his performance. I was struck by his simplicity and humbleness. Initially, I developed my friendship with him through phone calls. Subsequently, Nambiar invited me to meet him in person. Our friendship grew with more frequent meetings. I can never forget his humorous talk by which he shared many interesting experiences and anecdotes with me.

The questions I put to him during my first meeting were about his studies and entry into the celluloid world. “I studied up to 5th std. in a school at Peruvamur village in Sirakkal taluk in Kerala State. My sister’s husband was running a tea shop in Ooty at that time. I went to Ooty and continued my studies. Tea shop business was not faring well, it was very dull. I decided that I should not be a burden to my sister’s family. I joined Nawab Rajamanickam drama troupe and started doing odd jobs and in course of time, started doing minor roles also. Their play ‘Ramadas’ became very popular. Parameswar Sound Pictures made the play into a movie. I did a minor comedian role in that movie. That was my first movie. I got Rs. 40 as remuneration. But after that, I didn’t get film offers for some time. And, the money paid to me by the drama company was not sufficient. So, I decided to join the army and sent my application also. But I gave up the idea when my friends told me that if I joined the army I would have to become a non-vegetarian. So, I had no other choice except to wait for chances for film-acting.”

When I asked Nambiar about his performance in ‘Thikambara saamiyar’ in which he did eleven roles, much before Sivaji did nine roles in Navarathri, he said, “Please never compare me with Sivaji Ganesan, a prodigy in acting. ‘Thikambara saamiyar’ was written by writer ‘Vaduvur’ Duraiswamy Aiyangar, a popular writer of detective stories of that time. Modern Theatres produced the movie with confidence in my acting talent. I was the hero of the film and did a variety of characters. The film proved a turning point in my career. Subsequently, I did the roles of the hero in Kalyani and Kavitha. And, I acted as the second hero in many movies and also as comedian. But I am identified as villain due to my popularity in those roles. I had acted in other languages too including Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.”