Savithri: My
favourite childhood actor, when we saw only Tamil movies in Malaysia. My sister
and I would finish our job, which was to boil the milk, very early in the
evening and then start pestering my
mother about going for a movie, after discussing at length about which movie to
see, the whole morning, on a holiday of course. Gemini-Savithri movies would be
the priority of course. The movie theatres, Cathay and Jubilee, (in Raub town, Pahang State) were
nine miles away from Cheroh estate (rubber) where we lived, in the late fifties and early sixties. My
father, of course, would oblige.
I think I
would have seen 90 per cent of Savithris films. Later, when she passed away, I
was a journalist with The Indian Express and I had the privilege of writing her
obituary. Sad to say, I don’t have a copy. But I distinctly remember my first
sentence : “Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham…Kalaikalile Aval oviyam..maaathangalil
aval Maargazhi….malargalile aval Malligai…the Kannadasan song by P B Srinivasan,
starring Gemini Ganesan and Savithri.
There was no internet then, in 1981 and hardly anybody to ask in Kerala. Yet I remembered
the song and scene I had seen 20 years ago, in which Gemini Ganesan describes
her thus. The film, Paava Mannippu was released in 1961. I wish I can get hold
of that obituary now, written 36 plus years ago. Unforgettable songs portrayed
by Savithri include the all time great Janaki number Singaravelane Deva …..,
Enna enna Inikkudu…..
The biopic
is a late tribute to the plucky actor who defied circumstances to conquer the
South Indian film scene and then fought adversities in life, including alcoholism,
bravely. Savithri had the courage to fade away also in dignity, away from the
arc lights, dying at a relatively young age of 45. Anybody in her plight might
well have contemplated suicide.
The biopic
speaks as much as is possible about Savithri. It's Telugu centric but Tamil
cinema gets a good share. She shone in both languages. The story of the
journalist who brought Savithris story to the world is also part of the biopic.
Keerthy Suresh, so young and shapely, carries off the role of Savithri with
such elan. It’s the spirit of the actor that she has imbibed, that comes
through so well. And then the magnetic smile…and elegance which Savithri
exuded. Plus the beauty and charm, of course.
Our own
producer Suresh Kumar may well be known as Keerthy’s father, I’m afraid,
despite his immense contribution to Malayalam cinema. And Menaka too, as her mother.
Keerthy's Maaya Bazaar scene deserves special
mention. She simply shone in it. The character who played Ranga Rao in Maya
Bazaar was splendid. The Kalyana Samayal saadam song sequence is unforgettable,
almost as good as the real one in the movie. (Maybe because it’s another old
favourite of mine. I love the hahahahahah part best)
Dulquar
Salman is good but he did not earn the Kaadal Mannan tag. Maybe he wasn’t given
enough scenes to portray a flirt. The flashbacks could have been handled better
by the director Nag Aswin and the script lags in some places while it races in
some others. Clarity is lost in some
scenes…about her father and also about Pushpavally, who gets just passing
reference. If her early years were confined to lesser footage maybe her later
years would have got more prominence and clarity.
But a
director whose second film is this certainly calls for kudos.
So happy
that Savithri’s life is picturised, that she may not be forgotten for ages to
come…
