From Rajinikanth to Kamal Haasan, rare photos from film sets take over Chennai park

Vintage Tamil cinema stills by T Lakshmikanthan take over public park in Chennai

A young Rajinikanth clad in a white vest, is halfway through an expressive rebuke — perhaps some expletives are also involved. Behind him, is a towering Kamal Hassan mid-smoke, the eerie consternation on his face befitting a ruthless serial killer. Emerging from between Parattaiyan in 16 Vayadhinile and Dileep from Sigappu Rojakkal, are a couple of women hand in hand, on their daily evening walk at the sparsely populated Thiruvanmiyur MRTS park. This scene, as bizarre as it is lovely, is a telling cross-section of the city and cinema capital that is Chennai.

Today, it is not only joggers, little skaters, and the odd overworked IT employee that make up thepark. Stolen moments from the golden age of Tamil cinema, precisely 50 of them from 1977 to 1982, by veteran still photographer T Lakshmikanthan span this public space, much to the delight of unsuspecting passers-by. Titled Maasaru Kaatchiyavarku — this unseen archive of Lakshmikanthan is one of Chennai Photo Biennale’s main shows in its third phase.

Painstakingly dug up from 180-films worth of negatives, the curation by translator Nirmal Rajagopalan, was admittedly a mammoth task done over a limited period of time.

Lakshmikanthan is 83 now and his eyesight is waning. This display makes up for only one-third of the collection of negatives that he has preserved over the years. Over call from his Chennai home, he speaks of a time when ‘Sivaji (Ganesan) anna’ would fondly refer to him as Lakshmi, or when he travelled across western Europe with Rajinikanth, and knew Kamal Haasan as a prankster and a young boy eager to don many roles in a film set.

“Cinema was like that —everyone was a friend!” says Lakshmikanthan. Nirmal adds, “This was a time when technicians and artists were on an even keel. There were a lot of friendships and relationships that came out of a film set.”

Even as a 14-year-old, Lakshmikanthan’s life was intrinsically linked to cinema, so much so that he frequented film sets with groups of young junior artists from Kodambakkam, in pursuit of the odd chance to be part of this seemingly distant world. After starting out as an assistant photographer in the late 60s, it was the 1970 film Sangamam, starring Gemini Ganesan and KR Vijaya, that earned him the name as an independent still photographer. His big break was in 1973 when he shot for Gauravam, a double-action movie starring Sivaji Ganesan. The now famous shot of Sivaji dressed in royal regalia, holding a golden orb, as King George, was shot by Lakshmikanthan. This iconic image went on to become a life-size cut-out in front of Shanthi Theatre on Mount Road at the time, marking a significant point in Lakshmikanthan’s career.

Soon enough, the photographer was deemed a master of ‘action shots’. “It was Sivaji anna who preferred action or candid shots more than posed photographs. After 1975, I started clicking only when the actors were in between action. It just sat well with me.” The frames on display today, for instance, catch actors in their most expressive portrayal of the character.