by SI blog reader Racer44
(Readers: SI’s comments follow this essay)
Having completed over 92 years since its inception (the first silent Tamil movie Keechaka Vadham was released in 1917), it is only obvious that we ask ourselves, where is Tamil Cinema headed? (ignoring, of course, naysayers like SI who say that it’s headed from deep shit to deeper shit).
The decades gone by have rung in many changes, the immense technological advances not the least among them.
As Tamil cinema progressed from the silent era to black and white talkies and later to Eastman Color and the present digital age, the kind of films made also diversified, from period dramas involving rajas and ranis which had their origins in religion and folklore to stories that are more grounded in the reality of today, drawing their inspiration from the life of the common man, whose trials and tribulations they served to document and whose mundane love-stories were blown up into larger-than-life romances on celluloid.
But for the sake of identifying Tamil Cinema’s current course, it should be sufficient if we restrict our gaze to the last 2-3 years of its existence.
Many would agree that these are the heydays of Tamil Cinema, what with Kollywood’s first forays into the adventure-fantasy genre with the much-feted Aayirathil Oruvan, its first full-length spoof in Tamil Padam and very soon, its first science fiction film in Enthiran.
While these are significant milestones in themselves, what is truly heartening is the emergence of a new breed of directors keen on experimenting with hitherto untouched themes and spinning innovative and absorbing narratives out of them.
Arivazhagan’s Eeram, Samuthirakani’s Nadodigal, and Pandiraj’s Pasanga: each of these films is special, in that they not only strike an off-the-beaten-path approach in their story and storytelling but have also struck gold at the box office. None of the aforementioned films had any big name on the credits, and two of them (Eeram and Pasanga) were directed by debutants.Yet each of these found an audience willing to embrace the envelope-pushing. The advent of the multiplex has contributed, in no small degree, to these films’ success.
In times when an ever-increasing number of movies vie for the same pie, it is the bloated “masala” movies which find themselves forced to adapt in terms of story and setting in order to stay relevant. Audiences worldwide have shown little patience at nonsensical movies like Villu and Kutty causing them to quickly bite the dust once word-of-mouth spreads.
As the average Tamil-movie-goer would say, Matter irukkanum.
It then becomes imperative that we attempt to define this seemingly amorphous “matter” and dissect the ingredients that make or mar a film’s fortunes in the present scenario. In the following paragraphs, we will delineate the strands representing current Tamil cinema, explore their leitmotifs and memes and determine how much influence they wield over the cinema-going audience.
On a macro-level, three broad classes of films can be discerned.
Firstly, the unabashedly “commercial” films that make no pretenses at trying to stitch together a realistic or even plausible story. That the “masala” genre still has eager takers despite colossal failures is testament to the craving an overwhelming majority of the Tamil audience has developed for mindless “entertainment” of the kind involving their demi-god hero coming up trumps against the most insurmountable odds.
The staples of this genre have remained largely unchanged over the years. The hero is, typically, a man of the streets, a do-gooder, and devoted to his family. His daily life involves beating up the neighborhood ruffians, wooing the rich girl with whom he is besotted (and who, in turn, is besotted with him!!!) and who just happens to be his arch-rival’s (take your pick) sister, daughter or fiancee and goofing around with his jobless side-kicks, who have no claim to screen-space other than being the butt of the hero’s puerile jokes, setting him up with the dewy-eyed heroine (any wonder then that the hero calls them maama or maamu) and joining him in his booze binges at the local TASMAC store (our hero, being the low-class all-mass hero that he is, does not venture into rich clubs or 5-star hotels for fear that he may be accused of mingling with the social elite, which is anathema to his ilk). After chronicling these extensive pursuits, there’s hardly anytime left for the actual story to take place (if indeed there was any in the first place), so the director shortchanges this aspect in favor of song-and-dance routines set against suitably exotic backdrops, and a couple of more fight scenes. Here too, there is a staid pattern which is religiously followed. The first song is always the hero introduction song aka the build-up song. Of the rest, there are usually 3-4 duets featuring the heroine in titillating costume, and occasionally, the item number. Having crammed so much into the usual 2-3 hours, the director still finds places to sneak in a punch dialogue or two, just to make sure that the audience is completely K.Oed.
Is this a winning formula, you ask? Well, the resounding success of Vettaikaran, Padikkathavan and Kanthaswamy ought to clear any lingering doubts on that count. But then, is this the only winning formula? Read on.
The second class of films comprises emotional dramas with one or more romantic angles woven into them. Many of them have a decidedly urban setting. This class is exemplified by films like Santhosh Subramaniam, Vaaranam Aayiram, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Siva Manasula Sakthi, Kandaen Kadhalai, and recently, Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya. In terms of crowd-pulling ability, these schmaltzy melodramas are inferior only to industry titans like Rajini, Kamal, Vijay, Ajith etc.
The sappy, feel-good content offered by these films is devoured by family audiences and romantic/estranged couples wallowing in their maudlin misery, both of which form sizable constituencies.
Needless to add, love is the buzz-word here. Alas, the machination of fate, manifesting itself in the form of either parental opposition, falling out between the lovers, or the heroine suddenly getting bumped off ( this being especially the norm with Gautham Menon’s films 🙂 ) ensure that the road to true love is far from smooth. What this genre lacks in terms of action sequences, it more than makes up through its emphasis on a solid integrated comedy track, usually entrusted in the hands of the hero’s friends. But ceaseless harping on the love-at-first-sight idea, predictable storylines, cliched characters, and an excessive indulgence towards Deus ex Machinas have meant that this particular genre has a long way to go.
The last, and possibly the most significant class of films to emerge out of the last few years is the Small Town Film, a genre built up from scratch by Sasikumar (Subramaniapuram), Samuthirakani (Nadodigal), Susindran (Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu) and Pandiraj (Pasanga). The earthy tones and refreshingly pragmatic outlook of these films have captured the imagination of Tamil audiences like never before. Their protagonists have a cheerfully down-to-earth air about them, sport month-old beards, listen to Ilaiyaraja songs and mouth Madurai-scented Tamil like they own it. As tales unfold one by one of the rustic pleasures of these men, one cannot but wonder where were they hiding all these years?
If Nadodigal sparkled with its deliciously incisive break-down of what passes as love in our society and the exposure of its ephemeral charms, Subramaniapuram was a bloody saga of vengeance and betrayal featuring a group of seemingly drifting young-men-about-town whose descent into an inexorable cycle of violence leads to gory consequences for all.
