Venkat Raman
Music, dance, mimicry and announcement of details of a Short Film Contest are all a part of the Boxing Day Gift being offered by the Auckland Tamil Association.
Titled, ‘Mannil Intha Kaathal’ (‘Love on this Earth’), the event will be held from 6 pm on Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at the Freeman’s Bay Community Hall in Auckland City.
Yugendran Vasudevan will be the star of the evening with his innate talent to entertain men, women and children.
Indefatigable Vasudevan
Children of playback singers rarely achieve the talent and fame of their parents, especially in the Tamil film industry, which has curiously promoted, throughout its history more from the neighbouring States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, than from within its own borders.
Tamil Nadu is also known for enabling foreign talent to flourish, which is how and why singers like the Late Malaysia Vasudevan achieved fame and fortune through his melodious voice that suited almost every actor on whom scenes were picturised.
The eighth and youngest child of a family of indentured labourers from Kerala, Vasudevan (Nair) honed his singing prowess aligning himself with artistes and singers in Malaysia. Later, he made an unsuccessful bid to become a hero in the Tamil film industry; but became their voice as they lisped songs for hundreds of sequences.
In a career that spanned almost four decades, Vasudevan rendered more than 8000 songs, averaging a new song in every 30 hours.
It is now a matter of gratification that his eldest son, Yugendran has turned out to be more than a chip-off the old block. He is a successful singer and more importantly, an acclaimed actor in Tamil films.
It is also a matter of pride that he is currently a New Zealand resident.
He was seen briefly at the Diwali Celebrations of Auckland Tamil Association held on November 5, 2017 at the Freeman’s Bay Community Hall.
He will appear at the same venue under the same banner on December 26, 2017.
Tribute to music maestros
Yugendran will undoubtedly render ‘Mannil Intha Kaathal,’ a song written by Pavalar Varadarajan for the 1990 Tamil film ‘Keladi Kanmani,’ which was rendered in a single breath by S P Balasubrahmanyam.
Auckland Tamil Association President Vai Ravindran said that Yugendran will also present an exclusive 30-minute segments each of A R Rahman and Ilayaraja hits.
“There will also be a special ‘Request Session’ during which Yugendran will render the choice of the audience. Several local singers including Aswathy Sasidharan, Jayashree Sitaraman, Shankar Narayanan, and Srisudha Nampally, will join him at the Concert,” he said.
Mr Ravindran said that a dance number by Ratna Venkat and mimicry by Gokulraj Kothandaraman will be among the highlights of the Programme at which Murali Kumar will be the Master of Ceremonies.
Short Film Contest
If you are a movie buff with dreams of becoming a producer, director or actor, you should participate in ‘120 Hours,’ a Short Film Contest being organised by Yugendran.
Registration is now open; it will close on December 19, 2017.
‘120 Hours’ is a Yugendran joint venture with Venkat Prabhu (son of Gangai Amaran and nephew of Ilayaraja).
Indian Newslink will announce, subject to confirmation, categories for participants in its three web editions on December 20, 2017.
Participating teams will be given five days to shoot three-to-five minutes of a short film, dub, edit and submit the final work with English subtitles within 120 Hours from the time the email is sent to them.
As a Christmas theme, participating teams must incorporate colour props in their short films, namely, Green, Red or White.
The genres of their production will be a surprise element, which will be emailed to participants on December 20, 2017. The genre may include horror, thriller, comedy, romance or a public service message.
Yugendran and Venkat Prabhu will be the judges and the winning movie will be uploaded on Venkat Prabhu’s Black Ticket Company’s YouTube channel.
About Yugendran Vasudevan
Yugendran Vasudevan has acted with top South Indian artistes including Vijay in ‘Youth,’ ‘Bagavathy,’ ‘Thirupatchi’ and with Ajith in ‘Poovellaam Un Vaasam’ as the main villain.
His hit songs include the title track of ‘Parthein Rasithein,’ ‘Ithukku Enna Artham’ (‘Junction’), ‘Muthan Muthaalai’ (‘Laysa Laysa’), ‘Oh Maria’ (‘Kadhalar Dhinam’), ‘Thozha Thozha’ (‘Pandavar Bhoomi’), and ‘Adida’ (‘Goa’).
He is also a Judge at ‘V Star,’ Singapore National Singing Competition.
Entry tickets priced at $25 (adults) and $15 (children) to ‘Mannil Intha Kaathal’ are on sale online at www.eventbrite.com/e/mannili-intha-kathal-tickets-40793011997
Tickets can also be purchased at S S Super Market, 578, Sandringham Road, Sandringham and Smart Deal Bazaar, 40 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill.
For further information, please contact Vai Ravindran on 027-2758266; Email: vairavindran@gmail.com; Website: www.aucklandtamilassociation.co.nz
