Chennai: Chennai’s Ashok Nagar neighbourhood is seeing a flurry of activity. Ever since the news of its sale broke, people have been making a beeline for the ancestral property of Google CEO Sundar Pichai, eager to get a glimpse.
This is where Pichai’s childhood home stood, where he spent the first 20 years of his life. The plot has been bought by Tamil actor-producer C. Manikandan from Pichai’s father R.S. Pichai. Before the registration, the Pichai family demolished the ancestral house.
Speaking to ThePrint, Manikandan said that being able to buy Pichai’s house was a “blessing”. Though the property was registered in Manikandan’s name on 2 February, details of the deal came out only this week.
Recalling that he had crossed the house daily for the past 10 years without knowing that it was where the Google CEO was raised, Manikandan said, “A friend of mine, knowing well that I was looking for a property, got me in touch with the Pichais.”
Before the meeting, all Manikandan knew was that the seller was famous. At that point, Manikandan’s only request to his friend was — “let it not be a politician”.
After offering prayers at the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Adyar, Manikandan got introduced to R.S. Pichai in January.
“I was taken to their residence and spent around two hours there where they wanted to know about my details and background. Soon after that, sir (R.S. Pichai) handed over the document and asked me to get it checked,” he said.
Manikandan told ThePrint that R.S. Pichai felt very sentimental and his eyes welled up while handing over the document. “This was his first property, and sentimentally it should have gone to his children. He considered me as his child and has written this in my name now.”
The 46-year-old Tamil actor-producer claimed that Pichai decided to sell the house only due to the difficulty of taking care of the property because of the constant back and forth from the US.
“Sundar’s grandmother used to live there, but after her demise, the family decided to sell the property,” Manikandan added.
When ThePrint visited the area, the residents of Ashok Nagar remembered the Pichai family as “humble people” who have been away from the country for a long time.
Manikandan, too, praised the family for their humility. “Lakshmi Pichai (Sundar’s mother) made filter coffee for me. The two of them are very humble.”
He added: “Even during the registration, Pichai waited in the queue with 50-odd people ahead of him. If he wanted, he could have just revealed who he was and skipped the line.”
Also Read: How Chennai jewellers crafted ‘sengol’ for Nehru, forgot it & rediscovered it 7 decades later
‘Plan to build my family a home here’
Talking about Sundar Pichai, Manikandan said he was born in Madurai but was brought up in Chennai. In 1989, he moved to Kharagpur to pursue his undergraduate studies in metallurgical engineering at IIT Kharagpur.
For, Manikandan, a small-time actor, life has been full of ups and downs.
With just Rs 65 in his pocket, the actor landed in Chennai from Tenkasi 30 years ago and dreamt of making it big in the movies.
He landed his first film in 2006 called Kantharvan, and turned producer in 2010. Since then, he has produced four films and acted in three movies. One of his films, Leg Piece, is under production now. The other films he has been associated with include Meendum, 9 Irunthu and 10 Varai.
Manikandan now plans to build a house for his family here. “This is a property that has seen some really nice people,” he said, adding: “Once the project is complete, I will go to the US and personally invite the Pichai family to join the housewarming function.”
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
Also Read: After Nandini, TN’s Aavin takes centre stage as Stalin writes to Shah over Amul milk procurement