A unique actor boards the bus – Good bye Nagesh sir
What would you call an actor who can make you laugh with your gutts in one second and in the next micro second make you reach out for the hand kerchief to wipe your tears?
What would you call an actor whose presence simply overshadows even the superstars and super actors like Kamal Hassan and Shivaji Ganesan?
What would you call an actor who worked 20 of the 24 hours in a day, made legends wait for hours, yet walk in to a set with little or no preparation and yet slip into the role as if he had prepared for it the past one month?
What would you call an actor who acted as a dead body and made an entire theatre laugh?
As the impulsive - funny and heartfelt Server in Server Sundaram
I would call him Naagesh. The only comedian who combined all possible styles of comic acting together and perform it with such an ease that would get our senses in a flash that we look forward to that actor to be in every single scene and frame of the movie.
Before Naagesh, there were many comedy actors. There was the blistering genius of Chandrababu – who was among the best of slap stick and physical comedians we ever had. There was ‘Danaal’ Thangavelu who could have the entire theatre in splits with effortless dialogue delivery. It was destiny that someone had to come into the cine industry of thamizh naadu who could do the physical comedy of chandrababu and the comic timing of thangavelu. The real gen X comedian who would go on to conquer many generations of audiences. It was Nagesh - a railway employee who took to acting to challenge an actor in an association theatre competition who could not reproduce a complicated thamizh dialogue. Nagesh showed the glimpse of his genius by reciting the poem ‘ Kongu ther vaazhkai’ from thiruvilayadal puranam in that drama and astonished everyone with his memory, thamizh diction and his timing sense. Spurred on by the encouragement he went on to Chennai’s then throbbing theatre and later on to cinema.
One genius’ misfortune did not turn into a non-talent’s fortune fortunately for thamizh films. Chandrababu the genius comedian who had the habit of pissing off leading stars of the day was replaced by the lanky and not so conventionally good looking Nagesh in a movie and began his silent entry into thamizh films. When fire makes acquaintance with a dry bamboo forest, nothing is held back. Similarly when a mercurial talent is encountered by an appreciative audience like the one in early 60s in thamizh nadu, the rise is inevitable and unstoppable. The juggernaut of nagesh began and with the fruitful collaborations he enlightened generations of actors, made the legends like Shivaji Ganesan be extremely alert in the sets and about lesser actors, it is better left said that they were praying to their Gods that Nagesh was there in the movies but not throughout as the eclipsing by sheer talent was inevitable.
Remarkable collaborations of Nagesh that elevated his status from a simple comedian to a ‘must have’ in a film for it to be even seen by audiences were with Directors Sreedhar, A.P,Nagarajan and Krishnan Panju.
Unforgettable war of words and acting between Sivaji and Nagesh in Thiruvilayaadal
Till date the awesome comedy sequence of the poor poet dharumi in the highly successful and ever cherished mythological ‘Thiruvilayaadal’ was crafted by director A.P.Nagarajan. The source material had the story of the poor poet and Lord Shiva devotee Dharumi’s story as a pathos. The moment Nagesh was cast in the role, the clever director let Nagesh improvise and gave it an out and out comic treatment and the result was a rip roaring comic play between the poor – yet witty poet Dharumi played by nagesh and the Lord of acting himself, Shivaji Ganesan. Not a festival goes without the screening and nostalgic recollection of this sequence in Thamizh naadu. An entire stretch of dialogue between Shivaji and Nagesh has nagesh starting with pure dialogue oriented comedy and ending it with a pure physical comedy that has me and every one of of the 6 crore thamizh populace in splits every time it is seen. A pure delight that surpassed the intelligent dialogues written by director A.P.Nagarajan himself thanks to the legends who took upon themselves to meet each other in the other ends of their respective talents – at a level where other actors cant even fathom in their wildest dreams. To an uninitiated who is reading these words, it might seem an overstated case of affection, but I am sure one view of that sequence is enough to convince anyone of the unbelievable talent of Nagesh. The noteworthy point is that though there is outwardly presentation of the story in a comic manner, nagesh has never failed to bring to the notice of the viewers the sad nature of dharumi’s life in a very subtle way in between. My favourite improvisation done by nagesh is the ‘paal kaaran kanakkai theerthupuduven’ (I will settle the milk man’s account if i get the prize).
