Tamil cinema's new stories and themes are winning worldwide attention, what with two films - Mani Ratnam's 'Guru' and 'Indian' fame Shankar's 'Veyil' - screened in the prestigious Cannes film festival earlier this month.
Amidst this jubilant scenario, although silver and golden jubilees for a film are a rarity, Kollywood fans seem to be remembering their yesteryear screen legends, especially the tallest among them, M G Ramachandran or MGR, as he was known.
MGR's hits of the 60s and early 70s are still welcomed on the small screen, according to a recent survey. They are also proving to be a huge draw when re-released in theatres. Recently, one such hit 'Nadodi Mannan', a political action film, turned out to be a hit of sorts when released in a couple of theatres. Interestingly, a few of the heroines of yesteryear Tamil cinema like B Saroja Devi, M N Rajam and Rajasree, who had acted in a number of films alongside MGR, watched the film and relived those days of glory again.
Today, another of MGR's runway box office hits 'Ayirathil Oruvan', made in 1965 and ranking among the biggest hits of his career, is being released again in three theatres. The film is also immensely popular for the melodious musical score with every song, penned meaningfully, turning out to be a hit. The musical score of the film was by two other legends of Tamil cinema, Viswanathan and Ramamurthy.
MGR's fans too are lapping up the films of their icon, who lives in their heart forever.