And I would be doing a grave injustice here if I left out Pasanga, a delightful and heartwarming tale that tracks the lives of a bunch of school-children and the members of their families through the academic year. With characters that appeared to be scooped out of real life, Pasanga shone with its rib-tickling humour, endearing performances and brilliant portrayal of marital discord and its repercussions on the lives of children in the family.
Are these the only kind of Tamil films popular today? Not by any stretch of imagination. Once in a while, Tamil filmmakers do pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat like Myshkin did with Anjaathey, Arivazhagan with Eeram and Selvaraghavan with Aayirathil Oruvan.
Anjaathey shattered the painstakingly built-up myth of the all-powerful omniscient top-cop by choosing to showcase his vulnerable side and the battles he wages to overcome the inner demons plaguing him even as he is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a ruthless pedophile. No less bold an attempt was Eeram, which held a brutally honest mirror to the moral decadence and rot that have seeped into modern urban society. But only time will tell whether these films remain glorious one-offs or more filmmakers jump into the fray to test what appear to be promising waters.
Tamil Cinema, despite the irritating persistence of the masala genre, seems to have reached an inflection point, with the attention clearly on innovation and experimentation. If only more directors come out of their self-made cocoons and more actors show willingness to shed their “superhero” mantles to encourage these attempts instead of engaging in image-building exercises in the hope of floating their own political outfits someday, Tamil Cinema would be forever grateful.
*******
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Folks, Racer would have you believe the prattle that these are the ‘heydays of Tamil cinema.’
Ha ha ha.
Who’s doin’ the talkin’ here? Wanna wager that it’s White Russian or its lesser siblings. 😉
To think that 92 years after we started making movies we are quick to pat ourselves on the back over one adventure-fantasy, a spoof, a bunch of so called small town films and a yet-to-debut science fiction movie.
Voila, we’ve arrived.
Blow the conch, fellas! Louder, please. After all, it took us only 92 years to reach these supposed milestones.
Only in Incredible India are baby-steps hailed as giant leaps forward. Oops what’s the right word – heydays, yes.
And what’s with the glaring inconsistencies.
In one paragraph, we are told masala films in these times ‘find themselves forced to adapt in terms of story and setting in order to stay relevant.’ And barely a dozen sentences later, comes the revelation from our amnesiac writer that recent masala movies like Kanthaswamy, Vettaikaran and Padikkathavan constitute a winning formula. At first, we thought it was sarcasm. Alas, it was not. If these three films have made any adaptations in terms of story or setting we remain blissfully unaware and surely so are you, dear reader.
By the way, if Vettaikaran, Padikkathavan or Kanthaswamy were resounding successes then our name is Veera Pandiya Kattabomman.
A macro-discussion on Tamil cinema and not a pip-squeak on what’s generally agreed upon as three of the biggest blockbusters in recent years – Sivaji, Dasavatharam and Billa. Trying to keep it a secret, are we? Yet, we have all the time to tell y’all about Pasanga, Eeram and Nodigal striking gold at the box office and drone on about their ‘earthy tones’ and ‘refreshingly pragmatic outlook.’
Talk of lack of perspective and ignoring the mountains for the molehills.
And what’s with the conspiratorial silence on the blatant plagiarism involving two of the most-talked about Kollywood directors in recent years – A.R. Murugadoss (of Ghajini infamy) and Venkat Prabhu (remember the thirutu nai behind Saroja?).
If there’s one trend that has remained a constant in Tamil cinema – and Bollywood too for that matter – it’s the shameless route to quick bucks through unabashed theft of Hollywood hits. And to turn a Nelson’s eye to this trend in a macro-piece on Tamil cinema is not merely blasphemy but to tacitly condone such theft.
Missing Rahman
Does A.R.Rahman ring a bell, anyone?
Not to worry. Hell, who cares about music in Tamil movies anyway, right?
As if all these omissions were not pathetic enough, the top two stars of Kollywood – Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth – get one word each. Sorry, make that half a word each since the callous writer does not care to even spell out their full names.
To compound our woes, there’s no mention at all of their films. But, hey, Pasanga gets three mentions!
Well, now you know what happens when podi pasanga get in over their head and start writing about Tamil Cinema.
Pitiful.
Excuse us for a moment, will you, while we fortify ourselves with a White Russian to navigate through this dilettante’s Whither Tamil … tripe.
Also, one would definitely expect a piece on Whither Tamil Cinema to yak about the acting talent or lack thereof of its leading lights.
Given that Indian cinema is notorious for the poor caliber of its actors, not to touch upon this subject displays an ill-concealed contempt and haughty disdain for the reader.
Or does the neglect spring from plain sloppy analysis?
Oh well, a writer Racer has a right to his limitations and delusions.
Guys, the definitive work on Whither Tamil Cinema remains a challenge to be tackled by a more competent mind.
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Well Tamil audiences in India are becoming intelligent.The failure of Goa and Ajith’s Aasal proves it.
The problem is that there is not much connection between makers of movies and its audiences.
Makers feel they can make any crass or copied shit featuring a vijay,a ajith or a vishal into runaway hit.
Audiences on other hand are tired of seeing these so-called superstars doing same crap again and again with their nonsense directors and want new.
That’s why Hollywood films are becoming more popular than regional Tamil films (a Avatar has ability to trash any film featuring tamil superstar except rajnikanth films).
It is not that Tamil makers dont have money (they spend around 50-80 crore or 15-20 million US $ for a big movie).
At present,what SI is saying is right – Tamil cinema is heading into deep shit. It needs a revolution.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Racer44 will likely respond to your comments later.
2. But here’s our two-cents: If you think Bollywood is bad, Tamil cinema is a decade behind in finesse.
As for Vishal, the guy is not an actor. His actions on screen serve only one purpose – to prove to the doubters (and we have quite a few evolution-doubters in the U.S) that Man indeed evolved from the Ape.
3. You write: That’s why Hollywood films are becoming more popular than regional Tamil films (a Avatar has ability to trash any film featuring tamil superstar except rajnikanth films).
Good point.
This holds good not merely for Tamil language films but for other regional films as well in India.
Only Bollywood can escape this Damocles Sword of Hollywood dubbed films because of its wider audience.
