Chennai: There was pleasant repartee in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday when DMK deputy floor leader Duraimurugan regretted that he didn't get an opportunity to put to use his acting talents at the right time. He said that if only he had landed in Kollywood, he would have had an opportunity to act along with late Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa.
A nostalgic Duraimurugan, representing the Katpadi Assembly constituency, walked down memory lane, recalling his tryst with folklore in his younger days. He even narrated specific scenes in Therukkuthu (street plays) pertaining to the Ramayanam, during his childhood and said such plays could not be seen nowadays.
“Have you acted in plays?” a curious Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal asked. “Aren’t we all acting?” the DMK leader said with a laugh, and the witty remark evoked peals of laughter in the House.
Joining the discussion, Leader of the House and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam recalled former CM Jayalalithaa's words of praise and observation of Mr Duraimurugan, and remarked, “You would have been a world renowned actor if you had taken to acting, Amma had then said.”
To this, the DMK leader said in a lighter vein, if he had chosen to act in films, then he would have got an opportunity to act along with noted actors including late Jayalalithaa.
The conversation on 'actor' and 'acting' was triggered when the Vedachandur MLA Paramasivam sought to know from the government if any competitions would be held during Pongal to foster folk art forms of Tamil Nadu.
To this Tamil, Art & Culture Minister K. Pandiarajan replied, functions are organised regularly to showcase various folk arts. And the mention of folk arts had made Duraimurugan nostalgic.
