Homage to K.V.Anand,the Kinetic film maker

   

                          {30th April 2021}

   An action film solely depends upon its movement of events.One needs a special efficacy to trigger the movement of events and sustain the movement impressively throughout the course of film narrarion. The now departed K.V.Anand proved to be one of the best action movie makers by speedily moving the cinematic events with his extraordinary power of photograpghy and cinematography that finally landed him into the fancy land of film making with  action and events throbbing, throughout their presentation,on the silver screen.

   K.V.Anand's association with cinematographers of felicity like P.C.Sriram,and film makers like Mani Rathnam and Shankar made him reach greater heights in Tamil Cinema on account of his infallible focus and photographic vision.Incidentally,it is also said that he was greatly interested in trekking in the Himalayas during the early years of his blossoming youth.It is no wonder that such a dedicated photographic visionary won the national award for Best Cinematography in his debut Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath directed by Priyadharshan.Then came critical reviews for his Tamil film Kaadhal Dhesam.Before this,he had been the most valued assistant of P.C.Sriram for films like Gopura Vaasalile, Amaran, Meera,Devar Mahan and Thiruda Thiruda. He had also worked with Shankar for the most celebrated films Mudhalvan and Sivaji.

  K.V.Anand's emergence as a fascinating film director in the film Kana Kandein,put him on the higher pedestal on account of his clean and beautiful delivery of story telling,character evolution and over all presentation of the course of events.The film starring Srikanth,Gopika and Prithvi Raj was really worthy of a truly entertaining stuff and K.V.Anand proved his level of energy in creativity without exaggerating his narration in any way.Especially,the role of Prithvi Raj as a wolfish usurer enabled him to find a firm footing in Tamil Cinema also,besides his astounding growth the Malayalam film industry.

  Following this success story,Anand's keenness on kinetic energy took him to the zenith of victory through the Suriya starring mega hit film Ayyan.Within a short spell of time Anand was identified as a racy action movie maker,through his other most popular films like Ko, Maatraan,Anegan,Kavan and the most recent Kaappaan.He seems to have enjoyed a higher level of compatibility with the hero stuff of Suriya and the magnificent musical richness of Harris Jayaraj.

  From a Photo Journalist to a reputed film maker,K.V.Anand's growth was really amazing.His quest for qualitative cinematograpghy would have certainly enhanced the visual grandeur of most of his films.None of his films was found to be sagging in energy or lacking in speed of narration. One could easily fall into the enchanting trap of the action supremacy and scenic ecstasy of almost all his films.From Kana Kandein to Kaappaan,it was a fast journey for this astute film maker and perhaps his focus on speed has taken him so speedily away from us,to the land of bliss.May his soul rest in peace.   

                                                  ===========0============ 

The immortal voice of a Reformist Comedian.

  

  The voice of a comedian is valued by his verbal wield to catch the imagination of the audience through sense and nonsense,because humour is generated by both.Charlie Chaplin entertained the world audience,by his nonsense spot situations,that made him deliberately vulnerable to the self created awkward moment ,hailing from his masterly sense of humour.

  But sense plays a more powerful role in creating instant and incessant laughter through witticisms and winning word power.If those witticisms and word power are bound to the destination of social reform,they make a comedian and his comic deliveries immortal. Forgetting the other comedians of Tamil Cinema for a while,if one thinks of Vivek,it was really a mighty stuff of humour that he passed on to the audience because his role play was a combination of sense and nonsense.

  One could see a galaxy of comedians coming into a single fold in his performance and that was the essence of Vivek who is sadly no more today.Intoroduced by veteran film maker K.Balachander in Manadhil Urudhi Vendum,Vivek reflected the title meaning of his first film,throughout his life time.

  There was an element of Kalaivanar N.S.Krishnan in his comedy,blended with social concern and an innate cry for social reform.This salinet feature was indelibly visible in his role play in several films like Tirunelveli, Kadhal Sadugudu and more prominently in Saamy.His casual verbal comedy throw was vitally felt in numerous films like Vaali, Minnale,Kushi,Run,Dhool,Middle Class Madhavan,Dum Dum Dum{in which his role had a little negative shade}Sandhitha Velai,Manadhai Thiruduvitai,Thenkasi Pattanam Parthiban Kanavu,Whistle, Looty, Singam,Singam 2, Anniyan, Perazhagan,Harischandra,Pennin Manadhai Thottu and Sivaji.

