By M.Rajini
The Tamil Commentator at The Voice of America, during the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon, was none other than Dr. Nallathambi, a resident of Thiruvanmiyur. That was in 1969. He is now a part of a short Indian documentary – My Radio, My Life – Nostalgic stories of Radio enthusiasts. This documentary was shot by a few Radio enthusiasts from Maharashtra, under the banner TimeCap Documentaries. It was screened on November 10, at the International Film Festival (AFRIFF), being held in Lagos, Nigeria. The film captures the Golden era of the Radio before the advent of the Television.
This short film captures the writer and Broadcaster Dr.Nallathambi, showcasing his passion for radio and the milestone event when he joined the Voice of America’s Tamil service for the Moon landing commentary in Tamil. It is interesting to hear how the production crew hunted for him, till they finally contacted a person at the Hindi service of Voice of America. They got to know from him that Nallathambi lived in Chennai. (Nallathambi had spoken to that particular friend, when he visited the US in 2000). Again, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The determined crew contacted BSNL Telephones and rummaged through their old telephone directories. Fortunately for them, Nallathambi still owned his landline. He was then contacted. His portion was shot in a couple of months.
This 86 minute short film in Hindi, English and Marathi, is slated for release in theatres in 2024, after doing its rounds in film festivals.
Nallathambi can be contacted at 94451 41266.
