Known for his quick repartees and puns, ‘Crazy’ Mohan had a long and fruitful career in Tamil theatre and cinema. His works include scripts for many Kamal Hassan films. A look at the theatre veteran’s life and times.
On June 10, 2019, veteran Tamil screenplay writer and playwright 'Crazy' Mohan passed away
In a storied career spanning over 20 years, ‘Crazy’ Mohan worked on dozens of films as a dialogue writer and actor. The photo shows Mohan with his brother ‘Maadhu’ Balaji.
Mohan owes most of his fame to his career in Tamil theatre. Some of his popular stage plays include Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam, Maadhu +2, Jurassic Baby and the runaway hit Chocolate Krishna. The image shows Mohan dressed for playing the titular role in Chocolate Krishna.
Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam was then referred to as the ‘Crazy’ play. Later, when he began to write for a popular Tamil magazine, there were many Mohans on the staff. He then took up the name ‘Crazy’ as his own. Photo shows actor Kamal Hassan, Crazy Mohan, Maadhu Balaji and playwright Chitralaya Gopu at the 777th show of Chocolate Krishna in Chennai.
Insiders in the Tamil theatre circuit believe that it’s Mohan’s presence and dialogue delivery that has kept audiences coming back to his dramas — not just once, but several times.
Mohan’s tryst with films as a dialogue writer started several years ago and his collaborations with Kamal Haasan are well known, beginning with ‘Michael Madana Kamarajan’. Here, the actor is seen felicitating Mohan at a function in 2003.
The duo went on to make classic rib-ticklers like ‘Sathi Leelavathi’, ‘Kaathala Kaathala’, ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’, ‘Indian’, ‘Avvai Shanmughi’, ‘Thenali’, ‘Panchathanthiram’ and more. The photo is a poster of multi-starrer Panchathanthiram’.
Mohan has also done cameos in several of Kamal’s films. The photo is a scene from ‘Vassol Raja MBBS’, a remake of the Hindi film ‘Munnabhai MBBS’.
Mohan's theatre troupe Crazy Creations has over 30 plays to its credit and over 6,000 stage shows all over the world. (From right) Mohan, singer Balamuralikrishna, musician Aruna Sairam and dancer Divya Kasturi at a function in Chennai.
A talented artist, Mohan is also known for his paintings and sketches
To recognise his contributions in arts and literature, the Tamil Nadu government gave him the ‘Kalaimamani’ award. An archive photo of Mohan with actor Rajinikanth and his wife Latha.