A.R.Rehman - Arcot Road to Oscars -ஆர்காட் ரோடு லிருந்து ஆஸ்கர்ஸ் வரை

WOW.....I am really proud that our own ARR has won 2 OSCARS , and Resul Pookutty one. As part of the film fraternity to which they belong I am delighted and proud. What a magnificent growth it has been. I have seen his work when ( as Dilip ) he composed the Jingle for our Madras Midtown Round Table No 42's Public service film on Drug Abuse - it starred Kenny ( later to become truly famous as Vikram) .This was done by Mr.Trilok Nair and Mrs.Sharada of Trish Productions.Indeed it was they who took this young lad to Mani and then Roja came......what started as a chinna aasai turned out to be an Oscar aasai. Sharada is Mani's cousin and also hails from a Film background. what a journey...

When the rotay club of madras of which I am a member gave rehman the achievement award , I had a small question and answer session with him. What really struck me was the man's humility and simplicity. His smile is certainly true and from the heart.I am trying to get the "showreel" I made on him with interviews and comments from Mani,K.Balachander,SPB,Hariharan,Valee,Vairamuthu and Chitra. Will try to post it on my you tube channel and let you all know.

அப்பப்பா என்ன வளர்ச்சி. இவர் இருக்கும் திரை உலகத்தில் நானும் இருக்கிறேன் என்பதில் பெருமிதம் அடைகிறேன். இவர் இசை அமைத்த ஒரு பொது தொண்டு படத்தின் தயாரிப்பை சுமார் இருபத்தி ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் நான் உறுப்பினராக இருந்த வட்ட மேஜை 42 செய்தது . இதை இயக்கிய திருமதி சாரதா மற்றும் திரு திருலோக் நாயர் தான் ரஹ்மானை மணி ரதினத்துர்க்கு அறிமுகம் செய்தார்கள் பிறகு ரோஜா இன்று ஆஸ்கர். சமீபத்தில் எங்கள் ரோட்டரி ச்னகத்திற்காக அவருடன் ஒரு கேள்வி பதில் நிகழ்ச்சி ஏற்பாடு செய்து தொகுத்து வழங்கினேன். என்ன ஒரு அற்புத மனிதர் இவர் ? என்ன எளிமை என்ன அடக்கம் ? அந்த மேடையில் தமிழ் ஒலிக்க செய்த இவர் வாழ்க.

அந்த கேள்வி பதில் நிகழ்ச்சியின் பொது வீடியோ எடுத்தார்கள் முயற்சித்து பார்கிறேன் .கிடைத்தால் யு டுப் இல் போடுகிறேன் .

இது கலியுகமா ? The Four Horsemen....In English and tamil.

The Hindu - friday review supplement - page 3 - 13th february 2009.

இது கலியுகமா ?
கலி முத்திவிட்டால் நல்லவர்களும் நல்லதும் இருக்காது. தீய சக்திகள் தாண்டவம் ஆடும் என்பார்கள். பல நேரங்களில் நல்லவர்கள் கூட தப்பான பாதையில் போவார்கள் என்றும் சொல்லுவார். சமீப காலத்தில் நடந்த சில சம்பவங்கள் முதலில் எனக்கும் கலி முத்திவிட்டதாகத்தான் தொனச்செய்தது.
முதல் சம்பவம் - ஒரு இளைஞன் தீ குளித்தான் - எதற்கு என்பது நாம் சிந்திக்க வேண்டாம் - அது ஒரு சட்ட விரோத செயல் - எந்த தர்மத்திலும் தற்கொலை என்ற செயலை செரி என்று சொல்வதில்லை. இங்கு பலர் அதை பெருமிதமாக பேசினார்கள் . சட்ட விரோத செயலை இப்படி பல தலைவர்கள் ஆதரித்து பேசி, புகழ்வதினால் பல இளைஞர்கள் இந்த தவறை செய்ய முன்வருவார்களோ என்ற அச்சம் எனக்குள் எழுந்துள்ளது. இந்த இளைன்ஞனின் மரணத்தால் போரை , இல்லை , படுகொலையை ராஜபக்சே நெருத்துவாரா ? மாட்டார் - அவ்வளவு ஈவும் இரக்கமும் உள்ளவர் அவர் என்று எனக்கு தோணவில்லை . நமது அரசியல்வாதிகள் இதிலும் அரசியல் செய்தார்கள் என்று நினைக்கும் பொது வருத்தமாக இருக்கிறது . மறைந்தவரின் வயதான தந்தைக்கு யார் ஆதரவு தர போகிறார்கள் ? போரில் மாண்டவரும் , தீவரவாதத்தை அழிக்க மாண்டவரும் இன்று காணவில்லை - குடும்பங்களை பற்றி யாரும் கவலை படவில்லை - இந்த இளைன்ஞன் எம்மாத்திரம். சட்ட விரோதமான செயலை ஆதரிப்பது ஒரு குற்றமா ? எனக்கு சட்டம் தெரியாது .