@SI,
I mentioned earlier, and bring to your attention once again, my article focused only on the last two years, which I took as a reasonable timeframe from where I could begin. If I had to talk about every single crap (s)hit movie from every thala, ilaiyathalapathi, puratchi thalapathi, tiny superstar etc released in the last 5 years, it would hardly be reflective of current trends, which is the whole point of writing this article.
So don’t bug me with Ghajin i(2005), Billa (2007) and Sivaji (2007).
And reg. Dasavatharam and Saroja, remember this line:
“…..it is the bloated “masala” movies which find themselves forced to adapt in terms of story and setting in order to stay relevant.” I thought those were obvious references to the films mentioned above, along with Ayan. Forgive me for not being explicit.
As for Rahman, I agree that was a regrettable oversight, in light of his winning the oscar.
“By the way, if Vettaikaran, Padikkathavan or Kanthaswamy were resounding successes then our name is Veera Pandiya Kattabomman.”
They are, according to wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_films_of_2009
But then, I don’t suppose you give a rat’s ass for wiki either, now that they disagree with you.
“ignoring the mountains for the molehills.”
You want to focus on the festival-season mega-budget highly publicised flicks, I chose to focus on the many low-budget films that have left a mark on the box-office.(none of which, I would like to add, you have seen). Not for nothing does Pasanga find three mentions. It is a beautiful film and I truly felt it was not getting the attention it deserved. Because your exposure to this genre is minimal, it does not follow that films in this genre are not being made. FYI, it is these sort of films that are churned out in more quantity (even recently, we had Porkkalam and Poo, both widely praised) compared to the king-size films. Unfortunately you, living in America, hardly get to see this films or even witness the buzz surrounding their release. As a result, you are continuously fed on a diet of Villu, Aegan and similar monstrosities that make their way to your shores due to financial musclepower. This is where your point of view gets hopelessly skewed.
And lastly, I don’t recall you mentioning that you merely wanted a bash-all piece trashing everybody in the Tamil film industry actors, directors, films and all. Sorry if I misunderstood you.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: I don’t recall you mentioning that you merely wanted a bash-all piece trashing everybody in the Tamil film industry actors, directors, films and all.
We don’t expect a bash-all, trash-all piece.
But one definitely expects a Whither Tamil Cinema piece to touch upon the highlights of the industry and provide a bird’s eye-view for the reader and not focus on a mere sub-set (or in your own words, I chose to focus on the many low-budget films).
2. Wiki can easily be edited by any Racer, SI or passerby to suit one’s point of view. Further, there’s no supporting evidence for the claims on the top commercial-grossers in Wiki except a Sify link, which unfortunately is not working currently.
3. You write now: my article focused only on the last two years, which I took as a reasonable timeframe from where I could begin
But here’s what your original essay says: for the sake of identifying Tamil Cinema’s current course, it should be sufficient if we restrict our gaze to the last 2-3 years of its existence.
Dasavatharam, Sivaji, Saroja, Billa et al released in the last three years (the time-frame you choose to include in your piece).
For Pasanga or Nadodigal to find a place but not the above is to invite sneers for providing a distorted perspective.
And the nadir – not one word about acting of the leading lights in a piece on Tamil cinema.
Bottom line, your
thought-provokingthoughtless piece merely focuses on the different story-lines, or what passes for them in Tamil cinema.“to the last 2-3 years”
Oops. My mistake 🙁 I did think of 2-3 years at first, but revised it to 2. Obviously, the correction was not made in the final draft.
Now I ask humbly for a little forbearance on your part. After all, it is not as if I’ve been writing analytical pieces for many years, or even many months. In fact, I believe this is my first one, barring the reviews in your website. Pardon my follies, will you?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
It’s alright.
Let me remind you that Vettaikaran and Kanthasmay were NOT hits. Padikaathavan was a hit because they made a profit since it had a much lower production cost. Kanthaswamy was made on a mammoth budget, and so even if the collection was good (which wasnt btw) it didnt make much profit. Films like Kanden Kadhalai, Peranmai, Nadodigal, Masilamani made more profit than Vettaikaran and Kanthaswamy.
In 2009, the hightest profit makers were:
1. Ayan (Suriya, Tamanna)
2. Unnaipol Oruvan (Kamal, Mohanlal)
3. Aadhavan (Suriya, Nayanthara)
4. Nadodigal (Sasikumar)
5. Padikathavan (Dhanush, Tamanna)
6. Peranmai (Jeyam Ravi)
7. Kanden Kadhalai (Bharat, Tamanna)
8. Yavarum Nalam (13B) (Madhavan, Neetu Chandra)
9. Eeram (Nandha, Aadhi)
10. Masilamani (Nakul, Sunaina)
source: behindwoods (pretty reliable for statistics)
now, those that mean that Vijay lost his market value? Is tamanna more valuable than Vijay and Ajith? 3 of her films in the top 10. Are Dhanush, Jeyam Ravi giving heroes like Ajith a run for their money? Ajith’s Asal bombed at BO. Is Surya really as underestimated as we think? His Ayan grossed more than UPO.
i think tamil people may have raised their expectations for films. They seemed to reject trach thrown at them (like. Villu, Vettaikaran, Asal, TVP, Kanthaswamy, Goa)
having said that, they didnt accept films like AO, Bommalattam (directed by Bharathiraja – good movie), Aayutha Ezhuthu. Though i think if Ayutha Ezhuthu had released arounf this time, it would have become more of a success. When it was released in 2004, people were more interested in films like Ghilli, Manmadhan, Thirupachi – basically films with no logic and just entertainment. Now people want both. Which is a good thing.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Let me remind you that Vettaikaran and Kanthasmay were NOT hits.
Tell that to Racer!
He’ll probably respond to this point as well as the others later today.
A disappointing article from Racer44. 🙁
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Say that again.
A disappointing article from Racer44. 🙁 said it again 🙂
Why did you choose to publish’n’bash it instead of rejecting it?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
There’s no question of rejecting the piece after waiting a fortnight for it.
Racer wrote what he considered his perspective.
We responded with what we considered the woeful shortcomings of the piece.
He he funny article. Here’s sth i coughed up in 2005 on a related topic. Conspicuously missing is any mention of the blatant theft from H.Wood.
http://bajjibandi.blogspot.com/2005/10/making-movie.html
Although a 1k mile journey begins with a single step, but “direction” matters. One does wonder if it is unwise to not wait and confirm that the specific step being talked about ended up in the right direction. I can only hope that atleast 5 good original Tamil flicks and equal number of Telugu flicks get made each year.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
What we’ve seen of Tamil and Telugu films so far suggests a rudder-less film industry running amok and the producers/distributors praying to ‘Lord’ Balaji on release date.
