Are you ready for declaring your sexual potency to your future life partner before marriage? Are you capable of fathering a child, or delivering a child? Get ready to answer these questions if you are planning to marry, at least in Tamil Nadu, if the veteran actress Manorama succeeds in her efforts in what most people consider as a social cause. And not only in Tamil Nadu, it may become legally binding in the rest of India too.
As is well known, actor Manorama is now campaigning for a cause that is widely prevalent but that is mentioned only in secret. "I met the chief minister a few days ago and briefed him on the trauma of discovering that one has married an impotent person. I have asked him to bring in a law whereby it is necessary for the bride and groom to produce a medical certificate before marriage stating that they are not impotent and another saying they have tested negative for HIV/AIDS," she added.
Apart from Chief Minister Dr M Karunanidhi, Manorama has also met Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin and Health Minister M R K Paneerselvam for legalizing the cause, and reportedly all the three have assured her that they would study the matter.
Mostly impotency comes to light only after couples are married, said Manorama. Apparently she was moved by the case of a young woman who, a few weeks ago sought Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) as compensation from her impotent husband who had been married off with the full knowledge of his condition by his parents. The woman has also filed a police complaint against him.
"More recently, a close family member underwent a similar fate, and after discussions with fans, friends and family I learnt that impotency is a major factor in today's life," said the legendary actor. The current lifestyles, often blamed for diseases like diabetes and hypertension, are embarrassing many couples in their bedrooms. The rate of impotency is rising, according to sexologists.
"Ours is a traditional society and a marriage is considered binding. However, with growing instances of strains in physical relationships, the problem of impotency has huge sociological implications," said sexologist Dr Narayana Reddy.
There are divorce cases pending in courts and the reason for seeking divorce is sexual impotency. "However, when a person is aware of impotency it is better to disclose the same," said fertility specialist, Dr Priya Selvaraj. "Unlike the 80s, women are unwilling to suffer in silence anymore," she added. "However, an act of law alone may not be enough. We need to create awareness and make it easier, as a society, for voluntary disclosures," she added.
"Everything cannot be monitored by law," said lawyer Sudha Ramalingam. "The increasing number of cases shows that rather than looking at horoscopes, parents need to go in for background checks on medical history," she added. "Only then can you make married life work for you," she added. "Creating awareness through campaigns and sex education is the way forward," said Selvaraj.
In India, verifying and matching horoscopes of the brides and bridegrooms are considered a “must” by most believers in Hindu religion and most other religions. Though it is not a legal requirement, it is sometimes followed stricter than legal requirements. In such cases if the horoscopes do not match, there won’t be any marriages. It is almost an unwritten law. If it can be given social sanction, why can’t a “medical matching” be considered? It will simply make relationships more transparent, avoid cheating by impotent brides/bridegrooms, avoid unwanted divorce proceedings and avoid being gifted with HIV/AIDS along with solemnization of marriages!
But Manorama is getting more support for the cause and she said, "I will not rest until the issue of impotency is brought out in the open and not whispered behind veils." Manorama, still very active in her career and who has three generations of addicted fans, can harness enough support for her social cause, her fans and others feel.
In a career spanning about 55 years, Manorama has the rare distinction of having acted with five Chief Ministers; C N Annadurai, Dr M Karunanidhi, Dr M G Ramachandran, Dr Jayalalitha Jayaram, and Dr N T Rama Rao. Also she holds a Guinness World Record for acting in the most number of films. Some sources place her performance records as having acted in more than 1500 films, 1000 stage performances, and a few television serials. She is affectionately called as Aachi by the Tamil people, about which she once told the press, "Aachi? As Pannyur Bhagyam, I spoke Chettinad lingo. And the name stuck”.
Having started her acting career at age 12, Manorama is a theatre actress, 'Neethipathi' (1955), stage playback singer, film actress 'Maalayitta Mangai’ (1958), TV actress, and has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films, and have paired with leading comedians like Chandrababu, Cho Ramaswamy, Thangavelu, Thengai Srinivasan, M R Ratha and Nagesh. Apart from character roles and comedy roles, Manorama has acted as heroine in Konjum Kumari, Alangari and Periya Manithan.
