Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Doctorate for Actor Simbu aka STR - A Flashback

Actor Simbu aka Silambarasan aka STR ( son of T Rajinder , veteran film maker) joined the prestigious list of Kollywood actors starting from MGR onwards to R Madhavan and Tamannah who recieved doctorates. `Superstar' Rajinikanth is one actor who has shunned the `honor' . The fact that STR is acting in three films produced by Dr Ishari Ganesh, the owner of Vels University who is  conferring the title on him should not be held against him. The reason stated  by  Vels University statement is "  “This is acknowledgement to Silambarasan talent and contribution to cinema.". He also added that Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar ( STR) being part of Vels Film International ongoing projects has nothing to do with the doctorate. ( Is the Doctorate of Ishari Ganesh from his own University ?). R Madhavan who received his D Litt from Kolhapur University said at the function , " When actors like us get honoured with doctorates I wish the image of showbiz personalities as intellectually challenged frivolous dimwits would end. To a large extent, we are ourselves responsible for not being taken seriously. Some of us constantly stress and project the glamorous side of our lives. As though being an actor is fun and games. In reality, there are so many actors and films that have influenced the lives of millions, "

During my stint as freelance journalist, I  decided to dig into the "Doctorate' given to MGR. It was in mid seventies. My pal TSV Hari joined me in this `digging'. We traced the man who was responsible to a house in Triplicane. He was one Krishna . We posed as agents who can get `clients'.. He gave us details of the fees and that includes the thesis that had to be given. We took the framed photos of him with Karunanidhi - MGR to many other to a nearby studio and got it copied. We told him it was for our brochure to canvass clients.

The story- a joint byline of mine and Hari appeared in Onlooker magazine as an inset mention on cover. There was big hullabaloo about it. The then CM Karunanidhi was having a doctorate from Annamalai University . This university was widely seen as giving degrees through correspondence courses. He was caught in the same net laid out by Krishna . Karunanidhi laughed it away as an enthusiastic DMK worker's handiwork. MGR however after becoming CM got his `legitimate' Doctorate from  University of Madras.

I was told by Krishna that his Doctorate biz flourished after Kannada Superstar Rajkumar got one and added to his name.. It was from Mysore University . He was the first South Indian actor to get this.. Sivaji Ganesan got his in1986 from Annamalai University.. Then most of the doctorates came from institutions abroad. Chinni Jayanth got it from Open International University of Alternate Medicine. Chiyan Vikram  became our first Tamil actor to have received an honorary doctorate from a Foreign University. He was accredited the award by the Universita Popolare Degli Studi Milano, Italy in 2011.

Things changed when private colleges turned into Universities under Deemed University Act and owners became Chancellor ( a post held by Governor for Government Universities). and their children were VC's.. Sathyabhama University of the famous Jeppiar ( former bodyguard of MGR who later fell out with AMMA) and AC Shanmugham , a businessman who runs Dr MGR University competed to confer doctorates on Tamil film Stars. Jeppiar said that his University would give 100 doctorates to film people. Except for the function conferring the honor on Kamal Haasan by Sathyabhama and on Vijay by Dr MGR University , other functions were not given much publicity in media. Prabhu- Nassar, Vivek,  Vijaykanth were among those who got it.

Kamal after floating his own political party was conferred a honorary doctorate by Odisha's Centurion University of Technology and Management  and received it from Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik. Late Dr J Jayalalithaa had four  doctorates conferred on her by various Tamil Nadu State run Universities and one from Dr MGR University. Karunanidhi  got three from State run University.

After `Baahubali' success,  Actress Tamannah Bhatia! received her doctorate for "Recognising her contribution to South cinema, the Confederation of International Accreditation Commission (CIAC), an International NGO, has conferred Tamannah with an Honorary Doctorate". Going by this yardstick, STR who has been giving duds in a row for years and battling charges of unprofessionalism, finally got his first Box office big time in ` Maanaadu' and so he fits the bill to get the doctorate.


Simbhu's achievement is that he started out as, 

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