The second notable collaboration – unforgettable in terms of characterization was with Dir.Sreedhar who cast him as a hospital warden in ‘Nenjil Oar Aalayam’ (Dil ek mandir in hindi). Though this role was a miniscule one, Dir Sreedhar who was till that time an adamant believer of Thangavelu decided to give the big cake of a role – that of the wannabe film maker in ‘Kaadhalikka Neramillai’ (no time for love, also made in hindi as ‘Pyaar Kiye Jaa’). Much like Thiruvilayaadal, Sreedhar set up a scene – a comic duet between the legendary Baalaiaah and Nagesh – The film narration scene where nagesh narrates a scary scene from a spooky story of his to Baalaiah the prospective producer as well as his father. The entire scene lasts for 10 mins and it is unforgettable 10 minutes of cinema gold for fans who still play back that scene in the airwaves almost everyday.Sreedhar went on to cast Nagesh regularly in his movies all the way upto his urimai kural. In between he has done some memorable roles in ‘Shaanthi nilayam’, ‘Oooty varai uravu’ just to name a few.
Post Sreedhar touch, Nagesh became the hot property of thamizh movies so much so that every movie unit first signed on nagesh and then started hero casting. There was still a reluctance to cast him as a leading man and that one jinx was to be soon broken – thanks to his friend – a playwright from Accountant General’s office – one K.Balachander. KB as he would be fondly called later on struck up a golden partnership with Nagesh for his stage plays that were immensely popular. Impressed with the popularity and success of his plays, film studios started to offer him chances to translate his plays to screenplays for motion pictures. Among the earliest scripts of his that was made into a movie – albeit with him not directing – was the memorable ‘Server Sundaram’. The movie that was directed by Krishnan Panju and produced by SS Vasan of gemini pictures was the first movie with Nagesh as hero – actor muththuraman(then a hero) graciously playing the supporting role. The story of a talented wastrel who rises from being a loudmouthed server in a hotel to a popular filmstar who always has an inferiority complex about his looks – brought out all the navarasas from the actor leaving the entire audience spellbound. The movie that made everyone laugh initially left the entire theatre with moist eyes towards the end when the successful hero is a failure in love and realises his folly of being too proud and too haughty. The touching portrayal he gave in the scene where his mother passes away and his love rejected left an indelible mark in the mind of one young actor who would recreate a similar scene in Apoorva Sagodharargal as the dwarf appu. the young actor is none other than Kamal Hassan.
The success of Server sundaram an epic in its own right meant a full fledged directing opportunity for KB and he promptly directed the touching yet funny recreation of the stage play ‘ Neerkumizhi’ (bubble in water) with not too surprisingly nagesh as the hero. The song ‘aadi adangum vaazhkayada’ became one of the most cherished philosophical hit songs of the year and it won Nagesh and Balachander a lot of accolades. The duo went on to make another memorable movie ‘Edhirneechal’ (swin against the tide) – the real ‘feel good’ movie, triumph of human spirit in which an orphan boy growing up under the steps of a staircase in a joint housing shanty and going on to succeed handsomely in life against all odds was another hugely successful and more importantly an ever fresh movie. The character of ‘Maadipadi’ Maadhu as played by Nagesh is something that was like Server sundaram – a role that gave him scope to express every possible expression and Nagesh lived it up and made it an unforgettable movie. Another unforgettable portrayal is that of the medical sales representative in KB’s Baama vijayam where he locked horns with Baalaiah once again to leave all of us in splits.
After this phase nagesh started showing up in movies alongside Shivaji Ganesan and MGR regularly – sometimes enjoying a screenspace that was almost equal to the legends. He paired almost in every other movie with the legendary Manorama and the pair simply brought the house down with laughter in movies like ‘Anbee Vaa’ (MGR starrer) and ‘Kandhan Karunai’. In the movie ‘ Galatta Kalyaanam’ (Chaotic Marriage) he starred along side Shivaji Ganesan almost as a second hero. In this time period, came another memorable Krishnan Panju movie – ‘Thillana Mohanaambal’ with Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini where Nagesh stole the limelight as the villainic comedian ‘ Vaiththi’. The way he did the role would later on form the blue print for suave – yet comic villains in thamizh film world.
At this point of time in his career, he started becoming an alcoholic to overcome the stress of non stop work. It reflected in his work in the sense that he had a fall out with KB and for a brief while there were KB’s movies without Nagesh and Nagesh was more on screen as a comedian and less of the character artiste cum hero that KB created exclusively for him. The duo would later patch up and the movie was the unforgettable ‘ Aboorva Raagangal’ which also marked the entry of Rajinikanth into the thamizh movie realm.
