Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

`Entertainment mustn't erode values'

Delhi Kumar and Bombay Gnanam have made Chennai their home. With their sensitive portrayal of ordinary characters, the two senior artistes have endeared themselves to television and theatre audiences. As Chidambaram Pillai, the loving father of five daughters in the popular Tamil tele-serial "Metti Oli", Kumar literally brought life to a standstill, five days a week, from 9 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. With a passion for acting since his college days, he entered theatre under the guidance of art critic Subbudu and staged many successful Tamil plays in Delhi, where he was working then. Many of these plays used to be performed at the summer festival in Krishna Gana Sabha. Post-retirement, Kumar shifted to Chennai to take up theatre full-time but has turned out to be a sought-after name on television.

From a housewife to a household name, Bombay Gnanam has proved there's a lot to life after 40. After her two sons grew up, she not only found the time to start the Mahalakshmi Theatre Group with a few housewives in Bombay, but also to write, direct and produce plays. Soon Gnanam's family-oriented stories started drawing a good crowd in Bombay, and outside too. She moved to Chennai after her husband's retirement, when television beckoned her in the form of a K. Balachander serial. Today, she is a lovable mother and grandmother, both on screen and off it. She was awarded the Kalaimamani this year.

During the Take Two, the duo sounded as honest as they appear on the screen. Chitra Swaminathan listened in...

Kumar: Haven't met you for a long time.

Gnanam: (looking at the reporter) By the way, he is my ex-husband. (Both burst out laughing at the puzzled reporter). I meant he played my husband in two serials. Seriously, though TV has given so much recognition, I still cannot get over my love for theatre. The thrill of a live medium is incomparable. What do you say Kumar?

Kumar: But who comes to watch plays these days?

Gnanam: My plays deal with contemporary issues and women's problems and have always been well received. The uniqueness of the troupe is that everything is by women and of women. Over the years, it has turned out to be a creative outlet for talented housewives, whom we welcome with open arms. But we work on a no profit-no loss basis. Keeping the passion for acting alive is the only reward. So, it's not that there are no good plays and committed artistes. Blame the modern lifestyle for the poor audience turnout. With late hours of work, traffic congestion and the luxury of watching films and serials at home, who would want to go and watch a play?

Kumar: Sadly, the same stressed-out souls make an effort to go for those dime-a-dozen TV and film stars' shows.

Gnanam: It's for all the fun and glamour.

Kumar: Whatever it is, this is the bitter reality and we have to accept it. My worry is how to revive Tamil theatre and make it appealing to the modern generation without playing to the gallery. Having been associated with the medium for more than 40 years, I feel sad to see its plight. But I am not going to sit quiet. For the past one month, I have been working on the idea of roping in some popular TV stars with a liking for the stage to do plays. I hope with their presence we will be able to draw crowds as also sponsors. I don't think it will happen in Chennai but it might click in towns down South.

Gnanam: What about die-hard stage artistes?

Kumar: They will be there doing key roles. The stars are more for mass appeal. I thought it is better to move with the times, rather than call it quits. Though I have nothing more to achieve, my heart beats for the art.

Gnanam: One advantage of staging plays for sabhas, which I generally do, is that at least the presence of members does not leave you performing to an empty hall.

Kumar: But very few have enough subscriptions to pay drama troupes or enough members to make the hall look decently full. Sometimes we stage a play under the aegis of three or four sabhas.

Gnanam: Okay, talking about serials, do you perceive any change over the years?

Kumar: Nothing much, except that I have not been able to decipher what this taraka mantram or TRP is all about. Everything seems to revolve around it.

Gnanam: And higher TRPs mean making the viewers, particularly the women, shed more tears.

Kumar: The highlight of "Metti Oli" was that it was intelligently presented and had no known faces or stars. One of the reasons why I entered television is that unlike films there is no star system here.

Gnanam: Not anymore. Now every channel is trying to get film stars to popularise its serials. I don't think their presence will make any difference if the story is not good or the script is weak.

Kumar: These stars are highly paid, while those who work from 9 to 9 sometimes get a raw deal.

Gnanam: It's unfair.

Kumar: So even if the channels insist, the producers and directors are not really comfortable handling starry tantrums. It's taxing for them too. Thank God, there are not many serials featuring film stars.

Gnanam: I refuse to give in to any kind of pressure to do scenes and mouth dialogue that go against my conscience. Many people ask me why women are projected so badly in soaps and I agree. Most female characters are shown as vengeful, two-timing and as the worst villis on earth. There are hardly such women in real life. I am worried about its impact on society and our culture.

I think serial makers need to act more responsibly. In the name of entertainment, we cannot allow our values to get eroded. Kumar, don't you think it's terrible?

Kumar: Good scripts are the only solution. In serials, the story is the hero and the characters, the heroine.

Gnanam: Most often the dialogues lack punch, are hardly thought provoking and run into pages. For stage artistes like us it's tiring and monotonous to rehearse loosely written lines. But the worst part is when some of the young actors on the sets need prompting even to say `good morning'.

Kumar: A potent medium, television is a god-send to many aspiring and veteran artistes. What we need is commitment from actors and technicians for a bigger impact.

Gnanam: True, it's more satisfying than doing insignificant roles in films. I have done very few films.

Kumar: I too have been choosy and have done just two or three.

Gnanam: Anyway, we are here for the love of acting, so quality overrides quantity. I make it a point to be back home by 7 p.m. and cook food for my husband. I also take off for two months and spend time with my grandchildren. My idea of unwinding is spending time with family. And I know what's yours. Walk, walk and walk. I remember how in the middle of shoots you would pace up and down the pathway inside AVM studio.

Kumar: (starts laughing) Don't you think we should pack up?

PHOTO: S. THANTHONI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail