Celluloid Page #8

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l have heard my children

speak about Sheela,

who acted as the heroine in it.

The old days are over now.

Now irrespective of whether

one is Nair or a Christian...

there are a lot of

actresses in cinema.

Do you know where the heroine

of your movie, Rosy is now?

Caste fanatics chased

the poor girl off.

She did not even have the luck

to see herself act on the screen.

l heard a rumor that as

she fled from the landlords...

she fell in front of a

goods truck heading to Nagercoil...

...and was saved by the driver,

a certain Kesava Pillai.

Johnson told me

that she married him...

...and lives there under

the name of Rajammal.

That was many years back.

Now it is not known

if she is dead or alive...

What happened to

Vigathakumaran after that?

Why didn't you make

a film after that?

Janet, give him something to drink.

- Not now, please.

Then let us walk to thejunction.

So, the show at

Capitol was stopped.

Then it was screened...

for one ortwo days each

at Kattookkaran's

cinema in Thrissur...

then Alleppey and Thalashery.

Not many people came.

There were also problems there...

the same kind of problems

as in Thiruvananthapuram.

The film had to be canned.

The studio had to be closed

because of financial problems.

Sold the house at

Agastheeshwaram and came here.

''O wind, O wind, have you come

to the non-blooming tree with ahum?

'' Have the sweet plantains

been filled with nectar?''

''Has the non-visible

tree borne flower and fruit?''

'' Has the sweltering

Meenam heat been...

- breezed by your cooling feathers?''

lsolated from Mother and siblings,

Janet and l began a new life...

in that small house

at Agastheshwaram...

'' Yesterday it faded away,

today a dream came with me...''

'' From burnt and

charred branches...''

'' ...red tender shoots

have raised their heads...''

'' Waving your infant-tender hands,

run to me, golden dawn...''

'' Rock the pearly floral

cradle to pet and fondle...''

'' Can you voice honeyed

words in my ear?''

'' O wind, O wind...''

' O wind, O wind, have you come

to the non-blooming tree with ahum?

'' Have the sweet plantains

been filled with nectar?''

'' The storm-clouds

in the sky has gone...''

'' ...the silver moonbeam

chariots have come.''

'' The rice-fields are in full bloom,

the sad night storm has passed...''

'' Little flowers,

like buds, await the eye to bloom...''

Meanwhile,

l had the desire to learn dentistry.

Went to Madras to learn dentistry...

Became a dental surgeon...

Ran dental clinics

in Pudukotai and Madurai...

Life improved once again...

Janet gave birth

to two more children.

So happy times with

Janet and five children...

Johnson!

One minute...

l had received news about you.

Been meaning to come

see you for a long time.

Daniel, you could have

written to me once in a while.

l was running away from everything.

l forgot you too amidst all that...

Doesn't matter. You are doing fine.

At least you have a 'Dr'

in front of you like your father:

DrJ C Daniel.

Come. Sit.

The patients...

- lt doesn't matter.

What are you doing now?

Stopped acting in dramas long ago.

l am into coconut business now.

Going on.

Did you hear about Sunder Rajan?

Heard that he made a movie...

Yea. When you left cinema,

he became obsessed with it.

He made C. V. Raman Pillai's novel,

Marthanda Varma into a movie.

He sold his ancestral property,

just like you.

Heard he also got some

help from the Palace.

The director was a certain P V Rao,

from Madras...

On the day of release,

the publishers sued Sundera Rajan...

for copyright violation.

Mulloor was their advocate.

The court confiscated the film.

Afterthat Sundera Rajan's

condition became worse...

...than that of you, Daniel.

He is struggling

with all his debts now.

Janet, how are you?

Fine. How are Mariamma and kids?

They are OK.

Where are the elder ones?

Went to school. He is

the youngest:
Harris.

l will bring coffee.

A sound movie has

released in Malayalam.

lt is called Balan.

Vanakkam, Doctor Sir.

Do you know who that is?

Famous actor, P. U Chinnappa

Yes, l know him very well.

He was acting in a play

in his village last night.

He started having a terrible

toothache right afterthe show.

Open your mouth, sir.

Two teeth have gone bad.

That is the reason for the pain

What should be done now?

Must take out both the teeth.

Oh! lt will hurt.

lf we don't remove them,

the pain won't stop.

All right, get it done with.

Open your mouth.

Spit.

Have you taken them out?

Not yet.

The pain has subsided.

lt is as though l have got back life.

l am a famous actor

in both drama and cinema.

Have you seen my latest film?

Have you seen my latest film?

- No.

l am a super-hero in it,

who holds a sword...

...in one hand and cuts down ...

hundreds of opponents.

But this super-hero

had to admit defeat...

...while facing this

small toothache, sir.

lndeed, you are

a very skilled doctor.

He is notjust a doctor, boss.

He is a film maker who has

made the first movie in Malayalam.

ls that so? Vanakkam, boss.

Let me touch your

feet and pay obeisance.

Oh, it's nothing.

l just made a movie out of desire then.

l stopped all that now.

Why did you stop?

Can't you make a movie,

while continuing your practice?

No, it won't be right again.

Why? Why won't it be all right?

Your mind is still in movies,

isn't it?

lt is not like that.

lf you say it is not like that,

it means, it is.

lsn't it? lt is.

lf you have art in your mind,

it refuses to go away.

lf you have desire, take...

Come to Madras.

Take a Tamil film. l will act.

A great star of those

days like P U Chinnappan.

l fell for his flattery.

The zeal for cinema in my

subconscious mind came out again.

Janet warned me against

it several times.

l did not heed her.

l went to Madras with everything

l had earned till then.

To see Chinnappa...

To make a Tamil film.

But when l reached Madras...

Chinnappa's attitude changed.

He and his followers

really cheated me.

Life became wayward

when l joined their company.

All the money l had

brought was spent.

l became totally crestfallen.

l did not come home

for about two years.

l did not contact

Janet and my children.

l never considered how they lived.

With this,

Daniel ceased to be Daniel.

l came to detest cinema.

Even though l returned

to Agastheeshwaram...

and started the clinic,

life didn't flourish.

Patients ceased to come

when my hands started shivering...

while extracting teeth.

Thus J C Daniel ceased

to be a dentist...

...as he ceased to be a film-maker.

Meanwhile, l did not give proper...

...care of my children

who were growing up.

So it is not fairto

expect anything from them.

They went their separate ways.

Only she stayed with me,

sharing love...

...hatred, sorrow and starvation.

l read in a newspaper

the other day...

D W Griffith, the master film-maker

of silent movies wandered about...

the streets of Hollywood,

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