Elephants are not new to tinseldom. In ‘Nalla Neram’, a MGR starrer released in 1972, the storyline was around
choice between love (his wife) and friendship (his loyal and devoted pet
elephants). .. .. one of those elephants was Rathi, who lived a long live till
77. She had shared tinseldom with MGR, Rajnikanth
and Rajesh Khanna. She was reportedly
the oldest of the camp at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris when
she passed away on 23rd Jan 13. Rathi starred alongside MGR and Chief
minister Jayalalithaa in 1971 released film - Neerum Nerupum, directed by P
Neelakandan, A year later, she was signed for Nalla Neram, directed by M A
Thirumugam, starring MGR in the lead role and K R Vijaya as the heroine. After a 6 year hiatus, Rathi starred in
Rajnikant’s ‘Annai Oru Alayam’ where
Sripriya was the heroine.
The World's Columbian Exposition also known as the Chicago
World's Fair was held in 1893 to
celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New
World in 1492. The centerpiece of the
Fair, the large water pool, represented the long voyage Columbus took to the
New World. Among many other attractions
was a body building show too !
The man who had made animals act so well was well respected in
the cine circuit. He had risen from a much smaller level, playing small roles
in films that were shot in Central Studios, Coimbatore, until he was roped in
by Jupiter Pictures for villain role in the 1947 movie Rajakumari with
then-a-relatively unknown lead actor M. G. Ramachandran with whom he formed a
deep friendship. In the film Mohini (1948) there was a scene taken in forest,
where MGR rushes to rescue a family
travelling in a bullock-cart from being robbed by a gang and the main robbers
role was played by this man, as the main robber .. .. .. who ended up making
films providing greater role for animals .. .. the man Chinnappa Devar.
Sandow is a series of three 1894 silent short actuality films by
the Edison Studios featuring bodybuilder Eugen Sandow, directed by William K.L.
Dickson. The series is considered a historically significant early film series.
Eugen
Sandow (born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller; 1867 – 1925] was a German bodybuilder
and showman. Born in Königsberg, Sandow
became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy.
After a spell in the circus, Sandow studied under strongman Louis Durlacher in
the late 1880s. On Durlacher's
recommendation, he began entering strongman competitions, performing in matches
against leading figures in the sport. He
left Prussia in 1885 to avoid military service and travelled throughout Europe,
becoming a circus athlete and adopting Eugen Sandow as his stage name, adapting
and Germanizing his Russian mother's maiden name, Sandov. Florenz Ziegfeld
wanted to display Sandow at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, but Ziegfeld knew that Maurice Grau had Sandow
under a contract. Ziegfeld found that
the audience was more fascinated by Sandow's bulging muscles than by the amount
of weight he was lifting, so Ziegfeld had Sandow move in poses which he dubbed
"muscle display performances" ... and the legendary strongman added
these displays in addition to performing his feats of strength with barbells.
In
1901, Sandow organized the world's first major bodybuilding competition in
London's Royal Albert Hall. The venue was so full that people were turned away
from the door. The three judges presiding over the contest were Sir Charles
Lawes the sculptor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the author, and Sandow himself. In
1906, he was able to buy the lease of 161 Holland Park Avenue, thanks to a
generous gift from an Indian businessman, Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji, whose health
had improved dramatically after he had adopted Sandow's regime. He was
designated special instructor in physical culture to King George V, who
had followed his teachings, in 1911. Sandow's
resemblance to the physiques found on classical Greek and Roman sculpture was
no accident, as he measured the statues in museums and helped to develop
"The Grecian Ideal" as a formula for the "perfect
physique".
Sandow
married Blanche Brooks in 1896. Sandow was acclaimed on his 1905 visit to
India, at which time he was already a "cultural hero" in the country
at a time of strong nationalistic feeling. However, when he died in 1925, he was buried
in an unmarked grave in Putney Vale Cemetery at the request of his wife,
Blanche.
Now
getting back to MMA Chinnappa Thevar, was born in Ramanathapuram locality in
Coimbatore to Ayyavoo thevar and Ramakkal. Chinnappa thevar studied only till 5th grade
due to financial reasons. During his youth in the 1930s, he joined in Pankaja
mill for a salary of Rs.9 and started his earnings. He later worked in Stanes
motor company for few years. He also earned through milk production, rice shop
and soda production. From a very young age he was interested in gymnasium. He
started "Veera Maruthi Deha Payirchi saalai" with his friends in
Ramanathapuram area. To join the film industry, he mastered various martial
arts and improved his physique.
He
and his brother first acted in the 1940 film Thilottama. It was a fight
sequence where only their shadows were filmed. Devar earned the title ‘Sandow’
because of his physique and fighting skills.
From smaller rolls he rose to some prominence in acting. Later went on to produce many films making a
big mark in Tamil tinseldom.
Chinnapa
thevar got married to Mari Muthammal at an early age. Thevar
was an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga. He was known for his bakthi to
Muruga, having vibuthi in his forehead. His
movies were a big hit featuring animals, and hd produced numerous movies with MGR as lead actor, under the banner ‘Devar films’.
He and his banner Dhandayuthapani films
attained national fame. He was given the
title ‘Sandow’ as a tribute to his impressive muscles.
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
21st
Oct 2019
PS
: spl thanks to my friend Sridhar Joshi for that spark [the photo quiz on
Sandwow inspiring me for this article]
No comments:
Post a Comment