An Actor to Live by His Dialogue Delivery.

     

     Clear,cutting,emphatic and endearing!.All this at one stroke!.That was the singular pattern of dialogue delivery of the voluminous actor Vinu Chakravarthi who is no more today.Like Manorama, he is said to have acted in more than 1000 films in all the four South Indian languages.I have seen him in a few Malayalam films of Jeyaram,Mammootty Suresh Gopi and a few others, speaking mostly Tamil, and at times Malayalam too.But his Tamil entries are  significant landmarks in the history of Tamil Cinema, because of his rugged looks,striking body language and his inseparable native moorings in looks and language, taking him closer to the Tamil soil like the other great actor Raj Kiran. But while Raj Kiran excels mostly in character roles,Vinu Chakravarthi had always been a three- in -one, performing at excellent ease, his villain,comedian and character roles.
    The problem with this unique actor is that he can not be linked to a particular film and said that his role in the film was the best.He had been a consistent performer not letting down his body and mind while performing any of the given roles.Even the brief appearance he made in Karthik Muthuraman's Harischandra,in a most laughable scene, could be called one of his best performances.It was his distinct ability to fix himself earnestly in any role, be it small or big, that made his role play outstanding and impressive.However, he was always the best in the roles of a corrupt police officer { as he exuberantly performed in the Rajini/Prabu hit movie Guru Sishyan}as a village big wig [several films] and as a recalcitrant maternal uncle {Rajathi Rajaa}.
   Vinu Chakravarthi seems to have shared an amazing wave length with the superstar. Films like Siva,Thambikku Endha Ooru,Manidhan,Guru Sishyan ,Annamalai,Maapillai,Veeraa, Rajaadhi Raaja  Adhisiya Piravi, Panakkaaran and Arunachalam,  are all wonderful movies celebrating a kind of dynamic vibration between these two actors.The riotous confrontation between a victim of premature death,{ whose life was clipped prior to the fixed date,due to a calendar error committed by Yama's secretary Chitraguptan} and Lord Yama and his coterie was a rib tickling show in Adisiyapiravi. Rajinikanth as the victim,Vinu Chakravarthi as Lord Yama and V.K ,Ramasamy as Chitraguptan carried on the mighty laughter show,with the hilarious addition of Cho Ramasamy, in the role of Visithira Guptan, an assistant of Chitragupta ,
    The unending scuffle  between the tough and greedy maternal uncle{Vinu Chakravarthi} demanding a dependable earning credibility, on the part of his nephew {Rajinkanth} to marry his daughter, {Nadhiya{ provided a highly dramatic and enjoyable course of events in Rajaadhi Raaja, thanks to the sequential challenges vigorously thrown by both the conflicting blood relations.The robust performance of the duo, added by the fascinating music of Ilayaraja and the lively narration of Gangai Amaran, made the film a silver jubilee hit.Some of the other telling characters, that came his way, were that of a gullible theatre owner in Amarkalam,a stiff, son- doting, male chauvinist father in Kaalam Maari Pochu and  a frugal and at times even stingy,family head in Varavu Ettana Selavu Pathana. The last two films were directed by V. Sekar, who is known for poignant presentation of family dramas.In Kaalam Maaripochu Vinu Chakravarthi was seen, humiliating his daughters for the sake of his selfish and wayward son whom he believed to be his reliable masculine heir. While his paternal concern for his lost son was genuinely displayed in Giri, his pampering of his son was  the keynote of his character formation, in Ninaithen Vandhaai.
     Some of the other notable films of this departed actor were, Sundara Travels,Maapillai Gounder,Naattaamai,Chokka Thangam,Thenkaasi Pattanam, Kunguma Pottu Gounder, Banda Paramasivam , Periya Manushan, Muni and the latest Vaaiyai Moodi Peasvum. Beyond the vast list of his films, what stays imprinted in our memory, is his characteristic voice mould, by which he determines the way the dialogue should be delivered, so as to strike a note of acceptability in the minds of the audience.He perfectly familiarized the art of stressing words where they needed the stress and where he had to resort to a subdued note of voice modulation, as the context warranted.We have come across so many actors in Tamil Cinema, who have created immortal vibrations by their looks and demeanor. Vinu Chakravarthi will belong to the classic category of actors, whose voices will surpass the big screen and outlive their mortal barriers, by creating an eternal warmth of intimacy with the audience, through a fountain of words passing through rocks,pebbles and finally settling down in the hearts of men and women as the fountain waters drenching the sand. Vinu Chakravarthi's memories will last long, purely by his remarkable tone delivery and thumb rules of intonation, in delivering dialogues.