Mymovieminutes.blogspot.com is a blog born of my extraordinary love for films cherished from my childhood. Besides watching movies with family members and family friends, my memories of watching films with my close friends and colleagues, belong to a distinct category of my film watching experience.
As an undergraduate of B.A. English Literature, I had a very close friend who was studying B.A.Economics with whom I watched Sri Vinayaka Pictures' films like Naan {1967}and Moonrezhuthu {1968} {both films directed by T.R.Ramanna} at the Roxy Theatre Tiruchirappalli. He was a hosteller, and he used to come home during weekends for lunch and take me for film shows.
During my undergraduate times, I remember to have bunked the afternoon classes a couple of times, with another close friend, doing Bachelor of Economics course, to watch matinee shows. We both watched A, C, Tirulogchander's Irumalarkal at the Prabhath theatre and Sridhar's Oottivarai Uravu at the Raja theatre. Both theatres were located at Tiruchirappalli. Both were Sivaji Ganesan films released in 1967.
Those were times when the students of the final year programme used to have a Social Break up event at the end of the final year, and this celebration would mostly end up with a film visit to a theatre, mostly for a night show. In 1968, our final year batch, watched the MGR mega hit film Kudiyirundha Koil {1968} at the Jupiter Theatre,Tiruchirappalli. This blockbuster, was a Saravana Pictures film, produced by G.N. Velumani and directed by K. Shankar.
This group experience was repeated in 1970 when we completed our post-graduation course and had a Social Break up celebration that culminated with a night show film watch, and the film watched was, Vietnam Veedu, directed by P. Madhavan with the story line of Vietnaam Veedu Sundaram. This film had already become a popular stage drama. This movie starring Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini is still green in memory. As I went to watch the film without informing my parents, they were in jitters and the next morning when I reached home, I received a thorough scolding from my father.
After taking up the teaching Profession my passion for films was invigorated by one of my close friends and colleagues from the Dept. of Commerce. It was he who drew my interest towards Hindi films. Though my elder brother had already taken me to theatres to watch Hindi films like Mere Mehaboob, Love in Tokyo, and An Evening in Paris, this friend introduced some Hindi heroes, villains and character actors with an aesthetic touch and fineness. His focus was on the magnificently stylish heroes like Sanjeev Kumar, Dev Anand and Sashi Kapoor. He would also talk highly about Pran, Premnath and Prem Chopra who used to play negative roles. He had a special admiration for the character actor Iftekher, and the female star Moushmi Chatterjee.
This friend took me to watch films like Hare Rama Hare Krishnaa[1972] of Dev Anand, Shor {1972} of Manoj Kumar and Ah Gale Lag Jaa[1974] of Sashi Kapoor. With him I watched many Hindi films like Be Iman [ 1972] Zanjeer, [1973] Jugnu [1973],,Bobby [1973] Yadon ki Bharat (1973) Roti Kapada aur Makaan [1974] Sholay (1975)and Chhoti Si Baat[1976]. Most of these films were watched at the Gaiety Theatre Tiruchirappalli , and a couple of them at the Aruna Theatre near Woraiyur, Tiruchirappalli.
Some of the Tamil films we watched together were Sivaji Ganesan's Gauravam {1973} directed by Vietnaam Veedu Sundaram on the day of its release {(.first show at 9.00 AM at Raja Theatre and Anbai Thedi {1974}, the 7.00 PM show at Palace Theatre and Sridhar's Ilamai Ooonjal Aadukiradhu,{1978}at Roxy Theatre. Even after my marriage this close friend also joined me and my wife to watch K.Balachander's film Ninaithaale Inikkum {1979} at Kalaiyarangam and a few other films, until he got married. A pleasant and unforgettable memory of our film experience was that he used to take me on the carrier seat of his cycle, pedaling all the way to those theatres. Besides the pleasure of watching films, what a great friendship it was, and still is, to treasure in my memory.
. At this juncture, I recall watching the MGR film Kumarikottam( Jan 1971) at the Central Theatre, Tiruchi with my departmental colleague who worked with me for one year and later took up government collegiate service. Kumarikottam was directed by P.Neelakandan who had made more than 25films of MGR. It was a morning show we watched. We both watched the other Sivaji Ganesan film Engirondho Vandhaal (1970) at Karaikudi, when we went there to attend the marriage of the then Head of the Dept. Of Economics. This film came under the direction of A.C. Tirulogchander.
