Tamil cinema has produced many artists who have been able to leave an impact on the audience through their small roles. Yesteryear actor Marthandam is one of them. Marthandam used to be a popular actor in the Tamil film industry. He came into the limelight after his iconic role in the superhit film Chinna Thambi. The film was released in 1992 and was directed by P Vasu. The film received a great response, and Marthandam had a small role in the film but was highly appreciated due to his comic timing.
Marthandam played the iconic role of a mentally-challenged man in Chinna Thambi. He was seen constantly mouthing the dialogue — Enakku Kalyanam (I am married)? This dialogue became quite famous, and everyone appreciated him for his performance in the film. But acting was never Marthandam’s main profession. People are often shocked to know that he was originally a painter and has garnered a lot of love for his artwork.
Marthandam was born in a village in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, and grew up in a family of farmers. He had no background in art, and he used to just focus on farming during childhood. In an earlier interview, he revealed that he was quite inspired by his father’s parrot figures from Palm, which helped him take up art. He said, “After completing Class 10, along with my parents’ encouragement and support, I enrolled in an art class at Nagercoil. It was called Chitra Drawing School,” he recalls. He further added that, after getting enrolled in the small art centre, he was able to develop many new techniques that helped him become an artist.
He travelled to Mumbai to learn more from artist C Mohan, who used to draw paintings with knives. Later, he started out by making posters for films. While making a poster for the film, he found his love for acting. Eventually, he got his first major break in Balachander’s Oru Veedu Iru Vaasal in 1990. Currently, he is working full-time as an artist and stays away from films.
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