Actor NAGESH with his son at home in Madras - Here is a small write up about him that I made from an interview given in a telugu magazine & from the information given on the net when he passed away...
In 1943, in the town of Dharapuram in Tamilnadu, a master was conducting a class of young boys on the open veranda of his house . The class was unruly and in particular the boy of 10 years being more unruly than the rest. The master then posed a puzzle to that boy so as to get the attention of the rest of the class...He asked him " If on a weighing scale I were to put a tonne of cotton on one side and a tonne of Iron on the other side which one would weigh more...? " . The impish boy got up and told that Iron would weigh more....How asked the teacher to which the boy replied " If u sat down on the floor and not higher up & I were to put a tonne of cotton on your head and then on it if I put a tonne of iron on it....." . The class erupted into an applause and the rest of his answer drowned in clapping and cheering. The teacher was enraged and caught hold of the boy's ear and dragged him to his house. He told that boy's father that the boy had no inclination to study nor did he have respect for elders...The boy's father appealed to his son to at least study till B.Com. The boy replied " Father I can NEVER EVER ' BE CALM' ....his mother and sister burst out laughing ....The boy is none other than NAGESH !
Nagesh was born as the youngest child to Kannada speaking Madhwa Brahmin parents on September 27th 1933 in Dharapuram.His father was Krishna Rao and mother Rukkumaniamma. Nagesh himself was named Gundappa but was known as Gundu Rao. From small he was a naughty child full of pranks and making other childen laugh at his antics. He walked around with a swagger as if he had some knowledge in everything. He even approached a snake charmer and offered to make the snakes dance to his tunes. Inspite of being the despair of his father he completed Intermediate & began working as a clerk in a small office. One day he had a tiff with his parents and neighbours & left for Madras to seek his fortune. He swore then that he would return only after making a name for himself.It was then that he began calling himself as Nageshwar. Being skinny, he was the butt of jokes because of his name “gundu” which meant round / fat colloquially. So he became Nageshwar instead of Gundappa or Gundu Rao & Nageshwar got shortened to Nagesh eventually. Though he would joke that his initial name as he christened himself was " NO CASH " which became Nagesh...
This part is taken from the net from a write up by D.B.S. Jeyaraj who can be contacted on: dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com -
For years he literally starved and struggled in Madras eking out a living by doing several jobs . These included swinging a “punka” fan for officers, selling bottles of pickles and waiting at restaurants. Finally he got a minor clerical job at the Railway dept.While working there he saw a drama staged by his fellow employees and felt that he could act. He asked the secretary of the Railway cultural association for a role and was given that of a man suffering severe stomach pain.The original super star MG Ramachandran (MGR) was the chief guest at one performance and praised Nagesh for his acting.This praise from MGR set him off on a quest to shine as a Thespian. His first Tamil movie was “Thamaraikkulam” (Lotus pond) directed by Muktha Sreenivasan. It was a minor role.
It was a harsh world out there in Kodambakkam and for years Nagesh never got a good break. He played bit roles on stage and screenThis was a time of severe hardship. Nagesh had a benefactor. This was none other than the well-known actor Balaji who went on to become a very successful producer.For nearly three years Balaji helped Nagesh financially while the latter tried hard to get a good opportunity. During this time he roomed up with poet “Vaali” and actor Srikaanth of “Vennira Aadai” fame in a boarding house.Nagesh was the champion in carom and table-tennis during his “boarding” days. He also played cricket and was a good fast bowler.Finally it was Balaji who introduced Nagesh to director Sridhar who was looking out for a “new face” to do comedy. The comedy dialogue was penned by Sridhar’s schoolmate and buddy “Chitralaya” Gopu.Impressed by the unimpressive-looking Nagesh, Sridhar paid him an advance of 501 rupees and booked him for “Nenjil Or Aalayam”.Nagesh was paired off with Manorama in that film. Just as there was a triangular relationship among Kalyanakumar, Devika and Mutturaman in the main story , there was another “comic” triangle as a side story among Nagesh, Manorama and S. Ramarao.The film shot in one set within a record time of 28 days was a huge success running for more than 175 days.The comedy scenes by Nagesh and Manorama added to its appeal.From that time onwards there was no looking back for the Nagesh-Manorama duo. The pair became a successful comedy combination like NS Krishnan-TA Madhuram, Kali N Rathinam-CD Rajakantham and Thangavelu-M. Saroja.Later Nagesh was to pair off with others like Madhavi, Kumari Sachchu, Pushpamala, Gitanjali, Jayanthi