Man who hung a thought at THE END OF LAUGHTER

Man who hung a thought at THE END OF LAUGHTER

Comedy That Makes The Audience Think Was Actor Vivekh’s Forte. Be It Spreading Awareness On Environment Or Covid Vaccination, He Was At The Forefront Of Activities And Making A Difference

D Govardan & Neeraja Ramesh TNN

18.04.2021

When it came to his comedy sketches in films, Vivekh worked with a two-track mind — first, he baited his audience with his slapstick slice of life vignettes, and then when he had them right where he wanted, delivered a punchline that silenced them into introspection. And for that he will always be remembered – the comedian with a message in his medium.

The actor died at a hospital in Chennai on Saturday following a cardiac arrest. He was 59, and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

“Vivekh was a jovial person with no ego,” recalls N Mohan, manager to late director K Balachander who launched Vivekh’s career in 1987 with ‘Manadhil Urudhi Vendum’.

The director’s next ‘Puthu Puthu Arthangal’ (1989) made Vivekh popular and there was no looking back.

Vivekh acted in more than 200 movies, sharing screen space with generations of heroes from Rajinikanth to Dhanush. Over the years his fan following grew so much that his face began appearing on posters. Apart from comedies, he also began playing the protagonist and other character roles. In ‘Vellai Pookal’ (2019), for instance, he played the lead role of a retired police officer who goes to Seattle to reunite with his estranged son, while in ‘Dharala Prabhu’ (2020), he endeared himself to the audience as fertility expert Dr Kannadasan.

Mohan says Vivekh’s sense of humour permeated his real life. Whenever Vivekh came to meet Balachander, he recalls, he used to bring a rose. After a few visits, the director chided him for it. So, the next time he brought him an apple. “When Balachander sir chided him again, he started offering him a pen,” says Mohan.

Before his tryst with celluloid, Vivekh had donned many roles — from a harmonium player at a temple in Madurai to a telephone operator with Madurai Telephones to junior assistant in the state Secretariat in the 1980s. That was when he became a member of the Madras Humour Club, where his acting skills were noticed by film producer Kalakendra Govindharaj, who introduced him to Balachander.

“My first shot before the camera was with Vivekh for a scene in ‘Parthale Paravasam’ (2001),” says actor-director Samuthirakani, who was assisting Balachander then. “Sir said to me, if you want to learn to be an actor, act in this scene with Vivekh.”

Comedian Vadivelu, who has also acted with Vivekh, called his style acting “unique and simple”. “His dialogue delivery reached the masses as it always carried a social message,” he says.

Over the years, his comedy began to take a social turn. On screen, he began using his roles to voice concerns about a range of raging issues such as population growth, idol worship, denial of rights for better education for the less privileged and female infanticide. A voracious reader, Vivekh would sometimes scour newspapers and magazines in between shots to incorporate current civic and social issues into his dialogues.

Yoga partner and friend Vairamuthu says he was amazed by Vivekh’s knowledge on various subjects and that the two of them shared a strong bond over books and Tamil language. The industry gave Vivekh the moniker ‘Chinna Kalaivanar’, after yesteryear comedian N S Krishnan, who voiced similar concerns in the 1940s and 1950s was known as ‘Kalaivanar’.

“He helped scores of people throughout his life. He practised what he preached on screen,” says Samuthirakani. In 2010, the actor turned to activism and launched the ‘Green Kalam’ initiative, planting more than 30 lakh saplings. In 2018, he was part of TN government’s noplastic drive urging people to go green. The following year, when Chennai was reeling under a water crisis, he campaigned for rainwater harvesting. Two days before his cardiac arrest, Vivekh urged people to stay safe and get vaccinated.

“Death has no comic sense, that is the reason it took him away from us,” says Vairamuthu. “Now the trees he planted will shed tears for him.”