Tamil films, with their big emotions, memorable songs and larger-than-life characters, were a big part of Govin Ruben’s childhood. Growing up in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur the theatre practitioner developed a deep affection for the movies he watched as a young boy. Now, he is bringing some of their most iconic scenes to the stage, revisiting the stories and moments that stayed with him.
Titled The Failed Romances (Kaadhal Tholvigal in Tamil), the production is billed as a “hybrid cabaret” and will run at The Studio, Jeffrey Cheah Performing Arts Centre (JCPAC) in Bandar Sunway, Selangor from Nov 12-15.
A large screen will bring familiar movie scenes into the performance, while a live band will play popular songs from the films. Sound effects will further heighten the actors’ performances, delivered in English, Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia, with subtitles.
The production marks TerryandTheCuz’s return to the Malaysian stage. Govin co-founded the Malaysian-Australian performing arts collective in 2004 with Terrence Conrad, known as Terry, while Govin himself goes by “The Cuz”.
The new show picks up where Govin left off with the headline- making 2019 production, Made In America, which played in New York in the United States and featured comedian Douglas Lim and actor-director Gavin Yap.
The Failed Romances marks his return to the stage after Made In America enjoyed considerable success and opened up further opportunities, before the Covid-19 pandemic brought those plans to a halt in 2020.
“The feeling is like asking somebody out, and having them smile back and say yes. It is wonderful, and we are grateful that all the hard work we put in beforehand has been recognised. The pandemic pause was a blessing in disguise, as Terry and I used the time to hunker down and work on bigger, better ideas. Once The Failed Romances began taking shape, we staged a preview at Bobo KL last year as we prepared for an international run,” says Govin in a recent interview.
The upcoming six-show run at JCPAC follows rehearsals in Petaling Jaya, where Govin has been working with Adriano Cortese, artistic director of Melbourne-based Ranters Theatre. Written and directed by Govin and Cortese, the production will also tour Singapore later this month before heading to New York in January.
On the JCPAC stage, Govin will perform alongside Singaporean actress Udaya Soundari, recreating scenes from the Tamil films that shaped his childhood, including Penin Perumai (1956), Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959), Anbe Vaa (1966), and Enga Ooru Pattukaran (1987).
The choice will depend on which screen icon Govin feels like channelling each night, particularly Gemini Ganesan, MGR or Sivaji Ganesan.
“If I had to pick one film that impacted me more than any other, it would be Rajinikanth’s Thalapathi (1991). These films existed alongside my life growing up. There was a Tamil-speaking, Tamil-thinking, Tamil-movie-watching world that was quite different from the English-speaking, English-thinking, American-movie-watching world I was also part of,” says Govin.
Humour, memory and spectacle
With a touch of melodrama and storytelling, Govin is set take theatregoers into his Tamil film universe. The cabaret format will help him along, adding a touch of theatrical flair.
The Failed Romances soundtrack, led by Ashwin Gobinath, will be performed by a six-piece band comprising Jaime Gunter, Shieh Yann Wen, Prakash Kandasamy, El Roy, Pangasaasanii Gowrisan and Farique Nadzir. Reimagining Tamil songs, the music follows the cast through the messy, often contradictory terrain of the heart.
“The audience can expect songs and tunes that have shaped my musical life, from the 1960s to the mid-1990s. I won’t reveal the songs, but I can share the films they come from: Puthiya Paravai (1964), Ninaithale Inikkum (1979), Roja (1992), Muthu (1995), Bombay (1995) and Kadhalan (1994).
“The work carries these emotions and contradictions. It reflects how I live my life, and is perhaps the reason behind all my failed relationships,” says Govin.
The black box theatre setting draws a direct connection between Govin’s personal story and the films that shaped it. Even if you are unfamiliar with his movie references, the emotions behind them remain relatable.
“The song choices came from a simple place: the feelings and emotions I experienced when I met the three great loves of my life, each representing a different phase of my life. They range from purity and innocence to lust and desire, elegance and grace, heartbreak and loss, grief and sadness. Each song adds to a section of the work, reflecting these emotions in much the same way music does in a Tamil film,” he adds.
Bringing together theatre, live music, movement and design, the production, with dramaturg Sharmilla Ganesan on board, turns Govin’s personal stories into a collective journey shaped by humour, memory and spectacle.
Meanwhile, Udaya takes on three roles, portraying the heroines from different Tamil films. She will also be presenting the songs in the show.
“I play all the love interests in Govin’s story, I also sing and dance in accordance with the cinematic take the play has adopted. What attracted me to take on the role is the very nature of it, involving all three elements of a play,” says Udaya, a TV actress and presenter.
In her first collaboration with a Malaysian theatre group, Udaya is not there to offer a female perspective on Govin’s love life, but to portray the women who have been part of his journey.
“I wouldn’t say it balances out. This is very much one man’s walk down his memory lane. The story and anecdotes are unapologetically and vulnerably his point of view and experience,” says Udaya.
“I come in not to balance it out but more like the sprinkles on the donut or the icing on the cake, I hope to tie it all together for the full experience. And this case I guess I’m probably the jam on the toast,” she adds.
The year ahead looks eventful for TerryandTheCuz. Their New York appearance (in January) marks a milestone for Malaysian contemporary performance, taking a work rooted in Tamil cinema, Malaysian culture and the South Asian diaspora to an international stage.
They have also been tapped for KL Festival 2027, with Conrad overseeing programming and Govin taking on a producing role.
The KL Festival 2027 announcements will be made later this month. For now, Govin’s focus is the JCPAC stage, where he hopes to bring the two worlds within him together.
“I find myself living between two worlds: the Tamil-speaking, Tamil movie-watching, banana leaf-eating world and the English-speaking, Shakespeare-reading, rice pudding-eating one.
“I move between them, sometimes at ease, sometimes in conflict. This lifelong duality is perhaps why I think I’m single. Like a Tamil movie, my life is filled with an ocean of conflicting emotions,” he concludes.
The Failed Romances will run from Nov 12-15 at The Studio, Jeffrey Cheah Performing Arts Centre in Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, Selangor.
