Cho Ramaswamy

Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known as Cho Ramaswamy (5 October 1934 – 7 December 2016), was an Indian actor, comedian, character actor, editor, political satirist, playwright, dialogue writer, film director and lawyer in Tamil Nadu.

The elder son of R. Srinivasa Iyer (father) and Rajammal (mother), Cho had a younger brother, who was also an actor. Cho died on 7 December 2016. He has two children Sriram Ramaswamy, Sindhuja. He did his schooling in P.S.Higher Secondary School. His niece is Actress Ramya Krishnan. The name 'Cho' that the world knows so well was the name of the character he played in a Tamil play written by Bhageerathan titled Thenmozhiyaal.

Films

Cho made his debut in 1963 with Paar Magale Paar as a comedian. From 1963 to 2005 he acted in 180 Tamil films and directed 5 films. He also wrote and directed 20plays.

He also wrote and acted in 27 Television serials. He wrote 10 books. Apart from being an actor, he was both the screenplay and story writer of films such as Thenmazhai, Ninaivil Nindraval, Bommalattam, Aayiram Poi and Panam Paththum Seyyum, all of which proved to be box office hits.

Cho played the role of a bike mechanic in the play Petralthan Pillaiya, written by Pattu of the United Amateur Artistes (UAA), which became a huge success. When the play was later adapted into a film by director A. Bhimsingh, Sivaji Ganesan persuaded Cho to play the same role in the film too, leading to Cho's entry into the film world. Cho and Jayalalithaa have worked together in 19 films and also had been part of the same drama troupe.

Frequent collaborations

Cho as an actor has been pitted against other actors across generations. His comic timing against T.S. Balaiah in Manam Oru Kurangu, or with M.R. Radha, or many times with actors like V.K. Ramaswamy, Nagesh, Manorama and Sachu in many films brought out the best in him.

Cho and Manorama were paired together in 20 films, which included Malligaip poo, Annaiyum pithavum, Dharisanam, Anbait thedi, Ninaivil Nindraval, Nirai Kudam, Therottam, Aayiram Poi, Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, Bommalattam, Pugundha Veedu, Vilayaattu Pillai, Kanavan, Rojavin Raja and Velum Mayilum Thunai and were pitted in a non-couple role in Suryagandhi, Delhi Mappilai and Naadagame Ulagam.

Cho acted alongside Nagesh in Thenmazhai, Ninaivil Nindraval, Ulagam Ivvalavudhaan and Bommalattam among others. He was paired opposite Sachu in films like Deva Sankalpam, Galaataa Kalyanam and Delhi Mappilai.

Cho has acted with the MGR–Jayalalitha combo in films like Oli Villaku, Kanavan, Kumarikottam, Mattukara Velan, Aadimai Penn, Engal Thangam, Thedi Vantha Mapillai, En Annan and Neerum Nerupum. Cho has acted with MGR in many films like Petralthaan Pillaiya, Sangey Muzhangu, Rickshawkaaran and Thalaivan. Cho has acted with Jayalalitha in other films like Bommalaattam, Galaattaak kalyanam, Suryagandhi, Vandhaale Maharaasi and Anbai Thedi.

Cho has acted with Sivakumar in films like Shanmugapriya, Onne Onnu Kanne Kannu, Thaip Paasam, Uravu Solla Oruvan, Aan Pillai Singam, Yaarukkum Vetkamillai, Chinna Kuyil Padudhu, Sattai Illatha Pambaram and Kanna Thorakiran Samy. Among these, Yaarukkum Vetkamillai was directed by Cho in 1976.

Politics

He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India, K. R. Narayanan. In the Rajya Sabha 12 MPs are nominated by the President of India from amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art or social service. He served as a Rajya Sabha MP from November 1999 to November 2005.

Literature

He was the founder and editor of the Tamil magazine Thuglak. Politicians such as J. B. Kripalani, Indira Gandhi, Karunanidhi, Chandra Shekhar, G. K. Moopanar, M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa, Ramakrishna Hegde, N. T. Rama Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and L. K. Advani, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram were targets of his editorial attacks. In his last years, he predicted that Narendra Modi would "win laurels for India" in the future, and also praised Jayalalithaa for her administration of Tamil Nadu.

The anniversary celebration of his popular magazine Thuglak is being organised on 14 January every year coinciding with the local festival of '"Pongal" and is attended by about 50000 admirers as well as adversaries. Several VIPs also participate in the function. The main attraction during the celebrations is the questions posed by members of the audience and quick answers given by Cho.

On 25 January 2017, the Government of India announced the Padma Bhushan award for his contribution towards Literature & Education – Journalism.

Plays

Following Sanjay Gandhi's death in an air crash, Cho released stamps in memory of Capt. Subhash Saxena, the pilot of the aircraft, who also died in the air crash. The postal departments failed to realise that these stamps were not official and mistakenly approved them.

Mr. Cho was hospitalized in January 2015 and was in and out of hospital due to illness. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha called on Cho Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy died due to cardiac arrest at 3:58 AM on 7 December 2016, aged 82, at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, where he was receiving treatment for respiratory problems. He was survived by his wife, Soundara Ramaswamy, son Rajivakshan alias Sriram, and daughter Sindhu.

Rajinikanth disclosed later that Jayalalithaa had always opined that Mr. Ramaswamy should live as long as she lived. He quoted: "As it turns out, he was alive till then and even few hours after that."