The southern film frenzy
THE stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad last month brought back memories of my first experience of viewing a movie in a cinema hall in my hometown, Tiruchirappalli, several decades ago.
Having appeared for the all-India higher secondary examination in Bangalore, where my father was then posted, we — my parents and siblings — decided to spend the vacations in Tiruchirappalli. For a few days after our arrival there in May 1968, we were busy with the arrangements for my cousin’s wedding. Once the ceremony was over, we started visiting our relatives.
One of my cousins invited us to his place at Allur, a village about 17 km from my hometown. It was nestled alongside the Cauvery river. I jumped at the offer, and reached there along with my siblings the following day. The hospitality of my aunt and our cousins swept us off our feet. We downed cups of coffee every now and then. Since there were no air-conditioners or coolers then, we would spend the day under the canopy of the coconut grove adjacent to their home and savour the cool breeze. My cousin would ascend to the top of one tree after another and pluck raw coconuts. After gulping down coconut water, we would have a sumptuous lunch. One evening, my cousin proposed that we go for a movie at night. The thatched cinema hall was located in another village.
We set off about half an hour before the movie was to begin. Having pedalled for about three km on roads and muddy tracks, we arrived at the hall, where a long queue in front of the ticket counter put us off. My cousin somehow managed to get two tickets and soon we were seated on rickety chairs in front of a massive screen. The movie was Kavalkaran (the watchman), starring the famous MG Ramachandran (MGR) and Jayalalithaa. Though it was a night show, the hall was full, with some viewers squatting on the sand right in front of the screen.
No sooner had the movie started and MGR’s name — mind you, just the name — appeared on the screen, petals and garlands came flying from all parts of the hall, accompanied by deafening whistles from spectators. In no time, the ground was strewn with these offerings. I thought that was the end of the ceremony to salute the icon, but it wasn’t. A little later, as MGR appeared on the screen, another heavy shower of petals, bouquets and garlands came from all directions. I was amazed at the way film stars were deified in Tamil Nadu. No wonder he ruled the state for a decade.
A temple was dedicated to popular actor Khushbu at Tiruchirappalli. People would pay obeisance to their ‘goddess’. However, her controversial remarks on pre-marital sex incurred the wrath of her fans to the extent that they demolished the temple. Similar temples have been raised by fans of Rajinikanth. Such idolisation of film stars is rarely seen elsewhere in the country. It is this frenzy that led to the death of a woman in a stampede during the screening of Pushpa 2 in December.