AACHI,THE GREAT.{Rededicated to the Departed Actress}

                                                      

    

      Aachi is a very popular brand name for quite a few food products made in Tamil Nadu and sold around the world. But here  it is Aachi, the most  famous Tamil comedienne and character actor I am talking about. Manorama who is affectionately called Aachi,first acted as heroine in the film Konjum Kumari  after appearing  in a few movies like Maalayitta Mangai and Kalathoor Kannamma released in the Nineteen  fifties.

    Tamil Cinema has successfully introduced and patronized quite a lot of women talents, performing as heroines, comediennes and character actors. Among comediennes there have been  robust performers like T.A.Madhuram,T.P.Muthulakshmi,M.Saroja,Kumari Chachu, Madhavi and Kovai Sarala. But none of them ruled the Tamil big screen for so long a time, as Manorama, acting in a wide variety of roles, in more than one thousand movies. She stands apart,as a colossal actress surpassing the claims of any other woman in the Tamil film industry.

     As a vibrant and winning comedienne, her hey days were with Nagesh, contributing equally to the humour segment of many MGR and Sivaji Ganesan movies, competing with that veteran and at times even overshadowing him.From the Nineteen Seventies to Eighties, Tamil films without Manorama were not many.Besides Nagesh, she would be a perfect pair with other comedians like ThengaiSeeinivasan,Cho,Surulirajan,V.K.Ramasamy and M.R.R Vasu. Manorama was not only a versatile actor like Sivaji Ganesan,  but was also a good singer lending her voice to music, in films like Edhir Neechal,Poovaa Thalaiyaa, Dariisanam Bommalaattam,Sooriyakandhi and so on.Some of her best shows in humour  were in Anbe Va,Baratha Vilas,Pattikkaadaa Pattanamaa,Galattaa Kalyaanam, Thiruvilaiyaadal,Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi. Kaasedhaan Kadavulada, Saraswathi Sabadham,Kandhan Karunai,Edhir Neechal, Bommalaattam,Kaasedhaan Kadavulada, Thillaanaa Mohanaambaal,Samsaaram Adhu Minsaaram and Nadigan.

    Like SivajiGanesan,Manorama  was adept in using different dialects in Tamil with native ease and felicity.Her bold and clear tone was ever her asset and with that she would deliver dialogues with consummate force and confidence, making a deliberate audio  visual impact on the audience. Emotions of anger and righteousness would naturally rise through relevant intonation in her utterance of dialogues and the same way her tone would settle down to adequate levels of submission and modesty whenever  the context warranted humility and grace. She could comfortably reach levels of sentimental melodrama and realistic patterns of behavior without any semblance of overdoing, from her side.

    While no one can forget her comic roles in several films, she has also been invincible in performing character roles particularly that of a devoted mother reflecting  powerfully, the positive energy and compassion of motherhood. Manorama  stands as the most cherished and loved mother character in films like Sooriyan [where she shows immense love to the hero Sarathkumar whom she treats as her son}Pudhiya Paadhai [in a similar role with Parthiban as hero],Chinna Thambi,Kizhakku Vaasal,Pangaali, Gentleman ,Jaihind,Saamy, Annamalai, Chinna Gounder,Marumalarchi,Vallal,Gemini, Honest Raj, Parambarai,Periya Kudumbam, Thaamirabarani, Naattamai and Natpukkaaga. In all these movies as the mother of heroes like Rajinikanth, Prabu,Karthik Muthuraman, Sathyaraj, Sarathkumar, Vijayakanth,Arjun and Mammootty,she has represented  the inspiring, emboldening  and sacrificing dimensions of  an unflinching mother, creating a vacuum in the life of her sons through her death or separation.

    She has definitely been a creditable addition into the films of two great heroes. One is Sivaji Ganesan and the other is Rajinikanth. Though she would have acted in the films of every other hero, Sivaji and Rajini  have inducted her as a valued colleague and senior artist respectively, in most of their films.She has certainly reciprocated their gesture by her open adoration of Sivaji Ganesan  and categorical statements of gratitude to Rajinikanth. A couple of scenes in the epic like film Thillaanaa Mohanaambaal  would  show how much she admired and  respected Sivaji Ganesan as an actor of grand scale. The number of Sivaji Ganesan films she acted were many  and one could see her even in the later year films of the Chevalier such as Thiagam,Viduthalai,{a combined show of Sivaji and Rajini} and Needhipathi released during the Eighties.

      As far as Rajini  is concerned, starting from  Kuppathu Raja she has often joined the films of Rajinikanth in a vital character role. While Annamalai  showcased her as the  beloved and dignified mother of the hero, she has generated spontaneous humour in other films like Pokkiri Raja,Billa,Thee,Thanga Magan,Adutha Vaarisu, Guru Sishyan,Naan Adimai Illai, Ejamaan, Mannan and Arunachalam. Both in Pookiri Raja and Guru Sishyan, she appeared as a greedy woman getting caught in the hands of Rajini, thereby generating moments of laughter. In Thangamagan she was compact as the adopting mother of Rajinikanth. She has also acted in other Rajikanth films like Bhairavi,Aaru Pushpangal, Sivappuchooriyan and so on.

    With Kamalahasan, apart from Kamal’s first film Kalathoor Kannammaa, Manorama has  been the world hero’s pet actor in his  most popular films like Aboorva Sagodharargal, Per Sollum Pillai,SingaraVelan,Unnaal Mudiyum Thambi, Savaal,Sattam, Enakkul Oruvan, Michael Madhanakamarajan and Vaazhve Maayam .

    The major Tamil film  production houses have utilized Manorama’s talents as many times as possible. Though she was introduced as a heroine by Modern Theatres, other film makers like Devar films, Vijayalakshmi Pictures, A.V.M.Pictures,Muktha Films and  Sujatha Cine Arts would usually have a script with a provision for an important comedy or character role for Manorama. In this respect, her number of entries will be more with Sujatha Cine Arts and AVM pictures. Manorama’s personal popularity as a meritorious artist should have been the major reason for her inclusion in a vast number of movies produced by these production units.Similarly a huge line of eminent directors starting from A.P.Nagarajan and K.Balachander down to P.Vasu ,R.V.Udhayakumar, K.S.Ravikumar and Shankar, have brought out the best layers of acting from Manorama.

    Aachi  has reached a monumental status in Tamil Cinema, which even many outstanding heroines could not attain. It is really an extraordinary thing for some one to stay wanted in a field  after making a long standing contribution through dedication and magnificent performance. As an artist of  individual potential and versatility in demonstration, she will ever occupy the foremost place in Tamil Cinema, in the line of Sivaji Ganesan. She would not have got an award like the Chevalier.But she is ever our Aachi the great.

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