MGR - M.G.Ramachandran Part 2

MGR - M.G.Ramachandran http://www.tamilnation.org/hun... MGR would also make sure that he will teach good manners and discipline to the masses through the movies. Therefore, in the characters he played in 120-odd movies, he would never smoke or take alcoholic drinks. On top of that, he would never physically or mentally abuse women. This self-imposed rigidity restricted the character roles he would play and movie critics ridiculed him for this 'un-natural style' of his characters. But MGR would have the last word. Ultimately, he claimed the respected honorific 'vaathiyar' (teacher) in its proper sense of the word. Call it a mere coincidence or the destiny of Eelam Tamils, that when the liberation struggle began earnestly in 1977, MGR would become the chief minister of the Tamil Nadu. Though his interest in the problems of Eelam Tamils remained passive till 1982, the ethnic holocaust of 1983 kindled his support for the Eelam cause. 1983 also saw the change in guard among the political leaders of the Eelam Tamils. MGR had never felt comfortable with the TULF leadership since he had perceived them as emotionally more close to the DMK leadership. When the leadership mantle in the struggle for Eelam needed a change and a boost, MGR became the god-father of the LTTE and made sure that the 'new born baby' would not suffer a premature death in the hands of wily J.R.Jayewardene. To his allies in politics, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the link that MGR had with the LTTE proved embarrassing. But they simply had to ignore it for their own political survival in the South India. For the support that he extended to the Tamil Eelam cause, MGR became the arch-enemy of the Sinhalese power brokers from 1983 till his death in December 1987. Many Eelam Tamils also did not expect much from MGR after his skirmish with the TULF leadership at the 1981 Madurai Tamil International Conference. But, now in hindsight, one can see how vital was the support of MGR for the Eelam cause from 1983 till his death. That the admiration Tamil masses had for MGR was not purely a 'cinema craze' was proved in India, when movie stars of equal stature such as Sivaji Ganesan, N.T. Rama Rao and Amitabh Bachchan could not transfer their popularity in movies to the political world. The political careers of Sivaji Ganesan and Amitabh Bachehan never took off from the ground. Only N.T.Rama Rao was able to become the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and he too lost that position subsequently. To my friends in the USA, when I tried to explain the unusual career of MGR, I called him a "three-in-one". He had the movie magic of John Wayne, the political success of Ronald Reagan and the messianic appeal of Martin Luther King Jr. How could one explain the extraordinary career of MGR, which began in Kandy and ended in Madras? Though not considered a native in the place of his birth or in Tamil Nadu where he grew up and called it home, he became the adored leader, who would be envied by every local politician. At least Kavi Arasu Kannadasan (who had been a close friend and sometimes harshest critic of MGR) had an answer. In 1980, Kannadasan noted that MGR was blessed with an "Asura Jathakam" (devil's horoscope). Not everyone will agree with that assessment. But, considering the unfavourable odds he faced in his life and the 'fights' he won, definitely there should have been a blessing from the devil which protected him in so many trials. Like other great leaders and revolutionaries, MGR also had his weaknesses. But these do not detract the good deeds he did for the down-trodden in Tamil Nadu and for Eelam Tamils who landed in India as refugees after 1983. MGR was neither an intellectual nor a folk philosopher. But his life-time teaching was short and simple; "Fight for your Rights". That's what he preached in his 100-odd movies. ...We miss you, Vathiyar.

Channel: News & Politics
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: Anniyan1

Length: 07:19
Rating: 4.50
Views: 24313

Tags: commercial  documentary  Eelam  Freedom  Human  M.G.Ramachandran  MGR  news  political  Rights  Tamil  Tamoul  

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