Those were the Days: Chinnappa Devar’s love for animals brought him attention

In the fight scenes of the 1945 movie Salivahanan, the hero, Ranjan, faced a villain played by supporting artiste, MGR. The director was pleased with the animosity in the scenes between them but didn’t realise there was some bad blood between them in reality too. Age was catching on MGR and he was doing petty scenes for almost a decade and took his resentment out at Ranjan. Instead of feigning the blows, MGR actually hit the hero and Ranjan was nursing his bruises for long.

A couple of years later, MGR in his 15th film, Rajakumari of Jupiter Films, was chosen as the hero. While the new hero was not intent on the choice of story, heroine or music, he was resolved on choosing the villain. Perhaps his experience in Salivahanan frightened him as he was on the other side of the cast now.

Jupiter had booked a big-time villain Kamaldeen Bailwan but MGR was adamant. MGR knew of a bodybuilding milkman who did extra roles in cinema. The title of “Sandow” was given to Chinnappa Devar in tribute to the father of the modern bodybuilding, Eugen Sandow.

Rajakumari was a big break for Devar and MGR. MGR recommended Devar for baddie characters for the next few years. In 1956 when Devar started his own production company, Devar Films, he asked MGR to be the hero. Thaikkupin Thaaram was a tinsel triumph and launched Devar as a filmmaker.

But it wasn’t a path of roses for their friendship. When Devar planned the screenplay for an MGR-style script titled Neelamalai Thirudan, MGR was busy with his home production, Nadodi Mannan. An angry Devar went ahead with the movie and to MGR’s surprise, Devar purposely chose Ranjan — his erstwhile rival as a hero. MGR soon got down from his high horse and persuaded Devar that he should not have any more big heroes in his movies and in lieu would give him limitless call sheets. That was literally the key to the mint.

Devar and MGR made 16 films together, propelling Devar, who had just been a supporting artist, to the forefront of the studios on the range of Gemini and AVM. Devar was a staunch devotee of Lord Murugan. His films began with a clip of him making an offering to the deity. If he needed a sunny day for shooting and it was cloudy, he would look at the skies and yell, “Dei Muruga veyila viduda.” But the limit was reached when Devar convinced MGR, who came from the atheist Dravidian movement, to dress up like the lord in a movie called Thanipiravi with Jayalalitha as Valli.

MGR was scared of the audience for which he had been spouting atheist propaganda for years as well as the DMK party leadership. DMK had prohibited members from even writing scripts for religious movies. Confident of MGR’s assent, Devar had already made a silver spear to match MGR’s height and when the film came, to MGR’S surprise there wasn’t much ado.

With MGR getting more into active politics, Devar was at his wit’s end to make hits without his ‘superstar’. That was when he stuck on the idea of using animals as crowd pullers and soon enough his office resembled a mini zoo. His animal films became big sensations especially among children and he became so popular.

Devar used animals, including lions, tigers, snakes, cows and even goats. One of his later low budget movies, Aatukara Alamelu (goatherd Alamelu), grossed more than any MGR film of his. For the silver jubilee function, the goat was brought on stage and feted by MGR himself. In a series of films, Devar reduced Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Rajinikanth to just silent bystanders, while his animals stole the show. Devar didn’t even wear a shirt in public, but he negotiated terms with superstars all over India in broken English. Devar was also known to pay everyone the full fees on the first day of the shooting (but all the money was in Rs 10 notes because the pay packet seemed bulky). Devar was a disciplinarian — his ruthlessness, when it came to schedules, ensured every one of his movies was shot in two months. People even called him idi amin of Kodambakkam, behind his back, for he had once been a Sandow!