Representative image showing an RIP template.
Credit: iStock Photo
“I feel a recurring pain in my chest. I don’t know whether it is real or imaginary. The pain keeps resurfacing every now and then. I think the chest pain is a warning sign that something bad is in the offing.”
A video clip of the above dialogue by veteran actor-director G Marimuthu in Ethir Neechal, a highly-popular Tamil serial telecast on Sun TV, was among the most shared videos on social media platforms on Friday. This is one of the ways Marimuthu's fans remembered Adhi Gunasekaran, a highly dominating character essayed by him in Ethir Neechal, after his sudden passing away on Friday morning.
Gunasekaran, the soul of Ethir Neechal, was talking about his life struggles in the serial, but his fans connected the dialogue with the real life tragedy that unfolded. That Marimuthu collapsed while dubbing his voice for the serial made his death more emotional.
Marimuthu was an accomplished character artist and a director after having worked with some of the big names in the Tamil film industry like Maniratnam, Vasanth, and Rajkiran. But, it was Ethir Neechal that made him a household name in Tamil families across the globe – many would have by now forgotten this real name.
That explains the power that Adhi Gunasekaran wields in the mega serial that chronicles the struggles of the women members of a large joint family who are enslaved by the male members. The women are highly educated but are married off to uneducated but rich, misogynistic men, who look down upon them – how they break the shackles is the story.
Adhi Gunasekaran was the favourite for the thriving Tamil meme industry with dialogues delivered by Marimuthu in the serial dotting social media platforms.
Born in a remote village in Theni district of Tamil Nadu – which gave the Tamil film industry some of its gems in Ilaiyaraaja, Bharathiraaja, and Vairamuthu -- Marimuthu came to Chennai in search of opportunities in the tinsel town. He worked odd jobs to make ends meet but soon he began working with the likes of Maniratnam – Marimuthu directed only two films, Kannum Kannum (2008) and Pulivaal (2014) but acted in over 50 films including Kamal Haasan’s Vikram (2022) and Rajinikanth-starrer Jailer.
A writer himself, Marimuthu was quite articulate and voiced bold opinions on several social issues. Participating in a talk show recently, Marimuthu had tore into astrologers saying they never get things wrong and cited how every astrologer got wrong in prediction of DMK chief M K Stalin’s political future.
“Every astrologer said he would never become the CM. What happened? Did anyone predict Covid-19 will disrupt the world in 2020? Did anyone predict the 2015 Chennai floods?” he asked.
The popularity that he gained from the serial made him a favourite for YouTube channels. In one of the interviews, he spoke about his life struggles and how his wife, Backiyalakshmi, felt “very proud” about his popularity after fathoming numerous insults in life.
The serial won’t be the same again without Adhi Gunasekaran. And Marimuthu will always be remembered for his acting, rather than direction.