Post the 1980s Nagesh acted in some telugu movies as well and proved to be quite a draw as the character cum comedy artiste there. With age and bad health catching up, Nagesh reinvented himself as the terrifying villain in Kamal Hassan’s Apoorva sagodharargal (Appu Raja in hindi). His villainy plainly left me shocked and cold and the film became a massive hit and then followed it up with the amazing character sketch of the usurping manager ‘Avinaashi’ in Michael Madhana Kamarajan. Be it irritating madhan who has discovered his fraud or emlisting Kameshwaran the cook for impersonation, Nagesh played the role to the T. The blessed audience simply lapped up the ‘first night’ scene in the movie where he broke new barriers in comic genius. the KB devotee Kamal continued to seek out Nagesh for almost every movie of his(right up to Pancha thanthiram and Dasaavadhaaram) and Nagesh continued to amaze everyone despite his failing health. His 15 minute act as the dead body had everyone in splits in ‘Magalir Mattum’.
The crowning glory came a bit late when he amazed everyone as the grief stricken professor in Kamal’s ‘Nammavar’. The 15 minutes where he mourns his dead daughter is something that is beyond the realms of international cinema. The act left everyone with a heavy heart and it remains his last memorable visit to the silver screen. He shared the national award for the best supporting actor with Ashish vidhyarthi that year and I guess Aashish vidhyaarthi must have been wondering how he got it in that year for Nagesh’s performance was miles above anyone’s. The entire scene where he recovers, recollects and falls back into the agony over loss of a daughter still makes my eyes moist – Such is the power of that performance. Sivaji Ganesan once remarked that eyes are the best tool of an actor. The audience can easily spot if the actor is doing it right or not by the look into the eyes and the eyes of nagesh were always showing the character – be it the vile vaithhi or the innocent dharumi or the poverty stricken sundaram. However he was a complete actor – every muscle of his lanky and flexible body could act. His voice modulation would add new meanings to some of the lifeless dialogues making audiences laugh and cry. His spontaneity and effervesence made many a dull passage in a movie come alive.
While the divine actor climbs aboard the bus that takes him to the rarified place in heaven where actors like Shivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, chandrababu, Baalaiah and MR Raadha reside, one earthly fan of his – myself wave him a heartfelt good bye and heartfelt gratitude for having entertained, enthralled and moved me by his work and creativity. While the soul flies away from the weakened shell, Thamizh Naadu and India wait for the arrival of another genius like him who can dance, speak and breathe acting.
Tags: K.Balachander, Kamal Hassan, Naagesh, Nagesh, Sivaji Ganesan, Sreedhar
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Thanks vpj for this great tribute. Quite interesting and looking forward to see some of his movies
Nagesh is a gem. No one like him. Rightly mentioned @ Nammavar VPJ..There will be noone like him and shoudnt be too….He was versatile in doing comedy roles but I guess taking him seriously as a ’serious’ actor came pretty late in hs career…True as you said he could really steal the scene from any superstar like KH SG and the likes…Thanks for this tribute VPJ….
“The 15 minutes where he mourns his dead daughter is something that is beyond the realms of international cinema. ”
completely agree …
may his soul rest in peace … the big comic man is no more … who’s very entry on screen could make u laugh …
a sad loss for the tamil film industry
@VPJ: wonderful tribute sir. i hv got no business wid thamizh??? (y do u call it dat) films, but as u took me thru the rise & rise of Nagesh, I felt even i belonged right there. i didnt understand some words here n there, but wut ever i could, did touch a string in my heart. i salut this actor & wish & pray that his soul rests in peace, among the other gods & kings of cinema. it wud be really great, if someone takes an initiative & showcases the works of this genius & puts it online or wherever, of course with subtitles. the laughter legend is dead. long live nagesh!
very good writeup Jai. Your work is highly appriciated by all Nakesh fans across the globe.
I published this article in public forum karuthu.com.
Great tribute. One more wonderful scene is when he breaks down before Arjun in Rhythm, regreting his hurry to take the proposal to Meena. The best actor Tamil cinema has seen.
let him rest in peace!!
The man was a genius.
(@ V.P.J – Great tribute. Add some youtube links, if possible)
It’s sad to know that one of the greatest actors in the world is no more. Im sure many around the world will feel the loss.
brilliant tribute! thanks VPJ.
This genius comedian is also a philosopher and poet.. and not many know that Nagesh directed one Telugu movie, *moratODu* (the uncouth).
Wonderful tribute. It is a great loss. He was a man who could make us laugh even when acting dead, what a great performance in Magalir Mattum.
Please do post your blog articles in www.newspaanai.com. It is a tamil social bookmarking website.
Great tribute to one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. His comedy roles were superb, but it was in the portrayal of his more serious roles like in Nammavar that he excelled. He was popular in Telugu movies also, but not post 80’s, he appeared regularly in many 70’s masala flicks. He was a staple in most of ANR and NTR’s movies. I think after Rajababu, he was one of the most popular comedians on Telugu screen. Truly great actor.
