Battling Mani

Battling Mani Biography

Battling Mani was an Indian actor associated with early Tamil talkies, and Tamil’s first action hero. He was active in the second half of 1930s and also did one movie in the late 1940s, and played lead hero every time. He acted in 4 Tamil movies in total - Madras Mail (1936), Miss Sundari (1937), Harijana Singam or Madras CID (1938) and finally Thaai Nadu (1947), a patriotic film released exactly on the day of Indian independence. Harijana Singam or Madras CID is his one and only directorial venture, where he played the lead. The movie had two alternative titles. His debut film, Madras Mail too was a big hit, and he played the title role. This iconic film is credited to be the first action cinema in Tamil, and was a trendsetter for many to follow the same suit.

Battling Mani entered film scene in the mid-1930s, an era when silent films had just said goodbye, and talkies became popular. Story line of almost all movies was predictable. Otherwise they used to be mythological dramas. It was a time when action and song sequences became a part of almost all movies, which dragged cine viewers to theater.

Battling Mani marked his acting debut in a lead role with Madras Mail (1936) opposite T. N. Meenakshi, and he performed various stunt scenes in the movie. This action film created sensation among the audience during the era of social dramas and religious films, and emerged as a trendsetter. Later the same formula was tried by many filmmakers, even now! The movie was directed by C. N. Trivedi.

Battling Mani later appeared in the movies, Miss Sundari (1937) opposite P. S. Sivapackiam, Harijana Singam or Madras CID (1938) – the movie which also marked his directorial debut, and finally Thaai Nadu (1947), a patriotic film, his last release. He was a crowd puller, and one of the successful heroes of the early Tamil talkies.

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Updated: June 28, 2018