“If there’s one trend that has remained a constant in Tamil cinema – and Bollywood too for that matter – it’s the shameless route to quick bucks through unabashed theft of Hollywood hits. And to turn a Nelson’s eye to this trend in a macro-piece on Tamil cinema is not merely blasphemy but to tacitly condone such theft.
Does A.R.Rahman ring a bell, anyone?”
would be cool to see some substantiation of the insinuation.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The references to outrageous theft were to Saroja and Ghajini, which were mentioned in our response.
The reference to A.R.Rahman was to his non-appearance in Racer’s piece.
Racer got the point we were driving at. But you didn’t.
Just to be sure that others don’t get confused, we’ve added a sub-head Missing Rahman in the piece.
I would side with SI on this. Racer has the tough job of being the usual public prosecutor (Senthamarai types) who defends the rich villian’s son (Tamil cinema) in a rape case against our superstar lawyer (Kamal, Rajni,..).
I personally think its not a problem with directors in their cocoons, but rather producers who have made the medium a literal whorehouse to make money. Look at the current set of producers from Dayanidhi Azhagiri to Udhayanidhi Stalin, a lot of them are in it for money only and will remake the same BS themes repeatedly.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Look at the current set of producers from Dayanidhi Azhagiri to Udhayanidhi Stalin,
Where are they getting the money from to launch their lavish productions? Just checking. 😉
Wait till Jaya amma storms the citadels of power again. These mini-Stalins and mini-Azhagiris will be producing kapi on the film sets.
interesting post ………i hope Racer 44 and SI is not a case of Karthik Calling Karthik
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Really Funny. 🙂
Gets the Comment of March award. Hard to believe anything else can best the above comment in the near term. 😉
Srinivas, we assure you that Racer44 and SI have different DNA and live on different continents.
despite all the Tamil cinema bashing in SI and to some extent even in Racer 44′ s Review’s …………..Racer remains a fan of Tamil Cinema ………poor guy ………having a difficult time doing a balancing act ……….
well the fact is ……….Indian cinema generally lacks a good script (irrespective of the language) ………..hence we have just a handful of movies doing well at the BO.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Indian cinema generally lacks a good script
Indian cinema lacks imagination and Indian cinema lacks actors.
Otherwise, Indian cinema is doing just fine – lots of movies, lots of stars, huge audience, employment to thousands plus the icing on the cake in the form of the pretty faces.
Hollywood is not far behind, out of the hundreds of movies that get made, only 10 or 20 remain noticeable. ha huge majority is just horrible trash that you wouldnt touch with a barge pole. And then theres the “chick flick” category.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. At least the big names in Hollywood can act.
In India, apart from lesser-lights like Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Om Puri and a handful of others acting is an alien notion, be it in Bollywood or its smaller siblings like Kollywood.
Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller et al can act.
Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Kareena Kapoor and many of their peers wouldn’t recognize acting if it smacked them on their faces or any other part of the anatomy.
And the less said about our inane scripts the better.
2. While Hollywood makes a lot of junk they also produce marvels.
India has been making movies for about 100 years now and we still mostly churn out garbage like De Dana Dan, Goa, Villu, Chandni Chowk to China featuring the top names in the business.
@Srinivas: “Racer remains a fan of Tamil Cinema”
Noo….., Nou whooo…
I see the good as well as the bad in Tamil cinema but half-hope-half-expect the bad things to eventually(by that, I mean atleast a decade from now) fade off, more so now because the good films have shown themselves capable of drawing the audiences to sustain them for a decent run without having to rely upon stars, directors or production banners to see them through.
But not so optimistic to hope tamil films can do away with songs altogether(but then, if they can be neatly assimilated as montages, like the arjunaru villu song in Ghilli, or used to sustain the tempo of the film, like Dhan te nan did with Kaminey, are they, after all, so bad or do they provide just the nice bit of unique “desi” touch that indian films need? Debatable.
But a big NO to dream songs, hero build-up songs, item numbers and other such bilge.
i thought the bits about the tamil movie cliched storyline was funny.
Don’t be disheartened Racer, there’s always a next time 🙂
@Deepa and SI
“Don’t be disheartened Racer, there’s always a next time.”
Will there? SI’s mordant criticism has left me in grave doubt in that regard.
Sounded like the death knell to my services here (paid, I know, but still… 🙂 )
Would like to continue my association as a contributor to SI’s blog though.
What say you SI?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
After a long lifetime, if we’ve learned anything it’s never say never. 😉
So are you still mulling over topics to give me to write on a regular basis?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’ll be sure to let you know when we think of an interesting topic.
Racer44,
Your post was definitely good.
But an Indepth analysis of cinema at various stages would have been better before arriving at any conclusions.
I still feel the films in 60s and early 70’s I mean KB’s earlier films appealed much than today’s films like Subramaniapuram, Pasanga, Eeram et al.
I always felt a film like Subramaniapuram, Nadodigal should have been made much earlier but today when urbanisation is rapid why should we make such films with usual stuffs like Aruval, Kathi.. and of course Over-the-top performance by kids in films such as Pasanga.
Kids could easily relate themselves to Manirathnam’s Anjali and Kannathil Muthamittal more than Pasanga.
Also since audiences today are exposed to various hollywood, bollywood movies they expect something atleast half-as-good as when it comes to the plot and screenplay. When every palani, pandi, murugan has city dreams.. these films tend to halt the progress and limit our industry to usual stuffs revenge, love, friendship.
When are we gonna make films like 3 idiots, TZP, MNIK atleast interms of different plots than the stereotypical films. I’m not saying the above films are classic by any means but they didn’t take the usual route of our film makers and each was good in its own terms. Where are the film makers with the calibre of Anurag Kashyap, Vishal Bharadwaj in Tamil cinema
All the commercial garbage flicks are bombing at the boxoffice(*vettaikaran, Asal, TVP) so these films with its native theme tend to take the advantage of that and eventually succeed.
of course I did like the films you’ve mentioned they are way better than the usual Masala Pot-boilers but will it be a trend setter or is will it take Tamil cinema to any other levels?
Actually, it’s taking us backwards
The future of Tamil films is gloomy and it’s heading nowhere.
Its better tamil filmmakers rethink their strategy and make films at least half good as Hindi films… atleast in terms of diversed plots and themes……..