சட்டம் என்றதும் எனது அடுத்த கேள்வி - நீதி மன்றத்தை புறக்கணித்தால் இலங்கையில் அவதி படும் தமிழர்கள் விடுவிக்கபடுவார்களா ? இல்லை , இங்கு உள்ள தமிழ் மக்களும் சேர்ந்து தான் அவதி படுவார்கள். போராட்டம் செய்யும் காரணம் ஒரு முக்கியமான காரணம் என்று நன்கு அறிவேன் அனால் செய்யும் விதம் ? இது எப்படி ஞாயமாகும்? நமது ஜனநாயகத்தில் இன்னும் நின்றுகொண்டிருக்கும் ஒரே தூண் சட்டம் . அதை இப்படி நசுக்கினால் பொது மக்கள் என்ன செய்வார்கள் . ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் சட்டத்திலிருந்து நிவாரணம் கிடைக்கும் என்று காத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும் மக்களை பற்றி யார் கவலை படுகிறார்கள். எனது நண்பர் ஒருவர் சொன்னார் - தமிழ் நாட்டு நீதி மன்றம்தான் நமது நாட்டிலேயே முதல் இடம் வகிக்கிறது என்று - எதில் தெரியுமா ? வேலை நிறுத்தம், போராட்டம் என்று அதிக நாட்கள் வேலை செய்யாமல் இருப்பதில் . மார் தட்டிகொள்ளடா தமிழா.

இதையும் மீறி ஒரு விஷயம் - எங்களது குல தேய்வக்கொவில் கும்பாபிஷேகத்தை பற்றி ஹிந்து பத்திரிகை ஒரு செய்தி வெளியிட்டதை நான் இந்த பதவில் போட்டுஇருக்கிரேன். செய்தி வெளி வந்ததும் நல்லுள்ளங்கள் இன்னும் வாழ்கின்றன , கலி முத்தவில்லை என்பதை உணர்த்தும் வகையில் சென்னை அப்திராமபுரத்திலிருந்து திரு ந சந்தானகோபால் என்பவரும்,அப்போல்லோ மருதுவ்வர் பிரேம்குமார் என்பவரும் , டெல்லியிலிருந்து இப்பொழுது சென்னையில் காந்திநகரில் வசிக்கும் திரு ச.ர. பாலசுப்ரமணியன் என்பவரும் தாமாகவே முன்வந்து ஒரு தொகையை நன்கொடையாக கொடுத்திருக்கிறார். இதில் முதலில் குறிப்பிட்ட நல்லவர் நேராக என் வீடை தேடி கண்டு புடித்து வந்து கொடுத்து சென்றார் , வாழ்க இவர்களின் நற்பணி. செய்தியை படித்துவிட்டு என் குடும்ப நண்பர் டென்னிஸ் வீரர் திரு ரமேஷ் கிருஷ்ணனும் வந்து , அவரது குல தெய்வமும் சாஸ்தாதான் என்று கூறி ஒரு தொகையையை கொடுத்து சென்றார் ?

என் கோரிக்கைக்கு செவி சாய்த்து பல நண்பர்கள் எங்களுக்கு உதவிருக்கிறார்கள்.அவர்களின் உதவியால்தான் திருப்பணி இவ்வளவு முன்னேற்ரிஇருக்கிர்றது. இதயெல்லாம் பார்க்கும்போது .......... .

குழம்பி இருக்கிறேன் - கலி முத்திவிட்டதா இல்லையா ?

