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Tamil cinema has periodically and profusely visited the zestful zone of Hindu mythology both with caution and care. Hinduism which is meaningfully laced with Vaishnavite and Saivite faiths and ideologies,had initially attracted Tamil cinema,with the predominance of Vaishnavite themes, because the nascent years of Tamil cinema fell under the vast spell of Telugu master brains of creativity, inseparably linked to the Vaishnavite faith.Perhaps that is why epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata,spread their utmost wield over Tamil films, portraying mythical tales.
One of the earliest Tamil films that enlightened the presence and power of Lord Shiva,was the film Bhaktha Markandeya,made by B.S.Renga,released in 1957.The film narrated how Lord Shiva nullified the life-taking powers of Lord Yama,when the latter attempted to take away the life of Markandeya who was schduled to die at the age of sixteen.Yama could not succeed in his life-taking efforts,because the teenager Markandeya, who was a staunch Shiva devotee,firmly clung to the Shivalinga,with the fond hope that Lord Shiva would somehow save his life.Though Lord Shiva is said to be the lord of destruction, it was proved that the same destructive force was a life saver,when it came to a person's unflinching faith in the power of God.
Later, it was the renowned Tamil film maker A.P.Nagarajan who chiefly laid his focus on Saivite myths,and made films like Thruvilaiyaadal,Saraswathi Sabadham &Kandhan Karunai.All the three films highlighted the significant spiritual and ethical implications involved in Saivite myths,with a thrust on the portrayal of Saivite gods and goddesses.
Thiruneelakandar was another Tamil film that was linked to Lord Shiva,through an agnostic turned Shiva devotee,called Thiruneelakandar.There are two versions of the film.The first version starring M.K.Thiyaga raja Bhagavadhar as Thiruneelakandar and Sirukalathur Sama as Siva Yogi,was released in 1939,and was directed by Raja Sandow.The latter version of the film with the same title starring T.R.Mahalingam as Thiruneelakandar and R.S Manohar as Lord Shiva,was made by C.P.Jambulingam and was released in 1972.
The same year A.P.Nagarajan released his film Agathiyar,with Seerkazhi Govindarajan doing the titular role,and A.V.M.Rajan as Lord Shiva. Agathiyar was a peerless intellectual and sage and he was assigned by Lord Shiva,the responsibility of balancing the earth after the earth tilted to the North,when people were said to be watching the marriage of Lord Shiva with goddess Paarvathi. Agathiyar was also asked to to take care of mankind,with principles of equality and goodness,besides spreading the Tamil language.
While Thiruvilaiyaadal was a comprehensive depiction of the might and moral teachings of Lord Shiva,Saraswathi Sabadham dynamically brought to the forefront,the power of learning [education],wealth and bravery, through the goddesses Saraswathi, Maha lakshmi and Parasakthi, standing for these three human qualities, respectively.Kandan Karunai was dedicated to Lord Muruga, acclaimed to be the most specific Tamil God of the Saivite cult.The role of Lord Shiva occupied the whole of Thiruvilaiyaadal and was significant in Kandan Karunai.Whereas, Saraswathi Sabatham was wholly a dramatic course of events,deliberated by the three goddesses.
In Thiruvilaiyaadal,Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan was in his supreme form as Lord Shiva,and occupied the centre stage through the Saivaite episodes narrated by Goddess Paarvathi to Lord Muruga.If anybody from the Tamil soil would like to visualize the figure of Lord Shiva, it would only bethe visage of Sivaji Ganesan that would strike their vision.So impressive was the portrayal of Lord Shiva by A.P.Nagarjan,that the three episodes showing the God,first in a poetic encounter with Poet Nakkeerar,secondly in a tussle with Dhakshan and thirdly as a firewood seller,bringing down the massive ego of the Carnatic singer Hemanatha Bhagavadhar,by rendering an ecstatic song that kept the whole universe standstill.Thiruvilaiyaadal was a magnificent celebration of Lord Siva's symbolic might,in destroying human vanity,and dignifying the unspoken virtues of the most modest section of mankind.
It was altogether a different experience to watch Gemini Ganesan as Lord Shiva,in Kandan Karunai.Gemini Ganesan was in no way inferior to Sivaji,in powerfully articulating the dialogues aimed at invigorating Lord Muruga towards waging a war against the monstrous Soorapadman, and save the universe from the latter's destructive magnitude.It was in a way,a thrilling experience to be connected to an intensely romantic hero like Gemini Ganesan, in the powerful divine role of Lord Shiva.
R.S.Manohar one of the most stalwarts among the stage artists had acted in about 200 Tamil films.He had played the role of Ravana in his most famous drama Lankeshwaran. Ravana was a hardcore devotee of Lord Shiva. R.S.Manohar who had acted as hero,villain and character actor, passionately took up the role of Ravana.But this very same actor,later on played the role of Lord Shiva in Thiruneelakandar.Not all actors can perfectly fit into the role of Lord Shiva with a highly exalting masculine profile.R.S.Manohar got into the role with both his body and mind in ready made form.He excelled in this divine portfolio,almost like Sivaji Ganesan.
A.V.M.Rajan who was seen as Lord Shiva on the Tamil big screen,was rightly inducted into this role by A.P.Nagarajan.A.V.M.Rajan's voice vibration with its high power heaviness,made the voice of Lord Shiva heard,and enjoyed by the audience,around all theatres in Tamil Nadu, that had screened the great film Agathiyar.
Tamil cinema also showed Lord Shiva as a paramount divine figure in Datchayagnam which was made both in Telugu and Tamil and this film narrated the tale of Datchan {whose daughter Daatchaayini-another form of goddess Shakthi-was married to Lord Shiva}who was an ardant devotee of Mahavishnu and was holding an antagonistic position against Shiva.Once he conducted a religious ceremony {yaagam}without inviting Lord Shiva.When Datchan's daughter Datchyaayni attended the ceremony uninvited,she warned him against his humiliating disposition and returned to the Kailash after cursing him for not inviting Lord Shiva.Infact,the uninvited visit of Daatchaayini to Datchan's ceremonial function,angered Lord Shiva too.
Though this tale was briefly told in Thiruvilaiyaadal also,in this context it was the raging dance of Sivaji Ganesan as Lord Shiva,that firmly remains in audience memeory.But Datchayagnam starring R.S.Manohar was also a decently narrated film.Though I had watched the Tamil version of the film,only its Telugu version is now available on websites.
These are some of the releases from the Tamil film Industry,that strikingly pictured the mythological miniscule related to Lord Shiva.Films like Sampporana Rama yanam,Lava Kusha,Maayaa Bzhaar, Karnan, Veera Abhimanyu and Bhaktha Prakalaa dhaa,solidly dealt with the two epics Raamaayan,Mahaabhaarat and the power of Mahavishnu under the banner of Telugu cinema.The two exceptional Vaishnavite Tamil films were Sampoorana Ramayanam for which A.P.Nagarajan wrote the dialogues and Karnan which was the purest Tamil film produced by the Padmini pictures.Whereas, the tales of Lord Shiva told through the Tamil screen,have all brilliantly transpired the fragrance of Tamil,transcending the mundane sphere and transported us ino a world of awe and wonder.
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