Mudaliar as an adaptation of Hamlet. Entitled Amaladhithan, it was not well received because it followed too closely the values of Western theatre; its rewriting as Manohara, which reflected more closely the values of Indian society, changed its fortunes. The original adaptation of Hamlet, published as Amaladhithan in 1906, took Mudaliar six years to complete and he studied many references in an attempt to do justice to the original Shakespeare work. It was one of five Shakespearean adaptations that he translated, directed and then acted. Not all of Mudaliar's works were performed by the Suguna Vilasa Sabha, with one of the exceptions being his only work in the burlesque style, 1923's Chandrahari. It was his involvement with the company, which developed Tamil theatre as a respectable art form, that gave rise to the epithet of him being the founding father of Tamil theatre. Professional people such as lawyers and teachers took an interest in the company, including as actors, and thus he caused a shift whereby the old derogatory term for actors - Koothadi - was replaced by that of Kalaignan. He also changed the structure of dramatisations by emphasising the function of acts and scenes and also placing more stress on dialogue rather than song. Works of playwright Mudaliar's work included adaptations of English and Sanskrit plays, as well as original output. These received with much enthusiasm. Educated people turned their attention to the potential of theatre. Some even joined the Sabha and began acting. It became a centre of great moral and educational value. Songs were given a back seat, prose gained significance, and realistic acting was stressed. Mudaliar changed stage conventions, creating new sets and scenery that surprised viewers. T. P. Krishnaswamy Pavalar, hailed as a great teacher of Tamil drama, was a product of the Sabha. After retiring as a judge, Mudaliar continued acting for it. He acted the lead in many of his own plays. Subsequently, other sabhas or groups produced their own versions. His Lilavati-Sulochana in 1895, Manoham which was published in 1907, Makapati i.e. Shakespeare's Macbeth, published in 1910, and Sabhapati that published in 1918 were the first Tamil plays in prose dialogue while others still performed Puranic musicals. He gave equal importance to narrative and aesthetics in drama. He composed scripts that could be performed within three hours, a revolutionary concept when Tamil productions normally took twice that time. Quite a few