The question I ask is - Is this the kali Yuga ? When Evil Triumphs , Sin remains the Justifiable action , Goodness is lost and nothing Holy or Godly finds support.....This is supposed to herald the the end of the world - The four horsemen of Apocalypse if you want. A few recent events did make me feel that the end is near.
The first is the self immolation of a youngster - we need not here talk of the cause , for that is not being discussed. This act , suicide , is considered illegal . No religion can justify this wanton disrespect of the gift of life that God has bestowed on us. Indeed our forefathers had even outlawed the despicable practice of "Sati". My question is , how come the "leaders" and "Political bigwigs" have made such a hulla boo and praised this great sacrifice as an act of a true tamil etc....this kind of blatant support of an "illegal" act boggles my mind.Is this support an illegal thing too ? I do not know....the one thing I know is that this poor youngsters death is not going to get Rajapakse to stop his war , nay genocide.....will this poor boys demise move the Sri Lankan powers that be....I doubt if they are so concerned with humanity.....This blatant support of this act - an illegal one - I do know that the Indian Penal Code punishes a suicide attempt.... is truly

mystifying. Are we not encouraging more youngsters to take up this mode of signifying their anguish , for post mortem , they will be praised as heroes.....

In an era when Soldiers and Policemen who fought for the Country and struggled to defend the Nation against terrorists are forgotten before the ink dries , what about this poor youngsters family....who will look after them. These "smaller" issues are so often forgotten under the "larger" issue. My query - Is , supporting such acts Legal ?
Speaking of law , the next query is .....This boycott of the courts. In an attempt to bring the plight of the sri lankan Tamils to the Public's awareness , the Public is being inconvenienced. I am not again questioning the reason , but , the method. Is the Boycott justified ? as a means , not the cause. A Day's strike , seems Ok.....but the poor litigating Public, they suffer with their bretheren across the indian Ocean. If they want the central Government to act , then they should not take up any case in which the central government is a party....not a TOTAL boycott.
A friend of mine who is an advocate told me that the High Court of Madras holds the record for the highest number of working days lost due to such Protests and strikes. A fact that the Indian Media has not even bothered to highlight.....of course anything happening in the South of the Vindhyas does not merit National attention. All of us complain that the due process of law takes an unduly long time....next time let us ask ourselves and not the Judicial system. The Public raised a hue and cry when the truckers went on strike and we did not have petrol.....now we cannot get Justice , but no hue or cry..... on the contrary everybody carries on as if all is normal. Even the media has not bothered to highlight the difficulty the litigating Public is going through. What about a man who needs an Urgent order ? I wonder where he should go ? Maybe the judges are listening to the parties in person , but if it was a question of some legal nitty gritty can the Party be expected to argue.....
In all this , there is my last query.....
The Hindu carried an article on our Kuladievam Temple and Immediately after Publication one Mr.N.Santhanagopal of Abhiramapuram , located my address and came to handover a small contribution. A Dr.Premkumar from Apollo and a Mr.S.R.Balasubramanian from Gandhinagar ( originally from Delhi) sent in their contributions by Post....so such good souls do exist and voluntarily come forward. In fact my good friend Mr.Ramesh Krishnan the tennis Player too saw the article and came to give his contribution.

NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT MANY MANY OF MY FRIENDS HAVE SENT IN VERY USEFUL CONTRUBUTIONS WHEN I MADE THE APPEAL TO THEM.

This being the case are the Horsemen Riding ? Is this the Kali Yuga at it's peak?

Arivalur Ayyanar -an Update -February 7th 09

Sivan temple in Ruins

Ayyanar Temple - work in progress

Frontal view of Sivan Temple

Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple Arivalur Agraharam

View of Perumal temple.

I had an opportunity to drive down to Arivalur on Saturday the 7th of February. It was a lovely drive ( almost ) . The sector Chennai to Pondicherry – on the ECR was brilliant , then to Cuddalore , Chidambaram , Sirgazhi , Vaitheeswaran Koil and Mayavaram ( Mayiladuthurai). Here we take the Road to Thiruvarur ( The birth place of the musical trinity)…. Some 5 Km’s on this road we come across the village of Elanthangudi behind which lies the sleepy village of Arivalur.

The Village is adjacent to the Agraharam and just outside both is the little shrub/overgrowth which nestles the Ayyanar Temple.There are many little temples in the Village , the biggest/oldest two are the Perumal Temple on one end of the Agraharam. This has a Chola Period Varadaraja Perumal with Sridevi and Bhoodevi and a “Thumbikkai Alwar” – as ganesha was fondly called by the vaishnavites. This temple too is in a sad state and God willing with a few savings we are able to effect in the renovation of the Ayyanar temple we hope to repair the Perumal Temple too ( This is NOT a ploy to get increased contributions so please read on) .

