In a tribute to Tamil cinema’s Rajan, D. Devika Bai revisits the period, settings, costumes and music that make Raja Malaya Simhan unique
HAD Tamil cinema’s swashbuckling hero Ranjan been alive, he would have been 96 this year. Unfortunately, he breathed his last in 1983 in New Jersey. His 31st death anniversary yesterday brings to mind a rare Tamil film, Raja Malaya Simhan (1959), in which he played the lead role.
When present-day Tamil films only use Malaysia’s iconic buildings and scenic spots as a backdrop to their song and dance items, Raja Malaya Simhan presented a slice of the rich history of the country.
SIAMESE INFLUENCE
The storyline itself is very simple. A nobleman, Raja, is robbed of his birthright by an army commander who happens to be an enemy of his dead warrior father. When the Princess of Malaya, Chitralekha Dewi, arrives in India for a visit, the two fall in love. The jealous commander imprisons Raja. But he escapes and sails to Malaya with Chitralekha on her ship. After much confrontation with the relentless and ruthless commander, Raja triumphs and marries Chitralekha Dewi.
In the movie, Ranjan plays his cavalier role to the hilt while his leading lady, Rajasulochana, stuns with her beauty and dancing.
In itself, the story does not depict any political conflict in the country. It is the period, settings, costumes and music that make Raja Malaya Simhan unique.
Director B.S. Ranga chose to portray Malaya during the era when its northern states of Kedah and Perlis were under the suzerainty of Siam. As such, the setting, costumes and music have Siamese influence. And the fact that a Malayan princess visits India is a reflection on the historical times when bilateral ties existed between the two countries, be they political, social, cultural or commercial.
The costume designer for Raja Malaya Simhan, V.N. Murthi, did a superb job. In keeping with the period, he got heroine Rajasulochana decked out in Siamese regalia. We see her wearing a traditional headdress, the Ram-Thai Crown. Adding authenticity was a round, decorative collar embellished with hanging beads at the edge, and matching cuffs and waistband. Dangling earrings and a prominent necklace and pendant completed the outfit. In another scene, she dons a batik sarong with a selendang (scarf) over her shoulders.
Now, no story about Malaya is complete without the Chinese. The director has included a Chinese fan-and-umbrella dance number with the troupe realistically costumed. The music is Chinese while the lyrics are Chinese with Tamil translations. Maestro A. Marudakasi takes credit for the lovely songs, in Tamil and Chinese.
THRILLING SWORDFIGHTS
All-in-all, Raja Malaya Simhan is an enjoyable movie that has all the ingredients to pull in the crowds (as it did in 1959) with romance, exotic songs and dances and thrilling swordfights. Watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFkXffGfReY, if not for any other reason than for Ranjan, one of Tamil cinema’s most macho but also most underrated star.
A man for all seasons
TALK about Tamil cinema’s swashbucklers (whether romantic or villainous) and we immediately conjure up in our minds C.L. Anandan of the 1960s and M.N. Nambiar, P.S. Veerappa and the great MGR of the 1950s. But before them, there was one star who was the swashbuckler of them all: Ranjan.
Born Ramanarayana Venkataramana Sarma in 1918, Ranjan was a college-educated, classy gentleman who came closest to Hollywood’s Errol Flynn and Ricardo Montalban rolled into one. Those of us in our sixties and seventies now were totally enamoured of him during our teenage years. Such was his presence, demeanour and charisma. His wrestling tigers and lions only added to his magnetism.
Ranjan’s profile on a cine news portal lists his other qualifications: Accomplished dancer and musician, playwright, journalist, critic, scholar, aviator, athlete, a competent painter and, to crown it all, a magician. Breathless?
Here’s more: a marvellous swordsman, an excellent rider, a gymnast and a ventriloquist, I would add (from what I’ve seen on his films).
The widely-travelled Ranjan — he has journeyed from Moscow to Peking (Beijing) on the Trans-Siberian Railway and toured Czechoslovakia, Poland, Russia and the Orient along the way — he has even passed some of the music examinations of Trinity College London.
Some of Ranjan’s other prominent movies were Mangamma Sapatham (1943) and Chandralekha (1948), in which he made villainy glamorous. A Hindi film, Nishan, followed in 1949, heading Ranjan’s successful Bollywood career. He returned to Tamil cinema with a splash in 1957 with Neela Malai Thirudan, another of his thrilling romantic action movies where almost all his skills were laid bare.
No wonder the Rockefeller Foundation of America awarded him a special scholarship to study American ballet, music and the theatre.