For anyone unfamiliar with S Balachander (SB), the filmmaker, the memorial function was a real eye opener. Veenai S Balachander, as he is popularly known, is famous for his music, especially his expertise over the veena. Less known is the fact that he once directed Andha Naal, a film that many filmmakers still swear by. Some call it one of the greatest films ever made in Tamil.
As we walk into the grand old Woodlands theatre, there’s a small set construction of a famous scene from Andha Naal. The Rashomon type film revolves around the murder of Raju, played by Sivaji Ganesan, and the story is told by different people associated with him.
Inside the theatre, we spot one of the organisers, Mani Ratnam. He is busy greeting every single guest. The felicitation event is being held on the same day as Andha Naal’s release: 13.4.1954.
The event begins with film historian/actor Mohan Raman presenting an audio-visual on S Balachander, his work, and his interest in music. It is full of insightful anecdotes. For instance, the story of how Sivaji Ganesan came to act in Andha Naal. Sivaji had become quite popular by then, and producer AV Meiyappa Chettiar couldn’t afford his salary, which was Rs.40,000. He offered Sivaji Rs.25,000, and Sivaji refused. S Balachander, however, talked Sivaji into it. He told him that the producer would pay him Rs.1000 for every day they shot the film. Sivaji thought it was a great deal, as films took a long time to complete in those days. To Sivaji’s utter disappointment, S Balachander completed the shoot in just 17 days!
After the screening, legendary film technicians like directors Mahendran and SP Muthuraman, and editor Mohan, spoke about their experiences with S Balachander. How this magnanimous personality had commanded respect without ever asking for it. They eventually put forward a request, that those who had organised the event make a documentary about the forgotten director, so that today’s youth could learn about this talented man, whose work was way ahead of his time. Actor/director Parthiban said, “Even though I did not have the pleasure of meeting him, I watched his films and sent him a 7-page letter of appreciation. He sent me a 14-page reply. His inspiring words are one of the reasons I am into films now.”
Director Mysskin, one of the organisers, said he was delighted to have worked with Mani Ratnam on this ceremony. He said it was tragic that an innovative filmmaker like SB had to give up a career in films, because producers weren’t gutsy enough to experiment with films like his. He also said that most of SB’s films were commercial failures because “Nalla padam na odadhu” (Good films do not run).
Young director Karthik Subbaraj went on stage and announced that he represented the ignorant generation that knew nothing about this director. “When my first film Pizza was a success, my father snidely remarked that it was nothing compared to thrillers like Nadu Iravil and Andha Naal. That is when I watched his films and during the course of doing this event, I read about him, saw more of his films,” he said.
After all the speeches, a musical troupe gave a live performance of well-known songs from his movies, which was followed by theatre artists recreating memorable scenes from Andha Naal.