My heart bleeds..such a great actor..it is a shame that the state did not recognize him. An actor par excellence but with no Padmashree! Cant stop myself thinking about the other comedian who got it this year.
@VPJ – amazing tribute to a fantabulous actor. In my opinion his portrayal of serious roles were way better than his comic roles ( not to take away the credit)… just that the film industry dint harness his talent to the full extent. A great loss to the film industry… he has left a legacy behind…. and also a void…
After M.N.Nambiar, another legend is no more.He was an original and his quirky expressions had everyone in splits.His comic and melancholy act has been followed only by Kamal Haassan in recent times.
@skelly
Even he wouldn’t have been happy made to do only serious roles. He could never be slotted anywhere.
Always ready to do any role – no inhibitions of any kind – hallmark of a truly wonderful actor.
As far as his comedy roles go – they were always 3 dimensional. You can enjoy a thangavelu comedy track by listening to olichiththiram(soundtrack) alone. However Nagesh’s comedy performances were dialogue delivery, facial expressions and body language all rolled into one. You can listen to a thiruvilayadal soundtrack and probably get 30% of the impact – If you were to see it (particularly nagesh portions) you are certain to be floored. He has effectively ziplocked and preserved his works by his evergreen talent. I will miss his comic antics as much as his serious ones forever.
Wonderful tribute to the wonderful actor that he was! Have seen very few movies of his, but the of ones I have seen, he has made a distinct mark in each…
@ vpj
Beautiful tribute to nagesh sir, the legend.
I had the fortune (paying my respects) or should i say misfortune (seeing him so lifeless) of attending his last rites.
His son kept telling everyone how nagesh sir always felt deprived of state and national recognition.
Yes I agree with Anand. Nagesh sir should have been one of the first few to receive the padmashree award.
Its a loss, not for nagesh sir, but for the entire film fraternity, for not having honored such a legend.
Having said that,
The massive crowd in front of his house waiting to see a glimpse of their star, shedding tears for their loss, was the best recognition anyone could ever get.
My personal favourite of nagesh sir’s films, is edhirneechal and server sundaram. Classic performance.
I am simply proud of the fact that i lived in the same era as the great legend Nagesh sir.
Farewell sir!
glowing tribute to the jewel which recently fell off from the studded crown of tamil cinema.
Who can forget ohooo productions ,server sundaram,the dead body in magalir mattum ?
In a interview with YG Mahendran in national television he quoted that “there are two types of comedians one whose time was good and the other type whose timing was good”
Naagesh belonged to the second category. Kamal hassan has only one photo in his office that is of Nagesh. He along with his friends (crazy mohan etc) used to watch his movies whenever they find time.
He sits in each of tamil people’s hearts which in itself equivalent to 100s of awards
Jai- that was a truly worthy tribute to a wonderful actor – someone who was an extraordinary genius.I remember watching his movies with amazement – as a kid I was mesmerized with Thiruvilayadal, Thillana Mohanambal, Kadhalukku Neramillai,Server Sundaram etc.Later on most of Kamal’s movies from Apoorva Sagodharargal to Dasavatharam brought out the great artiste once again to form.He was amazingly cunning in Apoorva Sagodharargal, brilliantly witty in Panchatantiram,Micheal Madana Kama Rajan and moved me nearly to tears in Nammavar.and how many know that he was also a gifted dancer- something that his son Anand Babu inherited from him.I was in Chennai on saturday when he passed away and felt quite sad.May his soul rest in peace.
@VPJ – Wondeful, my eyes were fully moist when I came to the end of the article…synonyms to Server Sundaram….Great writeup of a Great thespian…I will surely miss him on screen….Oh!! An actor with an impeccable timing…would we ever get one??? He has got nothing to prove….he knows and we know…hes always going to be amongst us….
Do you remember the movie where hes a marriage brooker and his office is divided into different sections for alliance seekers? Wats the name of the movie? His assistant is Manorama…
Magik- VPJ refers to the language as “thamizh” instead of the more popular “tamil” as thats technically the right way of calling it.Its the way purists will like it my friend!!!
past two days have been spent in recollecting the great works of nagesh and the one I missed in my small list is the character he played in KB’s ‘Iru Koadugal’- that of a corrupt clerk in collectr’s office carrying his child in a basket to the office everyday.
