Devaki Bai could not hold back her tears. Her controlled sobs turned into a momentary wail. The people gathered at the Soviet Cultural Centre, Thiruvanathapuram, on April 15, 1977, turned towards her. For sometime all eyes moved away from the screen where Malayalam’s second only film Marthanda Varma was being screened. The stunned audience saw the old woman seated beside P.K. Nair, of the National Film Archives, Pune, sobbing and murmuring something, while Nair tried in vain to console her. It required the combined efforts of Nair, Devaki Bai’s son Devaraj, and daughter Vasanthi to finally console her.
Devaki Bai was the heroine of Marthanda Varma , a silent film, and she turned emotional because she was watching the film for the first time on screen. And caught in a whirlpool of memories she simply broke down.
Marthanda Varma (1931) was based on the Malayalam novel of the same title written by C.V. Raman Pillai and first published in 1891. The novel recounts the adventures of Marthanda Varma (1706-1758), the crown prince of the State of Travancore.
The film was produced by Devaki Bai’s husband R. Sundar Raj who experienced untold suffering in the course of making the film. Sundar Raj mobilised the funds for making this film by selling his ancestral wealth. He completed the shoot but did not obtain the rights of the novel which was with Kamalalayam Book Depot, the publishers. The film was completed in 1931 and the publishers took possession of the print on the strength of a court order. The film could be released only after the case ended. By then talkie films were in vogue.
According to details available, the film was released on May 12, 1933 and it proved to be a disaster. Sundar Raj became bankrupt. History has it that the print of this film was located in a lodge in Thiruvananthapuram and duly taken over by the National Film Archives of India.
Devaki Bhai was born in Thanjavur to an aristocratic Brahmin family. At the age of 15 she made her debut in the Tamil film Dharmapatni . Her performance was lauded and helped her to the role in Uthamaputhran . She later went on to act is a few more films. That was when she was invited to act in Marthanda Varma by its director P.V. Rao.
Sundar Raj also acted in the film. He played the role of Bairam Khan. Devaki Bai played a double role in the film that of Fathima and Subhadra. The novel touches on the love affair between Bairam Khan and Subhadra. By the end of the shoot Sundar Raj and Devaki Bai had decided to become man and wife.
The financial failure of Marthanda Varma forced Sundar Raj to seek a new job. He travelled to Colombo where he found a job in an automobile company. Devaki Bai converted to Christianity and adopted the name Gunaseela. Fed up with life in an alien land Sundar Raj and Devaki Bai returned to Thiruvananthapuram. He opened a ration shop and started life anew. The couple was blessed with three sons and a daughter, Devaraj, Baburaj, Jayaraj and Vasantha.
Sundar Raj joined the Indian National Congress and became an active worker. He even served as a councillor in the Corporation of Trivandrum. He died in 1965. Devaki Bai who was confined to the house and looking after the children never disclosed her glamorous past even to her neighbours. Devaki Bai died in 1992.
