P.C. RAMAKRISHNA is a versatile theatre actor, a communication professional and a member of the English theatre group ‘The Madras Players’, the oldest theatre group in India. He has played a myriad range of characters, some funny, some thematic. P.C.Ramakrishna is the well known “voice over artist” and premier English news reader in AIR and DD was instrumental in shifting the focus of English theater to Indian writing, in original English or translation or adoption.
A graduate from Loyola college, he is a mridangist, a product of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, a veteran theater artiste, acknowledged as one of India’s most recorded English language voice, having voiced more than 50,000 films /scripts. He says, “My early interests were in learning mridangam and I trained under Palghat Mani Iyer. I could have been a renowned mridangam player, but I joined the Indian Institute of Management , Ahmedabad, for my masters in management and subsequently became a corporate honcho. Yet, I was restless - in search of a niche for myself and gave up the corporate world in 1993 to settle down to a life of doing what I love - “voice over and theatre,” says ashtavadani Ramakrishna.
But was it a pragmatic decision?
You know, he says, the constant switching of roles, from the corporate world to that of a consummate actor, was something, I lived with , till I took voluntary retirement, to focus completely on theatre. I know, he says candidly, that there is no money in theatre, but I am passionate about it.
What helped him to take this decision?
His inimitable baritone voice and success in voice overs. Would you believe that it was my voice that landed Chandrayan on the lunar orbit, he laughs, about his work with Isro.
His social contribution?
I hesitate to speak too much. When I was introduced to the readers association for the blind in Chennai, this being spearheaded by a dedicated couple Annam Narayanan and her husband, I volunteered reading services to them. For almost 20 years thereafter, I was a reader for visually challenged students.
His rewarding period in life?
My association with visually challenged students was a rewarding experience in life. I learnt a lot. What I cherish most is my association with Lalgudi sir on his 24 city USA tour in 1994.
This long standing actor/administrator with the Madras Players formed with music legend, the late M.B.Srinivas as director and conductor, sings in more than 10 languages. With a touch of nostalgia, he concludes that M.B.Srinivas passed away in the late 80s, leaving behind a treasure house of choral compositions, rich in complex harmonics, and melodic excellence. We are continuing his legacy by bringing out these compositions and singing them in public.
