‘His success could not be emulated’

As someone who grew up in North Chennai, where everything from the price of fish to politics is discussed and debated spiritedly, R Kannan grew up in this politically charged atmosphere. “I have been a fan of MGR like so many from my generation,” says the 54-year-old. A UN official for nearly a quarter century and currently posted in Basra, Iraq, Kannan, recalls his early years when Dravidian icons CN Annadurai and his two most famous followers Kalaignar Karunanidhi and MGR were treated as no less than demi-gods by the public. “I was completely drawn to the Dravidian movement,” he adds. “People like me, who hailed from a modest family from a trading background benefited hugely from the emphasis laid on education by the Dravidian movement. Social mobility became a reality for millions because of this,” says Kannan. “In fact, MGR’s films always reflected the idea of social mobility and values. The roles he essayed — and his acts of charity made him a mix of Krishna in upholding right and Karna in giving,” he adds. 

“As a high school student, I bicycled with vigour one afternoon to catch a glimpse of MGR in 1977 when he was campaigning in his open top van. He looked like a celestial in the evening sun. I got to see MGR very closely in 1985. On both occasions, I was struck by the man’s presence and his celestial looks,” says Kannan. “MGR’s successful film career laid the foundations for his political career. However, his success could not be emulated by others for a very simple reason. MGR had a social bent of mind from early on. His public and film career were inseparable. This is why the real and the reel became interchangeable. The DMK helped his growth a lot - they reinforced each other,” says Kannan. “To me what is remarkable is MGR’s sense of giving and his greatly underestimated staying power and political acumen not to mention his ability to connect with the masses,” he points out. MGR was a hugely charismatic personality. He was larger than life and did transcend electoral considerations like caste, religion and language swaying the unlettered, the rural and womenfolk, adds Kannan. 

Kannan has also authored Anna: The Life and Times of CN Annadurai, the biography of MGR’s mentor and DMK founder. “I never saw Anna; he passed away when I was seven years old. The entire city had come to a standstill and all that made a deep impression upon me,” recalls the author. “However, my father used to speak about him a lot, about his policies and his humanism, and all these were etched in my mind, and when the time came I decided to pen his biography for those like me who had never seen him and knew little of him. From there, the biography on MGR was almost a natural progression,” he says. Even if one belonged to other parties, or identified with some other party, MGR’s charm was such that those whose lives he intersected found it hard to resist or yield, says Kannan. 

The book, some 300 plus pages moves quickly from MGR’s formative years and goes to discuss his uphill struggle in the tinsel world to become hero, image making, his time with the DMK and his falling out with M Karunanidhi. It looks closely at his political career from 1972 till his death. And yes, it also touches upon MGR’s co-star in many movies and political protégé J Jayalalithaa. The book would, for the first time, bring much new material to the English readers; to generations of Tamils who grew up not knowing him it would be a welcome introduction. The book, six years in the making from the time Kannan conceived the idea to completing it, is being published by Penguin Random House.