T N Seetharam: My serials draw a lot from real life

Director of hit TV serials, who tried his hand at many professions, says he came across fascinating stories when he was a lawyer

Director, actor and screenwriter T N Seetharam is most famous for his mega TV serial, ‘Mayamruga’, aired in 1989-99. Its unprecedented, runaway success set the tone for family serials in Kannada, and in other languages.

‘Mayamruga’ also saw Seetharam playing a character he actually set out to be in real life.

“I completed my education in law, but I never got an opportunity to practise it as much as I would have liked to. I played a lawyer,” Seetharam told ‘Showtime.’

Father’s influence

Seetharam was drawn to literature and theatre thanks to his father Narayan Rao, who was active in many drama troupes before his marriage.

“We are agriculturists and own land in Talagavar of Doddaballapur taluk. My father was a farmer known for his performances in plays. The entire village would gather to watch him. He had an inimitable voice and that got him important roles,” he recollects.

While Seetharam’s mother was educated, his grandmother never went to school but was well-versed in music, culture and history. He was deeply influenced by her. “We were five children and every evening, after his regular work, my father would practise his lines in front of his children. He used to sing Gamaka (classical Kannada poetry) and tell us the story of the Mahabharatha. I was so impressed I knew the verses by heart,” says Seetharam.

Early years

Seetharam studied at the Weavers’ Street primary school and later at Doddaballapur Municipal High School. He went to National College in Basavanagudi for his pre-university classes.

“There was no CET those days. I got selected directly to the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. But after two days, I received a letter saying I was underage and could not join the course. I later went to Renukacharya College for my graduation. I got a chance to further explore my talents on the stage there,” says Seetharam.

Turning point

During a college annual day event, filmmaker and journalist P Lankesh was the chief guest.

“He liked my acting and called me over. I was cast in five of his plays in prominent roles. It is here that I made a name for myself,” Seetharam says.

Seetharam wanted to do theatre full time, but his father wanted him to practise law and earn for the family. So he became a lawyer.

“I didn’t earn much money, but I earned respect. My father died when he was 57 and I also lost my eldest sister. I had to shoulder family responsibilities,” he recalls.

As a lawyer, he was struggling to make ends meet. That is why he moved back to his village. “I decided to take care of our lands,” he says.

Big break

In 1977, Seetharam got his break in films when Lankesh made ‘Pallavi.’ “It was a triangular love story and I got the lead role of a disillusioned college boy. Lankesh also played a role in it. It was not a regular commercial film; it won a national award,” he says.

While films and theatre were doing well, one of Seetharam’s plays, ‘Asphota,’ about the Emergency, had competed for 127 shows across the country. He later made that play into a serial called ‘Sphota’ which was his first serial.

“In 1983, I quit law for good and began working with Puttanna Kanagal. I wrote the script for his film ‘Manasa Sarovara’. It was about a doctor who falls in love with a mentally challenged patient. It deals with what is called the transference phenomenon, with the doctor developing the illness. I used to frequent Nimhans to collect details,” he says.

Landmark films

In 2001, Seetharam directed ‘Matadana’, based on S L Byrappa’s novel of the same name, featuring actors Anant Nag and Mukhyamantri Chandru. The title means ‘Voting.’

“That was the year all three of us contested elections. All three lost but ended up working on this film together,” he says. Matadana also won a national award.

In later years, Seetharam directed the films ‘Meera Madhava Raghava’, ‘Kafi Thota’ and ‘Dwaja.’

His TV serials ‘Mukta’, ‘Jwalamukhi’, ‘Muktha Muktha’, ‘Maha Prava’ were hugely successful. His ongoing serial ‘Magalu Janaki’ was discontinued because of curbs on shooting during the pandemic.

“My serials are inspired by real-life incidents. As a lawyer, I would stumble on a lot of stories. Crime is always the result of what happens in society and politics and when ideologies clash,” explains Seetharam.

Seetharam acknowledges the influence of literary giants U R Ananthamurthy, S L Byrappa, Kuvempu, P Lankesh and Bendre. “They have shaped my thoughts,” he adds.

His favourite actors are Anant Nag (”for his extraordinary ability to understand and emote”), Darshan and Upendra.

“Dr Rajkumar, another one of my favourites, used to watch my serials and once invited me to sound the clapper board when his production house started producing serials. Vishnuvardhan rang me up one day and said that he couldn’t stop watching ‘Mayamruga’ after he had watched one episode,” recalls Seetharam.