  Vivek's films with Dhanush,like Uthama Puthiran and Velaiyillaa Pattadhari gave a robust feel of humour rising from a sober base.The main hero that Vivek missed to join,has been Kamal.When he got the chance to do a role in Indian 2,God has plucked his life all of a sudden.

  Vivek was a recipient of many awards both for his performance and contribution to Tamil Cinema.One can now recall his best comedy scenes from quite a number of films.But what the Tamil soil will be missing is his voice of hope,the one that was firmly planting ideas like the trees he went on planting and the positive energy that he continued to transmit to one and all,despite the tragedy that struck him with the loss of his son.

  One of the sparkling witty dialogues he uttered in Puthu Puth Arthangal was" if you die today,tomorrow people will sprinkle milk on your ashes and bones"As per Hindu custom the dialogue was an instance of truism too. 

  Those who make others happy have their Covid 19 like sorrowful moments deliberately hidden under a mask.Vivek who took the Covid vaccine on Thursday, advised all to get vaccinated.He would not have thought that he would not be there to carry on his social missions including that of letting everyone hear his voice for a concerted battle against the pandemic,armed with masks and vaccines.It is a big loss and a sudden loss.It will take years for Tamil Cinema and for those who adored him as one of the best comedians,to come out of this emotional lockdown.

Note:-1)This blog already carries another article entitled "Two Handsome Comedians of Tamil Cinema" describing Vivek and Santhanam as men of hero stuff.

2)As the time in the blog writer's system is related to the US time zone this article  shows the previous date.

  

Why is Mohanlal special for Malayalam Cinema.

  

   From the days of Prem Nazir and Madhu,Malayalam cinema has grown to Himalayan heights, due to various factors such as its unique creative parameters,theme and content of story line, narrative thrust and the extraordinary acting calibre of a long line of actors of whom the heroes of Mollywood could be said to have enhanced the beauty of the language by their verbal wield.

  The Malayalam language with its varied dialects and slangs especially those of  the Chalakkudi/ Thrissur brand and that of North Malabar brand,has periodically got into the tongues of the heroes,for a fair play.Of all the heroes,Mohanlal is a monumental substance of Malayalam cinema,purely on account the power of his tongue,over his mother tongue.

  Mohanlal may not have the stoutly built physique of Mammootty,to don the role of a dare devil,dynamic police officer.{He has of course beautifully essayed cop roles many times}He may not have that much of the comedy flair of Jeyaram or Dilip.But he is the most fascinating hero in a splendid way,to play any role with consummate ease and felicity.Getting introduced into the Malayalam big screen by Fazil,as a greedy thug in Manjil Vrinja Pookal, he has ever been the breeze and storm of the soil of Kerala,in celluloid mode.

  Give him pages and pages of dialogues;he will forcefully and exuberantly deliver it as he did in the film Praja.Put him in a wheel chair,as it was done in Pranayam he would breathe through his mother tongue with agony and ecsatasy. When it comes to comedy,he will create a ruckus with his mother tongue as he beautifully meddled with both the language and his co artistes like Sreenivasan and Mukesh in several films.The robust run of his vocal cords through the pathways of the language,has certainly been an amazing audio visual treat,in films like Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu.

   Mohanlal is not only capable of rendering melodious songs like "Attumanal Payayil" in 'Run Baby Run' but has also got a mesmerising rhythm in his tongue to be tuned to any scene of action. The beauty is,he could do it like a honeyed piece of banana or a sushi stuff,falling like a delicacy into the mouths of the respective taste lobby.All heroes deliver their roles.So does Mohanlal. But the difference is more in the dance of his tongue,than in his physical promotion.His tongue could wriggle like a snake or firm up like a rock.It may not vibrate to the level of an Amitab or a Rajinikanth.But it could travel straight on a track,like an armed soldier or roll in a zig zag way,like a drunkard  or a wavering nomad,but always excel in its articulation,in a special way that no other hero could do.

   In a stardom bound world of Indian cinema,film makers like Bhadran,Shaji Kailas and Joshy made Mohankal a mass hero,by extracting his muscle and mind power through quite a number of films.Films like Spatigam,Olympian Anthony Adam, Aaraam Thamburan, Naattu Raajavu, Thandavam, Narasimham,Baba Kalyani,Praja,Twenty Twenty,Christian Brothers etc would belong to this category.Almost all these films projected the heroic substance,more than the hero's stuff. 

