A younger Rajinikanth clad in a white vest, is midway by an expressive rebuke — maybe some expletives are additionally concerned. Behind him, is a towering Kamal Hassan mid-smoke, the eerie consternation on his face befitting a ruthless serial killer. Emerging from between Parattaiyan in 16 Vayadhinile and Dileep from Sigappu Rojakkal, are a few girls hand in hand, on their each day night stroll on the sparsely populated Thiruvanmiyur MRTS park. This scene, as weird as it’s beautiful, is a telling cross-section of town and cinema capital that’s Chennai.
Today, it isn’t solely joggers, little skaters, and the odd overworked IT worker that make up thepark. Stolen moments from the golden age of Tamil cinema, exactly 50 of them from 1977 to 1982, by veteran nonetheless photographer T Lakshmikanthan span this public house, a lot to the delight of unsuspecting passers-by. Titled Maasaru Kaatchiyavarku — this unseen archive of Lakshmikanthan is one in all Chennai Photo Biennale’s important reveals in its third part.
Painstakingly dug up from 180-films price of negatives, the curation by translator Nirmal Rajagopalan, was admittedly a mammoth job carried out over a restricted time period.
Visitors on the exhibition
| Photo Credit:
Thamodharan B
Lakshmikanthan is 83 now and his eyesight is waning. This show makes up for less than one-third of the gathering of negatives that he has preserved over the years. Over name from his Chennai residence, he speaks of a time when ‘Sivaji (Ganesan) anna’ would fondly refer to him as Lakshmi, or when he travelled throughout western Europe with Rajinikanth, and knew Kamal Haasan as a prankster and a younger boy keen to don many roles in a film set.
“Cinema was like that —everyone was a friend!” says Lakshmikanthan. Nirmal provides, “This was a time when technicians and artists were on an even keel. There were a lot of friendships and relationships that came out of a film set.”
Even as a 14-year-old, Lakshmikanthan’s life was intrinsically linked to cinema, a lot in order that he frequented film sets with teams of younger junior artists from Kodambakkam, in pursuit of the odd probability to be a part of this seemingly distant world. After beginning out as an assistant photographer within the late 60s, it was the 1970 film Sangamam, starring Gemini Ganesan and KR Vijaya, that earned him the title as an impartial nonetheless photographer. His huge break was in 1973 when he shot for Gauravam, a double-action film starring Sivaji Ganesan. The now well-known shot of Sivaji wearing royal regalia, holding a golden orb, as King George, was shot by Lakshmikanthan. This iconic picture went on to develop into a life-size cut-out in entrance of Shanthi Theatre on Mount Road on the time, marking a major level in Lakshmikanthan’s profession.
Soon sufficient, the photographer was deemed a grasp of ‘action shots’. “It was Sivaji anna who preferred action or candid shots more than posed photographs. After 1975, I started clicking only when the actors were in between action. It just sat well with me.” The frames on show immediately, as an example, catch actors of their most expressive portrayal of the character.
He continues, “Back in the day, working with each movie was a different experience. If they wanted sunrise shots, I would be there at 4am, and sometimes we shot through the night. If it is was a Bharathiraja film, getting to sleep for even a couple of hours was rare,” he recollects with a chuckle.
Today he’s in possession of the negatives of pictures taken on each single film set he has ever labored on —proper from 1970 to 2023, his final film, Appatha starring Urvasi. Collecting and preserving negatives was a behavior he picked up whereas working at picture studios early on in his journey with images.
Visitors on the exhibition
| Photo Credit:
Thamodharan B
Back within the park, whereas some pictures are larger-than-life and telling of the period they belong to, others are smaller, laid throughout a narration that hinges on coincidental connections. The 50 photos which can be on show are erected in clusters. Be it the central set up of the doe-eyed heroines from the Nineteen Eighties —from Revathi to Madhavi and Sridevi, or the amusing stand off between comedy stars like Goundamani or Thengai Srinivasan, or frames capturing contrasting scenes from socially related movies like Alaigal Oivadhillai (1981).
In the curation, Nirmal has additionally juxtaposed the images with verses from the Thirukkural, inviting the viewers to look past what the {photograph} merely reveals. Says Nirmal, “Each of the images are in clusters for a deliberate reason. I have paired each of them with a specific kural —for instance, a collection of leading ladies’ portraits shot on set, is paired with a kural where Thiruvalluvar waxes eloquently on beauty. A set of eight images where each actor is portraying a different emotion —from inquisitiveness, sorrow or shyness —is paired with a kural that talks about how whatever runs in one’s brain manifests on one’s face easily.”
One of the images on show
| Photo Credit:
Gowri S
Numerous pictures within the archive have been shot on analogue.
“Each of these images will trigger a different kind of memory to someone who has watched these films. All these movies are colour, but the images we are seeing are black and white. I am hoping people who walk in here appreciate the nostalgia and also the added layers,” concludes Nirmal.
The present is a part of Chennai Photo Biennale and shall be on until March 16 from 7am to 6pm.
Published – February 19, 2025 05:42 pm IST
