In the film world, Bhanumathi was a singing superstar of yesteryears, a senior who commanded the respect of icons Sivaji Ganesan and M.G. Ramachandran. But she was, and remains, much more than that. Born in a family of modest means but blessed with prodigious talent, Bhanumathi, whose birth centenary fell on September 7, was a feminist icon who lived by her own rules, even as other female stars had to conform to a male-dominated world. Many incidents testified to her individuality, which stemmed from the confidence she had in her talents.
“I started thinking about evolving my own acting method while acting in Sorgha Seema [Telugu]. I can give life to the character only when I understand my role. It is inappropriate that directors who have no experience in acting insist on following their direction. Each one possesses a style,” Bhanumathi says in her biography Tharaiku Vantha Tharagai, penned by Thanjavur Kavirayar. She had a clear idea of not only acting but also every aspect of film-making. She directed and produced 16 films, wrote screenplays, dialogues, and scripts, and also sang and composed music. An accomplished writer, Bhanumathi won the Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi Award for her short story collection Atthagari Kathalu, which was published in Tamil as Mamiyar Kathaigal. She was the first South Indian woman director. Chandirani, her first directorial debut, was made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. It was her writing talent that persuaded producers and directors to radically change the storylines of the films in which she was cast. “Like a bulldozer, I turned around the story to create a strange character,” she says about the changes she made in Maya Miruga, a Bengali film that was adapted into Tamil as Annai by AVM. She also acknowledges the cooperation extended by directors of the film Krishnan and Panju. The film was a box-office hit and ran for 100 days. Bhanumathi was also generous in her praise for director Bhim Singh, who used to write her Tamil dialogues in Telugu, which made her delivery easy and powerful.
