SMALL SCREEN VS BIG SCREEN

By Mrs. Karpagam N.Thyagarajan


Coming summer in Chennai the artistes of small-screen and big-screen will doff their shooting make-up and stop acting before cameras for a day to participate in a Test Cricket match to be played in the Chennai Chepauk Stadium.

The talks between the Small Screen team and the big-screen is taking place and will arrive the exact date when the match will take place, sources said.

The small-screen cricket team "Play Boys" consisitng of more than 15 players, with P.K. Kamalesh as captain played earlier 16 matches with various corporate companies and banks. Play Boys so far won in 12 matches and aftermath the team did not participate in any matches due to busy schedules of their shootings.Their recent trip for a month to the USA and UK for some cultrual programmes for the Tamils living in those countries had brought them laurels and gave confidence that they too could make out programmes with a huge crowd pulling.

When asked about the Play Boy cricket team, Kamalesh said that Vijay Adhi Raj and Kamalesh himself had started the team with Vivek, Vinay, Kamalesh, Prem, Dev, Venkat Babu, Arvinder, Charan, Selva O.A.K. Sundar all are considered good batsmen of the team. He said these players would play against the artistes of the big-screen.Small Screen Bhanu Prakash is considered as the good Wicket Keeper in addition to Vivek who would also be asked to do wicket keeping, the team's captain Kamalesh said. Chethan, Prem, Vivek would be given the bowling chances,since, they are considered good spin bowlers. Vinay & Vijay Adhi Raj are also good bowlers and it is expected they would also take wickets at the Chepauk stadium in the coming match, kamalesh said. The cricket is likely to be day and night match and a part of the ticket sales would be given for a good cause, Kamalesh said.

It is said that Film PRO Diamond Babu ( son of Film News Anandan)was approached to have detailed discussion about the ensuing match with the big screen artistes and Kamalesh is certain that the Test match would take place in the coming summer. Who are all the players of the big screen would make known in a couple of days, after ascertaining the dates and availability of the artistes of the big-screen, Kamalesh said.

Ealier, a group of small-screen artistes Kamalesh his wife Sindhu, Chethan his wife Devadarshini, Venu Aravind and his wife Shoba, Mohan Ram, Abhishek, Prem Sai, Deepa Venkat, Uma Padmanaban, Pooja, Shrilekha Parthsarathy, Shri Ram all visited the USA and UK and performed eight cultural shows totally in the USA Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Florida, and in Canada Montreal, Tampa and some other places.

"All the Tamil speaking people who were watching our shows gave us a grand reception and many in those auditoriums not minding about standing in the halls, due to full packed to seats, for a long hours watched our dramas, singing and acting for skids. We have been asked to stay freely in the organisers houses and in Canada we all stayed in lodges. The Tamils living there never treated us as artistes but as their own kith and kin of their family members" gratefully acknowledges Kamalesh.

Kamalesh says, that after his marriage which took two months ago in Chennai took his wife with him and celebrated his foreign visits as 'Honey Moon'. He also said, that his wife Sindhu and Venu Aravind's wife Shoba looked after the 'sound effect' of the stage on shows, since many of those living in abroad did not have the knowledge about it.

Last Sunday, a sum of Rs.25,000 ( Rs twenty-five thousand) was donated by the TV artistes to Shivaji Relief Fund, a Charity started by the AVM Productions to help downtrodden people under the late actor Shivaji Ganesan's name. "What we earn should go to charities, is our motto" gleefully tells Kamalesh. He said the money was handed over to A.V.M.Saravanan at the MCC Club in a small function in which Sathya Jothi Film Producer T.G.Thyagarajan and Director Viduthalai participated.

Millions and millions of people watching our Tamil channels' programmes in India and other countries had proved, with the attendance a large gatherings wherever the small-screen artistes performed stage performances, Kamalesh said.

The very same team has been planning to visit Australia to perform on the stage, Kamalesh said. His younger brother P.K.Hemant who is looking after his own event management office had been busy in organising various programmes for the Chinna Thirai artistes, Kamalesh said.