   Whereas directors like I.V.Sasi, Fazil,Priyadarshan,Sibi Malayil,Renjith,Siddique,B.Unni Krishnan,Bharadhan,Jeethu Joseph and a few others extracted the brilliance of  Mohanlal's vocal cords to spread its feathers marking a fabulous touch for every feather,with a different feel. Through films like Devasuram,Life is Beautiful,Madambi, Midhunam,Balettan,Chithram, Kilukkam,Kilichundan Mambazham, Oppam,Summer in Bethelehem,Rasathandhiram, Thenmavin Kombath,Chadhurangam,Drishyam and the latest ones like Big Brother, Lucifer and Drishyam 2,Mohan Lal has meatily consolidated the charm and grace of his vocal cords,to reach our ears as the base for a galaxy of emotions,without giving room for a straight entry,but through numerous corridors of sound tracks and rest in our memory,as multiple voices hailing from a single source.

  Mohanlal is special for Malayalam cinema,because his voice is special for the Malayalam language.It is a voice claiming proximity to our soul,by calibrating emotional charcteristics of contextual human behaviour,related to love and animosity,concern and indifference,humour and pathos,anger and poise,nonsense and sense, arrogance and modesty,courtesy and contempt, decency and thuggery,teasing and easing and many more.

   Even as Mohanlal physically reaches the person he wants to,his voice will precede his reach,as it did,longing for his mother's lap in Madambi or falling into the arms of his wife in Life is Beautiful.His voice can peep and penetrate,melt and mould,hurt and heal,surpass and surrender, mesmerise and manipulate,insinuate and adore and above all stoop to conquer.More than the actor in Mohanlal,it is his voice which is a tactful manipulator,quietly transforming his every performance into a unique asset,not only for him,but also for Malayalam Cinema.Quoting the words of Christopher Marlowe's Dr.Faustus differently,

                  Was this the voice

            That launched a thousand trips

    And churned the topping tastes of all?

                   Sweet Mohanlal ,

       Make Malayalam films immortal 

          With your tongue in its bliss!.

{Note:- And here are the original words of Dr.Faustus}.

             "Was this the face

        That launched a thousand ships

      And burned the topless towers of Illium

              Sweet Helen,

     Make me immortal with a Kiss"

  *Wishing Mohanlal and all members of Malayalam cinema a Happy Vishu*.

P.Chandrasekaran.

                               ==============00=================

                              

"உள்ளத் தனையது உயர்வு".

வெள்ளத் தனைய மலர்நீட்டம் மாந்தர்தம்

உள்ளத் தனையது உயர்வு.

  என்கிறார் வள்ளுவர்.உள்ளத்தின் உயர்வே வாழ்வின் உயர்வு,என்பதே இக்குறளின் உட்கருத்தாகும்."உள்ளத்தின் உள்ளூறும் கள்ளோடு  கவியாக்கி உயரத்தில் ஏற்று மனமே"என்கிறது மற்றொரு கவிதை.

   இலக்கியம் போற்றும் வாழ்க்கை நெறிகள்,வாழ்வின் உன்னத நிலை களுக்கு வழிகாட்டுகின்றன.எனவே உடல் நலம் பேணுதல் மட்டுமே வாழ்வின் இலக்கல்ல.ஒளியேற்றும் சிந்தனைகளால் உள்ளத்தை அருள்பெற்ற ஆலயமாய் உயரச் செய்தலே வாழ்தலின் வழிகாட்டுச் சின்னமாம்.இதையொட்டியே,

"நலம்தானா? நலம்தானா? 

உடலும் உள்ளமும் நலம்தானா?"  

   எனும் பாடல்,கே.வி மகாதேவனின் கர்நாடக இசை மழையில் பி.சுசீலா வின்  தெவிட்டாக்குரலில் 'தில்லானா மோகனாம்பாள்' படத்தில் இடம் பெற்றிருக்கவேண்டும்.

   கபடும் சூதும் அறியா உள்ளம் இறைவனின் இருப்பிடம்.'படிக்காத மேதை' திரைப்படத்தில் படிப்பறியா ரெங்கன் எனும் கதாப்பாத்திரத் திற்கு உயிரூட்டி, நடிகர் திலகம்,டி.எம்.எஸ் குரலுக்கு வாயசைத்த,

"உள்ளதை சொல்வேன் நல்லதை செய்வேன் 

வேறொன்றும் கிடையாது 

உள்ளத்தில் இருப்பதை வார்த்தையில் மறைக்கும்

 கபடம் தெரியாது" 

  எனும் மிக இயல்பான பாடல்,கபடற்ற நெஞ்சமே கடவுளின் களிப்பிடம் என்பதை உணர்த்தியது .இத்திரைப்படத்திற்கும் திரையிசைத்திலகம் கே. வி.மகாதேவனே இசையமைத்திருந்தார்.  

