 Srividya. Hers were among the most expressive pair of eyes in Indian cinema.
She breathed her last in a hospital in Trivandrum on Oct.19.
Kamal Haasan rightly recalled a line from poet Kannadasan, "Ponnukkuth thanga manasu, ava kannukku nooru vayasu." (A woman of golden heart and eyes that would live a hundred years.)
She was also an accomplished actress who carried herself with commendable poise, without much of an air. She died as she lived, in complete dignity.
She had slunk away from all public attention and passed her last moments in almost total isolation, unwilling, as she was, to become an object of voyeuristic pity. Se was only 53. She thus joins the long list of Tamil film greats and actresses who met with a tragic end, thanks to the blunders they committed in their personal life.
Aboorva Ragangal of the seventies was not exactly a masterpiece of K.Balachandar. In that film, he had tried to grapple with the rather touchy issue of whether one (man or woman) could fall in love with a much younger person, tied himself in knots and finally came out with a typically conservative verdict, "No, you can't. That's immoral."
That way it was a terrible screenplay. But Srividya was indeed awe-inspiring. She had been paired with the immensely talented Kamal Haasan, but she was able to not only hold her own but even outclass him in quite a few scenes.
That despite such a sterling performance, she never came to be cast in leading roles subsequently is some commentary on both the Tamil audience as also the Tamil film-makers.
However, she went on to carve out a niche for herself in Kerala nevertheless, teaming up with top stars like Madhu, Mohanlal and Mammootty. In 1970s and early 80s, Madhu-Srividya team came out with big hits like "Theekkanal.
" She also bagged the best actress award of the state government twice.
In Tamil she appeared only in cameo roles, invariably in the matronly type. She did emote well and there was not much of a theatricality in her.
She was versatile, she could sing and dance well, still she did not really make it big in her own home-ground and that should have rankled in her mind till the very end. (After her death, it was a Malayalam channel that promptly re-telecast an interview with her. None of the Tamil channels cared to give her due space)
There is a striking parallel between own tragedy and that of her mother's. M.L.Vasanthakumari is still regarded by connoisseurs as a much greater genius than the more lauded M.S.Subbulakshmi.
The latter was marketed better, but in terms of sheer skills and originality, MLV was far ahead. You hear MS once and you have heard it all. She becomes monotonous, whereas MLV used to constantly innovate, critics would say.
Not only did MLV fail to market herself better, she also had no control over her personal life. She squandered away whatever she earned and what was left was sponged off by her own near and dear ones. She died in rather straitened circumstances.
So also Srividya's marriage was a disaster and she was thrown out of her own house bag and baggage some years ago. It was a difficult climb for her there after, she had to take many TV assignments just to make a living.
Cancer was perhaps the last straw, and she withdrew into the confines of a hospital.
That Kamal chose to call on her at the hospital should have been some solace for her. Her death brought to an end an indescribably tortuous life. That was some mercy for her perhaps, giving her what had eluded her all along, peace. |
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