It
is October 23, 2010 and today is the day when
the directors' family, from across the country,
joined together to celebrate the 40th anniversary
of the Director's Union in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu. It all started in 1970, when the directors'
assistants formed a union for themselves under
the auspices of Dasari Narayana Rao. But it
gained further strength when director Bharathiraja's
efforts to merge the directors with the union.
The effort paid dividends and the Director's
Union has been in existence since then.
Director’s Rendezvous
To commemorate the 40th anniversary, a grand
gala function has been organised on the 23rd.
To start the festivities, which is being held
at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor stadium, Chennai,
directors belonging to the past and the present
era shared their views with the audience.
The function itself was very grand and had
no airs about it. One could witness the legends
share the dais and speak to others in a very
cordial way. The air was buzzing with creativity
as directors of the past and present culminated
to share their ideas. The function was presided
over by director Bharathiraja who is the president
of the Union.
Directors Rama Narayanan, Nagavara and Hariharan
belonging to the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
industries respectively were felicitated.
The beauty of the function was the ease with
which directors interacted with each other
crossing language barriers. Director SP Muthuraman
delivered the welcome address.
An emotional moment
Actor Napoleon opened a photo gallery which
had some vintage photographs of the past.
The photos showcased the behind-the- scene
work of legendary directors in shooting spots
and discussions. It was a warm gesture and
a wonderful tribute to the greats of the movie
industry. When it was his turn to address
the gathering, Napoleon sang 'Karumbu Kadikaiyile'
from Seevalaperi Paandi and 'Panju mittai
selai katti' which was well appreciated by
everyone. It again showed the other side of
the coin when the artists performed to the
taskmasters who had made them stars in the
industry. A time to payback!
Anuradha Sriram also spent a little time on
the stage. Speaking at the occasion, she remembered
the late Swarnalatha. Heaping praises on the
nightingale,Anuradha said that she was her
all-time favourite singer. She added that
her captivating voice and the songs she has
sung are indelible in memory. "Though
she is not with us, I would like to dedicate
a couple of songs in her memory", she
said. Anuradha then sang 'Maalaiyil Yaaro'
from Kshatriyan and 'Kuyil Paatu' from En
Raasaavin Manasile which made a few eyes moist.
It was a very emotional moment for those gathered
but nonetheless was a very touching moment
of the function.
It was MS Bhaskar's turn next and he had the
old-timers smiling when he sang 'Paavadai
thaavaniyil paartha uruvamo'. It surely brought
back old memories in everyone's mind.
Ilayaraja missing
There were 18 music directors who were present
in the function. Deva, Dhina, SA Rajkumar,
Gangai Amaran, MS Viswanathan, Yuvan Shankar
Raja and Karthik Raja were among those present.
The notable absentee was Ilayaraja who was
held up with other commitments. Sources inform
that he was on his way to the stadium straight
from Delhi after the National awards ceremony
which was held yesterday but could not make
it on time,
Gen-next’s gesture
If the legends were interacting within themselves,
it was time for the younger generation to
pay their tributes. Sameera Reddy flew down
from London specifically for the function
and was seen rehearsing backstage. She will
be performing for Endhiran's songs in front
of the audience. Karthi and Tamannah flew
down from Hyderabad skipping their schedule
for Siruthai to dance before the legends.
The gliterring star studded entertainment
will be held later in the evening.
Also present at the auditorium were Sarath
Kumar who sang 'Unnai arinthal nee unnai arinthal'
amidst grand applause from the audience. Radhika
Sarath Kumar who expressed disappointment over not being able to perform for the Robot
song. She said that Sathyaraj and herself
planned to do the Robot song with appropriate
costumes but the plan got dropped when they
could not manage to get the attire.
The Malayalam flavour
Actor Mammotty was in his humble self while
delivering his speech. Reminding everyone
about his entry into Kollywood before 20 years,
he thanked Kovai Chezhiyan for introducing
him to Tamil cinema. He said that the views,
the technical brilliance and the warmth of
the people of Tamil industry were something
he admired a lot. He said that he is still
willing to act in Tamil movies if offered
a compelling script. Actor Prabhu earlier
felicitated Mammotty with a brocaded shawl.
Other dignitaries present at the occasion
were music director Shankar Ganesh, Directors
P Vasu, Pandiarajan, VC Guhanathan, Santhana
Bharathi, Perarasu and RK Selvamani to name
a few
Sun TV and the crew
The magnificient stage which looked very eye-catching
has been constructed by the Sun TV crew in
just 2 days. No Photographers were allowed
in the auditorium though Bharathiraja had
earlier announced otherwise. People were also
seen fighting for tickets to get inside for
the evening celebrity function as it has been
announced that entry is free for all.
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