‘Pasamalar transformed me’



… says Arunachalam ‘Pad Man’ Muruganantham as he recounts watching the Sivaji Ganesan-Savithri epic 35 years ago in rural Coimbatore

I was the last one in my family to reach the cinema kottagai (movie halls with a thatched roof). I had to ensure all our hens that went pottering around for food were back home, and I remember how I had to chase after the last one which gave me a lot of trouble.

Finally, I ran to the venue and sat on the floor. Murali Touring Talkies was playing the Sivaji Ganesan-Savithri film, Pasamalar. This was 35 years ago; I was around 18-years-old, and we lived in Pappanaicken Pudur village in Coimbatore.

We paid 35 paise for our ticket; the palagai (bench) tickets at the back cost ₹1.

I gathered sand into a small heap to sit on, so that I got a good view of the screen. Watching a movie was such a community affair then; you did it as part of a big group that consisted of family, friends, and neighbours. The film was advertised in our village by a bullock cart bearing posters, a man beating the thappu and through notices. Those days, we hardly got to see fresh releases; most of the films we watched were those that were re-released several years later.

Sivaji Ganesan and Savithri in a still from ‘Pasamalar’

Sivaji Ganesan and Savithri in a still from ‘Pasamalar’
 
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Special Arrangement

Pasamalar was an ode to a brother-sister relationship. I have two sisters, and I remember how the film transformed me. It made me realise how beautiful the relationship was, and made me value my sisters more.

In fact, all of us became closer after watching the movie. From then on, every time I went to buy something for myself, I also bought something for my sisters. It became a habit.

In the film, Savithri makes and sells dolls. She saves her earnings in a piggy bank that she breaks open for her brother, without batting an eyelid, to offer him ₹1,000 so that he can start his own business.

That was when I learned of entrepreneurship without even knowing the word for it. I heard of terms like thozhil (business), and how important the support of a relative is for it to thrive.

Did you know?

  • Pasamalar inspired a spate of films whose plot centred on the brother-sister relationship.
  • It was adapted from Malayalam writer KP Kottarakara’s story.
  • In Telugu, Pasamalar was remade as Raktha Sambandham (1962) starring NT Rama Rao, Savithri and Kanta Rao.
  • Sivaji Ganesan himself produced the film’s Hindi remake — Rakhi (1962), which had Ashok Kumar and Waheeda Rehman in the lead.

The film was so touching: people were crying all around me. Some were bawling so loud that the entire audience could hear; they were blowing their noses, sniffling… I was scared someone would blow their nose on my shirt sleeve.

In the middle of all this, a lungi-clad snacks seller came bringing pori urundai and thattu murukku on a tray suspended from his shoulder.

There were two intervals, and people also smoked beedis inside. There was so much smoke that at times the screen appeared all hazy; it looked as though the actors were smoking themselves!

Once the movie was over, we got out our lanterns. It was quite late, and we needed them for our journey back home on foot, since there were chances of encountering snakes on the way. I remember walking to the music of hundreds of frogs singing in chorus.

(As told to Akila Kannadasan)

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