At 82, The Comeback Kid
The scriptwriter
Karunanidhi gets the attention of Dravidian leaders 'Periyar' E V Ramaswamy Naicker and C N Annadurai after staging a play called Shanti, in which he also acts. Though the play is much appreciated by the public, Congressmen don't enjoy it much as it has strong undercurrents of a Dravidian uprising. This is followed by Thooku Medai, another controversial play that speaks about popular political and social sentiments. It is banned by the Congress government.
Karunanidhi's movie career begins at Jupiter Pictures where he is employed as a scriptwriter. He is just 20. His career takes off with the success of Rajakumari.
He writes more than 70 screenplays, including Abhimanyu, Parasakthi (which launches Sivaji Ganesan's career), Rangoon Radha, Raja Rani, Puthaiyal, Pudhumai Pithan, Ellorum Innattu Mannar, Pasa Paravaikal, Padadha Theneekkal, Niyaya Tharasu and Monaohara. However, the scripts he writes after 2000, like Kalaignarin Kannamma, are rejected by filmgoers. It seems their stories are in a time warp.
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