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TRIBUTE TO THE EVERGREEN YOUTH OF TAMIL
CINEMA |
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Murali is no more! The news was shocking
when it first broke this morning. It was
difficult to believe at first. Was it
the same Murali who acted in Idhayam,
Vettrikodi Kattu and several other lovely
films all these years? Was it the same
Murali who was forever the ‘barely
out of college’ young man of Tamil
cinema? Was this the same Murali who was
acknowledged playfully but truly as the
evergreen youngster of Tamil cinema? It
could not be. But, yes, it was. Murali
is no more and Tamil cinema will have
a void that will be hard to fill.
It is not that we are not used to the
news of many of our favorite actors passing
away while a lot was still left in them.
But, the news of Murali’s demise
was shocking because this image of evergreen
youth that always went with him. The charm
about him was that he never tried to be
young or appear so; it was just a part
of him. He never had to build a six pack,
change his hairstyle, wear designer clothes
or accessories to appear young for a role;
youth was within him.
Come to think of it, he has never aged
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not
once since he first entered the field in the mid 80s.
Many would playfully say that even after 25 years
in cinema, he was yet to pass out of college. True
to that rather witty remark he was seen as a college
student even in his final film appearance, a cameo
in Baana Kaathadi which was also the debut of his
son Atharva. Knowing this brings in very mixed emotions
because of its irony and at the same time puts a mild
smile across your face; yes, dad was there for his
son and did what he was best at. A bit of pain, a
bit of hope and a faint smile. That is just the way
many of Murali’s films have been over the years.
Not one has been a big budget extravaganza, no big
action, no foreign locales, no powerful dialogues,
no great statements, just simple slices of life that
everyone could connect to, cry, smile and hope for
the character.
It was perhaps this nature of his movies that endeared
him to the audience. Yes, he was never a huge ‘star’
in the stereotypical way in which we use the term.
He was not associated with grand openings, fans’
associations or anything of that sort, but he was
a people’s actor, a families’ favorite.
One cannot recall one film of his that would have
made a family audience uncomfortable. Yes, he was
a star, because he was an actor whom audiences trusted
and loved.
In a career spanning nearly three decades, there have
been many times when he had been briefly missing from
the scene. But, he always came back and it was as
if nothing had changed, Murali always remained the
same. While many of his contemporaries completely
disappeared or resurfaced as character actors, he
always remained the young man who played the simple
but effective lead character. In the film industry,
actors have to constantly reinvent themselves to stay
in the fray. But Murali was one who never reinvented
himself, he just remained himself and that was good
enough. And, even after being in the industry for
all these years, there has not been one controversy
raised around him, such was his character.
Murali may no longer be amidst us, but for all those
who have known him as the simple actor who has always
been the ‘young man’, he will be remembered
affectionately as the evergreen college-goer of Tamil
cinema.
Our respects to the Late Murali.
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