'Palavakkam to Google' - Ghatotkacha of Stage Drama
Over the last few years, he has become literally unstoppable with his Venpas
Over the last few years, he has become literally unstoppable with his Venpas
His evening trip to Marudeeswarar
temple in Thiruvanmiyur to meet with his close friend and mentor S Ravi (now VP
at Bosch, Pune) turned out to be a defining moment in Rangachari ‘Crazy’
Mohan’s life. He could not have gone any further that late evening, for
visiting Palavakkam (the next destination on ECR) after dusk was fraught with
risk. It was a really
dark location in the 70s. Houses were
few and far between. The very thought (of not being able to go any further) set
him rolling and sowed the seed for Mohan’s serious foray into the world of
humour in the mid 1970s. It was then that he started writing the script for his
first play.
Played out to a packed audience
at Mylapore Fine Arts in 1974, ‘Crazy’ Thieves in Palavakkam turned out to be a
sensational hit and shot Mohan into limelight. And there has been no looking
back since.
Oppili
(named after Thiru Vinnagar Oppiliappan), an innocent youngster was played by
SV Shekar also in his debut play. One of the conversations goes thus:
Oppili’s
Father: Recite the Thiruppavai every morning
Oppili
: What is that Thiruppavai?
His
Father: It’s the great songs written by Andal
Oppili:
In which movie do those songs feature?
His
father: Shame on you. You are an Iyengar and you do not know Andal
Oppili:
Who is that Andal who is known only to Iyengars!!!!
His
Father: It (Thiruppavai) is the sacred
songs. If you recite these, you can go to Vaikuntam (attain moksham)
Oppili’s
B-in Law: What is the big deal in going to Sri Vaikuntam. If I catch a bus or
train, I can reach there the next day (it is near Tirunelveli)
10 years, it was Ravi once again who initiated him into Tamil Grammar and Venpas. And now he has become so proficient that he is literally unstoppable. He begins every morning thinking of Venpas and goes to bed late in the night after he has had his day (night) of Venpa.
இட்டிலி சாம்பார் வடையுண்டு
இனிக்கும் டிகிரி காப்பியுண்டு
பட்டுத் துளிர்வெற் றிலையுண்டு
புகையிலை வறுவல் சீவலுண்டு
விட்டம் சுற்றும் ஃபேன் உண்டு
வீசும் ஏஸிக் காற்றுண்டு
கட்டுரை கதைகள் பலவுண்டு
கல்கி தேவன் அதிலுண்டு
Janaki Teacher and Mohan’s
gesture
As
a 6 year old boy, in the late 50s, Mohan, a student of Karpagavalli School in Mylapore
was driven every day into dramatics by his favourite teacher Janaki.
She
was the first one to identify his potential and the spark that he had for
dramatics. 76 year old Janaki teacher, now residing in Bangalore remembers
Mohan as a naughty but very smart boy. ‘I could see early signs of his skills
in ‘dramatics’. In the annual drama, I chose him for the role of Veera Pandiya
Kattabomman. I taught him those dialogues. He grasped it very well and even as
a young boy his presentation was outstanding. I am happy that he has leveraged
that inherent creative talent and achieved great success in this field.
As
a token of appreciation for his teacher, Mohan named every heroine of his play
ever since as Janaki – an incredible gesture (even in the movie Panchathanthiram
the heroines were named Janaki and Mythili!!!
His
specific interest in drawing was a result of the encouragement provided by his
grandparents. His grandfather, Venkatakrishna Iyengar was a staunch follower of
C Rajagopalachari. In recognition of his Thatha’s contribution to his drawing
interest, Mohan’s first drawing was of Rajaji’s. After every such sketch, his
Thatha would go to the shop in Mylapore and come back with the drawing neatly
framed. It was also his Thatha who taught Mohan a number of Sanskrit poems.
Mohan’s Friend Philosopher and
Guide
Ravi
initiated Mohan into religious thoughts. Ravi also helped Mohan focus on the
Tamil language. In the late 50s and early 60s, Mohan, with great difficulty, would
take Rs. 5 from his grandparents and go to Ethiraj Mudali Street in North
Madras to have a look at Ravi Varma’s paintings. Mohan would come back home and recollecting
what he had seen at the shop would start sketching through the night.
