CineGoer.com - Features - Impressions : Nagendra Babu

Sobhan Babu – The Silent Householder Sage

My job of inviting people to Sushmita's marriage took me to Chennai. I met Sobhan Babu first. I was expecting to see an aged Sobhan Babu, but imagine my shock and pleasant surprise as a youthful Sobhan Babu extended his hand to shake hands with me with a "how are you?" He was as fresh as a garden fresh guava. He still looked the youthful hero of movies like Soggadu, Jeevana Jyothi, Jebudonga, etc. The warmth he receives people with, and his excellent manners certainly thrill anyone. After the usual exchange of formalities and enquiries of the details of the marriage, I said to him, "Sir, we are really surprised you gave up action at the peak of your career, and when you were in good demand. How were you able to cut yourself off from the movie industry, which means money, image, glamour and glory? A good number of people even after announcing their retirement resumed action, but in your case, once you were out, you kept yourself out forever. How was it possible for you?"

His answer really surprised me: "Twenty-five years ago, I resolved to retire when I reached fifty. But then I continued for five years more in the field. Money, fame, victories and failures are necessary certainly up to a certain age, but they can disturb your personal life a great deal as well. I feel you have to give up anything, however great, if it tends to disturb your personal life and its even tenor. In my opinion, the most valuable moments in your life are the time you spend with your parents and wife and children. Professional life and career can be tiring to people like me who wish to spend their retired life peacefully. I love myself very much, so I believe in enjoying life. That explains how I am able to distance myself from the field, though it was once my passion. I don't have any bad habits, and even now I do physical exercise for more than an hour every day. I practice yogasanas too. Even in my active period as an actor, I never let my professional life intrude into my personal life." These words of his convinced me that here was a sage-like householder, happy in his silence.

Balachander

The Seventy Year Old Young Director Balachander

Darling Sushmita's marriage gave me the occasion to meet another great; this time it is the veteran director Balachander. Under his direction we made the movie 'Rudraveena'. I was then not mature enough to assess the nobility of the personalities I met. Our relationship was then 'producer-director' relationship. I however saw a legend in him when I had the pleasure of inviting him to the marriage. Compare with him the youth of today who relax and sit back after two or three successes - you are surprised how even at this age, he is still hardworking and does a lot of homework about his activities as a director.

I met him alone in his room, as he was scripting a movie. He still retains the commanding power of his voice. What surprises me a lot is his ability to manage to be more modern and more novel than most of the young directors of today. His movies even today reflect the thoughts and attitudes of a thirty-year young director rather than those of a seventy plus veteran. The freshness of his ideology is what draws me towards him.