The other temple is a really unique and pretty Sivan temple that is not in the Agraharam but in the Village Road parallel to it. The Sivan Temple is like the Old Churches built originally like a cross with Siva at the head and parvathi on one arm , the other two being entrances….

The Temple is so badly off that we are frightened to stand as it may fall at any time. The Parvathi portion is so bad that they have removed the deity to another temple in the adjoining village. The Plan we have is to get an estimate for the re building , as I understood from the Contractor , renovation is impossible as there is no roof and the side walls have all but given way. I hope to use the Good offices of my brother , Bharat and get the HR and CE ( Hindu religious and Charitable Endowments Board) to undertake this task of rebuilding as the temple already falls under its aegis ( So here too there is no Ploy to ask for more). This temple had five smaller shrines inside it – One each for Ganesha , Muruga , Parvathi ( Sakthi) , Navagraha and Bhairavar/Guru ? .

Our Ayyanar Temple work is going on in full swing. The outer sanctum which needed a lot of work to be done especially in the ceiling has been drought down and a new one built. So too a longish Hall adjacent to it for devotees to stand and watch. The roof slab for this is to be cast the next week and the plastering with its decorative work remains.The work on the Vahanams is underway – for no Ayyanar is complete without his Horse.
Overall it appears that, God willing , we should be able to perform the Kumbabishekam on 15th March. On completion of a mandalam of Poojas the mandala abhishekam will be on the 1st of May.
Many Thanks to all of you our friends and well wishers for help already or yet to be received.
As mentioned earlier every little bit goes to making the temples in this little Hamlet more comfortable for worship. Indeed the Village has decided to renovate the other temples and jointly perform the Kumbabishekam for ALL the temples in the Village not under HRCE control.

My Journey as an ACTOR - The people and the Movies.

A Bit of Touch up.......




Examining Witnesses - with witnesses like these who won't examine.????

Playing an Advocate in Naan Avanillai - A remake of the

K.Balachander classic.



My Journey in this Tinsel world was covered fairly nicely by KTV in an interview that took place a few years ago. I have just posted the same in my you tube account. This interview was done at Home by Ms.Priyadarshini. It has clips of my scenes and my reminiscing of the people and films that have made my film career. Includes scenes with Sivaji Ganesan, Vijaykanth,Prabhu,Raghuvaran,Manorama,Vijay,Kajol and kamalhaasan. Some I saw after a long timelike Clips from my first film "Idhayam" in 1991. In fact in my 90 plus films Idhayam,Kalaignan and Minor Mapillai ( with Ajit) are the only films for which I have not dubbed for myself. It is a flashback that I think you will enjoy.Please watch it.I am giving below the links to the You Tube page.


Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJkfq46XEo


Part 2 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOOZTUaogRo


Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eysO4ryOoV4

Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhed8OsK1xM

Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMb1ACr0o9c

Part 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEiucBln71M

Part 7 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWcZhIUYE6I

Please Post your views after viewing .The total running time is approximately 1 hour and it is all in TAMIL.

V.P.Raman , My father

A sunny day in LLoyd Road




He took to smoking when he was past 50 - still injurious.






Pensive mood.







At his "Castle" - Glen Gyle in Kodaikanal








VENKATA PATTABHI RAMAN or simply Bala to his friends

I just wanted to write a few lines on my father. If ever there was a list of men whose amazing intellect was to be revered for the sheer variety of subjects they could intelligently converse on , I guess my dad will be somewhere right on top of that list.

Born on 3rd October, 1932 . He was brilliant academically and finished School from the Church Park Convent ( Yes it was Co-ed ) then. He , having had 2 double promotions on the way to finishing could not join College right away and spent that time reading, learning shorthand and typing , accounts and the Violin - from the noted violinist Pappa Venkatramaiah. I have heard some really great ( I am given to understand) Jam sessions in my house. Ramnad Krishnan and my Mother ( who is today on the Grading and selection Panel for All India Radio) Smt.Kalpakam Raman sing, with dad on the Violin , Joined in by S.Balachander on the Veena ( My grandmother has a few at Home) and Mali on the Flute.....wish we had those sessions Taped.

