Final tear-jerker from the tragic hero

By T.S. Shankar

CHENNAI, JULY 22. From the hero of several tragedy movies, it was the final tear-gusher. No electric rhetoric. No emotive histrionics. His thunderous voice muted, he just lay motionless, in a glass case at his white palatial house on the ``Chevalier'' Sivaji Road in T.Nagar.

But the thousands of fans who besieged ``Annai Illam'' in T. Nagar could not but cry, wail and beat their chest in a heart- crushing show of sorrow.

The top stars of the tinsel world too wept inconsolably as they made a beeline for the house of their ``mentor-actor'' Sivaji Ganesan.

As the mortal remains of the mesmeric actor was brought to his house in the wee hours of today, T.Nagar, the ever-bustling shopping hub of Chennai turned into a theatre of grief. Ceaseless streams of fans poured in from all parts of the State by vans and buses, and waited outside the bungalow to get a final glimpse of the ``Nadigar Thilagam''.

`Sivaji's wife, actor-son, Prabhu and two daughters were present throughout beside the body, receiving the long queue of mourners.

All of Kollywood, sans age and language barriers, was present at Annai Illam this morning. From light boys to leading stars, producers and directors, tinsel world descended upon T.Nagar to pay tributes to their beloved ``Anna and Thalaivar''. Stars Sarath Kumar, Vijayakanth, Vijayakumar, Vadivelu, Radhika and Manorama were among those who kept a constant wake near the body.

Actors, actresses and directors of yesteryear who were associated with Sivaji in his films turned up at the house, some even ambling due to age and infirmity to pay their last respects to a much haloed colleague and actor.

They included co-stars Saroja Devi, Sripriya, Latha, Jayachitra, `Gemini' Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, Vadivukarasi, Sathyaraj besides Bharathiraja, Baghyaraj, K. Balachander, AVM Saravanan, S.A.Chandrasekar, Muktha Sreenivasan and Balu Mahendra.

The mourners also comprised the younger crop of artistes and directors like Prashanth, Vijay, Vikram, Murali, Khushboo, Revathy, K. S. Ravikumar, Cheran and K. T. Kunjumon. Some of them recalled their association with the hero, adding that every artiste in the field today would have been influenced by the style, dialogue delivery and discipline of the departed star, who had enjoyed a five-decade run in the Tamil film industry.

Mega stars from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala also represented their respective states at `Annai Illam'. The most high profile among them, the veteran Kannada actor Raj Kumar recalled with fondness his last meeting with Sivaji, after he was released by Veerappan from the forest.

Breaking down emotionally, Raj Kumar said the demise of Sivaji marked the end of an era in Indian cinema. ``The Nadigar Thilagam may be no more, but the `tilak' (mark) left by him will always be in our heart'', he added.

Telugu star, Chiranjeevi mourned the loss of a ``great master'' of the cine industry. Malayalam superstar Mammooty attributed his success to the guidance of the `great star'.

While the VIPs dropped in and the cameras whirred, the longest crowd of mourners was the general public. They wept uncontrollably and blamed the fate for taking `Sivaji' away from them.

But, most of the mourners, could not get a clear view of his mortal remains. A 60-year old woman, who came all the way from Nagercoil, complained that standing in the queue for over two hours, she was not able to have a clear view of the body. ``I could see only his legs'', she sobbed.

While hundreds of fans waited for long hours to get the last glimpse of their hero, even the policemen who were on duty to regulate the crowds were moved to tears. And, that perhaps was the greatest tribute to the thespian.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Leaders, artistes pay homage to Sivaji
Next     : 'He lived more amid the people'