Also Read “This is the story of Lalitha’s ‘Patukku Patu’ show” ― Open hearted BH Abdul Ameed.! Exclusive
His speech that starts with “Lalitha’s song to song .. the bell is ringing at the place .. you have to start with the needle not the needle” continues to ring in the ears of many people even today. In this case, he gave an exclusive interview to Behindwoods website and shared many interesting and shocking things that happened to him.
Abdul Hameed shared about the situation he grew up in and said, “When I was born and raised, the living conditions were below the poverty line. People were taken from different areas to work in tea plantations and rubber plantations. Colombo was the capital in those days. Everything in that area was like hamlets. In the areas where I lived there were factories where goats and cows were slaughtered for food and used for meat. People were brought to work there too. There were some 12 families who did not do those jobs around that great garden. They were cottages and log houses. That’s where I was born and raised. My mother is from Sri Lanka. My father was taken from India to serve in the army during World War II.
I lost my father at a very young age. I don’t even remember his face clearly. I also lost my mother six months after I got the job as anchor. Even photography was a commodity in those days. A small picture of my mother was sold, and I gave it to the famous painter AP Sridhar of all India to record it in my book as a life painting. I am eternally grateful to him.
I grew up in an area without electricity. Once a year the Antoniar festival is held there. Then they will broadcast music songs on the loudspeaker. In 1952, the film Parashakti was released and became a huge success. At that time, the Columbia Records Company saw the response of the people to those verses and recorded those verses on a record. Similarly Manokara verses could also be heard on the music board. Actor Thilak did not know his face and color, but he was in awe when he heard the lines he spoke.
All the verses he spoke have remained in my mind. It was then that the ability to memorize verses developed. That’s why my teacher used to make me act as a protagonist in plays whenever there were art festivals. I will play two characters of Jhansi Rani and Karnan in the same art show. I have acted as Veerapandiya Kattabomman before the movie Veerapandiya Kattabomman. It was a moment when I met actor Thilak, who was a supporter of my life in the art world, in person.”
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