@ Logu: “Kids could easily relate themselves to Manirathnam’s Anjali and Kannathil Muthamittal more than Pasanga. ”
OK. Let’s just agree to disagree on that count. Mani Rathnam’s manner of having all his characters from 2-year old babies and 10-15 year old kids(in Anjali) to 20-odd year old lovers(in Alaipayuthey) to big Dons and gangsters(Nayagan, Thalapathi etc) and just about each and every single character in all his tamil films to mouth their dialogues in barely audible whispers like they do in some english films is so old-hat and unlike reality that it has been mocked and jeered at in innumerable number of films( That “eppidyirundha naan ippadi aayiten” comedy from Vivek, Vettaiyadu vilaiyadu and kadhalna summa illa to name a few). The kids here(in Pasanga) did, on a couple of occasions during the humourous segments and later during the climax, overplay their roles but, their general performance was far more natural and realistic than the patently artificial, stilted manner in which children in manirathnam’s films speak. Of course, these are just POVs and differ from person to person, but I do feel the general population of TN would side with me here.
“I still feel the films in 60s and early 70’s I mean KB’s earlier films appealed much than today’s films like Subramaniapuram, Pasanga, Eeram et al. ”
Well, I did enjoy a number of KB”s films like Thillu Mullu, Varumayin niram sigappu, and even Aval oru thodarkathai, but his occasionally stagy scenes, dialogues which were more for effect rather than to take the story forward, and if I remember correctly, his habit of making his characters repeat their lines in tamil after they tell it in English, all of which rather put me off after a point. OK, he was bold for that era with some of his choices(like Manmadha leelai), but only a few merits besides that.
“of course I did like the films you’ve mentioned they are way better than the usual Masala Pot-boilers but will it be a trend setter or is will it take Tamil cinema to any other levels?”
I see where you are getting at, and I agree partly. Tamil films still waste a lot of film reel in getting to the point, and seem quite content with telling the story in their own laborious style. Even when there’s something new in the story, the screenplay is so shoddy as to evoke ennui. Light-years away from brilliantly shot narratives like Kaminey in terms of technical expertise as well as cohesion.
But then, check this out:
http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2008/07/26/between-reviews-a-bloody-good-show/
@Racer44: Nice Effort.
It is really a good article about the Tamil Cinema of the last two years. I liked the article because you have concentrated on all the types of Tamil Movies rather than the only ones that reach American shore.
I completely agree with the categories too. Masala Crap. Urban Romances/Life. “Neorealism”.
It would have been good had you reserved a few words for technical aspects of Tamil Cinema too.
Also, How many Tamil movies did AR.Rahman do in the past 2-3 years? 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Racer will likely respond later.
2. You write: How many Tamil movies did AR.Rahman do in the past 2-3 years?
A quick glance on Wiki reveals the following:
Sivaji (one of the biggest hits in the Tamil film industry with popular music), Azhagiya Thamizh Magan, Sakkarakatti, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (music is the highlight of the last film).
A macro piece on Tamil cinema without a single mention of Rehman is akin to droning on about the Taj Mahal with nary a reference to Shah Jehan’s great love for his wife Mumtaz.
@ Twig: “It would have been good had you reserved a few words for technical aspects of Tamil Cinema too.”
I know, I know.. SI has rubbed it in hard enough. 🙁 Maybe, I subconsciously decided that it was getting too long as it was. On hindsight, it does feel like a missing dimension. But, you know, reading it again, I didn’t feel it was so bad to make SI bite my head off. OK, I was a little too positive in conclusion and failed to clarify a few things, but you know, it wasn’t all that bad, was it?
“Also, How many Tamil movies did AR.Rahman do in the past 2-3 years?”
One more misunderstanding arising out of the 2 or 2-3 year confusion (since if it was two years Sivaji and ATM no longer count). I too thought of putting up that argument, but the oscars alone made it obligatory that he get a mention in a piece such as this, so it would have been a poor argument to cite his long break from Tamil Cinema to justify the omission.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Hmmm, how many Taj Mahals did Shah Jehan build?
Just one? What an ass*ole!
Who cares if music and/or A.R. Rehman get short shrift in the piece. Music is hardly an inalienable element of Tamil cinema, right? 😉
you make it sounds as if ATM and Sakkarakatti were hit films…you do realise these 2 were mega flops (Esp ATM, because everyone had such high expectations after the success of pokkiri), and even ARR music couldnt save them (no matter how good they were).
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: you make it sounds as if ATM and Sakkarakatti were hit films.
In the Tamil film industry, there are no flops.
Every film ‘runs‘ for at least 100 days. 😉
BTW, we never said or even implied they were successful films. We just mentioned the two movies to support our point that Rehman was not completely inactive in Tamil films.
Here’s SI’s review of Azhagiya Tamil Magan Review.
I guess SI can write by him/herself on this topic. Because i think he/she would have watched from MGR/Sivaji to Rajni/kamal to Vinnaithandi varuvaya. Since there’s not much progress anyway, SI can easily write (rip apart) Tamil cinema buffoons……………
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Our crystal ball shows the Tamil film industry merely plodding along and churning out more trash thanks to the overflowing coffers of the mini-Stalins and mini-Azhagiris and abetted by the hype-machine of their accomplices at Sun TV.
Only in Tamil Nadu are mediocre shits like Venkat Prabu, Muruga Doss or Gautam Menon hailed as the vanguard of a new wave of directors.
I feel tamil movies till the end of 80s were watchable as compared to the recent movies.
Writing this after watching manal kayiru .
Its available online at rajshri.
http://www.rajshri.com/Video/Manal-Kayiru
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Manal Kayiru rings a bell for some reason but we can’t figure out why.
We don’t like watching movies on a PC or laptop (on a lap-top is a different matter 😉 ).
Have to figure out a way to easily stream movies from non-Roku boxes such as PCs to the TV. Maybe, we should get the cheap Acer Revo, which has a HDMI connection.
@racer44
I think you are giving Sasikumar too much credit.. Bharathiraja invented the down-to-earth genre 30 years ago… and was much more masterful than Sasikumar.. though the 16-vayathinilae cast looks formidable(understatement) now, Rajini and Sridevi were virtually unknowns back then.. Kamal had already already acted in plenty of movies by then.
