Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema - Devika

Beauty queen Devika

Devika was the dream girl of the male senior citizens of today. Many were crazy about her because of her beautiful and pleasing smile and acting. She had acted in more than 250 films that included other languages like Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi apart from Tamil. ‘Mudalali’ was her first film which earned her immediate recognition. Whenever we hear the song “erikkaraiyin mele …” of that film, it brings before our eyes the beautiful Devika walking down with so much grace like a swan. Her acting in the MGR starrer ‘Aananda jyothi’ was applauded and she had equaled Sivaji Ganesan in acting in the films in which she co-starred with him. ‘Paava mannippu’, ‘Neela vaanam’, ‘Shanthi’ and ‘Pandhapaasam’ deserve special mention. Her histrionic talents were proved in the film ‘Vekulippenn’ (1971), directed by her husband Devadoss. She had acted with Gemini Ganesh and ‘Vennira aadai’ Nirmala in that film. The film got the national award. ‘Marakka mudiyumaa’, for which Kalaignar wrote the dialogues, was a milestone in her career. ‘Vaanampaadi’, ‘Sumaithaangi’ and ‘Nenjil orr aalayam’ are some of her films that still remain fresh in the heart of the cine goers of her time. They were poems in celluloid.

After her separation from her husband, Devika lived with her only daughter Kanaka at Abhiramapuram. She lived under tension due to property dispute and loneliness. And, it is a pity that till her end she was not able to realize her intense desire to see her only child married off to a good and reliable person.