Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema

P. Bhanumati, celluloid queen of yesteryears was an exemplar of bravery, honesty and hard work. She was a short-story writer and a person of assorted talents. She was talented in screenplay, dialogue writing, music and composing, editing, cinematography, direction etc. Due to this versatility she was referred to as ‘Ashtavathani’. When I took her to Erode in May in the year 1985 to participate in a function, she was surrounded by the members of a ladies’ club there who put her questions. Bhanumathi was very quick and crisp in her replies.

Here are some of those interesting questions and Bhanumathi’s replies:

Q: You are afraid of what kind of people?

A: I am not afraid of anyone …only others are afraid of me! I am submissive only to the voice of my conscience.

Q: Out of the movies you had directed, which is your favorite?

A: ‘Ippadiyum oru penn’…

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: Story-writing. I am now gathering details about farming and cultivation.

Q: Today, no artiste is able to sustain in the field. What is the reason?

A: They don’t remain at a place even in the movie! They keep running and rolling! How can they remain steadily in the hearts of the film fans?!

I had met Bhanumathi at her T. Nagar residence for interviews for Tamil magazines including Kumudam and Saavi. She told me to put her name as Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, telling that if she was able to function with so much freedom in cinema and public life, her husband was responsible for that.

“My native place is Ongole in Andhra Pradesh. Both my parents had formal training in Carnatic music. They had two sons and two daughters, I was the eldest. I also learned music even when I was young. In the year 1939, I acted as the second heroine in the film ‘Vara Vikrayam’, directed by P. Pulliah. After that, I acted in many films. When I was working in the film ‘Krishna Prema’, Ramakrishna, an assistant director of the film and me fell in love with each other. We got married with the full consent of our parents. ‘Sorga Seema’, in which I acted after my marriage, hit the box-office in both the languages - Tamil and Telugu. I acted with the leading heroes of the time in all the languages – Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada. Before signing any film I would put the condition that I would not allow indecency or closeness with the hero in love scenes or any other scene. So, the producers, directors and actors always remained at a distance,” Bhanumathi said with a hearty laugh.