A Burly Comedian of the last century.

   This blog has celebrated the memory of many talented Tamil actors of the last century.But 

one lovely actor of formidable size and stature was constantly escaping from the list.It was T.S.Durairaj the wonderful comedian and character actor who carved a niche for himself on account of his pot belly and ball like eyes. In physical stature he was like his two conteporary actors Pulimoottai Ramasamy and Kottapuli Jeyaraman.But his voice was made of a singular frame to facilitate easy identification even on being heard and not seen. He also created a tremendous impact  by his impressive timing of dialogue delivery and sanguine sense of humour .

   T.S.Durairaj had acted in MGR films like Kumari, Jenoah and Malaikkallan, the last in the list gaining special attention because of his creditable performance as a cop creating moments of laughter to a sobre sub inspector played by M.G Chakrabani. Paanai Pidithaval Baagyasaali, a film with a lengthy title portrayed him as a loving elder brother  showering  a lot of love for his sister{Savithri}.The movie was a casual comedy with the memorable song ‘’Purushan Veettil Vaazhappoegum Penne’’ sung vibrantly, by late Tiruchi Loganathan. Durairaj had also appeared as a scheming villain in the film Pangaaligal .

   With Sivaji Ganesan,T.S.Durairaj had acted in Thirumbi Paar { as a book publisher supporting the negative traits of Sivaji Ganesan who played as villain}Kalvanin Kadhali,Kappaloettiya Thamizhan and Padikkadha Medhai.The way he solves an issue concerning a banana, between Sivaji Ganesan and a fraudulent shop keeper, became a remarkable scene in the film Padikkadha Medhai. The  other rib tickling comedy show he performed was with Chandrababu in Maman Magal in which he also joined Babu for a song sequence for the ever famous number’ Koevamambazhame’ .

    Durairaj was a fascinating performer with his mellifluous tongue much in contrast to his mighty physique and bulldozing eyes. He was a perfect pair for the comedienne T.P.Muthulatchumi of those days. Both in look and role performance he was the incarnation of  pragmatism and his yardsticks for acting were always with in the realistic mode. Melodramatic  approach to acting was unknown to him. He was a combination of V.K.Ramasami’s banter and Sarangabani’s persuasiveness and he set the right trend for his prospective comedians like K.A.Thangavelu who specialized in verbal comedy.The burly comedy spirit of T.S.Dorairaj woulld create a nostalgic mood for the films audience of the last centruy who are still cherishing the golden memories of  Tamil cinema during the Nineteen fifties and sixties .
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