#MadrasWeek: The structures that stand in for the Madras High Court in our films

Be it the LIC or the Central Station, all the monuments we saw and still see owe it to the architects whose vision they were. Sujatha Shankar, a city architect, says that much of modern Madras is because of pioneers like LM Chithale, who was behind the LIC building, the firm of Jackson and Barker (later headed by Pithavadian), RR Sarma and CR Narayan Rao, to name a few.In our last column, we looked at the buildings that helped filmmakers establish the fact that the heroes/heroines in our films have arrived in Madras. And now, having arrived in the city, the heroes are bound to face some legal hurdle or the other. Enter the High Court of Madras. Any legal battle is preceded by a shot (usually an aerial one) of the High Court. This building, like the Central Station, is built in the Indo-Saracenic style, and is also painted red. The design of this building was by JW Brassington and the work was done by Irwin. Famous historian S Muthiah mentions that this structure was completed in 1892.With its stained glass domes and above all, the lighthouse, which was added years later, the High Court remains an impressive building. The lighthouse was to remain for many decades till the 1970s.The beauty of this building is that unlike the others, film shoots aren’t permitted inside the premises. Several other landmarks have, thankfully, stepped in to ‘dupe’ for the High Court. The verandah and steps were usually shot at the Museum Theatre I, Egmore, the Presidency College on Beach Road and the School For The Blind in Poonamallee.Sometimes, the huge staircase leading to Rajaji Hall was also used. This building was called the Banqueting Hall, and was opened in 1902. Its iconic steps have been used by many directors to great dramatic effect.The court interiors were invariably sets, where the art director could use his imagination and add several props not normally found in any court of India, like the blindfolded Goddess of Justice with the scales of justice in her hand! This was purely for cinematic effect. Another anomaly is the judges’ gown with a red satin border. This is the prescribed dress for England, not here, but the colonial hangover seems to continue.The most famous of legal films, Gauravam (1973), too, had interiors shot on set. Personally, having acted in more than 60 films as an advocate/judge, I can claim to have worked in most court sets. The earliest court reference in our Tamil films is from K Subrahmanyam’s Thyaga Bhoomi (1939), in which the heroine refuses her husband’s plea to restore conjugal rights and insists on getting a divorce and, in fact, offers to pay him alimony. This scene created a huge outcry.The career of the great thespian Sivaji Ganesan was launched from a courtroom — the court scene in Parasakthi (1952). From there on, these courts have seen many curious and mysterious battles, more often than not, straying away from the dreary court proceedings that one often sees in real life. The High Court scenes in our films have never ceased to tickle the funny bones of professional advocates, but then, it is just entertainment.Mohan Raman is a popular Tamil film and TV actor, and a film historian