I cannot forget Edhir Neechal . I remember watching the stage drama at RR Sabha. Director KB was at the venue a couple of hours before the show, supervising the sets, but Nagesh would enter the premises at 7 am exactly. I was in school back then and was among the many people who whistled and cheered his arrival.
Back then, the drama was two-and-a-half hours, but was still an engrossing watch. A film was later made on the subject, with most actors from the play being cast for that project as well. I think I watched the film in Casino Theatre, along with my brother Balaji, and it was a wonderful experience.
Every dialogue in that film is etched in my heart. There’s a sequence in which Nagesh buys a razor blade for one of the residents of the house that had me in splits. I laughed every time the popular ‘Badava rascal’ dialogue was uttered. And of course, ‘Nair watch ah vittengale ’ was one of the most epic lines of that time.
Director KB’s combination with Nagesh has been one of my biggest inspirations to get into the arts scene. That the filmmaker cast a comedian like Nagesh to play the lead role was a big deal at that time. He even got song sequences; the ‘Thamarai Kannangal’ number is one of my favourites.
Actor-writer ‘Crazy’ Mohan
Edhir Neechal is unforgettable because it had comedy and sentiment in good measure. It had some brilliant sets, which were ahead of its time. Nagesh’s dialogue delivery is something that worked big time for the film. As Maadhu, he lived the character. I was so inspired by this character ‘Maadhu’ that I gave that same name when my brother, Balaji, débuted on stage. I did so in the hope that one day, he would become like Nagesh and I would write as well as K Balachander. But unfortunately, both have not happened in this lifetime.
(As told to Srinivasa Ramanujam)
