Angigaram – An Autobiography - P.R. Durai – Chandrika Pathipakkam – Veeraperumal Koil Street, Mylapore – Contact 9566093676.
Durai’s narrative has all the ingredients of a novella. Poverty did not deter our protagonist from pursuing his goal – to become an actor. Supporting him to the hilt is his elder brother, who toils to keep the hearth burning, literally. Has anyone taken so much effort to thank all those who made his dream come true? Durai has mentioned everyone who might have made a small contribution in his success journey and that is the outstanding aspect of this volume. It is also a veritable who’s who of the Tamil stage, what with the author sharing the stage with hundreds of artists in his long career of over 1,000 shows.
Last among a large family of siblings, Durai shows no interest in school. Drama and cinema on the other hand draw him as a magnet would. Durai’s journey begins literally after his mother’s death. Brother Mani takes a confused and sad seven-year old to board a bus, the final destination being the boys’ drama company. Durai’s astounding talent blossoms on the stage, where he comes across stalwarts such as Anna, MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Avvai Shanmugam, etc., all of whom predict a glorious future for the budding star.
His impeccable Tamil diction opens the doors of S.V. Sahasranamam’s Seva Stage of which he becomes an integral part. So much so that Durai organised a function in memory of SVS and honoured all those who were part of his troupe.
Durai enters celluloid through ‘Motor Sundaram Pillai’ and there begins a phase when he straddles the stage, radio, television and cinema his thirst for acting unquenched. Honoured with titles and awards, Durai today looks back at the path that he has traversed. Journeying with him we get to see glimpses of a past, when theatre not only fed starving stomachs but was a treasure house of talent. The grit and determination of these residential school artists haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.