and Ramaprabha.But the Nagesh-Manorama partnership was the best of all.Nagesh’s acting was something fresh and sensational. Many compared him to Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis. Nagesh himself was an ardent fan of Jerry Lewis. One could also detect shades of Charlie Chaplin, Marx brothers and the three stooges in his acting.Yet his performances were not parodies. Nagesh was influenced by these actors but evolved a style of his own that was refreshingly original.Much of the comic dialogue for Nagesh was written by A. Veerappan who also did comic roles on screen later. In the film “Panathottam” Nagesh and Veerappan did a Tamilised version of Laurel and Hardy.But Nagesh himself was full of witty dialogue and instant repartee. Fellow actors and actresses would be taken aback by Nagesh’s sudden improvisations. Often Nagesh himself would suggest what the rejoinders should be.Nagesh himself had the habit of observing in detail the movements and mannerisms of ordinary people. He would then adopt and adapt those accordingly whenever appropriate for the roles he was acting in and as.There were any occasions when a comedy track totally separate from the main story was written especially for him. There was such public demand that Nagesh was indispensable. So roles were created and juxtaposed in order to accommodate him.As is customary in Tamil movies the comedian played a subservient role to that of the hero. The comedian was like a second or third hero. Yet Nagesh often eclipsed the main actors by his scintillating performance.He also graduated to lead actor in some films. Many of these did not do well at the box-office presumably due to a “mental block” among fans in seeing comedian as hero. Nevertheless Nagesh’s acting brought in rave reviews. Some like “server” Sundaram and “ethirneechal” were blockbusters.Among his comedian contemporaries were “Cho” Ramswamy, “Thengai” Sreenivaasan, “Vennira Aadai” Moorthy and Surulirajan. Nagesh was like the moon amid stars and outshone them all.The director who brought out the best in Nagesh was K. Balachander. “Sarvar Sundaram”, “Neerkumizhi”, “Naanal”, “Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi”, “Major Chandrakanth”, “Ethirneechal”, “Poova Thalaiya”, “Thamarai Nencham”, “Bhama Vijayam”, “Iru Kodugal”, “Navakraham”, “Pathaam pasali” etc were all films by Balachander where Nagesh provided stellar displays of his histrionic talents.It is said that Balachander used to cite Nagesh as the yardstick for other actors to emulate. Kamal Hassan would often be goaded by Balachander by admonishing Kamal saying “Nagesh would have brought out the correct emotion in a jiffy”.
It was a harsh world out there in Kodambakkam and for years Nagesh never got a good break. He played bit roles on stage and screenThis was a time of severe hardship. Nagesh had a benefactor. This was none other than the well-known actor Balaji who went on to become a very successful producer.For nearly three years Balaji helped Nagesh financially while the latter tried hard to get a good opportunity. During this time he roomed up with poet “Vaali” and actor Srikaanth of “Vennira Aadai” fame in a boarding house.Nagesh was the champion in carom and table-tennis during his “boarding” days. He also played cricket and was a good fast bowler.Finally it was Balaji who introduced Nagesh to director Sridhar who was looking out for a “new face” to do comedy. The comedy dialogue was penned by Sridhar’s schoolmate and buddy “Chitralaya” Gopu.Impressed by the unimpressive-looking Nagesh, Sridhar paid him an advance of 501 rupees and booked him for “Nenjil Or Aalayam”.Nagesh was paired off with Manorama in that film. Just as there was a triangular relationship among Kalyanakumar, Devika and Mutturaman in the main story , there was another “comic” triangle as a side story among Nagesh, Manorama and S. Ramarao.The film shot in one set within a record time of 28 days was a huge success running for more than 175 days.The comedy scenes by Nagesh and Manorama added to its appeal.From that time onwards there was no looking back for the Nagesh-Manorama duo. The pair became a successful comedy combination like NS Krishnan-TA Madhuram, Kali N Rathinam-CD Rajakantham and Thangavelu-M. Saroja.Later Nagesh was to pair off with others like Madhavi, Kumari Sachchu, Pushpamala, Gitanjali, Jayanthi and Ramaprabha.But the Nagesh-Manorama partnership was the best of all.Nagesh’s acting was something fresh and sensational. Many compared him to Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis. Nagesh himself was an ardent fan of Jerry Lewis. One could also detect shades of Charlie Chaplin, Marx brothers and the three stooges in his acting.Yet his performances were not parodies. Nagesh was influenced by these actors but evolved a style of his own that was refreshingly original.Much of the comic dialogue for Nagesh was written by A. Veerappan who also did comic roles on screen later. In the film “Panathottam” Nagesh and Veerappan did a Tamilised version of Laurel and Hardy.But Nagesh himself was full of witty dialogue and instant repartee. Fellow actors and actresses would be taken