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HEY,RAM; HEY MARUTHI!
KAMAL HASSAN
I could not speak or understand Telugu fully when I saw the film "O SEETHA KATHA".I was by strange coincidence associated with the film,in remakes, in two other languages(Malayalam and Tamil) I had the opportunity of watching three great directors work on the same theme. The first was Mr.K.Vishwanath. The second Mr.P.Bhaskaran(Malayalam) and the third Mr.K.Balachander. All the three minds seemed excited with the theme.
Years after seeing and working in the remakes of 'O SEETHA KATHA' I became curious about the writer of the theme when I myself embarked upon screen play writing. That is when I became Maruthi rao's friend,with having only met his work.
I always reserve my opinion on persons however much I like them,if I have not met them.From dream girls to dream writers, on the first meeting they could turn out to be monumental disasters. With this reserve I met a friend for life.
He loves films, so do I. He loves talking, so do I. We did both with vigour from the time we said hello. Quick to criticism and applause he is the stuff that true artistes are made of. A multi faceted connoisseur of many things in life, he is not narrow minded to specialize in many fields he could be called a specialist in. Many people who dont speak his language of love and life might find him a snob,but I found a friend.
I could easily be his son if he had started procreating a little earlier. With that age difference we are friends. That should speak volumes of the man's nature and make many unfortunate sons, yearn for a father like him. I was fortunate enough to have a father like that and brothers who were old enough to be my father. In other words I grew up with grown up men. Mr.Maruthi rao is a full grown young man in his 60's. An Australian stunt man who was 67 told me the secret of youth. "You dont grow old, you grow lazy". I am yet to fully understand and practice this mantra. It seems like Maruthi rao garu knows this mantra already.
To all those men inside Maruthirao garu and a few more I am yet to meet, cheers and more life. To the tragedian behind the clown mask, to the writer behind the prankster, to the young man in the make up of a 60 year old, to the column reader and the columnist, to that oar in my ship's galley in whose ship I play the same role, thank you for all you have done to me and my life which is partly CINEMA.
I wish this sibbling in my world a long life and his children the very best. I'm sure they carry enough of his genes to carry the spirit forward.
A MUTI FACETED PERSONALITY
PROF.C.M.K.REDDY
My association with Sri Maruthi Rao staggers to over a quarter century, when I met him at All India Radio,Madras, to broadcast a talk on some medical subject. He is a writer, linguist, humanist, comedian, conversationalist and above all a man with enormous worldly wisdom. Of his works, the most impressive to me, is his playlet "KALLU",where he illustrates that blind people look at the world with nobler attitude than those who possess visual sense. Myself being a humour-lover, we could spend hours together viewing every happening in the present world, through a lense of truth and humour. His pragmatism and practical philosophy were amply exemplified by his instituting a trust in the name of his son, Srinivas,who was a victim of the cruel fate in his early life,to encourage debutant film directors across the country, to produce movies with artistic and humane values. On his 60th birthday,(which is hard to believe happening so early) I pray the ALMIGHTY to bless him and Mrs.Maruthi Rao, with long and healthy and productive life, to serve Telugu language and films.
RANDOM THOUGHTS ON A READY FRIEND
V.A.K.RANGARAO
He was an established writer, some ten years junior to me in age but older in fame. Yes, I was famous too, writing as a self-styled music columnist, the weekly "Sarigamalu" named by Sri Malladi Ramakrishna Sastri himself. At that time, I was so full of myself that I dont remember being impressed by anything that Gollapudi wrote. Neither did I ever pause-then-to question myself why I had this warm corner for him. Must have been his all-out sincerity. I don't think he ever paid me a compliment I did not deserve and vice versa too. When they were issued as a book, I read his "ELEGIES'. Not just read it but sang along, wept along and exulted along with it. If not most, some of his heroes are mine too. And the way he captured their profiles, the essence of their personalities, in simple words, touched me. Good literature written by a good human being. Well, that's what I think of him; a good human being. To others he may be a great play-wright, and an excellent actor, a wonderful radio producer.(when he was with All India Radio,Madras he had me do most worthwhile archival programmes illustrated with my precious gramaphone records on kalaavar Ring, Kapilavayi Ramanadha Sastry etc.) An ingenious writer of film-scripts. Isn't being a good human being more important than all others? I remember calling on him along with my mother, when he was at the nadir of spirits felled by the cruellest of fate's blow. He was resigned but not repentant. Most would be blaming themselves for the sins they have done, or wondering what they were, for being dealt such a below-the-belt blow. Not he. No guilt. Only sadness at his loss. Like all good men, he came out of that trauma back into the world of light and laughter.
May his tribe increase by Krishna's blessing.
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MY FATHER G.V.SUBBA RAO
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Money and fame came into his life ahead of us. That was a liability, as also an advantage, with which we learnt to live with since our childhood. Liability, because he was always busy working 18 hours a day. We don't remember a single occasion when we asked him for our needs. My mother pulled the purse strings. Advantage, because we were never short of anything we needed.
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He was a restless man, an extrovert and our childhood was full of emotional bouts of his affection and ire. His bark always used to hit us than his bite. He is by nature very meticulous and never reconciles with anything short of the best. Always a go-getter, there are several occasions when we could not cope up with his pace. Be that as it may, we always were left in awe at his achievements.
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He never taught us a single lesson while we were in school, never enquired about our mark sheets, and never visited our school as a parent. But he invariably would come to our school as a chief guest to address the students. Those were rare proud moments when the entire school watched him orate. He is a good speaker and there were numerous occasions when we sat before him, making him talk about his film or about some contemporary event. Those were great moments of joy, when he excels himself in delivering more than our expectations.