Sasikumar didn’t even rejuvenate the genre.. the credit should go to “Kadhal”, Veyyil followed and only then must Sasikumar have grown balls to produce Subramaniapuram…. which didn’t impress me much. It was buoyed by Ilayaraja’s 80s hits rather than by a good storyline.
I have to conclude by saying that racer44 knows more about the current Tamil movies (not necessarily a good thing) than SI… 😉
SI, you can get one of the media players to play the downloadable movies and hook it up to the TV.. http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Play-Air-Wireless-Player/dp/B002YK1FFI is an example.. I use the PS3 to play movies off a flash drive, currently. The quality is pretty decent. Watched another “small town/unknown actors” movie called Renigunda on the PS3.. it was ok. The mustachioed (they probably left her unshaven for the sake of “reality”..) heroine looked cute.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: I have to conclude by saying that racer44 knows more about the current Tamil movies (not necessarily a good thing) than SI..
That’s what we thought too. And maybe we still do. Why else would we even suggest he do the piece. If you remember, the idea of Whither Tamil Cinema was mooted by us to Racer.
2. But being in possession of current facts is one thing and weaving the strands of those facts into a logical, coherent analytical framework is another thing. And that’s where Racer fails miserably with his shoddy analysis in Whither Tamil Cinema.
3. The ASUS O!Play Air – Wireless N TV HD Media Player looks interesting. Ideally, we only want a streaming device like Roku. Never downloaded a movie so far (not even from iTunes) and don’t intend to start now.
Also, maybe it’s time to buy a new TV. Our Samsung LCD has only two HDMI slots (both occupied, one by Roku and the other by the Panasonic home theater. BTW, Samsung TV speakers are tinny and lousy).
Did this one go to spam too? Because I didn’t see the “awaiting moderation” initially..but I did a re-query and now it shows up. So, I am assuming you marked it as “not spam” after you saw in the spam folder.. ?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yeah, this one and your previous one too. 🙁
Note to all Commenters: Don’t completely spell out the words of the crevices and appendages in the human anatomy. You do it once and WordPress marks it as spam and henceforth pushes all your comments directly into the spam folder. That adds an extra layer of work for us. First we have to unspam your comment to bring it into the main folder and then process it. Waste of time! Plus, many times we forget to look into the spam folder when there are multiple comments in the queue.
Bottom line, if you feel strongly about some issue and want to use the four-letter, five-letter ‘interesting’ words that add zing to your comments, make sure you use an asterisk somewhere in the word by removing one or more letters.
Wondering what crevice-word guruprasadji used!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Must be the IP in his case.
guruprasad, not sure if you as diligent as me in reading all the comments on SI, but can you try creating a new nick and see if it still goes to spam. According to some wordpress support page that I read, they no longer block ip addresses, because they are unique.
@ The Mahatma: “Bharathiraja invented the down-to-earth genre 30 years ago… and was much more masterful than Sasikumar.. though the 16-vayathinilae”
Whoa… wait a minute. If you read it properly, you’ll see that I have distinctly referred to it as “Small Town genre”, as opposed to “rural” genre, where 16 vayathiniley and Paruthiveeran would fit like a glove. Veyil, yes, but it was a conscious decision not to include it as it fell outside the 2 year time period I had in mind. It was released in 2006.
“Subramaniapuram…which didn’t impress me much.”
You are definitely in the minority there.
“It was buoyed by Ilayaraja’s 80s hits rather than by a good storyline.”
The Ilaiyaraja music was used judiciously as BGM, keeping in mind that the setting was the 1980’s when Ilaiyaraja was at his peak.But both the super hit songs of the film, Kangal irandaal and Kadhal siluvayil were, in fact, composed very much in the present by James Vasanthan. To mistake the icing on the cake with the cake itself is unreasonable.
@ Racer: Although, I tend to think that you are arguing for the sake of arguing, I give you the benefit of doubt (poor Swami Nithyananda was whining that he isn’t being given the benefit of doubt).
http://www.google.com/search?q=small+town+rural
small town and rural go hand-in-hand and the characters from both sub-genres (rural and “small town” from the “down-to-earth” genre, if you will*), are down-to-earth.
If you accept the Veyil belongs to the same sub-genre, then doesn’t that mean that you are conceding that (that’s the third that in that sentence) Sasikumar is not the “from-the-scratch” builder?
S’puram was 1000 times better than the Periakusu films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perarasu).. but that isn’t saying much 🙁
*SI, 1) is that the correct usage of “if you will”.. some of the sales executives use it too much during meetings.. don’t know the correct usage for that.
2)
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, you could use “if you will’ in that context.
Here’s a definition of the phrase’s usage.
BTW, we think that warmonger dickhead Dick Cheney likes to use that phrase.
@ The Mahatma: “If you accept the Veyil belongs to the same sub-genre, then doesn’t that mean that you are conceding that (that’s the third that in that sentence) Sasikumar is not the “from-the-scratch” builder?”
In the sense that it had the same setting, Ok. But Veyil was too caught up with an impending sense of tragedy, if you will :), waiting to smite its already beleaguered characters to properly do justice to it.
Whereas Subramiapuram, helped as it was by the story being firmly rooted in the 1980s, milked it for its full worth, I thought.
“small town and rural go hand-in-hand”
I mentioned down-to-earth as a description, but even an urban fellow can be down-to-earth, so it is the down-earth is not an exclusive privilege of these two genres. I see you took that rather too literally. 🙂
By your logic, Subramaniyapuram and Paruthiveeran should be similar, but they are worlds apart. So there is a distinction.
@ Racer44: As we both know this argument is going nowhere.. but when have we ever let the other person have the last word.
so here goes:
you said The last, and possibly the most significant class of films to emerge out of the last few years is the Small Town Film, a genre built up from scratch by Sasikumar (Subramaniapuram), Samuthirakani (Nadodigal), Susindran (Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu) and Pandiraj (Pasanga).
As you clubbed Pasanga and VKK in the Small Town “genre”, Veyil also belongs in the same heap.. and hence their predecessor, which effectively trumps your argument that Sasikumar is the inventor of this “genre”. That’s all I want you to admit 😉
I’ll try to rewatch S’Puram (the print I watched was “camera-print” – so that’s probably a major factor).. I read the Rangan review… very eloquent.. never read his reviews before (Blogical conclusion does ring a bell, though) .. So to get a better understanding of this guy’s taste, I searched for his Vaanaram1000 review and skimmed through it.. unfortunately he liked that one too.. apparently quite a bit. Did you like V1000?
