It is difficult to define a person like R.S.Rajan. It is easy to describe him instead, the typical cotton shirt and dhoti-adorning jhola-dhari with a white flowing beard who holds animated conversations. Passionate about films, he comes across as the typical creative eccentric who asserts, “we should do what we love to do and knowledge can be acquired by chance also.”
So true, when upon little digging you find that in the 70s he was a LIC agent doing a small business and accidentally became part of a film circle. Till then, he was purely an MGR fan watching only and all his films. And today, he is an authority on domestic and international cinema screening to Madurai’s movie buffs all classics and contemporary films from across the globe.
Bemusement over-rides when he goes down memory lane: “There used to be a Ray Film Society earlier which went defunct. Some of its members wanted to form a new club called ‘Yadharthaa’ and needed an eighth person to sign for its registration. I just happened to be there!”
Yadharthaa was born in 1972 and Rajan silently marked his entry into the world of cinema and by 1979 had roped in 500 members. “Our focus was on screening good Indian films. We had a 16 mm projector and initially used to screen at The Theosophical Society. The screening would be followed by an hour’s discussion that helped in understanding the film. There were no film societies down South and we found people from Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Theni, Sivakasi, Rajapalayam and many neighbouring districts much interested in joining us.”
But Rajan chose to go beyond just networking. He started visiting libraries, did a course in Film Appreciation, kept his contacts with the faculty of Film Training Institute in Pune. This helped him realizing his dream of conducting the first ever film appreciation course in Madurai which was attended by over 100 participants in 1981. Many more such courses followed in the years to come and received overwhelming response.
“I was lucky enough to be helped by good people at the right time in getting projectors for our workshops and screenings,” he smiles. By quirk of fate, even as many of the founder members of Yadharthaa disintegrated, Rajan continued to shoulder on and kept learning more about films through books and expanding his personal collection of DVDs of global classics and contemporaries.
A major shift occurred when Rajan decided to take his screenings to colleges. He also joined the Educational Multimedia Research Centre, MKU, and worked towards promotion of good films. In association with the National Film Archives Association, he found a new and equally passionate audience in students of American College, Fatima, Lady Doak, Yadava and Madura College and several other city colleges besides the Madurai Kamaraj University.
“It was an important decision and change, as these films helped to feed and fire the young minds. We were the first to screen Paradise Lost. The post-screening discussions also helped in looking at the multiple internalisation in movies for the masses and understanding the phenomenon of peoples’ heroes like MGR and others.”
Ironically, Rajan’s father who was a cowherd never allowed him to watch cinema. “Once my grandmother gave him an anna to watch a film but he argued if he spent the money on fodder for his cattle, it would yield him more milk. But my interest in films made me realize how the reel incidents tell you so much about societies all over and impact your mind,” says Rajan who has been a regular at all film festivals during last three decades.
“Films are my passion. I believe our existence is meant to do something which will be felt by others in a positive way. My association with all is only through my work and the way I work. Now, I am focusing on children’s films,” he shares, informing Yadharthaa has also tied up with 50 schools. “I love it when I am with children and all my screenings are free of cost. If I take money, my reputation will be at stake. My job is to only work sincerely and generate an understanding about good cinema. Those interested will automatically join in,” he adds.
Rajan doesn’t stop himself from seeing films. But his all-time favourites remain Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’, Russian film ‘Battleship of Potemkin’ and Charlie Chaplin films, which are also evergreen teaching films.
Rajan chose to tread the unconventional path and belongs to that rare group of people simply driven by interest and zeal. He doesn’t bother where the money or a good projector will come from but simply believes if he is sincere about his work, he will be able to deliver it for the benefit of others.
(Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. E-mail to somabasu@thehindu.co.in to tell about someone you know who is making a difference.)
