Say “A bridge to nowhere”, every old-timer in Chennai knows exactly what you mean. Overseeing the Adyar estuary, this wasn’t a half bridge when it was built in 1967, initially helped fisherfolk travel from Adyar to Srinivasapuram. It was meant to be their shortcut. However, nature had the final word in 1977. A part of it collapsed into the estuary due to a strong current, never to be repaired again. It is no riddle, of course, the Broken Bridge.
Since then, the structure has lived more in stories than in function. Many chilling stories surround the bridge because of its abandoned appearance and the crime rates ran high; it is often feared by the public and unwelcome too. Yet, its very emptiness and past familiarity turned it into a sought-after shooting spot for many filmmakers. Notably, the 1971 film Rickshawkaran featured a song Kadaloram Vaangiya Kaatru where MGR and Manjula dance on the standing full bridge. For a whole generation of millennials, this bridge is etched as the stage of the iconic showdown in Aayutha Ezhuthu(2004), where Michael(Suriya) and Inba ( Madhavan) square off against each other, a confrontation that escalates into a brawl, all on that narrow strip of a bridge.