. A week before my marriage I had the pleasure of attending the marriage of a very close friend of mine at Thanjavur. {1979}. I went to Thanjavur with half a dozen close colleagues -cum-friends, a day before that marriage. All of us watched the night show of the film Neeya {1979} the film narrated the story of romance between two snakes, with the female snake being bent upon avenging the death of the male cobra, in the hands of a group of friends }. This successful film was made by the ace film maker Durai.
In this connection, I should share the information that the bridegroom of that marriage, who hailed from Keerapalayam near Chidambaram always stays emotionally close to me. Once I visited his home at Keerapalayam and spent a couple of days there. That time we both watched the film Vani Rani {1974} at Lena Theatre, Chidambaram. Vani Rani starring Sivaji Ganesan,Vanishree {in dual roles} and R.Muthuraman was a remake of the most popular Hindi film Sita aur Geeta. This film was made by the duo Tapi Chankya and C.V. Rajendran.
A couple of similar marriage-bound film watching experiences, trigger my emotional reminiscences here. In 1980,my wife and I, with my colleagues and their wives, went to Namakkal to attend the marriage of our close colleague,working in the Department of Chemistry.There we watched the evening show of the film Oru Vellaadu Vengaiyaakiradhu, starring Sivakumar and directed by the director duo Devaraj Mohan. Later in 2002, my close friend from the Dept. Of Mathematics and I, went to Athur to attend the marriage of the youngest son of my departmental colleague. As the marriage was held at Ethapur my friend and I had to stay one night at Athur. There both of us watched the night show of Vijayakanth's block buster film Ramana, directed by A.R. Murugadoss.
I should also record here, watching the Ramarajan film Thangathin Thangam{1990} made by Siraj, with my senior colleague and close friend from the Dept of Mathematics, at the Kalaiyarangam Theatre, Tiruchirappalli. We watched the film after attending a function. Two of my earliest film visits with my friends at the starting spell of my career were, MGR's very old film Chakravarthi Thirumagal at the Prasanna Theatre Thuraiyur, with my close friend and colleague, from the Dept. Of Mathematics and the oldest Sivaji Ganesan film Manohara, at the Touring talkies, located in between two villages, called Vellakalpatti and Valaiyur. I remember having cycled to the talkies with half a dozen colleagues-cum friends, led by one of my junior colleagues from the Chemistry Dept.
During my outstation trips for central valuation of university examination answer scripts, twice I went to Mayiladudurai. In 1984 when I went there, my senior colleague ( who is now in his early Nineties) from the Tamil Dept, who was redeployed there in a govt. aided college, took me to watch the night show of the film Sirai, which was based on a short story written by Ms. Anuradha Ramanan, and directed by R.C.Shakthi. We saw the film at the Gomathi theatre. On my second visit to Mayiladudurai in 1995, for another spell of central valuation, I took my junior colleague employed in the Dept. Of Physics to watch the evening show of the film Chinna Vaadhiyaar at the Vijaya theatre.Chinna Vaadhiyaar was a film starring Prabhu (in dual roles) and Kushbu, and this film was directed by Kamalahasnan's close associate, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao.
This article is a brief interaction with my blog viewers/readers, about by inborn love for films as a creative and entertaining medium, that meaningfully connects human realities, imagination, emotions, and intelligence with the audience, as an inspiring and integrating tool for binding experiences with humanity. While reading books is a self-bound experience to be shared with others, either necessarily or relevantly or even casually, film watching, quite often enhances the creative process into a collective timeline, causing interpretation of desirable perceptions of life, absorbed while watching films.
Above all, watching films with friends and colleagues, enriches the scope for exuberant socializing and togetherness, through spending time for a precious and pleasurable realization of what life is, and how we should move on. This article could be seen as my autobiographical journey on the memory lanes of my movie watch, with a different note of the aesthetics of celluloid phantasy.
Note:-Most of the theatres mentioned here might be extinct now. The names of some theatres are missing due to lapse of memory. However, the names of my colleagues -cum friends and student time friends mentioned in this article age-wise, are given below.
Professors. Dr.A.Ramarathinam, Mr L.W..Abdul Wadhooth, Mr.S. Shanmugam, Mr. T. A. Julius, Mr.M.Natarajan,Mr.S.Manavalan,. Mr. R.Jenardhanam,Mr.S.Karuppiah, Dr.S. RajaGopalan,Mr.M.Pannirselvam, Mr.K. Nagarajan and my close college batchmates & friends Mr. N. Arumugam and Mr. R. Azhagiya Nambi
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