Adhaan Nagesh!

Tamil cinema's evergreen comedian has passed away. Perhaps calling him a mere comedian would be doing injustice to the man's all round acting capabilities. To put it right, Nagesh was an actor cast in a comedian's mould. The fact that his talent as a character actor went largely untapped by great directors of yesteryears leaves us all with a lingering feeling of what might have been.

For generations of movie goers, Nagesh was the quintessential comedian, providing comic relief by essaying a plethora of roles that were genuinely funny. His roles in movies like Server Sundaram, Then mazhai, Bama Vijayam and of course my personal favorites Kadhalikka neramillai and Thiruvilayadal will remain as evergreen ones, eliciting laughter for generations to come. His role as Vaithy in Thillana Mohanambal showed us glimpses of his acting depth by portraying a comedy-villain - something that only M R Radha was famous for earlier. Perfectly at ease in essaying serious ones, his association with KB provided us with Edhir neechal (Madhu the orphan) and Neerkumizhi (the terminally ill patient) where he played the central characters and was thus afforded a wider canvas and could rightfully stake his claim to be counted as among the best actors in the trade. It was probably an open secret that he could have given his larger-than-life contemporaries (read MGR, and the two Ganesans - Sivaji and Gemini) a run for their money had he been allowed to compete with them on an even keel. 

The latter part of his career, largely resurrected by Kamal Haasan, brought out a series of movies with roles carved out just for him. His characters in MMKR (the greedy manager Avinashi), Avvai Shanmughi (make-up man Joseph) and Panchatantram (Yugi's f-i-l) spring to mind. Seeing him join forces with Kamal, matching him in timing and surpassing him in dialog delivery was indeed a treat to watch. His screen presence pumped life into these characters and appealed to an entire generation of people that did not grow up watching his movies. I can't think of any other actor capable of playing the corpse in Magalir Mattum any better than Nagesh. 

In stark contrast with the loud and above-the-top comedy that was staple diet in Tamil movies, Nagesh brought a certain measure of subtlety to his roles. His portrayal of the impoverished poet Dharumi in Thiruvilayadal will easily rank among the best in any compilation of the best comedy sequences in Indian cinema. Of particular interest is the scene where, while interacting with Sivaji, he lifts Sivaji's angavasthra jarigai and compares it with his own - something that could easily be overlooked but added his touch to the part. His facial expressions and vocal modulations combined with his body language, influenced strongly by the American comedian Jerry Lewis, breathed fresh life into comedy tracks and brought them outside of the confines of mere funny exchanges.  

This veteran was not the recipient of many big awards and titles in his heydays, probably because of being slotted as a "comedian". Perhaps, instituting a "Nagesh award for acting" may be an appropriate tribute that we can pay him. 

I get a pleasure by wearing, or even looking at, a well worn pair of shorts or t-shirt that I cannot wear in public. Likewise, Nagesh, although not very active anymore on-screen, could give me that comfort just by knowing that he was alive and kicking somewhere out there and that is not to be anymore. In Nambiar's passing away, the Tamil cine industry lost a great actor but in Nagesh, it has lost a consummate performer. 

(Image courtesy: www.kollywoodtoday.com)