Those who were young in the 1950s-60s, read Tamil magazines and were film buffs will never forget one name, the mention of which will make them nostalgic. The name of Kothamangalam Subbu, who was associated with the then biggest film house Gemini Studios and the editorial group of the popular Tamil weekly Anandavikatan . Multifaceted, he was a script writer, lyricist, music composer , folk lore expert, connoisseur of fine arts and literature.
At the sixth Devan Memorial Lecture held at the Tag Center recently in association with Madras Book Club and Devan Endowments, bilingual writer, musician, dance and music scholar and a former bank officer, Sujatha Vijayaraghavan traced the life and works of Subbu in an endearing manner.
For someone who had studied only upto seventh standard, Subbu had proved that creativity and writing have little to do with educational qualifications. He entered films as an actor in K. Subramaniam’s ‘Kachadevayani’ because of his experience of doing plays in his village. He was recommended by his friend and actor Kothamangalam Cheenu. After Subramaniam’s production house was bought by SS Vasan, who rechristened it Gemini Studios, Subbu became a permanent part of it.
A voracious reader, he learnt English on his own. As a folklore artist, he presented many villuppattu, harikatha and therukkoothu programmes on a variety of subjects such as Gandhi Mahan Kathai (about 2,929 times) and Dasavatharam.
As a lyricist, he penned many songs for the Gemini studios’ movies; his lines such as ‘Amma Pasikkuthe’ (the controversial but popular song from ‘Samsaram’) to ‘Mylapore Vikkalaththu Mattupponnaven’ (’Mr. Sampath’) — showed his amazing range. His poems received encomiums from veterans such as Ki.Va.Ja., TK Chidamabaranatha Mudaliar and Editor Va. Ra of Manikkodi .
As a short story writer, Sujatha said that Subbu had written 16 stories on divergent topics. He had staged about 120 plays for All India Radio. His themes made a reviewer comment that ‘the popularity of the artists did not eclipse the drama’s content.’ He had written a commentary on Kattabommu Kathai and his lines, ‘Vanam pozhikirathu’ and ‘Santhu pottadi nee enakku’ were featured in the popular movies, ‘Veerapandiya Kattabomman’ and ‘Sivagangai Cheemai’.
Subbu’s chef d'oeuvre, ‘Thillana Mohanambal,’ which was serialised in Anandavikatan in 1957-58, took Tamil readers by storm. He wrote it under the pseudonym, Kalaimani. Earlier, he had also directed a blockbuster, ‘Avvaiyar’, for Gemini Studios.
His predilection for nagaswara vidwan T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai inspired him to create the hero of ‘Thillana Mohanambal,’ Shanmugasundaram. It was also rumoured that Pandanallur Jayalakshmi was his inspiration to depict Mohanambal, the dancer. Apart from creating powerful main characters, Subbu blended in a host of colourful cameos including Nagalingam, Jiljil Ramamani, Minor and Chavdal Vaithi..
Sujatha said ask anyone who has read the novel, and even today they will be able to recall the characters accurately. Another highlight of ‘Thillana Mohanambal,’ the novel, was his exhaustive articulation of the Dikshitar kriti, ‘Sri Subrahmanyaya Namaste’ in Khambodi.
His next novel ‘Rao Bahadur Singaram’ focussed on valour and love. His third novel ‘Pandanallur Bama’ was serialised in Dinamani Kadir .
Of the last two novels, ‘Ponnivanaththu Poonguyil’ was a historical , ‘Miss. Radha’, dealt with feminism. Sujatha said that though the characters were stereotyped and the story moved on a predictable line, it was quite engaging.
Sujatha’s presentation was loaded with information, apt examples, humour, songs, some of which she sang, highlighting Subbu’s wordplay, and his commitment to society, literature, art and culture.
The only unfortunate part was the absence of youngsters in the audience. Young people need to appreciate and carry forward this legacy of Tamil literature.