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Many prominent personalities used to visit our house, and we grew amidst them with an awe of importance and focus.
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I for one, could not believe that my father could be a film actor, though I had seen him act on stage with tremendous ease and applauded. But his first film was a startling revelation and a fantastic achievement. From there on he never looked back. I remember to have travelled with my younger brother Srinivas from Madras to Nellore to see his first film "Intlo Ramayya- Veedhilo Krishnayya" with the audience. Seeing the jubilation-we were awe-struck.
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He almost always enjoyed good health and I had never remembered to have seen him fall sick. He always believed in one dictum, that one should not rejoice at what one achieved yesterday and he should always look towards a better tomorrow. He never kept any photo of his, taken with the various celebrities, on the walls. He confined them only to his private albums.
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A memorable experience for me is that he became interested in cricket, ever since I started showing keen interest in the game at my 11th year. And likewise, I became interested in theatre, because of my proximity to him. Things come to a pass that in 1994 both of us visited U.K., when he was at Lords watching Sourav Ganguly's debut century, while I had seen the record breaking play of the century- "The Mousetrap". Both of us never stopped enjoying both the 'plays' ever since. This was when our individual passions turned mutual.
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I am an ardent fan of his weekly "Jeevana Kalam" which he was writing ever since my school days. There were days when I eagerly awaited to devour the column, to know his views about a contemporary issue. There were occasions when I suggested several topics for his columns, which he readily accepted and dealt with in his column.
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The sudden death of my beloved brother, Vasu -was a telling blow to all of us and life was never the same again after he passed away. It was from that time I saw my father becoming old in the real sense of the word. He lost much of his mirth in life, turned a distant man.
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He is a great lover of children and I watch with a sense of jealousy,our children enjoying his company, which was denied to us because of his busy life. It is very difficult, for such active people to accept the peaceful, retired life. But being a writer and a thinker, he drifted to rather calm and settled life with grace and dignity.
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He is always a source of great strength and encouragement to us and he is the best friend, teacher, guide and more than anything, a warm human being.
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I look forward to his autobiography knowing his varied experiences and personalities with whom he interacted during his long innings as a writer, actor, broadcaster, anchor, speaker etc., and wish him all that is best in the coming years.
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A Few Poems by Gollapudi Maruthi Rao
Pensive mood
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I am in a pensive mood, my dear |
| I am restless- |
| While you decorate joyful today |
| I long for exuberant tomorrow |
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While you spare for me a charming kiss |
| My extravagance feels for what I miss- |
| I am in a pensive mood, my dear |
| I am restless- |
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While you reward me with a featherly touch |
| My heart searches for pleasures in store |
| You are happy to see me happy |
| But my happiness is an unending thirst- |
| I am in a pensive mood, my dear |
| I am restless- |
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I try to escape pain in a poem |
| I try to console myself with a song |
| But my desire starts where your charity ends |
| Make it snappy,allow your heart to mend |
| I am in a pensive mood, my dear |
| I am restless- |
THE JOURNEY
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In the path you tread |
| Stretches the lonely night |
| The morning is sleeping |
| On the other side of the hills, |
| That stretch their long arms of shadows- |
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The stars are counting minutes |
| They are whispering wordless joy |
| And waiting to hear your footsteps |
| The moon is swimming through |
| Shady clouds-searching his path- |
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Even if your eyes cannot find your way |
| Walk on wherever softness touches your feet |
| I kissed the dust on your naked path |
| So that your feet can sense my touch |
| A memory your lips shared before- |
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(3.9.76)
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YOU
| You are my weakness |
| You are my limitation |
| You are my supreme tasteful temptation |
| You are my lingering thought |
| The hope of my tomorrow |
| Promise of my sweetest muse- |
| You are my curse, superior woe |
| The sabotaging blow to my ego |
| You are a virus in my blood |
| You are my whisper |
| A spider stretching a secret net |
| You are the theme of my sleepless nights |
| You are my article of faith |
| You are the centre of my endless anguish |
| You are the meaning of my silent tears |
| You are a radiant Venus |
| You are the arbitrator of my destiny |
| You are the time that lost its meaning |
| You are the day without ending |
| You are madness most discreet |
| You are choking gall,preserving sweet |
| You are the fuming sigh |
| You are my seething brain and shaping fantasy |
| You are my celestial bed, craving desire |
| You are a dark whip against my decency |
| OH Love! |
| You can be the daring devil who can crush me to death |
| Or a soothing angel who can lift me to a new Heaven |
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(27.8.76)
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OMNIPOTENCE
| "I saw in her wet lips |
| The secret of Nature |
| I heard in her crawling embrace |
| Your message of love |
| I sensed in her thirsty stare |
| Your silent footsteps |
| I felt in her sweet greeting |
| Your kind pat of assurance |
| Oh! Devine spirit unknown! |
| Who are You?" |
| Then came the reply |
| "I am - God! |
| The destination of any dedication." |
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(29.8.76)
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MY SONGS
| My songs |
| Are hovering birds |
| They fly high |
| Seeing you feel shy- |
| My songs |
| Are echoing melodies |
| They gain time |
| With your smile-a boon |
| My songs |
| Are lonely footsteps |
| They take journey |
| Into your heart"s kingdom |
| My songs |
| Are scattered desires |
| They take shape |
| When you make them sleep |
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(31.8.76)
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