My late father used to run a theater in India back in those days. My uncle used to bring in films from India and screen them in local theatres. As a youngster I used to frequent the Tamil cinema, reading up on it and advising others whether the movie was worth watching. The cheapest ticket cost 35 cents then and I would be seated in the front row for every show. Soon the desire to become a director grew in me. I began to learn about movie making from books. But good sense then made me drop the idea of taking up art as a career and directing as a profession. Instead I landed myself in engineering.
But my desire to make movies was soon fulfilled. When I brought my spiritual ventures and experiences to the web and blog, I began to make videos. Agathiyar and Tavayogi became the stars of my movies. Tavayogi too had produced two movies before he became a turavi.
After a day of hard labour, our forefathers turned to the silver screen to wind down, relax and fantasize for some three hours before they went back to the reality of the world. The cinema has given many uplifting movies, stories and songs over the years. At the end of the movie truth will triumph over false; good will prevail over evil, bringing to the audience moral statements to be followed. It brought devotion and the philosophy behind it, visually, to the audience. Siddha Heartbeat takes a break from the usual posts, and brings you into the world of cinema, a wonderful medium to bring messages to the masses.
The film industry brought many ithihasa, puranas, scriptures and teachings to the masses through the cinema. It was a noble act of educating common folk, bringing the age old philosophies, in visual form that even the unschooled could comprehend and understand and bring it into their daily lives.
Besides movies based entirely on these scriptures, they made social movies that carried these values and thoughts. These wonderful teachings were carried in the songs which were part of these movies.
Muthukumar Swamy, who had worked closely with the late poet Amarar Kannadhasan, posted the following videos in conjunction with and in appreciation of the poet laureate of Tamil Nadu, to coincide with the birthday of Kannadhasan on 24 June on fb.
https://www.facebook.com/100018258314430/videos/111603619458248/
Esai Kavi Ramanan who as a teen, came to meet Kannadasan, speaks passionately of him and how down to earth he was in a series of videos.
Esai Kavi Ramanan who as a teen, came to meet Kannadasan, speaks passionately of him and how down to earth he was in a series of videos.
Just as Agathiyar said, "உனக்கு வழி காட்டும் புனிதநூல் உன்னால் மட்டுமே எழுதப்பட முடியும். அது உன்னுடைய அனுபவங்களைக் கொண்டுதான் எழுதப்பட வேண்டும்", or "Unakku vazhi kaathum punitha nool unnaal matthume yezhutappada mudiyum. Athu unnudaiya anupavangalai konduthaan yezhuthappada vendum", - "You have to write your own guidebook for your journey, based on your experiences", Kannadhasan exemplified his sayings.
He translated his life into words that took the form of songs in the movies. He gave us many amazing songs that gave hope and strength to face life.
Taking inspiration from our peers in the music industry, AVM today is proud to have several singers who come together in prayers. Jegan, Srimathi Vinthamaray, Balamurugan, the Rajah-Malathy children and my own.
Jegan or Jay.S, who writes his own lyrics has had some albums to his credit and was in the limelight some time back. https://www.facebook.com/genieworkzstudios/videos/1505812236127941/. Srimathi Vinthamaray used to sing soul stirring numbers from the Thiruarutpa during our bhajans. Balamurugan grew up singing Thevaram and other devotional songs in his estate temple. The Rajah-Malathy children were trained in singing the Thevaram. My daughters have had a short stint learning Sangeetham and do dish out some nice numbers. Dr Jana composed BGM for AVM videos. We have Hari, a cinematographer and director in the making. Many others in the AVM family were mooted to join in rendering wonderful hymns and songs. AVM is blessed to have all these talents gather and sing the grace of Agathiyar and Erai.