M.N. Nambiar: Legendary “Villain” of Tamil Cinema
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar or M.N.Nambiar (89) as he was generally known passed away after prolonged illness around 1.00 pm , at a private nursing home in Chennai on Wednesday November 19th 2008. The remains were taken to his residence at Gopalapuram for fans and members of the film fraternity to pay their respects to the legendary “villain” of Tamil cinema.
Nambiar was a rare individual who played villainous roles on screen while remaining a virtuous person with saintly qualities off-screen. Contrary to his villainous screen persona, Nambiar was in real life a teetotaler and vegetarian and, above all, a man who upheld ethical values without any scandal or gossip ever being attributed to him.
He was also a great devotee of Sabarimalai Shree Aiyappan and undertook annual pilgrimages to the shrine for over 65 years. He was one of those instrumental in popularising the comparatively unknown deity over the years. He initiated mountain-trekking pilgrimages at a time when it was not ‘fashionable’ to worship Shree Aiyappan on the scale it is being done today. As a result, he was hailed not merely as a ‘Guruswamy’ but a ‘Mahaguruswamy’ by Aiyappan devotees.
Recently, former film actress and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaram worshipped at the octogenarian’s feet and sought his blessings on her 60th birthday. Tamil superstar and Aiyappan devotee Rajnikanth is another who regularly got himself blessed by the Mahaguruswamy. [Click here to read the article in full, M.N. Nambiar: Legendary "Villain" of Tamil Cinema ~ in transCurrents.com]
D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at: djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com
