One of my earlier blog (Dada,Thala,Cho) written on May 4,2020 I wrote on some of the names who have an influence in my life. Sarcasm,Nakkal,self destructive humor and talking with some substance are some of the traits I love from Cho; Leadership, Guts are some of the characteristics I like from dada and finally speaking your heart out and being humble are the characteristics I like from Thala. I mentioned there is one other person but may need one full blog to go over him and he is none other than Actor Sivakumar sir. If someone challenges me to get on debate with Rangaraj pandey or Gopinath I don't think I have any issues provided I am given some time to prepare but if people request me to go and talk to a bride who has just tied her knot and about to bid goodbye to her parents before moving with her husband and in-laws then let me admit frankly that I will not be able to accept the request. It is such a big moment for every girl (change of her surname from her dad to husband) and when she is running with lots of emotions I don't think I can talk facing her eyes. It is Rosa-poo-chinna-rosapoo- sort of a moment and I realized my emotional quotient is quite high when I read Actor Sivakumar's autobiographies. Around 2008 timeframe when I was a bachelor I used to read quite a lot of books and one of the best decisions I did was picking sir's "Idhu Rajapaatai alla" (autobiography of Actor Sivakumar) I should say this book had a profound impact in my life especially since I read it in my late twenties. The book may not inspire you but rather influence you to be more human since there are so many anecdotes where you will cherish the incidents and appreciate the humbleness.
Would the world believe sir is 80 years old? Just look at him and he is absolutely stunning at this age. Sir does not consume caffeine and does yoga pretty regularly. Cine industry is known for late night parties but sir defined discipline though belonging to an industry which exbibits glitz and glamour. He wouldn't allow wine shops to open beyond certain time in T nagar since he had two boys. He had an illustrious career acting around 190 movies as lead as well as supporting roles. He has also ventured into public speaking on topics like Ramayana and Mahabaratha on various forums and has got good appreciation. Sir is a great artist and had drawn numerous portraits of various celebrities and sir is also ambidextrous (one who can use both right and left hand equally well). Sir also acted in some mega blockbuster serials like Chithi and Annamalai. Have I met him and talked to him? No, I am not blessed enough to have met him but once I read his autobiography I started to follow him. Sir has a big influence on how to be a 'Human' in this materialistic world. When he wrote the book around 2007-08 timeframe he could have easily added a chapter on Suriya and Jothika and that would have been good enough for the publication to sell copies like hot cakes rather there was absolutely nothing written about his star kids - Suriya and Karthi. He said even after acting over 100 films his bank balance was pretty nominal which explains his character. Once after our marriage in 2009 I wanted to make a small donation to Agaram foundation run by Suriya and along with Minu we visited the office in T nagar and handed over the check for a very meager amount and when I was back to US I came to know that foundation did not encash my check rather they returned back to Trichy address citing they did want to take anonymous donations.
In the book sir talks about his village, death of his brother, shares fond memories about his friends Eswaran, Thangamuthu, Krishnaswamy, mannin mainthan Marappa Gounder, his admiration towards AVM chettiar and Sivaji ganesan; his childwood experience of climbing tree, shares his hardships and agony, his reverence towards Velumani ammal and Chinappa devar; his cinematic experience with his colleagues like Aruldoss, Ravichandran, Srikanth, Gemini ganesan, Director Sridhar, Gentleman Muthuraman, Comedy king Nagesh, Bold and elegant JJ, Bishmar KB, Achi Manorama, Kalaignar, Cho, Kavignar Vaali etc., Once you read the incidents it will definitely have a positive impact since these are narrated on how a 'Human' should behave. Given his current position would you believe that he was considered unlucky child when he was born in Kasigoundanputhur, a village 20 kms away from coimbatore. He was very determined to prove that was wrong. With his dad passing away very early it was his mom who stoically withstood the circumstances and managed to send him to school. He recollects that his mom used to say Diwali,Pongal are all only for rich people but for people like us we will get two pairs of shirts and shorts and even if that is torn we may have to stich and be happy with what we have. Sir recollects his dad's close friend Chinna Thambi Gounder who used to elaborate all the good traits about sivakumar's dad and also recollects how one of his friend named Raman used to watch all his films for 40 years from the income he earned through daily wages. When MGR and Sivagi was at their peak Siva kumar couldn't get meaty roles since both Sivaji and MGR were ruling the roost and when MGR was inclining towards politics and Sivaji started to slow down then came Rajini and Kamal as next set of superstars. Sivakumar couldn't hog the limelight once again but with his talent and hard work he was able to sustain his position in the industry.
KB once said if Sivaji Ganesan is role model in acting then actor Sivakumar is role model for how an actor should behave. Not even a single gossip about him just reiterates the fact he is very disciplined. It is to be noted that Idhu Raja paatai alla was included in the 91-92 curriculum of Loyola college. Though I do not follow many of his good habits but still sir has been a great influence in my life.
Next Blog: Perils of buying Medicines
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