Two Similar scenes from Two different films.

     One film was in black and white and a Pongal release in 1956.The other was an Eastman colour film released in July 1965.The interchanged last two digits in their release years,also seem to throw another aspect of similarity,in their four numbers.While the first film was directed by K.Somu,the second one was made by A.P.Nagarajan,the veteran director of grand mythological movies.In both the films the ever sterling actor Sivaji Ganesan was the hero.The first film was a family drama and the hero was capable of doing great roles,as a stage artist.The second was a mythological film and a beautiful mix of several episodes,denoting the efficacy of Lord Shiva in playing with the emotions of the members of the celestial and mundane zones. These two unforgettable films drawn together,through a convincing connecting link are 'Naan Petra Selvam' and 'Thiruvilaiyaadal'.
    The scene that becomes the centre of attraction is a stage drama of the earlier,black and white film and a vital scene in the latter mythological colour film,portraying a potential point of contention,over the fragrance of the hair of women.The doubt as to whether the fragrance naturally exists in the hair of women or is an artificial addition,due to the aroma of flowers and cosmetics,is raised by a Pandiya king and a competition with a hefty prize is announced in this regard,for the poets,to clarify the doubt of the king.
    Dharumi,a poor poet and a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva,aspires to participate in the proposed contest and win the prize but  unfortunately,he is not able to compose a verse and establish the truth of the matter,to the extent of satisfying the expectation of the king.He helplessly prays to Lord Shiva,who decides to save his devotee,and appears before him with a suitable verse that would win the heart of the King.
     Dharumi is exhilarated and rushes to the court of the king with a greater anxiety to win the prize,than with the competence and confidence to prove his poetic worth.As he reads out the borrowed lines of the verse,the king is extremely impressed by the poem and its interpretation. The prize is announced and Dharumi is rejoiced over the impending culmination of all his woes of poverty.But just at the nick of the moment,the most gifted poet Nakkeerar interferes with an objection,that the song is defective in meaning.He firmly points out that the fragrance in the hair of women is only due to flowers and perfumes and it is impossible for any woman to have a natural fragrance of hair.The king is confused and defers the grant of gift to Dharumi. 
    On hearing this,an infuriated Lord Shiva appears before the court,demanding an explanation for the denial of the prize rightly due to Dharumi.It is here the scene in the stage play in 'Naan Petra Selvam' and in the film 'Thiruvilaiyaadal',draws the attention of the audience with an enchanting focus on the dispute over the contentious issue,between the human and divine poets.
   The contextual fiery arguments,the tone and tenor of the contenders,the dialogue pattern used as the soul of their arguments pulling the course of events into a precise punch,are almost similar in the two films released within a gap of nine years.There appear to be only a few changes in A.P.Nagarajan's Thiruvilaiyadal,in terms of greater tempo in dialogue delivery,the spontaneous sparks of humour in the character of Dharumi in Thiruvilaiyadal, brilliantly performed by Nagesh and the conclusion of the episode showing Nakkeerar being burnt by the third eye of Lord Shiva and thrown into the golden lotus pond,after that. The latter version also included Lord Shiva's profuse admiration for the conviction and poetic grandeur of Nakkeerar,who is also said to be an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.
    Beyond these  discussions there stands the mighty fact that it was Sivaji Ganesan who appeared both as poet Nakkeerar and Lord Shiva,in the stage play memorably added to'Naan Petra Selvam'.If one is forced to differentiate the quality of presentation between the two similar scenes of these two different movies,the first thing that would hit the mind of an observer is the modesty in tone,maintained by Sivaji Ganesan,in doing both the roles in the stage play.In Thiruvilayadal Sivaji Ganesan was seen to be roaring against poet Nakkeerar with anger and with a gripping intonation in raising his anger. A.P.Nagarajan who played as Nakkeerar did not appear to be giving in to the unacceptable angry arguments of any one,even if it happened to be the God whom he worshiped everyday.
    Both the scenes contained almost equal language stuff.But its delivery became impressively dramatic and dynamic in Thiruvilaiyaadal.The body language and the tone and tenor of dialogue delivery of Sivaji Ganesan carried a stunning impact in the latter film.Similarly,it could never be said that A.P.Nagarajan lost his hold of his role play as Nakkeerar,in his verbal competition with the verbally unconquerable Sivaji Ganesan.All said and done,the final verdict is, how difficult it would have been for the same actor,to perform the roles representing two diagonally opposite standpoints and how casually Sivaji Ganesan walked away playing these two roles,at the starting spell of his career!.Could any other actor have succeeded in this process and made a mark? Certainly not.
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