    'உள்ளம்''மனம்''நெஞ்சம்'என்ற சொற்கள் அனைத்துமே புலன்களுக்கு அப்பாற்பட்டவையே. ஆனால் இந்த புலன்களுக்கு அப்பாற்பட்ட ஒன்றை ஐம்புலன்களுக்கு உட்படுத்தும் வகையில்,  திரைப்படத் தலைப்புகளும் கவிதை வரிகளும் கற்பனையின் வரம்பினைக் கடந்து வியாபித்திருக் கின்றன.'உயர்ந்த உள்ளம்''இருவர் உள்ளம்'நெறஞ்ச மனசு''உள்ளதை அள்ளித்தா''உள்ளம் கொள்ளை போகுதே'போன்ற எண்ணற்ற திரைப்பட தலைப்புகளைக் காண்கையில்,உள்ளம் ஏதோ விழிகளுக்குப் புலப்படும் பொருளாக எண்ணத்தோன்றுகிறது. 

   தலைப்புகள் போதாதென்று, 

"நெஞ்சத்தை அள்ளிக் கொஞ்சம் தா தா தா" {காதலிக்க நேரமில்லை}என்றும்,

"உன்னிடத்தில் என்னை கொடுத்தேன் 

 உன்னை உள்ளமெங்கும் அள்ளித் தெளித்தேன்"

 {அவளுக்கென்று ஓர் மனம் }என்றும்,பாடல் வரிகளாகக் கேட்கையில், உள்ளம் ஏதோ அள்ளித்தெளிக்கும் பொருளாகவோ,அல்லது அள்ளித் தரும் அன்பை அரவணைக்கும் அணையாகவோ,கவிஞர்கள் கற்பனை செய்து பார்ப்பது புரிகிறது.

   மேற்கண்ட இரண்டு திரைப்படங்களும் ஸ்ரீதரின் இயக்கத்தில் உருவான வை என்பதும்,இவற்றில்'காதலிக்க நேரமில்லை'க்கு விஸ்வநாதன் இராமூர்த்தி இணைந்தும்'அவளுக்கென்று ஓர் மனம்' திரைப்படத்திற்கு எம். எஸ். விஸ்வநாதன் தனித்தும் இசையமைத்திருந்தனர் என்பதை அனைவரும் அறிந்திருக்கக்கூடும். 

   உள்ளத்தை உணர்வுகளின் உறைவிடமாக்கி,விழிகளை அவ்வுறைவிடத் தின் கதவுகளாக்கி,புலன்களுக்கும், ,புலன்களுக்கு புலப்படா உள்ளத் திற்கும்,பாலமமைப்பதே கற்பனைக் களஞ்சியத்தின் முதலீடாகும். இப்படிப்பட்ட நிலையினை வெளிப்படுத்தும் பாடலே ஜெய்ஷங்கர் கதாநாயகனாக நடித்து வெளியான 'இரவும் பகலும்' திரைப்படத்தில்  டி.ஆர்.பாப்பாவின் இசையில் டி.எம்.எஸ் குரலில் ஒலித்த 

"உள்ளத்தின் கதவுகள் கண்களடா 

இங்கே உறவுக்கு காரணம் பெண்களடா 

உள்ளதை ஒருதிக்குக் கொடுத்துவிடு 

அந்த ஒருத்தியை உயிராய் மதித்துவிடு"   

   எனும் உளம் நிறையும் பாடலாகும். தானுண்டு தன் வேலையுண்டு எனும் உள்ளம் கொண்டோர்க்கு உறக்கத்திற்கு பஞ்சமில்லை.ஆனால் நீதிக்கும் நேர்மைக்கும், நியாயத்திற்கும் போராடும் நல்ல உள்ளம் பெற்றோர்க்கு, உறக்கமே இல்லை என்கிறது'கர்ணன்' திரைப்படத்தில் சீர்காழி கோவிந்த ராஜனின் கோபுரக்குரலில் கோலோச்சிய, 

"உள்ளத்தில் நல்ல உள்ளம் 

உறங்காதென்பது 

வல்லவன் வகுத்ததடா,கர்ணா, 

வருவதை எதிர்கொள்ளதடா" 

எனும் காவியப்பொக்கிஷமாக அமைந்த பாடலாகும். 

