Joseph Panimayadas Chandrababu Rodriguez

J. P. Chandrababu was an Indian film comedian, actor, director, singer and dancer in Tamil language productions, whose Chaplinesque style on-screen movements and singing style made him popular from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. He had a mastery of the Madras Bashai, a dialect unique to the Madras region. His slapstick style of comedy has been emulated by subsequent actors. Many of his songs have remained popular. Chandrababu was born to a wealthy and eminent Christian Paravar family in 1927 at Tuticorin, India. His father, a freedom fighter, ran a paper called Sudhandhira Veeran which, along with the family assets, was seized by the British government in 1929 when he was arrested for participating in the satyagraha movement. He and the family were exiled to Colombo, Sri Lanka on his release, where his father worked for a Tamil newspaper. Chandrababu was educated at St. Joseph's College, Grandpass, Colombo and Aquinas College prior to his family moving once more, this time to Chennai in 1943. Here they lived in Triplicane, where his father worked for the Dinamani newspaper. Chandrababu was very passionate about acting despite opposition from his family members. His friend Ganapathy was the only person who motivated his acting skills. From his childhood, he was an expert in singing and whenever he got together with his friends or family, Chandrababu was asked to sing. Sri Lanka had a very western outlook in those times and Chandrabubu picked up on western styles of singing and dancing while there. In these early years Chandrababu made acquaintances of the actors Sriram, B. R. Panthulu and, through them, T. R. Mahalingam. He made his debut with a small role in the 1947 film Dhana Amaravathi ² but struggled thereafter to obtain parts. He had spent many days starving himself and searching for a chance in films. In 1952, he attempted suicide by ingesting copper sulphate crystals in the canteen of Gemini Studios. He had written a suicide note explaining his reasons, which included that he had been unable to meet the director S. S. Vasan, and that his body was to be handed over to B. S. Ramaiah, the director of his only film at that date. Suicide was a criminal offence and so he was arrested. But when his case came to trial the judge asked him to prove his acting ability. Chandrababu rendered a Shakespearean monologue that so impressed the judge that he was not jailed. ² One of those who had assisted him in being taken to hospital at the time of his attempted suicide was Gemini Ganesan. When Vasan learned of this episode he gave Chandrababu a small role in the 1952 film Moondru Pillaigal, which impressed Vasan so much that he predicted a successful career. ² for him. Chandrababu also filmed Chinna Durai and Mohana Sundaram in the same year. Chandrababu rose to fame with his performance in the 1953 film Sabhash Meena, where he played a witty and sarcastic butler. He also sang the song "Kalakkal Kalakkal" in the film, which became a hit. He then acted in many successful films such as Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari (1954), where he played a dual role, Madurai Veeran (1956), where he played the comic sidekick of M. G. Ramachandran, Nadodi Mannan (1958), where he played a barber who helps the king, and Paava Mannippu (1961), where he played a Christian fisherman. He also directed and acted in the films Maadi Veettu Ezhai (1956), Thattungal Thirakkapadum (1966) and Bommalattam (1968). He was known for his versatility and ability to sing in different genres and languages. He introduced yodelling in Tamil playback singing and sang many songs in the Madras Bashai dialect. Some of his popular songs are "Vaanmathiye Vaa Vaa", "Sollurathe Sollipurren", "Pombalainga Kadhal", "Hello My Dear Wrong Number" and "Singara Velane Deva". Chandrababu married actress C. T. Rajakantham in 1954 and they had a son named Rodriguez Chandrababu. However, their marriage ended in divorce in 1964 due to his alcoholism and financial troubles. He also had a relationship with actress T. A. Mathuram, who committed suicide in 1969. Chandrababu suffered from liver cirrhosis and died in 1974 at the age of 46. He was buried at the Kilpauk Cemetery in Chennai. His son also died in 2007 due to kidney failure. ¹²