Poetry at Sangam
Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.
Madras, 1984
Bob Christo is lounging in the movie set
of a movie set—for a Tamil feature, playing
a north Indian stuntman once thrashed by
Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra and, now,
refusing to be hit by a puny Kollywood hero,
[Bald head — check
French Beard — check
Menacing look — not nearly there]
who finally agrees after a promise
to triple his wages for getting
beaten up—a henchman’s perverse inversion
on the movie screen.
He is ready for the shot inside the shot,
where he has to enrage the protagonist poke & spur
his metamorphosis into a thamizh nattu singam,
which will maul the white Caucasian posing as
the Aryan invader-migrant. For a brief moment,
he feels himself going for a hook
to the head, when the Master says “stomach”
and throwing a low blow when he shouts “head”.
On “cut”, he returns to his seat after a perfect
scene where he goes off script without a glitch.