Theatre personality K.S. Nagarajan (KSN) has set a record for having received special commendations and honour from four Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu. If R. Bhakthavatasalam in 1966 presided over ‘Washingtonil Tirumanam,’ M. Karunanidhi presided over the 300th show of the same play, M.G. Ramachandran honoured him on the 100th show of ‘Thani Kudithanam’ and J. Jayalalithaa in 1992 conferred on him the Kalaimamani title.
The 100th birthday of KSN was recently celebrated at Narada Gana Sabha by the Federation of City Sabhas and Tamil Drama Producers Association. Throughout the function, he was intently listening to the speeches of the special guests. And later, he posed enthusiastically for photographs. “The press has always encouraged Tamil theatre and I thank them for their support,” he said as he settled down for a chat along with his son K.S.N. Sundar, who is also an accomplished actor and script writer. Sundar was conferred the ‘Nataka Kala Sarathy’ title recently by Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, which also honoured his father.
“My father taught me the fine art of stage management; he considers it extremely crucial to a production, more than even the actors. He taught me about the various types of sets, such as deep set, mid deep set, turn plot, drop curtains and jalars, and their use in plays,” said Sundar. In a career spanning seven decades, KSN played a stellar role in 103 plays either as director, actor or producer. He has directed around 70 plays.
Nagarajan began his career with Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies and acted in the plays hosted by its recreation club. Thereafter, he shifted to the Tamil Nadu Secretariat and continued to act in plays staged by the Secretariat Association.
KSN considers Gopalaswamy Iyengar (father of actor T.S. Seshadri) as his first guru in theatre. Sundararaja Iyengar and Jagannath Acharya were the others who gave him valuable tips on stage craft. He has also acted with R.S. Manohar.
KSN, along with a group of friends, started the Triplicane Fine Arts Club in 1946. One other founder-member, R. Srinivasa Gopalan, is now 94. TFAC was the first amateur drama troupe in Madras. S.V. Venkatraman (S.Ve. Shekher’s father) was also a part of this club.
“Kudanthai Mali, who still directs plays, came up with some lovely scripts in 1958. ‘Kadavul Engay’ created a stir in 1959. T.M. Soundararajan and P.B. Sreenivos had lent their voices for the songs in the play. Deepam Na. Parthasarathy’s play, ‘Kurinji Malar’ saw a record of 113 artists on stage. Kala Nilayam, my group, was then formed in 1966 and the play, ‘Washingtonil Thirumanam’ became a sensational hit. Mostly staged at Raja Annamalai Mandram, the play had a janavasam scene that went around the complex with the audience joining the procession. The play crossed the 350th mark within a short span of time. Poornam Vishwanathan, who used our scripts to stage plays in Delhi, where he was employed, got transferred to Chennai. He joined our group and was part of our plays till 1979,” recalled KSN.
Kala Nilayam shot to fame when it launched Marina’s scripts, ‘Thani Kudithanam’, ‘Oor Vambu’ and ‘Kaal Kattu’. ‘Thani Kudithanam’ was a super hit, so much so, long-playing records of the play were released. “It was a golden period for us, as tickets were sold out for most of our shows. We had to hang the ‘Houseful’ board like they used to do in cinema halls. When Poornam and Marina left us to start their own groups, I started grooming youngsters. My son who had been learning the art as a school boy started writing scripts for us.”
Actor Chandru, who is better known as Kala Nilayam Chandru, and Karur Rangaraj were groomed by KSN. Well-known actors such as Major Sundararajan, Manakkal Mani, S.R. Veeraraghavan and Sachu have performed in his plays.
“I am happy that my son has taken on the mantle and Kala Nilayam continues its journey. I advice him to watch the plays of other groups and take the positives. Negative points, if any, should be given as a feedback to the director, which is a healthy practice,” he smiled.
