Crazy Mohan

Mohan Rangachari (16 October 1952 – 10 June 2019)[2] known professionally as Crazy Mohan, was an Indian actor, comedian, screenwriter and playwright.[3] An engineer by profession, Mohan started writing plays and established his own drama troupe called "Crazy Creations" in 1979. In addition to dramas and tele-serials, Mohan worked as a dialogue writer on a number of comedy films. Mohan had written over 30 plays, worked on over 40 films, having cameo roles in each film, and written 100 short stories.[1] The Tamil Nadu state government in the year 2004, awarded him the Kalaimamani title for excellence in the field of arts and literature.

Crazy Mohan
Mohan in the play Chocolate Krishna, 2015
Born
Mohan Rangachari[1]

(1952-10-16)16 October 1952
Died10 June 2019(2019-06-10) (aged 66)
Occupation(s)Actor
Comedian
Playwright
Screenwriter
Years active1976–2019
FamilyMaadhu Balaji (brother)

Career
Mohan (right) along with former president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Mohan was a student at the College of Engineering, Guindy, where he graduated as a mechanical engineer in 1973.[4][1][5] His guide was his classmate S. Ravi, who was the President of Tamil Mandram. Before becoming a full-time writer, Mohan was working at Sundaram - Clayton Limited.[6]

At the College of Engineering, Guindy, in February 1972, he first wrote Great Bank Robbery, a skit for an intra class contest within the Guindy Engineering college for which he received the Best Writer award.[1][7][8] It was followed by scripts for his younger brother Maadhu Balaji's drama troupe at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai.[1] The first full-length play he wrote was Crazy Thieves in Paalavakkam for Natakapriya in 1976,[9] which was a runaway hit[10] and gave him the nom de plume "Crazy" Mohan.[11][12] He also wrote scripts for Tenant Commandments and One More Exorcist.[9]

After writing for other productions, Mohan decided to start his own troupe and founded Crazy Creations in 1979.[9] The troupe has since created over 30 plays with original scripts and staged over 6,500 shows all over India and abroad.[13] His play Chocolate Krishna had been staged 500 times within three years.[14] His brother Maadhu Balaji, who is an actor, plays the hero in all his dramas.

The first feature film he worked on was K. Balachander's Poikkal Kudhirai for which he wrote the dialogues. The film itself was based on Mohan's drama Marriage made in Saloon.[10] He went on to write dialogues for several comedy films, particularly starring Kamal Haasan, which include Sathi Leelavathi, Kaathala Kaathala, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Apoorva Sagodharargal, Indian, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali, Panchathanthiram and Vasool Raja MBBS.[9][15] The 2006 film Jerry had a story and screenplay by Mohan and featured Mohan's entire theatre team, including its director S. B. Khanthan.[10] He has also acted in supporting or cameo roles in the films he wrote the dialogue or script for.

In 1989, he also began producing television comedy series. Serials he produced include Here is Crazy, Kalyanathukku Kalyanam with over 600 episodes and Vidathu Sirippu,[16] with the latter winning the Best Comedy Serial award from Mylapore Academy in 2005.[17] He also wrote 100 short stories.[1]

Mohan was also a distinguished artist who has sketched/painted nearly 60 aesthetic paintings, including portraits of spiritual leaders and eminent personalities, Raja Ravi Verma’s portraitures and portraits of Gods and Prophets.

Mohan penned at least one Venba every day—over 40,000 Venbas in his lifetime.

Awards

Best Dialogue Writer - 14th Cinema Express Awards for Chinna Mapillai

State awards

The Tamil Nadu state government in the year 2004, awarded him the Kalaimamani title for excellence in the field of arts and literature.

International awards

Professional excellence award[18] by The Governor of Maryland, USA, for his outstanding contributions to Tamil literature, fine arts, theatres for more than 38 years.

Philanthropy

Mohan was a donor and philanthropist for over 39 years. He contributed donations towards heart surgeries, kidney transplants from the proceeds from the sale of his drama tickets.

Donations to the Cancer Institute, Adyar run by Dr. V.Shantha, since 1999.