aback by Nagesh’s sudden improvisations. Often Nagesh himself would suggest what the rejoinders should be.Nagesh himself had the habit of observing in detail the movements and mannerisms of ordinary people. He would then adopt and adapt those accordingly whenever appropriate for the roles he was acting in and as.There were any occasions when a comedy track totally separate from the main story was written especially for him. There was such public demand that Nagesh was indispensable. So roles were created and juxtaposed in order to accommodate him.As is customary in Tamil movies the comedian played a subservient role to that of the hero. The comedian was like a second or third hero. Yet Nagesh often eclipsed the main actors by his scintillating performance.He also graduated to lead actor in some films. Many of these did not do well at the box-office presumably due to a “mental block” among fans in seeing comedian as hero. Nevertheless Nagesh’s acting brought in rave reviews. Some like “server” Sundaram and “ethirneechal” were blockbusters.Among his comedian contemporaries were “Cho” Ramswamy, “Thengai” Sreenivaasan, “Vennira Aadai” Moorthy and Surulirajan. Nagesh was like the moon amid stars and outshone them all.The director who brought out the best in Nagesh was K. Balachander. “Sarvar Sundaram”, “Neerkumizhi”, “Naanal”, “Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi”, “Major Chandrakanth”, “Ethirneechal”, “Poova Thalaiya”, “Thamarai Nencham”, “Bhama Vijayam”, “Iru Kodugal”, “Navakraham”, “Pathaam pasali” etc were all films by Balachander where Nagesh provided stellar displays of his histrionic talents.It is said that Balachander used to cite Nagesh as the yardstick for other actors to emulate. Kamal Hassan would often be goaded by Balachander by admonishing Kamal saying “Nagesh would have brought out the correct emotion in a jiffy”.
Nagesh who was riding the crest of a wave as popular actor had a big fall in the late seventies and early eighties. While his popularity with fans had not decreased film producers were reluctant to cast him in their movies.This was due to Nagesh having become an alcoholic. The problems he caused producers , directors and co-stars made him an untouchable.He also had a lot of domestic strife. Nagesh had married Regina a Christian woman of a different caste and so got estranged from his Brahmin family. The wife and siblings were arrested on charges of murder in an acrimonious family dispute.Nagesh was separated from family for many years and lived alone. His wife died years ago.He did not want to discuss his personal problems with the media and so avoided the press like a plague. Thus Nagesh faded away from the public gaze for many years.Complicating matters further was his financial situation. Earlier he had wisely invested his money in real estate like Gemini Ganesh. But the domestic squabbles ate into his finances. Moreover he produced a film “Paartha Gaabagam Illaiyo”? with son Anandababu as hero. It was a flop that ruined him financially.Another reason for Nagesh’s downfall was the estrangement he had with MGR. After MGR became chief minister people started avoiding Nagesh so as not to incur MGR’s displeasure.At one stage Nagesh’s finances had plunged to an all time low and he was about to lose the last of his properties, the “Nagesh” cinema theatre. It was then that he mended fences with MGR and sought his help.MGR was magnanimous enough to bail out Nagesh. He also arranged for medical treatment to cure Nagesh of his alcoholism. Mercifully Nagesh was rehabilitated but film assignments were not readily available. Meanwhile MGR also died.But Kamal Hassan who was a devoted Nagesh rasika came to the veteran’s rescue. Nagesh played the chief villain in Kamal’s “Apoorva Sahodaragal” to perfection. Thereafter Nagesh got several roles mostly as villain or character actor. He even did several telugu films. It was indeed sorrowfully ironic that the man who made many people happy through his comedy was himself afflicted by tragedy in personal life. This made him an elusive introvert in personal life.In the film “Neerkumizhi” (water bubble) where he played a terminally ill cancer patient, a song was picturised on Nagesh. It was sung by Seergali Govindarajan with words written by Suradha and music composed by V.Kumar.It is a philosophical-mystical song about the impermanence of life and permanence of death. The opening lines go thus “Aadi adangum Vaalkaiyadaa, Aaradi Nilame Sonthamadaa” (All life’s activity ceases and only six feet of land is owned)Those lines and the title of his autobiography “Sirithu Vaala Vendum” (Must live laughing) sum up the life and times of Nagesh the comedy king of Tamil cnema. After a prolonged illness Nagesh passed away in 2009. Some of Nagesh's ardent fans in the corporate world include Pepsi Co CEO Indra Nooyi and HCL Technologies founder Shiv Nadar. In earlier interviews to ET, Nooyi's mother revealed that her daughter enjoyed Tamil classics starring Nagesh. On the other hand, Shiv Nadar is said to have a DVD collection comprising every film that Nagesh has appeared in....
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