Encouraged by Ravi, this was a regular process Mohan followed during those days
and thus developed the art of painting.
During
those days, Mohan would also watch the paintings of his neighbour Maniam
Selvam, who was also his schoolmate. This too proved to be an inspiration for
Mohan to continue with his interest in painting.
Mohan’s
grandmother Shenbaga Lakshmi Ammal taught him the way of life – how to remain simple
and to always save money that he remembers and follows to this day.
He
has always been a voracious reader right from his childhood. He drew a lot of
inspiration from the humourous writings of Devan and Wodehouse. ‘Humour is a big ocean where Wodehouse
immersed and brought out gems and pearls. I am still at the beach and the sea
breeze has just started striking me now. I have a long way to go in the field
of humour’ says Mohan in his typically modest style.
.
First Skit
During
his college days at Guindy Engineering College, he was excited to find on the
notice board a letter inviting students to send scripts for a skit. Ravi says ‘Mohan
has always been a person of strong beliefs and sentiments. He is very difficult
to switch over. But once he is convinced, he accepts and follows for life. ‘The
brilliance was always there and it came to the fore during the college days.’
After
Mouli and Mahendra had passed out of college, there was a vaccum in terms of
providing humour. Mohan had an excellent
sense of humour. It was immense. I asked him to write humour. His immediate
reaction as usual was ‘No’. How can I write humour, was his response.
Intuitively I thought he would be a great writer and convinced him. He finally
relented.
Ravi
and Mohan decided that they would independently write a script each. Mohan came up with ‘The Great Bank Robbery’.
He was chosen as both the Best Writer and the Best Actor. Interestingly, actor
Kamal Hassan gave away the award to Mohan.
Mohan
started writing stories for his brother Balaji’s plays at the Vivekananda
College.
Sundaram Clayton –
His only Corporate Job
Immediately
after completing his Masters in Production Engineering from the Guindy
Engineering College, Mohan joined TVS Group firm Sundaram Clayton, his first
and only corporate job. He slogged there for almost a decade managing the tool
room. It is difficult to imagine now that Mohan was once a full-fledged factory
man those days.
Dogs
on RK Salai and TTK Road literally drove Mohan out of his corporate job. After
his late night duty, Mohan would ride back on the then popular Lambretta all
the way from the factory in Padi to his house in Mylapore. Unfortunately
starting at the Gemini Flyover and right through to TTK Road, a set of dogs
took a special liking for Mohan and they would chase him relentlessly every
night. They could literally sniff the sound of the lamby as it crossed the MG
Road. Mohan has a phobia for dogs and having both his legs up during that chase
proved a torturous exercise for him. This was one of the reasons for him to
quit his corporate job.
Crazy Creations - 1979
When
his brother was transferred from SBT Palghat to Madras, Mohan started a troupe
of his own (Crazy Creations) in 1979 after a discussion at Pinjala Subramanyam
Street. Mohan worked backwards on Crazy Creations’ first stage drama. The title
was first fixed as Alauddin and 100watts bulb and he wrote a script for the
title!
He
wrote scripts for Tenant Commandments, Marriage made in Saloon (which was later
re- made by K Balachandar as a movie), Maadhu+2 and One More Exorcist among
many others, each of which was well received by the audience.
Crazy
Mohan credits a lot of his success to his brother ‘Maadhu’ Balaji who he says
shoulders and anchors the entire play. Kamal Hassan offered him roles in his
movies but Balaji chose drama over films. He sacrificed several opportunities
for comedian role in films because he wanted to keep the dramas going. Mohan is
proud of the fact that his troupe has never done a drama without Balaji, such
is his commitment.
Mohan
had great fascination for KB and Nagesh from his early days with a specific
liking for Maadhu (Nagesh’s terrific performance in Ethir Neechal). Hence
Balaji has always been ‘Maadhu’ in every single play of Crazy Mohan that he has
come to be called ‘Maadhu’ Balaji.
His Wedding!!!!
