I thought, being a very small book, it will be very much biased for MGR. But, there were many interesting news and some are below:
1. He used cinema as a tool to propagate his ideas, ideals, visions and his ambitions to the people. He played the roles of a taxi-driver, a rickshaw puller, a farmer, a peasant and a fisherman
2. In his films, MGR never made advances on his leading ladies. It was the women who chased him and dreamt about him. The ones who did not chase him were the stereotypical shrews, who were subsequently tamed by the hero.
3. Atheism and anti-Brahminism were the cornerstones of DMK Ideology. A holy priest was often made a negative character in many of MGR's movies. And the villains were often Brahmins!
4. MGR clad in a red and black shirt in Nam Naadu (1969) rallied the poor against the rich. Every frame in the film showcased a photograph of Annadurai (the founder of the DMK) in the background.
5. MGR's involvement in his films was extremely meticulous. Every word he spoke and sang onscreen, he went through with a toothcomb. He changed dialogues if they didn't fit in with his image and he insisted on going through all the lyrics of the songs in his films.
6. He acted with younger heroines to make sure he never 'aged' onscreen and appeared young and virile.
7. MGR was always photographed wearing a fur cap and dark glasses. Anandan of Film News says: "MGR was developing bags around his eyes and he wore glasses to hide the fact that he was getting old! The fur cap, was to camouflage his growing baldness."
8. He almost always choreographed fight sequences on his own. Cho Ramaswamy, veteran actor and editor of the political magazineTughlaq, says: "All the fights in his films were personally shot and edited by him."
9. MGR also took care to maintain his public stand of being an atheist. When a photographer clicked a picture of MGR - when he was bare to the waist and without his trademark fur cap and dark glasses - coming out of a temple, MGR's security staff got hold of the negative and exposed it.
10. As MGR was a major contributor to the party funds, he began questioning the party hierarchy about some unexplained expenditure. This did not go down very well with the higher ups and MGR was expelled from the DMK on 9th October 1972.
11. His eleven-year rule (1977-87) was undoubtedly one of the darkest periods in the contemporary history of the state. Under his dispensation, profiteers of different kinds - liquor barons, real estate magnates, and the ubiquitous ruling party politicians - greatly prospered while a stagnant, if not declining economy forced the poor, who constituted the mainstay of MGR's support, into unbearable misery.
12. And despite the Nutritious Food Scheme being a government-funded one, it was projected as MGR's own personal charity, reinforcing his political image as the Chief Minister who truly cared.
13. Stories of his generosity hit the headlines regularly. But when MGR wiped out any sign of dissent against him with the help of the police, banned films questioning his rule, cancelled licenses, ruined businesses - none of these stories ever made it to the front pages of any newspaper or the covers of magazines when he was the Chief Minister. Such was his incredible hold.
14. MGR actively looked for a successor to take over his party. MGR was extremely fond of actor Bhagyaraj and considered him to be a worthy political successor. But try as he might, MGR couldn't bear to pull Bhagyaraj away from his oncoming mega stardom in movies for an uncertain political career. Next on his wishlist was Ramaraj. But like Bhagyaraj, Ramaraj was also becoming popular and MGR didn't want to disturb his career either.
15. It is said that when MGR was admitted in 1987, P. C. Reddy of Apollo Hospitals insured the entire hospital as a precautionary measure in case full-scale riots broke out in the state and grief stricken fans destroyed his hospital in the event MGR passed away.
No comments:
Post a Comment