The Comedy Time of Mayilsamy.

   












Homage to the Great Actor of Comdey Times.

            Re posted on 19th Feb 2023.

  It is not an exaggeration that small time comedians quite often create a sterling impact on the audience.This is how comedians like Kali N.Rethinam, Pulimoottai Ramasamy,Kottaappuli Jeyaraman,Usilai Mani,Omakuchi Narasimhan,Loose Mohan,Ennathe Kannaiah and Kumarimuthu created their memorable marks in spite of their brief appearances in quite a lot of films. Mayilsamy is one such comedian who has been stealing the show as the side kick of chief comedians like Vivek and Vadivelu. From the days of his 'Asathapovadhu Yaaru' programme  on the small screen,Mayilsamy has scored high, in performing brief but remarkable role play, creating laughable moments for the audience in a way that speaks of his grand grasp of time sense and compact deliberation of witticisms, coupled with a commendable capacity for generating comedy gusto.The other notable trait is his extraordinary mimicry potential.
      Mayilsamy who has so far acted in more than 150 movies,first appeared as a retailer's errand boy three decades ago, in Prabhu's early, popular film Kanni Rasi. Some of the  characters that he played, stay remembered over the years, for his mighty shows of comedy. They are, Netrikan Nerkunram {Thai Porandhaachu}Guduvancheri Govindasamy (Kandein Seethaiyai) Kochako (Dhool)Lighthouse Narayanan,{Ghilli} Tidel Park Venugopal {Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam}Alex Thambidhurai Napoleon,{Naan Avanillai} Santoshkanth {Uthamaputhiran of Dhanush}Marikkozhundhu{Veeram} Dr.Kuyilsamy{En Purushan Kuzhandha Madhiri}Mokkachamy{Paandi}and Retired Rowdy{ Gori- palayam}.
     Some of the scenes pointedly celebrated for his comedy gusto are, his translation of Srilankan Tamil into Chennai Tamil in Pennin Manadhai Thottu,his claim for a drunken hitch kike, with Pedestrian Vadivelu in Thimiru, his mischievous shuffling of Tirupathi laddu into a jilebi, quoting a fake government order of Chandrababu Naidu,to take gullible Vivek for a ride in Dhool, and the comedy uproar that he unveils at a bar with Dahnush and Karunas, introducing himself as Tidel park Venugopal and politely asking for cigarettes and pegs of drinks at regular intervals in Tiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam, are a few solid samples of his power and reach of comedy.
    In Dhool he certainly exploited gullible Vivek to the maximum, to create the most hilarious moments, on account of Vivek's misconceived notions of the zodiac cancer and the disease cancer.In another film, the audience would have seen him talking to his sister like Paasamalar Sivaji Ganesan delivering a note of mockery with precision and rejoicing over his capacity for mockery.
     As a drunken lout with vigor for generating spontaneous laughter,he  excelled in films like Ghilli,Raja,Thimiru and several others.As a fake and fraud character he would perfectly fit in, any time. He has ever been a compact inclusion for roles such a fake swamiji,a casual watchman or security guard.One could really pity him for his inability to prove his genuineness and the hypocrisy of Dhanush in the film Uthamaputhiran. With Vivek, his flair for comedy received a unique stamp for creating instantaneous laughter.Pennin Manadhai Thottu,Dhil, Lootty, Whistle, Kandein Seedhaiyai and the ever great Dhool are a few memorable marks.The same way his rib tickling comedy parades with Vadivelu in films like Thimiru,Vaseegara,Giri, Rendu, London and Thillaalangidi need a special acknowledgement and accolade.
     Small and well built in size,but tall and stout, in kindling the laughter of the audience Mayilsamy has gone a long way with stalwart actors like Kamalahasan {Aboorva Sagodharargal,Michael Madhana Kamarajan and Vetri Vizha} Rajinikanth i{Uzhaippali, Sivaji,The Boss}Sathyaraj {Udan Pirappu,Villaadhi Villain} Prabu Ganesan [Sentamizh Paattu,Duet and Thai Porandhaachu besides his first innings in Kanni Rasi}Ajit {Aasai, Raja, Veeram and Vedhaalam}and Vijay{Ghilli and Vaseegaraa} His name in Tamil,if translated into English,will read as Lord of Peacock.As a second level comedian,Mayilsamy has truly spread his beautiful comedy feathers to the most fascinating extent, to claim a singular place in Tamil Cinema.He could  certainly be called a first grade comedian because his comedy time has never failed to leave its indelible impressions,on the humor -hungry Tamil audience, despite the fact that he consistently performs comedy, holding his face as serious as possible.His best comedy moments are related to his gestures and vibrant articulation of dialogues.By first look, one would think that he is a serious person.But his comedy wings would take everyone into a world of surprising sense of humor, through gestures and dialogues, generating spontaneous guffaws.
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The Crow Prefixed Actor

