Heir to the legacy of N.S. Krishnan and M.R. Radha

Vivekh used satire to put spotlight on social problems

Almost every condolence message speaks about how actor Vivekh embedded messages against caste and superstition into his comedy. Actor Vivekh, known by his moniker ‘Chinna Kalaivanar’, was the acknowledged heir to the legacy of N.S. Krishnan and M.R. Radha for using satire to highlight social problems. While he started out playing routine roles as a member of the hero’s gang of friends, Vivekh soon grew enough in the industry to be able to position himself as someone who supported social reform, rolling these messages into his tracks. Writer Stalin Rajangam says Vivekh is part of the modern artistic tradition that believes in delivering social messages through art. “During the freedom movement and the Dravidian movement, the activists used plays to propagate social and political messages. Later, comedy and songs in films were used predominantly to turn focus on socio-political issues. Famous lyricist Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram is also a part of this tradition. Vivekh realised that there was a vacuum in the Tamil cinema during the 1990s and 2000s and adopted the techniques of M.R. Radha and N. S. Krishnan though he himself was not directly part of the rationalist movement. Vivekh’s formative years as a student of American College, where he had been part of theatre plays that dealt with social issues, might have played a crucial role in his growth,” he said.