   உள்ளம் ஒருவேளை உறங்கு மெனில்,அதில் உண்மையும் உறங்கக்கூடும் என்பதைத் தான்,'பார்த்தால் பசிதீரும்' திரைப்படத்தில் நாம் கேட்டு பரவச முற்ற, 

"உள்ளம் என்பது ஆமை 

அதில் உண்மை என்பது ஊமை 

சொல்லில் வருவது பாதி 

நெஞ்சில்  தூங்கி கிடப்பது மீதி" 

   எனும்,விஸ்வநாதன் ராமமூர்த்தி இசையில்,டி எம் சௌந்தராஜன் பாடிய அமுத கானம் உணர்த்தியது. இங்கே எடுத்துரைக்கப்பட்ட பாடல்களில் "உள்ளத்தின் கதவுகள் கண்களடா"பாடலை மட்டும் ஆலங்குடி சோமு எழுத,இதர பாடல் கள் அனைத்துமே கவியரசு கண்ணதாசனின் கற்பனை ஊற்றின் புறப்பாடாகும்.  

 முடிவாக,வள்ளுவரின் 

உள்ளுவ தெல்லாம் உயர்வுள்ளல் மற்றது

தள்ளினும் தள்ளாமை நீர்த்து.

  எனும் குறளில்  கண்டதுபோல்"எண்ணுவதெல்லாம் உயர்வைப்பற்றியே எண்ண வேண்டும், அவ்வுயர்வு கைகூடா விட்டாலும் அவ்வாறு எண்ணு வதை விடக்கூடாது"என்பதே வாழ்வின் நியதியாகும்.'விஜயபுரிவீரன்' திரைப்படத்தில் டி.ஆர்.பாப்பாவின் இசையில் A.M.ராஜா பாடிய, 

"உள்ளத்திலே உரம் வேணும்டா 

உண்மையிலே திறன் காணுமடா 

ஒற்றுமையால் வெற்றி ஓங்குமடா 

வல்லவன்போலே பேசக்கூடாது 

வானரம்போல சீறக்கூடாது

வாழத்தெரியாமலே கோழைத்தனமாகவே 

வாலிபத்தை விட்டுவிடக்கூடாது   .

மானம் ஒன்றே பிரதானம் என்றே 

மறந்துவிடாதே வாழ்வினிலே"

 எனும் தஞ்சை ராமையாதாஸ் பாடல்,இந்த உண்மை நிலையினை செழுமையாய் உள்ளத்தில் புகுத்துகிறது. 

ப.சந்திரசேகரன்

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Sowcar Janaki,an actor of sense and sensibility

   

