My connection with S.L.B.C started in 1966 and it gave me wonderful opportunity to establish myself as a performing artiste.
So it is a cradle for artistes like me.
As I mentioned in my writer's page -
I entered Radio Ceylon (As it was known those days) as a writer, but eventually the glamour of being an actor of radio dramas made me to go for it.
After participating in amateur programs of Mr.Nadaraja Iyer and Kasi Ananthan..
Just reading letters addressed to Vanoli Anna and poetry..
Speaking few lines in dramas...
I eventually got friendly with microphones of S.L.B.C.
(That is the main thing for anybody trying to venture into Broadcasting.)
Then I decided to join the Drama Artistes Panel of the Tamil National Service.
Making a decision is alright.
But I found out within a short time, achieving that ambition is not that easy.
I am one of the 500 odd applicants vying to join.
The interview for selection went for weeks.
We were asked to face an audio test -
About 10 sheets of Drama dialogues with varied regional dialects-
People who were auditioning us were in a different room unseen by us.
They will ask us to act from this portion or that and we will do so.
By the third round of audtion, the numbers will be in the range of 20 - 30.
Out of this about 15 will be selected for the main actors panel,
to act in the National Service dramas.
(This is treated as the cream of actors at that time.)
Others will be set apart for Rural service dramas and feature programs.
I was lucky enough to go through about three or four auditions and finally
selected to join the elite group - National service artistes.
I remember when I got the selection letter from Radio Ceylon, I was
more happy than the day when I got selected for the government service.
I got that letter from my chief clerk in the Inland Revenue Dept,
Mr.Dudley Mendis and he wished me as if I was selected for a higher post.
Getting selected as an actor of Radio Ceylon was considered with great awe.
"Sakkadaththar" character done by Rajaratnam made him famous over Radio and stage and when I entered Radio Ceylon along with him, Philomina Soloman, Ananthi Sooriyapragash (Later B.B.C Announcer), Thasan Fernando, Rosairo Peris, Victor, T.Rajeswaran, Subbuluxmi Kasinathan, K.Markandan, S.S.Ganeshapillai were there.
Myself was getting some rare chances, even that to do some minor characters with them. Sana was a perfect meticulous producer. He will time every page of the script invidually using stop watch and note it down.
We can't exceed a single second from that time timing and if we do so, there will be a tirade from him and at times the offender will be asked to leave the studio. Sana in addition to Radio was doing many stage plays as well. Most of the radio actors were able to act in stage plays and even films as well. One example is Sana's play "Sanakkian" staged in December 1968 in the Tamil Drama Festivel at Saraswathi Hall - with many leading radio actors of that era acted in this historic play under the near perfection seeking direction of Sana.
After Sana's retirement, young and active K.M.Vasagar took over as Producer of Dramas in SLBC and more young actors were taken into the pool and given main charactors. With this older group just faded into the background little by little. S.Ramdas, K.S.Balachandran, Vijayal Peter, Kamalini Selvarajan, Shamini Jeyasingam, Anantharani Rajaratnam, P.N.R. Amirthavasagam were some of the young artistes who were in the lime light during this period.
L/ R: "Apollo" Suntha, Sana, Sothinathan, a staff, V.A.Gafoor,
Writers like Ilankeeran (Neethiye Nee Kel) Sengal Aliyan , Sembiyan Chelvan were there writing scripts or adapting their famous novels as Radio Plays. So we had a great opportunity to showcase our talents. Famous radio play "Thaniyatha Thagam" was produced during this period for the Commercial service with the original script of Sillaiyoor Selvarajan being adapted to radio by Vasagar himself. K.S.Balachandran, Vijayal Peter, Kamalini Selvarajan, K.Markandan, Selvanayaki Thiyagaraja, Vasudevan, Yoga Thillainathan, Chandrapiraba Mathavan, S.K.Tharmalingam, P.N.R. Amirthavasagam and lot of others took part in this play, which went on for more than 2 years, reaching every Tamil home around the country.
After Vasagar, Jeyapalan, Urumpirai Nadaraja, Angaiyan Kailasanathan and A.E.Manoharan (Yes..the pop singer) produced plays for the national service. I remember acting in the play of Angaiyan Kailasanathan , "Kadat Katru" an adaptation of his novel with the same title. A beautiful play with top class acting by S.Jesuratnam (now in France). A.E. Manoharan also wrote and produced his first play for SLBC with myself and Rajeswary Shanmugam doing main characters.
P.Wigneswaran's period as producer was a turning point for radio plays. With his keen judgment of what is good, he visited many writers in Jaffna and requsted them to send scripts and therafter with the writers' approval, he did some changes and made those plays suitable for broadcast. A.M.C.Jeyajothi, Aruna Sellathurai, Sasi Param and Shamini Jeyasingam are the new set of actors, who joined us in the actors' pool during Wiki's period.