My Dad then joined loyola College for his B.Sc in Physics , he was not too taken up with Science and did not do his usual Brilliant best. Thereafter he Joined the Madras law College and in those 3 Years set records that to this Day remain unbroken. He stood first and obtained the Gold medal in so many subjects that the record stands unbroken - even after 55 years. He was offered a Lecturership straight after his Graduation which he took up for a while. Many an Advocate has told me of how he used to make Dry subjects like Hindu Law and Jurisprudence interesting.

He had by then finished experimenting with Communism and joined the DMK Party where he was given the alliterative title/name of "Vazhakkarignar VPR". He along with M/S EVK Sampath, Era Sezhiyan wrote the Constitution of the Party. In 1955 he married my mother and the next year in 1956 I was born.

His life was filled with so many highlights that I can proudly say that even to this day...some 17 years after his passing away , his name still spins magic and opens doors for us. His forte was his

sharp intellect , swift repartee , ability to grasp a problem and reduce it to the simplest of terms , and all this , thinking out of the Box. His approach was so different , his language , so fluently stylish. His speech - crystal clear and crisply to the point that as an Advocate he simply stood out. At the young age of 34 he was made the Public Prosecutor and this was when the State had an Advocate general and a Public Prosecutor - not the big band of Law Officers that the States these days seem to require. ( That My brother P.S.Raman - is the current Additional Advocate general is another matter for another Blog maybe).

In 1975 he was called to Delhi to take over as Additional Solicitor General , again at the age of 43.

He made his mark in Courts all over India - by appearing for the Government of Smt. Indira Gandhi , defending the Fundamental Rights case. Indeed , Sri L.K.Advani commented that Mr.Raman was one of the fairest advocates to have prosecuted him !!!

My father's adherance to Truth and Ethics of the profession was obsessive. Almost a disorder. He could not Stomach many things that happened , which is why he could never make it in the political Arena. His contacts were numerous but they were all in dread of his tongue as he never hesitated to call a spade a spade. Diplomacy and tact were alien to the Man. After the Emergency was called off and the Congress lost power he came back to Madras to be appointed the Advocate general of the State in 1977 for Sri.M.G.Ramachandran. Our relationship to this legend requires another Blog - I promise it will be there. After 1979 he did not take up any Law office but focussed on his Private Practice. He passed away in 1991 at the age of 59. Having packed enough in that lifetime that a 95 year old would not have.

To me he was a friend - so too to my brothers , and I can safely say that he was the first friend we lost.......Many left thereafter , each leaving a small cut in our hearts but Dad's passing left a gash so big that even now , at times it opens and silently bleeds......

My eternal regret is that he could not see his children become successful and his grand children grow up. He was very well connected to the film world what with Anna, Kalaignar, MGR, Gemini,Kannadasan,Visvanathan Ramamurthy,ALS,AVM,Saroja Devi , Sridhar and Sivaji being some of his clients ,and would have been thrilled to see me do so well in the silver screen.

Arivalur Ayyanar Temple - Renovation underway

Poorna Pushkala Sammedha Arivalur Saastha -(Ayyanaar).




Additional Building of a small Enclosure for devotees to Stand and Pray.
Compound Wall , Horse Vaahanam and other works to be undertaken.






The Work in Progress on the Temple





The Temple - Before Renovation work started

It was a great feeling when my friend Mr.Pattabhiraman , whose family is spearheading the renovation Project sent me Photographs of the Progress made in this. The Temple is well on the way to getting a Total facelift and hopefully devotees will have better facilities when they come to worship.

In my earlier Blog I had mentioned of the need for this and I am happy to report that our efforts to raise funds have met with great success thanks to the Blessings of Saastha. I wanted to share my joy that the Work is underway and will be completed for us to hold the Kumbabishekam on the 15th of march this year.I am posting a few Photographs for all to see the work done so far.

I am indeed beholden to my friends and schoolmates from Vidya Mandir-Mylapore, my XLRI batchmates , and my Film Fraternity , many of whom gave us sizeable contributions. A few other Philanthropic Industrialists have also helped Considerably. Many in my family too have chipped in to augment resources.

We have so far between the two families collected nearly 5 lakhs ( and already paid 4 to the contractor). The Contractor must be thanked for he is a devotee and has agreed to do this project on a cost to cost basis.

The Total estimated cost for renovation and Kumbabishekam with the 45 Days of Mandala Pooja thereafter is in the region of 9 Lakhs. I have firm commitments for another 2 lakhs from my immediate family.

Needless to say much more is required in terms of Funds and Material but I am confidant that........

The Lord will Provide .....