KB and Nagesh shared an intimate relation and as a tribute to the ‘busy’ nature of Nagesh, KB created a scene in ‘Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal’ where Janagaraj, late to a recording brushes his teeth, changes dress – and everything in his car while reaching the studio – This is what Nagesh once did it seems from a late night shoot to the early morning shoot.
As far as awards are concerned, best geniuses had awards created after them. and there are legends like Ilaiyaraaja who haven’t got a padma award. However to give them the award that was given to Vivek, Brahmanandam, Aish and Akki is the biggest insult that Indian Govt could do to them.
Guys, Its all about pronunciation than anything else….
I think the right way to put it in English words is ‘tam-iyl’(When you pronounce the last part ‘iyl’ the tongue should touch the upper part of your mouth). When we write it as ‘thamizh’ people could read it as the Hindi word ‘tameez’….
We often kill some urdu words when we speak in hindi…does happen…off the topic/article hai par…kya karen…andar ki aatma ki baath thi…hahahaha..shhhhh…alrite…
VPJ- yes Iru Kodugal was another of his wonderful movies. I also liked him in Minnale as Maddy’s grandfather, in Avvai Shanmughi as the make-up man Joseph and many many more.
We all know that the awards dont mean much, and it is his movies that stay in our hearts forever.
But the fact that he was not recognized for his acting skills left a gaping hole in his heart (so i’ve heard)
I hope his soul rests in peace.
Awards do mean a lot.
Awards – partiularly national awards are the country’s recognition of its artiste’s talent. If everything were left to the box office then true art would never get its due. In case of talents like Nagesh, Shivaji Ganesan and Ilaiyaraja, the movie going public have more than compensated the lack of awards for these geniuses by their devoted show of appreciation. however sadly their appreciation does not have a tangible display like that of an award – an award that transcends local and regional boundaries and a show of respect in a visible form. In this respect I must use this space to register my protest at the way the awards are doled out instead of beingproudly rolled out to deserving awardees in our country – Be it private awards or the state and national government awards – they more or less seem to be based on political expediencies than any justifiable measure of talent and artistic merit.
VPJ: In addition to your list, Some works worth mentioning:
Panchathanthiram
Thillu Mullu
Rhythm
Indrudu Chandrudu
Anubavi Raja Anubavi
There is one more film – I do not remember the name – in which he acted with Cho Ramaswamy. The comedy track was so hilarious that it was copied in the Hindi film Khel by Rakesh Roshan – it was again copied in a Vijayakanth film a few years back.
“Janagaraj, late to a recording brushes his teeth, changes dress – and everything in his car ”
VPJ, this is Mr Bean stuff. Not sure if Bean copied from Iru Kodugal or Nagesh’s personal life, though.
Anand, Then Mazhai was a riot, wasnt it?
Actor Nagesh is a Legend, and he proved himself by his uniqueness, wonderful dancer, if some director given him a chance to dance he would have proved how talented he is in dancing.
My uncle (now he is no more) who worked together in railways, when they produce armatures Mr. Nagesh used to act and my uncle sings, I was told.
I met him on shooting spot he was with director sp.Muthuraman (AVM) “Nimmathy Nimmathy Ungal Choice” wonderful human being.
Am his fan, this is a great opportunity you have provided us to join with you in tribute.
May God Rest HIS SOUL IN PEACE.
Hi Jaigenesh,
You have written a fine obit on Nagesh, one of the evergreen comedians of the Indian screen. But some of his notable roles you have missed out are:
Triple role as grandfather, father and son in the MGR starrer Panakkara Kudumbam which was remade in Hindi as Humjoli (Mehmood does it).
Then Ooty Varai Uravu of Sridhar where the Nagesh-Chachu combine, as in Kaadilikka Neramilla – give us a laugh riot. The scene in which Sivaji Ganesan confronts Dr Tiruppathi (Nagesh) at his clinic and hangs him on the coat stand and Nagesh cooly snatches a newspaper from a nearby shelf and starts reading it is simply hilarious.
The Nagesh-Baliah combination in this movie, similar to their display in KN, is also unforgettable.
Some other fantastic movies are Panathottam, where he and another comedian go into a hotel without any money and order foodstuff one after another and Nagesh swallows the spoon too, Then Mazhai (Nagesh and Cho), Madras to Pondicherry (A role donned by Mehmood, who has redonned a lot of Nagesh’s roles, as Bombay to Goa, the KB thriller Naanal in which Nagesh gives a superb act as the paan-chewing friend of the Judge in whose house four prisoners serving life sentences are hiding and many others. He lived the role of “Vaithi”, in the character etched so well by Kalaimani Kothamangal Subbu in his novel Thillana Mohanambal.
Thanks for an excellent write-up.