Potpourri of tidbits about Tamil cinema - Surilirajan
Surilirajan, the much sought-after comedian of the Tamil celluloid world had legions of fans from all strata of the society – right from the beggar to the multimillionaire! He made everyone laugh through his mannerisms, gestures and absurd smile that marked his uniqueness. His amazing felicity with bodily jerks and his mere presence on the screen evoked laughter even from the most irritable person; virtually he was in-charge of raising laughter!
I got introduced to him by actor Jaishankar. I was an ardent fan of Surilirajan and enjoyed his slapstick comedy. When I requested him to stage a play at the Erode Seshasayee Paper Mill Colony for the people of Erode, he immediately agreed. It was sometime during the last week of November 1978. He entertained the audience enacting a two-hour drama and a few skits. The audience was struck by the quality and relished the plays with full involvement. Suruli mingled with me closely though he knew me only for a short period. When I interviewed him at the mill’s guesthouse he came out with spontaneous replies to all my questions with no fuss or restraint.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: Please tell us about your family and yourself …
A: “My native place is Periyakulam. Our house was known as ‘Kanakku pillai veedu’. We were well-known in the place. I was born to Ponnaiah Pillai and Kanthammaal on 14 – 1 – 1938 at Periyakulam. I lost both my parents even when I was very young. I was brought up by my elder brother at Madurai. I had to discontinue my studies after 5th Std. due to lack of monetary resources. My passion for cinema and acting was an ever-present driving force right from my young days and watching plays and cinema was part of my life.
I joined as an apprentice mechanic in a car workshop. And, I would spend all my earnings to watch movies and dramas. My brother and his wife would reprimand me for this reckless behavior. But, at any cost, I wanted to become an actor and kept knocking at the doors of drama companies and film production companies. I came to Madras and went off without food on many days. At one stage, I reached my limit and decided to end my life by consuming pesticide. At that juncture, a friend of mine called me and offered a small role in a stage play. I gave up my suicide plan. Subsequently, I joined comedian Rama Rao’s drama troupe. He gave me noticeable and weighty roles and I established myself as a comedian. There was a spate of opportunities in theatre and I started doing roles in the plays of other troupes also including those of the villain-actor O. A. K. Devar and T. N. Balu.
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