 

     Tamil Cinema is famous for actors with strange prefixes.Actors like Thengai Srinivasan,Bakoda Kadher,Thayirvadai Desigan,and Bonda Mani carry unusual prefixes as a peculiar mark of some character they played either on the stage or in films.One such actor who belonged to the old generation of Tamil Cinema is Kaakaa {Crow}Radhakrishnan who takes on this prefix from the film Mangayarkarasi, in which he was shown climbing up the thatched roof tops, to catch crows.
    Radhakrshnan was always a natural actor in the line of character actors and comedians like V.K.Ramasamy. He was ever identified by his characteristic husky voice which he beautifully modulated to deliver the intended dramatic effect.At the out set it would appear as if he had some voice impediment.But his dialogue delivery would make it a unique voice mold capable of causing a cutting effect thereby creating amazing memories as its scars, to remain as the indelible impression of a living experience.
   Radhakrishnan would  have acted in about fifty to sixty films.But most of his films were the popular ones.I first saw him in the great film Manohara that  remains as one of the most memorable films in historical fiction highlighting the most powerful and chaste Tamil dialogues penned by Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi and delivered by the ever great actor Sivaji Ganesan as powerful utterances .In that film Kaakaa Radhakrishnan played as the innocent son of T.R.Rajakumari,the whore plotting to usurp the Chola Kingdom.This remarkable actor had acted with Sivaji Ganesan in films like Thuli Visham, Ulagam Palavidham,Bommai Kalyanam,Chithoor Rani Padmini and later as the Chevalier's younger brother in the monumental film Thevar Magan. In fact it was Kamalahasan who reintroduced this potential actor to Tamil Cinema after a hiatus of more than two decades. Kamalahasan utilized Radhakrishnan's acting stuff, first in Guna and then in Thevar Mahan and later in the highly refreshing film  Vasool Raj M.B.B.S in which Radhakrishnan was offered a meaty role as the father of Crazy Mohan. As an aged asthmatic patient with a craving for the carom Board game, his role would have left a lasting impact on the viewers.
    Kaakaa Radhakrishnan had acted with MGR in Thaikupin Tharam and Thai Magalukku Kattiya Thaali.Among the next generation heroes he was happily associated with Prabu { Vietnaam Colony Mr.Madras and Middleclass Madhavan}Karthik Muthuraman{ Udhavikku Varalaamaa,Unakkaaga Ellaam Unakkaaga and Rojavanam, which gave him another memorable role as a forlorn senior citizen},Soorya {Poovellaam Un Vaasam and Unnai Ninaithu}Prashanth {Hello}Jeyam Ravi {Idhaya Thirudan} and Sarathkumar {Vinnukkum Mannukkum &Maayi}.Apart from these  heroes,two special directors like Mani Rathnam and Fazil have offered him creditable roles in their films Iruvar and Kadhalukku Mariyaadhai respectively.
   Most of the films cited, belong to the  notable category. A senior artist like Kaakaa Radhakrishnan deserved a better place in Tamil Cinema than he was actually offered.In fact credit must be given to Kamalahasan, for having recognized the latent talent of this wonderful actor who could be regarded as the strongest old chip of the nascent tree of Tamil cinema .It should be mentioned here that Kamalahasan also brought in, another forgotten actor called Kallapart Natarajan and gave him a significant role in the same film Thevar Mahan as the father of Revathi. The other senior actor who was restored to the Tamil big screen was Kulatheivam Rajagopal and it was actor director K. Baghyaraj who gave him this recognition, in his film Pavunu Pavunudhaan.
    Kaakaa Radhakrishnan's  special voice pattern  and his bold and big eyes were the glorious audio visual additions to Tamil Cinema.One would have seen Radakrishnan not as an actor performing his role in celluloid form, but as a living individual trying to pass out of the screen and deliberate with the audience as one among them.The other most striking feature of his acting style was his inborn mischief that would accompany his body language and dialogue delivery.One such sample is the way he would touch his hair while  attempting to mention the name Mayil Ravananan as if he misheard the name as Mayir [hair}Raavanan in Saran's film Idhaya Thirudan. So effortless was Kaakaa Radhakrishnan, in delivering his roles and so difficult it would be for the nostalgic audience of Tamil Cinema, to forget this simple actor with a salient acting calibre.
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