As the 1940s dawned, Chowdaiah was tempted to try his hand at films
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar
People will be shocked if they know that the giant of classical Carnatic music, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, a highly orthodox, tradition-bound Brahmin of the old world order would have had anything to do with movies. He lived during a period when cinema was considered a dirty word. A contemporary chronicler described it in the late 1930s as ‘a world of pimps, prostitutes and perverts!’ Chembai in such a world?
Yes, it is true and did happen during the early 1940s. He was not alone. Palakkad T.S. Mani Iyer, the mridangam maestro and a legend in his lifetime, also appeared with him in a movie. They did not sport wigs, don weird costumes or chase nubile women round fake trees, up the hills and down the valleys and get revealingly wet in the rain! They appeared in a Kannada film, Vani, made in 1943.
Mysore T. Chowdaiah, another giant of Carnatic music and a violin wizard was responsible. Thirimaguda Chowdaiah (born 1895) came from a family of agriculturists of the Maharaja-ruled state of Mysore and as a lad of fourteen, became a disciple of famed Mysore state musician Bidaram Krishnappa (1869-1931). Soon he made a mark as a violinist and in 1926, had the unique opportunity of accompanying the great Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar at Madras. It was a spectacular performance and he so charmed the knowledgeable Madras music buffs that Mysore T. Chowdaiah, as he came to be known, became the toast of the town the morning after!
As the 1940s dawned, Chowdaiah was tempted to try his hand at films. He knew that his intimate friends like Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Musiri Subramania Iyer, G. N. Balasubramaniam, and M. S. Subbulakshmi had appeared in Tamil films. By now he was prosperous and felt that he could engage himself in making a film. By way of abundant caution, he acquired partners and one of them was the noted Kannada theater person and comedian K. Hiranaiah. The film was “Vani”(1943). Chowdaiah played the hero in the film. Others in the cast included Hiranaiah, Bellary Ratnamala, Bellary Lalitha, and noted Kannada character actor ‘Musiri’ Krishnamurthy. Besides, a talented and attractive newcomer took her bow in the movie. Her name was Pandari Bai. Hiranaiah penned the story and the film was directed by him along with another, M. N. Gopal. Expectedly Chowdaiah composed the music assisted by one of the veterans of Kannada theater and cinema, H. K. Seshagiri Rao.
(To be continued)
(The writer is a renowned film historian)
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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