The proceeds from the sales of his book- 'Crazy about Ramana' are re-directed towards educating Indian culture and values to poor children studying in Government schools.

Works

Theatre

Some of his popular Tamil dramas as a dialogue writer and actor are listed below.

  • Maadhu +2[19]
  • Jurassic Baby[19]
  • Marriage Made in Saloon
  • Meesai Aanaalum Manaivi[9]
  • Alaavudeenum 100 Watts Bulbum[9]
  • Crazy Kishkintha[20]
  • Return of Crazy Thieves[20]
  • Oru Babiyin Diary Kurippu[20]
  • Kathalikka Maadhu Undu[20]
  • Maadhu Mirandal[21]
  • Madhil Mel Maadhu[22]
  • Chocolate Krishna[23]
  • Satellite Saamiyaar[24]
  • Crazy Thieves in Paalavaakkam[19]
  • Oru Sontha Veedu Vaadagai Veedagirathu
  • Ayya Amma Ammamma[25]
  • Google Gadothgajan[26]
  • Crazy Premier League (CPL)
  • Gummaala Gokulam (Upcoming Drama)[14]
  • Veetai Maatri Katti Paar

Serials
  • Aachi international (1997)
  • Vidathu Sirippu (2004)
  • Siri Siri Crazy (2007)

Film

As a script and dialogue writer

As an actor
Television plays[1]

Web series

Death

Mohan complained of stomach pain and breathlessness in the morning of 10 June 2019. After he suffered a heart attack, Mohan was rushed to Kauvery Hospital by Maadhu Balaji. A team of doctors worked on Mohan for hours to revive him. All efforts to revive him failed, and Mohan was declared dead at around 2:00 PM IST the same day. He is survived by his wife and 2 sons.[28]

References
  1. "Comedy cocktails his forte". The Hindu. 20 December 2008.
  2. Pushpa Narayan (10 June 2019). "Crazy Mohan, playwright and comedian, dies". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. "'Crazy' Mohan back with his classic plays". The Hindu. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  4. Vidya Raja (31 July 2018). "India's Oldest Engineering College Turns 225: 6 Alumni Who Have Made Guindy Proud!". The Better India. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  5. "I hate being serious... or upset: Crazy Mohan". Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  6. "On the name 'Kathadi'". The Hindu. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  7. "The Times Group". epaperbeta.timesofindia.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  8. "How Kamal met Crazy Mohan: The story involves a graveyard". 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  9. "rediff.com: Movies: An interview with comedian Crazy Mohan". Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  10. "Crazy humour and much more". The Hindu. 7 July 2007.
  11. "Angry, Crazy, Gemini and Cho". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  12. Raman, Sruthi Ganapathy. "What gets Tamil audiences rolling in the aisles? Crazy Mohan knows". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "Feast of comedy plays from Crazy's stable". The Hindu. 10 August 2007.
  14. Balaganessin, M. (26 February 2012). "'Crazy' Mohan to produce kids-oriented play". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  15. "rediff.com: Kamal Haasan does a Munnabhai!". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  16. "Crazy robot". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014.
  17. "Comic interlude". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 November 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  18. "Crazy Mohan conferred with professional excellence award by the Governor of Maryland". Behindwoods. 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  19. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (16 October 2014). "Of 'Crazy' Mohan, Madras and Mylapore". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  20. "Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Crazy Mohan's plays in CD format". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014.
  21. "In The Capital Today". The Hindu. 25 April 2004. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  22. Kannadasan, Akila (28 October 2010). "Crazy time". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  23. "The Hindu : Friday Review Chennai : How humour meets magic". Archived from the original on 4 February 2010.
  24. "Humour on demand". The Hindu. 11 July 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  25. "Funny one-liners of marriage woes". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  26. Balasubramanian, V. (October 2015). "Crazy Mohan's latest play is a big hit with children". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  27. "Siri Siri Crazy". YouTube. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  28. "Veteran Tamil playwright and actor 'Crazy' Mohan dies at 67". The Hindu. 10 June 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
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