He seems to be the anti-SI.. found a positive in Vettaikaran too! Did you watch Vettaikaran?
and Racer, how was VTV? (Does Trisha gets bumped off too? – ok, don’t tell) didn’t talk about that much in your synopsis, considering the fact that it is getting rave reviews (almost 😉 ) everywhere .. and a surprising omission is “Naan Kadavul”.. that belongs to the Macabre genre, which only Bala seems to dabble with.
@Mahathma
“As you clubbed Pasanga and VKK in the Small Town “genre” ”
VKK, if you have seen it, is centered around the kabaddi tournament which takes place in a, what was that word again, yeah… Small Town. Though I will admit :), that the village the players came from figured prominently in the first half of the film.
But the focus was on their journey to the town, the turn of events resulting in their unexpectedly taking part in the kabaddi tournament held there, and their unlikely triumph in that tournament, so it is only fair that it gets a place along with subramaniapuram, Nadodigal etc.
As for Veyil, I have already replied in my previous comment.
Here it is again:
“In the sense that it had the same setting, Ok. But Veyil was too caught up with an impending sense of tragedy, if you will 🙂 , waiting to smite its already beleaguered characters to properly do justice to it.
Whereas Subramiapuram, helped as it was by the story being firmly rooted in the 1980s, milked it for its full worth, I thought.”
“Did you like V1000?”
No. But then, How does that have any bearing at all on his reviewing skills?
“He seems to be the anti-SI.. found a positive in Vettaikaran too!”
Well, you seem to have missed his rather critical take on Avatar. He is not your usual go-with-the-herd type, if that’s what you think. Whether he likes a film or not, he invariably gives solid reasons to back his judgment. Now THAT’s the hallmark of a good reviewer.
“Macabre genre, which only Bala seems to dabble with.”
Exactly my point, how can one call it a genre when only one man seems to be bothering with it, and he too has now switched his attentions elsewhere.(he is making a comedy named Avan Ivan next)
Though I will admit :), that it could’ve found a place among the notable exceptions along with Aayirathil Oruvan, Anjaadhey etc.
“and Racer, how was VTV? (Does Trisha gets bumped off too? – ok, don’t tell) ”
Now that’s arguing for the sake of arguing.
That “bumping off his female leads” comment has solid basis.
Just see what happened to Jyothika in Kaakha Kaakha and Pachaikili Muthucharam(albeit in a villainous shade, but one of the lead roles nevertheless), Sameera reddy in VA, Kamalini Mukherjee in VV and he has only made 6 tamil films so far. What more do you want? Your argument about Trisha is, therefore, nonsensical, to say the least.
fodder for Incredible india
http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20100315/818/tnl-rs-5-crore-garland-for-mayawati.html
http://www.anytimechennai.com/Latest-Chennai-News/fake-dome-for-assembly-by-thota-tharani.html
did they print their crores…
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks.
Please see: Incredible India 43: Flowers are So Passé in India:
some more on secreteriat etc.
http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?264550
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Read the piece in the above link.
Disgusting. Fake domes. Gala inauguration ceremonies et al.
When will the suffering Tamils get liberated from the grave injustices of this Loose Paiya.
I know it doesn’t qualify the criteria, but felt like Anniyan should have got a mention.
It had its share of shortcomings, still, as regard to acting, scripting-one of my favourite movies. It had a message relevant for the times too.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
One of our favorites too.
We often watch the Vikram-Prakash Raj fight scene toward the end of the movie.
Hmm, a very interesting article from Racer44 and a more interesting response from SI!
While Racer’s article didn’t impress me much, I did like the way he highlighted the mini gems (Small-budget films such as Nadodigal, Pasanga, and Subramaniapuram). It is ironical that in whirlpool of shit which is called as Tamil Cinema, directors like Arivazhagan, Sasikumar, and Simbhudevan still exist.
However, Racer cannot justify that Tamil cinema has progressed by any means. In all these decades, we just got to see one full length spoof film (aptly named Tamizh Padam), a few sci-fi films (If I can call them so) such as Vaathiyar (A pathetic tamil remake of the Anil Kapoor Starrer, Mr.India), the yet-to-be released Endhiran (Is it really Sci-fi) and some old movies such as Naalaiya Manidhan and Pudhiya Manithan (Remember the man called Ajay Rathinam), and a few good films such as Anbe Sivam, Aayarathil Oruvan, Salangai Oli, and so on…………….
To put it shortly, Kollywood releases a GOOD film once in every Blue MOON.
Coming to Bollywood, the only difference is that they have more money to spend and the scripts are tweaked to suit “International Audience”. And Still they fail to come up with good films. Please don’t count Kaminey, Black, Cheeni Kum, or Taare Zameen Par, it is an abomination among the many thrash films that Bollywood has produced.
But……………. I don’t understand how SI and others here have taken liberty to label Kollywood, Tollywood, and Bollywood Shit as “Indian Cinema”. True, these are popular industries in India, but do they constitute the entire Indian Film Industry?? A big NO.
If my limited knowledge on films proves to be right, we also have the Malayalam Movie industry which has produced many good movies. Irrespective of what SI says, I would rate actors such as Mammotty, Mohan Lal, Prithivraj, Murali, and many others as better actors, if not world class.
Moreover, many Marathi movies have top class stories and a strong cast to create them. Since, many of us are not familiar with the language, we never know about their class of movies.
Even in tamil, I believe that we have/had great actors who should have been hailed as the greatest if their egos hadn’t preceded their talent.
The late thespian, Shivaji Ganeshan, was a great actor till the 1950s. He started off with Parasakthi, acted in classics like Andha Naal. But unfortunately, his great acting prowess, instead of improving, went down the hill as sub-standard directors, bland scripts, and overacting spoiled his legacy.
Then, came Sivakumar. Yes SI, the same person whom you labeled as a Dancing Monkey. I would rate him as one of the finest actors if he hadn;t been considered as a second rung hero in his heydays. But unfortunately, he was constantly overshadowed by lesser talented actors like Gemini, SS Rajendran, Muthuraman, and all.
WTH, even comedians like Chandrababu, and Nagesh treated us well with class acts until they faded away slowly. Then, you had the classy SP Rangarao, a man who could act in any role and yet make it seem realistic.
