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Cho Ramaswamy | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 16 November 1999 (1999-11-16) – 15 November 2005 (2005-11-15) | |
| President |
|
| Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Constituency | Nominated |
| Founder & Author ofThuglak | |
| In office 14 January 1970 (1970-01-14) – 7 December 2016 (2016-12-07) | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Swaminathan Gurumurthy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy (1934-10-05)5 October 1934[1] |
| Died | 7 December 2016(2016-12-07) (aged 82) Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Ramya Krishnan (niece) |
| Occupation |
|
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2017) |
| Writing career | |
| Notable work | Thuglak |
Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known asCho Ramaswamy (5 October 1934[1] – 7 December 2016), was an Indian actor, comedian, editor, political commentator,[2] satirist, playwright, film director and lawyer fromTamil Nadu. He was a popular comedian in the 1960s and 1970s, and had acted with all the top stars in that period.[3]
Srinivasa Ramaswamy was fondly addressed and remembered as Cho. He was born in a family of lawyers[4]
The elder son of R. Srinivasa Iyer and Rajammal, Cho had a younger brother, who was also an actor. Cho died on 7 December 2016.[5]He has two children Sriram Ramaswamy and Sindhuja. He did his schooling from P. S. High School. His niece is actressRamya Krishnan. The name 'Cho' was the name of the character he played in a Tamil play written by Bhageerathan titledThenmozhiyaal.[6]
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Cho made his debut in 1963 withPaar Magale Paar as a comedian. From 1963 to 2005 he acted in 180 Tamil films and directed 5 films. He also wrote and directed 20 plays.[7]
He also wrote and acted in 27 Television serials. He wrote 10 books. Apart from being an actor, he was both the screenplay and story writer of films such asThenmazhai,Ninaivil Nindraval,Bommalattam,Aayiram Poi andPanam Paththum Seyyum, all of which proved to be box office hits.[citation needed]
Cho played the role of a bike mechanic in the playPetralthan Pillaiya, written by Pattu of the United Amateur Artistes (UAA), which became a huge success. When the play was later adapted into a film by directorA. Bhimsingh,Sivaji Ganesan persuaded Cho to play the same role in the film too, leading to Cho's entry into the film world.[citation needed] Cho and Jayalalithaa have worked together in 19 films and also had been part of the same drama troupe.
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Cho as an actor has been pitted against other actors across generations. His comic timing against T. S. Balaiah inManam Oru Kurangu, or with M. R. Radha, or many times with actors like V. K. Ramaswamy, Nagesh, Manorama and Sachu in many films brought out the best in him.
Cho and Manorama were paired together in 20 films, which includedMalligaip poo, Annaiyum pithavum, Dharisanam, Anbait thedi, Ninaivil Nindraval, Nirai Kudam, Therottam, Aayiram Poi, Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, Bommalattam, Pugundha Veedu, Vilayaattu Pillai, Kanavan, Rojavin Raja andVelum Mayilum Thunai and were pitted in a non-couple role inSuryagandhi,Delhi Mappilai andNaadagame Ulagam.
Cho acted alongside Nagesh inThenmazhai,Ninaivil Nindraval,Ulagam Ivvalavudhaan andBommalattam among others. He was paired opposite Sachu in films likeDeva Sankalpam,Galaataa Kalyanam andDelhi Mappilai.
Cho has acted with the MGR–Jayalalitha combo in films likeOli Villaku, Kanavan, Kumarikottam, Mattukara Velan, Aadimai Penn,Engal Thangam,Thedi Vantha Mapillai, En Annan andNeerum Nerupum. Cho has acted with MGR in many films likePetralthaan Pillaiya, Sangey Muzhangu, Rickshawkaaran andThalaivan. Cho has acted with Jayalalitha in other films likeBommalaattam, Galaattaak kalyanam, Suryagandhi, Vandhaale Maharaasi andAnbai Thedi.
Cho has acted with Sivakumar in films likeShanmugapriya, Onne Onnu Kanne Kannu, Thaip Paasam, Uravu Solla Oruvan, Aan Pillai Singam, Yaarukkum Vetkamillai, Chinna Kuyil Padudhu, Sattai Illatha Pambaram andKanna Thorakiran Samy. Among these,Yaarukkum Vetkamillai was directed by Cho in 1976.