   There is a famous saying that "Shakespeare has no heroes but heroines".But the truth of cinema is far from this statement.Ever since cinema came into being it has been mostly the hero's field,hardly ever providing space for heroines for a fair play.However,some women have broken the fence and moved to the front of the stage to claim an incomparable position as powerful performers of roles and find an eternal place in the memory of the audience,with immeasurable strength and gusto.These women showed their multi faces to cry and laugh,to rust and rule and to lose and conquer.
   As far as Tamil cinema is concerned,P.Bhanumadhi,Padmini,SowcarJanaki,J.Jeyalalitha  Sujatha,Radhika and Revathi were more powerful than other women on the big screen in the sense they proved to be a complex mix of submission and supremacy.Other popular Tamil heroines like Savithri,Sarojadevi,Devika,Vijayakumari,K.R.Vijaya,Lakshmi,Vanisri,,Ambika,and Radha were seen mostly as meek symbols of womanhood subscribing to the will of their men in celluloid frame.
   Among the unconquerable women of Tamil cinema,Sankaramanchi Janaki who came to be known as Sowcar Janaki,would occupy an enviable slot,purely on account of the fact that no other actor,not even the other five women mentioned above would score high,when it comes to demonstration of a variety of paradoxical emotions,such as laughter and sorrow,anger and appeal,domination and submission and sobriety and levity. Sowcar Janaki inherited her name prefix,from the Telugu film Shavukar,and proved through decades of dedicated performance,as an outstanding actor with extraordinary force, to stay as the sterling feminine face of Tamil cinema.
   The first of her films{not her first}that I saw was Abalai Anjugam with T.R.Mahalingam.The  Tamil word Abalai if translated into English,would mean a helpless/desolate woman.No other Tamil heroine can be found fit enough,for playing the miserable woman,than Sowcar Janaki, because her face had an exclusive pattern to evoke pity and her performance would become a natural addition to her pathetic profile.Besides Abalai Anjugam,films like Baghya latchumi, Kumudham, Padikkaadha Medhai,Paar Magale Paar,Kaviya Thalavi,Annai and Olivilakku are a few samples of the desperate womanhood,that Sowcar Janaki has naturally portrayed.
    But Sowcar is not born to weep alone.She can do commanding roles as she did in Paalum Pazhamum,Puthiya Paravai,Motor Sundaram Pillai,Iru Kodukal {For which she won the best actress award from the Government of Tamil Nadu}Uyarndha Manidhan and Panam Padaithavan.Her extraordinary flair for comedy has been beautifully showcased by K.Bala chander in films like Edhir Neechal,Bama Vijayam and Thillu Mullu.She would have acted in nearly fifteen films with Sivaji Ganesan mostly as his brilliant female pair or as a supporting actor.But two of her best movies Iru Kodukal and Kaviya Thalaivi were with Gemini Ganesan. With MGR she did only supporting roles in films like Panam Padaithavan,Petralthaan Pillaiyaa and Oli Vilakku.
   With her next generation heroes she made herself memorable in Rajinikanth's Thee,Siva and Thillu Mullu.She also appeared in Kamal's Vetri Vizha and Hey Ram.Among film makers she was the special favourite of A.Bhimsingh,P.Madhavan.Krishnan Panju K.Balachander, K.S.Gopalakrishnan and M.A.Thirumugam.Devar films' spiritually oriented films like Dheivam and Thunaivan created a significant effect on the audience,mostly because of the emotionally vibrant role play of Sowcar Janaki.
    Her most recent screen show as a paralyzed grandma in Jithu Joseph's action thriller Thambi came as a blow to paralysis,by her unperturbed role play as an actor wonderfully capable of effective and precise communication through her eyes,speaking of varied emotions like anguish, humour and suspicion,with a slate on hand writing the alphabet one by one,to communicate what she wanted to.Even in her late eighties,she has proved to be a classic performer of all times.So splendid an actor that Sowcar Janaki has ever been. 
  The most notable trait in Sowcar Janaki's acting was her impressive and forceful voice mould that never failed to demonstrate clarity in dialogue delivery and an unfailing thrust of rationality behind the outburst of her emotions.Her argumentative perception and interpretation of contexts and feelings and her fairness in presentation of her views,were the unique ingredients embedded in her character evolution,irrespective of the type of roles assigned to her. Sowcar Janaki  proved to be one of the most dynamic pairs of Sivaji Ganesan and her performance on an equal footing with the Chevalier was poignantly felt in films like Padikkaadha Medhai,Paar Magale Paar, Motor Sundaram Pillai,Pudhiya Paravai, Uyarndha Manidhan and Mahakavi Kalidas.
   There had been a visible sense of feminine grandeur in her looks and demeanour that would have spontaneously struck the minds of the audience,as an irresistible nuclear force with forthright appeal and assertiveness,as simultaneous happenings.Do we ever come across today such solid performers,who can win over the hearts of the viewers through tremendous tone delivery and depth of portrayal of characters?How naughtily she handled her husband {played by Srikanth} as well as orphan Maadhu{Nagesh} in Edhir Neechal!

   How casually she performed a similar role as a Brahmin lady and as the wife of Nagesh in Jeevanaamsam!How naively she was caught by Kanchana,when the latter would correct her with the word 'trap' instead of 'cat' for arresting the menace of rats,in Bhaama Vijayam!How speedily she would climb the pipeline along the walls in Thillu Mullu!Above all how powerfully she wept and wielded her supremacy in several films,especially in Iru Kodukal and Kaviyathalaivi.She was certainly the most assertive woman of Tamil cinema, be it a role reflecting extraordinary sentiment and sorrow,or substantial fun.  
   Sowcar Janaki's latest Tamil film was Santhanam's Biscothu which also became her 400th movie.A sterling actress like Sowcar Janaki is difficult to come across these days.She had firmly rooted herself to impressive role plays established  on a solid base of sense and sensibility.Tamil cinema really owes her a lot,in terms of flawless grasp of scenic requirements and felicitous presentation of her profile,as a full fledged and mature performer of consummate merit .
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