C. Cunniah.
| Photo Credit: Illustration: B. Sainath
C. Cunniah was one of Tamil theatre’s greatest legends in the early decades of the 20th century. His productions were known for their grandeur, and he was considered a forerunner to the likes of Nawab Rajamanickam Pillai and R.S. Manohar in the mythological genre. A brief profile of this legend, compiled by T.C. Vadivelu Naicker, a noted theatre artiste and one of the pioneers of early Tamil cinema, was published in the drama book of Cunniah’s last magnum opus theatrical work, Bhagavad Gita.Cunniah was born in 1877 (though curiously, the Government of Tamil Nadu celebrated his birth centenary in 1973). His interest in studies was limited, for, his formal education lasted only till the fourth standard. Aware of the need to learn a craft with which he could earn a livelihood, his parents enrolled him in the Parur Thyagaraja Sastri Press on Govindappa Naicken Street in George Town, Chennai, where he learnt composing and became a Telugu compositor. He later joined the government press and worked in the same capacity. The acting bug bit him around this time, when he started watching plays being performed by Subbaraya Achari, a noted theatre practitioner of those times. Deciding to become an actor, he quit his job and joined an entourage of performers led by Gopala Rayar on a year-long tour to Singapore. On his return, he joined a drama company run by Narayanaswamy Pillai as an actor at a monthly salary of Rs. 2. His association with the company lasted for nearly seven years, during which time he essayed a variety of small roles and soon started making a name for himself.Pursuing wider opportunities, Cunniah quit Narayanaswamy Pillai’s company and went to Rangoon, where he joined a drama company as a lead actor. The brief stint saw him gain recognition. On his return to Madras, he launched the Sri Krishna Vinodha Sabha, which went on to become one of the premier performing theatre companies of the early 1900s. One of its earliest productions was Sakunthala, with Cunniah performing the role of Dushyanta. Spurred by its success, Cunniah embarked on a series of mega productions over the course of the next few years such as Sampurna Ramayanam (where he essayed six roles, including that of Kaikeyi and Surpanakha), Kandirajan, Chandravali, Sathya Harischandra, Lankadhanam and Vasanthika with the Royal Theatre at Salt Cotaurs as his base.
