Padithaal Mattum Pothumaa
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Murali Srinivas
Dear Mr. Mahendra Raj,
We and that includes myself and fellow Sivaji fans, were a bit nonplussed or should I say a bit put off by your not so positive comments on Sivaji in the recent past and were wondering what made you to write such things. That prompted some of our friends to protest vehemently and well that was a bit unpleasant.
But now with two stellar posts in this section you have made amends and let me tell you that both the write ups are excellent. When a write up is interspersed with real time happenings it becomes more interesting to read and your narration of Nadigar Thilagam's visit to Kuala Lumpur with all minute details adds special flavour. What adds spice is, this particular visit to Malaysia by Sivaji had not been reported widely in the media at that point of time, it seems.
Just one nit picking. He was not en route to Cairo for the Asia African Film Festival. That was in 1960. Whereas Padithal Mattum Pothumaa was released on 14th April 1962. Sivaji on special invitation from the US Government had left for a tour of US in March 1962 and probably when he was returning must have visited Kuala Lumpur.
Was just thinking probably that you are not aware of the main thread dedicated to Nadigar Thilagam in our Forum, where we discuss A-Z of his Films. Though some of our friends hinted to you regarding the main thread, probably you didn't notice. It is there in the Tamil Films Section and the link is
http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthrea...anesan-Part-11. Please visit there for further discussions.
Thanks once again!
Regards
Thanks Murali! Actually I wrote a lengthy piece on 'Padithaal Mattum Pothmaa" but what appeared in print was incomplete. Later the whole site could not be accessed until just a few moments ago. Probably some technical problems in the server. I will try to recollect and rewrite the lost text.
Yes, Muraly, I got the years mixed-up. In the bygone era those flying from India to the US will make a stop-over in Malaya (later Malaysia) for re-fueling or changing of planes unlike the present times. Malaysians and Singaporeans were lucky to spot Indian celebrities on transit here. But in Shinaji's case he was on a scheduled visit here en route to the US on an official cultural trip in 1962. It had nothing to do with the Afro-Asian film fest award.
In the meantime, I must reiterate that I am non-partisan when it comes to the two legends. How can I be prejudiced when most of life's values and morality were taught by these two giants along with Kaviarasu Kannadhasan? Most of us grew up with these moral teachers who did a better job than our own parents. Whatever I wrote earlier was my candid comments and it was never my intention to slight Shivaji. I have also made similar comments on MGR and was not countered. I suppose the thread on Shivaji is zealously guarded which was why I was on the receiving end.
Anyway, I am truly impressed by the way the two threads have provided various information across-the-board on the two legends respectively. The filmographies on both with technical, video and audio inputs are worthy of mention. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all those hubbers who are really taking efforts to organize it. Keep it up.
Since Kaviarasu Kannadhasan is my genre I would prefer to post my comments here as it is neutral and sincerely I could ill-afford another round of allegations by Shivaji's die-hard fans. Thanks for pointing out the thread, Murali, anyway.