Ace editor/ producer Mohan and his wife Varalakshmi Mohan, parents of actor Jayam Ravi and director Mohan Raja have turned writers of two books Thani Manitham, which is sort of a biography of Mohan’s experiences in cinema and Veliyatra Vedham, which explores the moral values of world class Tamil literary piece Tirukkural.
Mohan Raja and Jayam Ravi are known to be deeply attached to their parents and have always spoken of a happy childhood filled with laughter. Ravi especially who is considered the pet of his family, including his brother Raja was rather emotional at the launch of the books. Ravi and his kids now spend a considerable amount of time with Mohan and Varalakshmi.
Speaking to DC, Mohan Raja said, “My dad is my hero. He has vast experience and has been involved in cinema from black and white days. He has done several odd jobs and was fortunate to become the adopted son of late legendary comedian Thangavelu. Those days (1954) his house was a hub for veterans of Tamil cinema namely Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar and P.U. Chinnappa. Dad got the opportunity to learn the tricks of cinema and with his hard work and perseverance, he became a name to reckon with,” he smiles
Continuing to speak about his real life hero, he says, “When I look back, his life amazes me. I learnt the craft of cinema from him. He gave 12 silver jubilee films in Telugu in his more than a decade stint in Telugu cinemas. Appa is a superstar among technicians in cinema. This book captures my father’s experiences in cinema working with three generations. “
Jayam Ravi, who loves his mothers cooking and often plans Sunday’s with his wife Aarti and his parents, speaking exclusively to DC, said “Appa used to say that he realised his dream of becoming an actor and director through me and my brother Raja. We understand the responsibility and are giving our best. As far as my mother is concerned, she studied in Gandhigram. And her ideologies would always match as that of Gandhiji. She also taught us the same values right from our childhood days. I feel like seeing Gandhiji, whenever I look at her. She is one of the very few people to have done Masters in both English and Tamil literature. Having deep interest in Tirukkural, which aims at guiding human beings to lead a moral, ethical and useful life in this world, she has reconnoitered the moral values and wrote her book Veliyatra Vedham.”