Kamal Haasan had the makings of a great actor. He started off well with films like Apoorva Ragangal, Padinaru Vayathinile, Salangai Oli, Moondram Mudichu, and many more. But as his stardom grew, so did his ego, and his acting prowess slowly gave away to Over-the-top mannerisms and exaggerated reactions. Truly, if these actors had just controlled their egos and selected their scripts carefully, SI would have sung paeans about them. Alas, it is not to be.
The Kannada film industry too has had some good actors in the past like Rajkumar and Vishnu Vardhan.
All I can say is that Kollywood and Bollywood can only move to the next level of Cinema if they make films with sound scripts and decent actors. Else, it’s just gonna be the case of the same run-of-the-mill films.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Nice comment. 🙂
2. You write: I don’t understand how SI and others here have taken liberty to label Kollywood, Tollywood, and Bollywood Shit as “Indian Cinema”. True, these are popular industries in India, but do they constitute the entire Indian Film Industry?? A big NO. ….we also have the Malayalam Movie industry…Moreover, many Marathi movies have top class stories and a strong cast
Valid point but you’d agree that what you term as ‘Kollywood, Tollywood, and Bollywood Shit’ accounts for majority of the films produced in India and the overwhelming majority of the audience.
Racer isn’t in any moods to give it up it seems. All of the comments echoed more or less the same that Subramaniapuram or podisunga aren’t any classic and the past tamil cinema was way ahead of the present in terms of acting and content atleast. but don’t know what made Racer so addicted to Subramaniapuram.
SI, did u give him some White Russian?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: SI, did u give him some White Russian?
No. Echoing MGR, we told him Sodah Kudhi. 😉
(a double entendre meaning ‘drink soda’ or a foul epithet)
@logu
“Racer isn’t in any moods to give it up it seems.”
Hey look. I liked Subramaniapuram and I can’t change that and bow down in submission before Your Highness just because a few people in this blog don’t agree. You liked stuff like Anjali and 3 idiots, I know many people who hated these films, so does that mean you are wrong, and they are right? What sort of a dumb argument is that?
“Subramaniapuram or podisunga aren’t any classic ”
I never said they are. Just that they were really good films and deserved a watch. You don’t agree? Fine. Just don’t try to force your “manna” down my throat.
And just in case you didn’t notice, I gave you a link which had a write-up by a national-award winning reviewer, Baradwaj Rangan (don’t go by the award alone, he is one of the best out there, Tamil, English and Hindi films, you can read his reviews if you like) on Subramaniapuram where he spells out one-by-one reasons why the film stands out.
I see you have conveniently ignored that link and now trying to make the case that I am the only one who likes the film.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We read the Baradwaj Rangan review. Nice one.
trishna 147 told that according to behindwoods.com In 2009, the hightest profit makers were:
1. Ayan (Suriya, Tamanna)
2. Unnaipol Oruvan (Kamal, Mohanlal)
3. Aadhavan (Suriya, Nayanthara)
4. Nadodigal (Sasikumar)
5. Padikathavan (Dhanush, Tamanna)
6. Peranmai (Jeyam Ravi)
7. Kanden Kadhalai (Bharat, Tamanna)
8. Yavarum Nalam (13B) (Madhavan, Neetu Chandra)
9. Eeram (Nandha, Aadhi)
10. Masilamani (Nakul, Sunaina)
but if u see the this link http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-4/top-20-movies-2009/vettaikaran.html u will find that vettaikaaran is in 9th position. and in the slideshow u will find that eeram is in 10th position……..not 9th. and maasilamani is in 11th position……………..not 10th.
according to this link, both vettaikaaran and kandhasamy were hit. http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14925410&cid=2363
even in the chennai times supplement of the “times of india” it was written that vettaikaaran was a hit (it was written on the december 31st 2009 issue).
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We are having a hard time believing sori-padam Sury‘a Ayan was a blockbuster (as per your above Sify link).
damn, i must have skipped vettaikaran..
but behindwoods still said that Kandaswamy and Vettaikaran were averages…
either way, both were equivalent to trash.went to see kanthaswamy with high expectation only to be shocked to see what crap was thrown at me. And as for vettaikaran, i watched it on DVD and i finished watching it in 10 mins (cuz i fast forwarded all the songs, fights, villain punch dialogues, stupid comedy)
you didnt like Ayan? i kinda enjoyed it to be honest. it was a different kind of masala movie. and at a time when i was sick of watching the same old typical cliched films, this one seemed a bit different.
btw, have you seen the Italian film called ‘La battaglia di Algeri’??
well i watched the french dubbed version (called La Bataille d’Alger) since i can understand french. but i think you should watch it. having said that, i honestly dont know whether you like these kinds of films.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’ll watch La Battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers) tonight.
Ayan is an emetic.
// We’ll watch La Battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers) tonight.//
So this is the 28th film watched by you out of Yahoo’s 100 must watch movies’ list? 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’re not keeping count. But we’ll try to have the review up later today.
Waiting for the review.
Is it good or great?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Magnifique, as the French would say.
Indeed Ayan was a blockbuster. You have to digest it anyway. Further it is the highest-grossing film for Sun pictures since its inception.
I still remember Ayan relased on April 2009 first week and it was marketed intensely till July even after Masilamani (this film bombed at boxoffice, i wonder how it managed to get into hit list?) release…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Pictures
There is an old saying country sides of Tamil nadu which would be apt to describe Vettaikaran/Kandasamy/Thoranai/Villu and Ayan
“Aalilla Oorukku Iluppai Poo Chakkarai” (Indian-butter-tree-flower [has very mild sugar taste but no where near to actual sugar] will be assumed as sugar in the town where there is no sugar mills) – ever heard of it?
This reflects the reality of the current tamil cinema. Mass accepts Vijay’s acting(iluppai poo) as best since they were not exposed to world cinema(sugar). So who to be blamed here?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
After reading about that big shit Ayan being declared a big hit, we were so depressed that we made ourselves a large glass of White Russian. 😉 Really.
But we still don’t believe this nonsense abut Ayan being a big hit because to believe that is to believe Tamils are blithering idiots.
Blithering idiots Tamils or bewitching Tamanna or whatever – you cant change the history, lets design the future.
btw…you can also scream blithering idiots malaysians, bilthering idiots singaporeans et al. this fil(thy)m made big overseas too.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Tamanna is alright…if only God had endowed her with a fuller bosom.
We can dream, can’t we? 😉
yes, ayan really was a blockbuster in India(like you i too believe that ayan does not deserve to be a blockbuster……………..but what to do?……….thats only the truth.)