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Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Gregarious and energetic as always : Sachu

Sachu laughs as she recalls the incident: “I was already a child artist in films then. My sister ‘Maadi’ Lakshmi was also performing that evening and I had to make my presence felt.” The doyen entered cinema 55 years ago. “Be it the big screen, television or stage, once I face the camera I give my all.” The commitment has kept her busy through the decades. You recently saw her ‘Unakkum Enakkum.’ “Now I’m doing a good role in ‘Sadhu Mirandaa.’ You’ll like it,” she volunteers.

To acknowledge the sustaining power of this child actor-turned heroine-comedienne-character artist, Priya Vision/Priya Cultural Academy will honour her on Sunday, November 18, at a programme titled ‘Sweet Sachu 55.’

Her warm welcome and friendly demeanour make you feel absolutely at home. “I’m the gregarious type, always keen to maintain the associations I’ve made,” she flashes the genial smile you’ve often seen on screen. “I hope all the senior artists of today make it to the event this Sunday,” she adds.

Sachu was the sixth among nine children. But strangely, after her dad, who was a practising advocate, it was she who took his position in the family. “I didn’t want my mom to get anxious about running the household. Actually my father was very much against my getting into films. It was my mother’s aunt who nurtured great ambitions for me.” Was it the need to earn that made her opt for comedy roles? “Partly yes.”

After her debut as heroine in AVM’s ‘Veerathirumagan’ (“I was just 15 then”) and ‘Annai’ she had to wait for her next heroine role. She couldn’t. Of course Sachu did do a couple of second heroine roles, ‘Annai Illam,’ for instance. That’s when ‘Kadhalikka Neramillai’ came her way. “I took it because it was a youthful and lively Sridhar film and was going to be made in colour.” That it created history and Sachu became the most popular comedienne after Manorama are old stories now.

Her dance shows with sis Lakshmi were going on simultaneously and directors always saw to it that she had a song sequence in every film. “It was the same even when I was a child actor playing the young Banumathi, Savitri and Padmini. In the Hindi film, ‘Bahut Din Huye,’ where I was Madhubala Junior, Lata Mangeshkar sang for me!”

It was actor T.S.Balaiah who initiated Sachu into theatre. “More than 10 plays and 500 shows — I still wonder how I juggled so many things. I’ve done some wonderful plays — ‘Thoppil Thani Maram,’ ‘Kana Kandaen Kanna’ and ‘Mezhuguvarthi’ which was made into a film [‘Pilot Premnath,’ starring Sivaji Ganesan] — and worked with doyens such as ARS, Visu and Venkat.” On stage Sachu always played serious, emotional parts. Besides, till date she’s a model too. “From my early days I’ve modelled for several products. So it’s nothing new,” she says casually. Again she’s a popular face in today’s soaps, as much as she was in the Doordarshan plays of those days. And from childhood she’s been an artist with AIR.

Sachu has been so busy since the age of six that school had to be given the go by. “I didn’t realise what I had missed then. My grand aunt saw to it that I was tutored at home,” says Sachu pensively. After a point she was her own manager, PR and accountant. “It was so hectic that I would take it out on mom. ‘Why did you make me undergo all this,’ I would ask. She would patiently convince me that she wished the best for me,” sighs Sachu.

Today the brothers and sisters have moved out with their families. “I had too many commitments to think of marriage. But they are all near by and we visit each other often,” she says. As if to say she has loyal company, her Pomeranian barks from inside. “I love dogs,” she laughs.

“I’m contented with my lot, never think of what could have been. I’m 500-films strong and still busy. Was talking to ‘Sowcar’Janaki this morning. ‘We’ve seen so much in life. Yet we go on, making the best of what we’ve got. It pains me to see today’s breed buckle under the slightest pressure and resort to suicides,’ she told me. True. Life is all about challenges. We have to surmount them and win,” Sachu says. And in the same vein, “I’ll look out for you at Kamaraj Hall on the 18th. You have to be there,” she winks.

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