Madras Week pays tribute to women who called the shots

CHENNAI: If film historian Mohan V Raman hadn’t kept note of the time, no one would have noticed that he had been talking for morethan an hour and a half . No one at Hotel Savera , where he spoke , would have cared too considering they were all engrossed in his presentation on the women directors in Tamil cinema on Wednesday for the ongoing Madras Week celebrations .
He began his presentation by listing the directors from then to now — Vijaya Nirmala , Rajalakshmi , Bhanumathi , Savitri all the way to Revathi and Anjana , who directed ‘Veppam’ that released just a couple of weeks ago . Raman’s lecture detailed factoids from their lives , how they entered the world of cinema and how they became famous . And one thing seemed common to most of them – most were multi-faceted ,directors aswell as actors .
For instance, Vijaya Nirmala , actress and director . “In 2002, the Guinness Book of Records said she had directed the most number of films — 47 in all ,” said Raman . Savitri , who actedin over 300 films , and also did a lot of social service in her lifetime .
Among the earlier directors , was Bhanumathi , writer , actor ,director , producer ,singer , music director , editor and studio owner . Raman said Bhanumathi was so talented that she could afford to make demands on screen . She was completely inspired by American actress Rita Hayward , copying her hairstyle in several movies .
“In 1985, when her co-star MGRamachandran was chief minister , he made her principal of the Music College ,” he said.
Raman said very little is known about Rajalakshmi , also an actress and producer , and credited as having been the first Tamil woman director . “No one knows her date of birth even , but from the one interview of hers that I found , I figure she was born in 1911,” Raman said .He also said that to support her family , Rajalakshmi acted in stage plays , which was when she was discovered by dramatist Sankaradas Swamigal ,” hesaid .