Chennai: Early this week, Chennaiites woke up to the gruelling news of the legendary comic, writer and artiste ‘Crazy’ Mohan breathing his last.
Hordes of people silently paid homage to him. But who is he if we negate the on-screen/stage experience? People closely associated with him from our neighbourhood narrate tales they cherished and how his loss has caused a void in their lives.
“Although he is versatile in several niches, Mohan is a humble, down-to-earth and innocent person. As in films and dramas, he always carries a smile with him wherever he goes and does not lose his temper,” recalls Anandhi S, who happens to be the in-law (sammandhi).
Being a person from cinema industry, unlike the lot, she says he prefers having home food. “Whenever he travels down to Nanganallur for staging a drama, he comes home for having meal no matter what the time is. He does not like to eat at hotels,” the resident of 17th Street shares.
Sharing yet another incident, she adds, “The birthdays of my brother (whose daughter has been married to his son) and Mohan’s fall on the same day. We were wondering how to celebrate. But to our surprise, he immediately made arrangements for hosting Sashti Aptha Poorthi a few years ago which still hovers in my memories.”
Anandhi says, “Mohan lost his father a few months ago and this incident has given us shock. Giving freedom to Mohan, it was his father who took care of managing home so that the dramatist finds time to write scripts and enact plays. 66 is not a big age, he would have achieved more had he lived for a few more years.”
Talking on the similar lines, ‘Crazy’ Sundararajan, a drama artiste who has been associated with Mohan’s troupe for over 20 years, says,
“As a person, he is like a child. He is a type of person who keeps praising even for the smallest of things like making a coffee. Without having any grudge against anyone, he showers praises.”
Sundararajan reminisces the adulthood days he spent with Mohan. “We used to burst crackers together and the entire locality would know that we are the reason for the playful ruckus we created during Deepavali. Everyone part of his troupe celebrate the festivals together no matter how trivial it is.”
As Mohan lost his mother when he was a young lad, he considered Sundararajan’s mother as his mother too. “My mother loves arts and because of which he had given a role for her. He has honoured my mother during several ocassions.”
For Sundararajan, Mohan’s loss is irreparable. “I feel as though I lost my own brother,” he says.
Fulfilling Crazy Mohan’s wish of making everyone happy, his troupe is staging the 100th show of Crazy Premier League at Narada Gana Sabha on 30 June.