He was the founder and editor of the Tamil magazineThuglak.[8]Politicians such asJ. B. Kripalani,Indira Gandhi,Karunanidhi,Chandra Shekhar,G. K. Moopanar,M. G. Ramachandran,Jayalalithaa,Ramakrishna Hegde,N. T. Rama Rao,Atal Bihari Vajpayee, andL. K. Advani,Sonia Gandhi,Manmohan Singh andP. Chidambaram were targets of his editorial attacks. In his last years, he predicted thatNarendra Modi would "win laurels for India" in the future,[9] and also praisedJayalalithaa for her administration of Tamil Nadu.
Cho enjoyed challengingMG Ramachandran (MGR) and his politics, while Karunanidhi stayed his target. TheAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), in his opinion, was populist and lacked ideology. When Jayalalithaa got into power and followed in MGR's path, however, the absence of ideology of the party was no longer an issue for him.[10]
On 25 January 2017, the Government of India announced aposthumousPadma Bhushan award for his contribution towards Literature & Education – Journalism.[11]
Cho has been described as a right-wing public intellectual in tributes.[12]
Cho was publicly opposed to Sri Lankan Tamil militants, particularly theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), at a time when Sri lanka's ethnic crisis was at its peak and almost all political parties in Tamil Nadu highlighted the issue of theSri Lankan Tamils.[13]
The rise of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) andHindutva wave made Cho their sympathiser. He started involving in direct politics as a mediator. In 1999, he was instrumental in bringing theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) together in an alliance with BJP.[14][15] He was successful in bringingG. K. Moopanar, of theTamil Maanila Congress and Karunanidhi together in the 1996 elections, and getting Rajnikanth to publicly support the alliance to defeatJayalalithaa.[14][16]
Post 2004, he became soft towards Jayalalithaa and spent all his energy in opposing the DMK and promoting BJP.[14] Later on, in 2011, he convincedVijayakanth to partner with theAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).[16] Cho was an ardent supporter of Narendra Modi.[17] Cho had campaigned extensively for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi during the2014 Indian general election; Modi described Ramaswamy as "Rajguru", and called himself his "fan".[18]
He was nominated to theRajya Sabha by thePresident of India,K. R. Narayanan. In the Rajya Sabha 12MPs are nominated by the President of India from amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art or social service. He served as a Rajya SabhaMP from November 1999 to November 2005.[19][20]
He remained theSangh Parivar's political man in Chennai.[1]
| Year | Play | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalyani | debut drama | ||
| Wait and See | directed by KB | ||
| Why Not | directed by KB | ||
| What For | directed by KB | ||
| Muhammad bin Tughluq | |||
| Yaarukkum Vetkamillai | |||
| Saathiram Sonnadhillai | |||
| Nermai Urangum Neram | |||
| Iraivan Irandhuvittana? | |||
| Enru Thaniyum Inda Sudandira Thaagam? | |||
| Judgement Reserved | |||
| Quo Vadis | |||
| Unmayae Unn Villai Ennae? | |||
| Saraswathiyin Selvan | |||
| Unmai Urangum Neram | |||
| Madras by Night |
FollowingSanjay Gandhi's death in an air crash, Cho released stamps in memory of Capt. Subhash Saxena, the pilot of the aircraft, who also died in the air crash. The postal departments failed to realise that these stamps were not official and mistakenly delivered mail that had them affixed.[21]
Cho was hospitalized in January 2015 and was in and out of hospital due to illness. He died of a cardiac arrest at 3:58 AM on 7 December 2016, aged 82, atApollo Hospital inChennai, where he was receiving treatment for respiratory problems. He was survived by his wife, Soundaramba Ramaswamy,[22] son Rajivakshan alias Sriram, and daughter Sindhu.[23][24][25][26]
His death happened a day afterJayalalithaa had died.Rajinikanth disclosed later that Jayalalithaa had always wished that Cho should live as long as she lived. He quoted: "As it turns out, he was alive till then and even few hours after that."[27]
K. Veeramani, leader of theDravidar Kazhagam and a self-confessed atheist, in his tributes to Cho, said he was a unique journalist with independent views.[13]
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