Playwright


Playwright,television,film theatre artiste playing lead roles , is a household name with Tamil connoisseurs Renowned for his punch,pun,ready wit and humour ,his hold over the realm of performing arts since 1974 is commendable
Sattanathapuram Venkataraman Shekher, for short,is a Diploma holder in Mechanical Engineering with a Post Diploma in AirConditioning and Refriegeration.He is a also a sound Recordist ,programme producer ,still photographer ,videographer ,editor and director.
An expert in broadcast,sound effects and theatrics,he won the Best All India Programme Producer Award for four years in a row from Radio&TV Advertising Practitioners Association of India Limited.As a Photographer, his colour transperencies have adorned the cover pages of popular Tamil Magazines.While his Technical skills should have kept him at the rear of the stage or behind the lens,his creative literary talents have ushered him onto the front stage.Encouraged by the success of a Singapore drama tour in 1974,he formed his drama troupe NATAKAPRIYA which has so far staged twenty plays commanding over 2500 shows.On an Invitation from Tamil population of Dubai,Abudhabi,Srilanka,Singapore,Indonesia,Malaysia and Thailand ,he had staged full length dramas successfully.
It is a matter of pride and first of it's kind that S.Ve.Shekher was invited to USA to play lead role in his drama'Periya Thambi' with the local talents at New Jersey and Washington.He created history in staging full length dramas with all the members of his troupe in USA and CANADA ,a total of 26 shows in 38 days.
Shekher's tele films Vannakkolangal and Nam Kudumbam created sensation warranting retelecast as serial,attracting the young and old alike to the small screen.Staging eight full length plays at one go,from 7.47 a.m to 1.47am Shekher performed a record of sorts in April 1985.While this is acknowledged an unsurpassed feat of a stage artiste in the Limca Book of Records,Shekher credits this to his audience and fellow artists
Shekher made his debut in the celluloid in 1980 with Director K.BalaChander 's Varumai Niram Sivappu and since then he has acted in 72 Tamil films.The Mylapore Academy adjudged him THE BEST COMEDIAN for three years in succession;Magazine WISDOM chose him as the 1990's Best Comedian;the Jaycess honoured him as THE OUTSTANDING YOUTH.Shekher is a blood donor.The Lions International President presented him the singular honour award in recognition of his production of two television episodes on Eye Donation and Blood Donation.
Awards galore,the state's prestigious KALAIVANAR AWARD and the TamilNadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram's KALAIMAMANI AWARD and BEST DRAMA TROUPE AWARD have only made him much more committed and devoted to the realm of arts and the society.Shekher has been willing Fund raiser for a number of campaigns by the Jaycees,Lions Clubs,Rotary Clubs and several other organizations.In helping the needy ,he is munificient with personal gifts to the poor individuals and organizations taking care of the weaker sections.Through his latest drama THATHUPILLAI ,Shekher could collect Rs.Two lakhs and donate the same to the Neurology Department of General Hospital to buy a respirator.
He has built a temple to Sri Suka Brahma Maharishi at Madya Kailash Madras,Madurai and at Salem.Pleased with his service the Tamil stage,and at his request ,the Government of TamilNadu has extended to drama troupes half tariff concessions for travel in government transport corporation buses and for rental in a big government theatre,Kalaivanar Arangam ,in Madras.
Taking his Technical proviso along with his histroncs,he produced recently a unique television show , real treat "S.Ve.Shekher meets S.Ve.Shekher" where in he is both the interviewer and interviewee.(Entered in Limca Book of Records).
Drama SuperStar ,Comedy King,Sirippalai Chirpi,Natakha vasool chakravarthy ,Nagaichuvai Thendral,Nagaichuvai Ilavarasan,Nagaichuvai Nayagan,Nagaichuvai VedhaNayagan,aptly portray his qualities as humourist ,are some of the titles accorded by the Sabhas and other agencies.
An Extrovert,he easily mixes with others.He is happily married to Uma Mageshwari,and the Shekhers have a daughter Anuradha and son Ashwin.