Mohan had penned
the story for Kathadi Ramamurthy’s popular hit ‘Ayya Amma Ammamma’. Buoyed by
its success, the owners of Kumudam wanted them to present it in their
auditorium. With women not allowed inside Kumudam in those days, Crazy Mohan
donned the role of ‘Janaki’ in that play that day. It was also the time Mohan
was being finalised for Kumudam Parthasarathy’s niece. Instead of Mohan and his
family seeing the ‘Ponnu’, Parthasarathy and his family saw the prospective
Mapillai in the ‘Ponnu’ form with Kumudam Parthasarathy providing a hilarious
introduction of Crazy Mohan to those gathered there. That ‘Janaki’ is our ‘Mapillai’. Quite a
hilarious event in his life!!!!
Cemetery meeting with Kamal
In
the 1980s, Mohan was coming back from work. He saw a crowd inside the cemetery
and wondered what it was. Suddenly he saw a raised hand calling out for him. It
was Kamal Hassan. The seed for the script of Aboorva Sahodarargal were sown
that evening at the Cemetery on St. Marys Road. Two days later, Kamal sent home
a car and the agreement had been signed for the film with Mohan as the script
writer. It was a transformational meeting for Mohan. Since then the two have
worked together in several successful films. ‘When I present dramas, Kamal is
my Visiting Card. For my overseas foray, he is my Visa. And the common chord
between us is ‘Humour’ says Mohan on his decades long association with Kamal.
Ghatotkacha of Stage Drama
The
joint family system that Mohan was brought up into has played a key role in his
troupe staying together for 36years and continuing to producing successful
plays globally. Crazy Mohan has sketched 1000s of personalities through his
paintings. He has staged over 6000 plays and written script for over 25 super hit films
including Katha Nayakan, Avvai Shanmugi, Aboorva Sahodarargal, Michael Madana
Kamarajan, Tenali, Panchathanthiram, Vasool Raja MBBS and Arunachalam. He has
also authored over 150 short and serial stories in leading magazines. Mohan has
also written, produced and acted in 10 Hilarious TV Serials.
A
decade ago, Mohan went to Ravi for initiation into Tamil grammar. He was
literally unstoppable once he started learning. He would send 10-15 Venpas
every night. Such was his passion once he took up something, he would
relentlessly pursue that.
At
a time when staging commercially successful plays are seen as a challenge,
Crazy Mohan’s stage dramas continue to be in big demand. The gate collections
are such that sabhas are queuing up to sign him on.
Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam made him a household name.
The chance meeting with Kamal Hassan at the St. Marys Road Cemetry triggered
his successful expansion into films and elevated him onto the global stage.
No play has ever touched a1000
shows for a single play. With Chocolate Krishna, presented for the first time
in 2008, Mohan is on the verge of creating history in the world of Tamil Drama.
Last month, he presented the 777th show and is fast moving towards
the magical 1000th show.
Whenever that happens, it will be
a significant milestone for Mohan. And he will truly be the ‘Ghatotkacha’ of
Tamil Plays (incidentally his next play is aptly titled Google ‘Ghatotkacha’).
Crazy’s
Best
BEST
MOVIE : AVVAI SHANMUGHI
BEST
DIALOGUE : ANDAVAN NINAIKIRAN,
ARUNACHALAM MUDIKIRAN
FAVOURITE
PLAY : CHOCOLATE KRISHNA FOR ITS ONE
LINERS
FAVOURITE
PLACE : MARUDEESWARAR TEMPLE
FAV
CRICKETER :R PRABHAKAR (HE WOULD HIT EVERYTHING OUT
OF THE GROUND)
6 comments:
Very very nice one Prabhu !!
Personally I would have wanted his love for Tamil and his Venpaa talents getting a few more mentions / lines / paras and probably a sample too :)
But that doesn't stop this from being a superlative write-up. Super!!
Very good one. Enjoyed reading it:) why crazy mohan suddenly?
Very nice and inspiring! How people can change.Basic instinct always make a person successful.
Superb
Thanks for such a detailed write up on Crazy Mohan
Thanks for such a detailed write up on Crazy Mohan
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