Single man stage

If he were alive today, he would have turned 98. It has been 30 years since he died. And yet, he continues to be an inspiring icon for many in the state of Tamil Nadu. There is at least one TV channel which plays songs from his movies 24/7 and breaks up that monotony with a full movie or three.

MGR. Possibly the only politician who won an election, not only for himself, but for his party, by campaigning from a hospital bed half-the-world away!

Lookalike

It has been over 26 years since the man was called to act on a higher stage, but even today heads turn to take a peek at MGR lookalikes. Because he was a popular actor and an even more popular politician, his doppelgängers are in demand for all kinds of reasons. It could be to open an evening of political speechmaking, or to be the putative guest of honour at some cultural function. Any of them is an occasion for the "புரட்சி தலைவர்" (Revolutionary Leader) to be present. 

I am not sure whether there was any competition for MGR lookalikes happening on the Republic Day, but here was one man walking down to the beach, all costumed to resemble the former chief minister. He could have very easily walked right up to the stage, but on the way, there were a few people who engaged him in conversation. Being 'in character', as it were, the man could not but stop and chat with his fans.

In some ways, it is quite easy to play brand MGR. The main elements are the white fur cap and the dark glasses - they conjure up an instant image of the man, that no further prop is required!

Dual role

Despite - more likely because of - having passed this way several times, I had not paid attention to these signboards. Yes, I know that South Boag Road was renamed in 1998. And I discovered a while ago that, while the official memorial to MGR is on the Marina, there is a labour of love off Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Road. 

Both these men were giants of Tamizh cinema; both tried their hands at politics; while MGR went on to serve as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for an unbroken ten-year stretch, Sivaji however did not win any election and had to be content serving a single term as a Member of Parliament, in the Rajya Sabha. 

Sivaji lived on this road for over forty years. MGR had his official residence at 27, Arcot Road, off this road - but he was rarely here, preferring to stay at his Ramavaram Gardens residence. Maybe he was worried about it becoming too crowded with both of them living close to each other!

The man, the brand

Tucked away in a side street off Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Salai, this memorial to India's first movie-hero-turned-state-Chief-Minister seems to be an effort to downplay MGR's prominence. But then, it is not a state sponsored memorial, which is on the Marina; this one is maintained by the MGR Memorial Charitable Trust, and is more a storehouse of memories of the man who had a tremendous run of over 5 decades in public life, the first four more as a movie star than a politician and the last, as the state's Chief Minister. Sadly, visitors are not allowed to take pictures inside the house. The official photographer inside will take your picture at certain pre-set locations.

The first thing you see when you enter the drawing room of what used to be MGR's house is the car he used for 10 years - a greenish blue Ambassador, TMX 4777. There is an urban legend that he was sold on the number 4777, because he first became Chief Minister on July 4, 1977. Some years later, when the registration series "MGR" fell due in Maharashtra, he made sure that he bought a car there and had it registered as MGR 4777 - though he never used it much. Other interesting bits that are little known: that he had a lion as a pet - 'Raja' now stands in stuffed glory inside this memorial. He bought the lion for his production "Adimai Penn" - a sequence where he fights the lion impressed Raj Kapoor so much that he wanted tips from MGR when filming a similar sequence for Mera Naam Joker. Though I don't have pictures of either, both car and lion can be seen on the Memorial's website.

In many ways, the house is quite a nice memorial of a man whose political legacy is being claimed by many, even today. After all, it is not everyone who can claim to have won a general election from a hospital bed not just once, but twice: the first time to become an MLA after he was wounded in a fracas in 1967 and the second, all the way from Brooklyn Hospital in New York, in 1984, to be re-elected as the Chief Minister. And if that wasn't enough, a 2008 movie about a taxi carried the number of his car - that's the power of the MGR brand!

Vanakkam, 2009!

Raised hands, with palms joined in greeting - the traditional gesture that goes with saying 'Vanakkam' in Tamil Nadu, (or 'Namaskaram' / 'Namaste' in other parts of India). On the Marina beach, this marble representation of the greeting welcomes the sunrise every day, as it will tomorrow, too - one of the first spots of Chennai city to see the sun rising in the New Year.

Here's wishing everyone around the world a happy, prosperous, peaceful, healthy and fulfilling time in 2009!

MGR

If the mark of a great city is the opportunities it provides to people coming into it from other regions, then Chennai does belong up there. While there is some mild jingoism about Tamil language, culture, heritage etc., I'm hard pressed to think of any state in India besides Tamilnadu that carries a refrain similar to 'வந்தோரை வாழவைக்கும் தமிழகம்' (roughly translated as 'the Tamizh land that fosters any who comes').

And MGR is one of those who was fostered very well. Of Keralite origin, born in Sri Lanka, his first role was in a movie directed by an American who knew no Tamil (Ellis R. Dungan); but then he went on to become a leading actor, on to be the state's Chief Minister and even 21 years after his death, remains a larger-than-life, influential figure in the politics of the state.

The plaque at the MGR memorial on the Marina seems too bland - does not quite capture the phenomenon that he was and the hysteria he inspired in the population of Tamil Nadu.