REBIRTH OF THE COOL?
Fifty years into an endlessly fascinating career, here’s a wish (no, make that a pipe dream) that Kamal Hassan would go back to having fun, being cool.
AUG 23, 2009 – IN THE YEARS I WAS GROWING UP in a balmy nook of Madras – ensconced in an ethos that was part-Peter, part-Pattabhiraman – Kamal Hassan was, quite simply, one of the coolest people on the planet. (At the time, of course, the actor was adored by the mononym of Kamalahasan. The modification in the moniker occurred during the release of Vikram, his lavish Bond fantasia, perhaps owing to his attempts to simultaneously straddle the worlds of Tamil and Hindi cinema. He was trying, in other words, to be part-Pattabhiraman, part-Parminder.) Kamal was cool not because he could act well – as a kid or a young teen, it wasn’t exactly the Method-inflected thesping skills that reached out and grabbed me by the collar of my printed-polyester shirts. He was cool because he embodied an imported-from-the-West panache that few Tamil stars had before him, few Tamil stars possess even today.
An older generation would swear by the devil-may-care swagger that a Sivaji Ganesan brought to his chain-smoking while crooning Yaar andha nilavu in Shanti, with the graceful shrug of the shoulders that drew the arms close to the torso, and with the attendant gesture of the upturned limp wrist, suggesting the futility of fighting fate – but the deliberations behind these mannerisms never held much appeal for me. When, years afterwards, I stumbled into these artifacts of yesteryear cool (primarily through the graces of Oliyum Oliyum), there was always a fourth-wall-shattering distance – the affectations weren’t organic. They needed to be viewed by squinting through a mist of nostalgia and indulgence. The great actor may well have been attempting to mimic an American college-goer from the mid-century, employing exclamations such as “swell” and “rad” and “golly gee” – it just wasn’t our times, it just wasn’t us.
Kamal, on the other hand, wore his “Peter” credentials as if they were encoded in his DNA – and he reached out to the cool-craving parts of us the way the Hollywood heroes of the time did. The coolness came from the way he spoke English – with a where-did-that-accent-come-from question left lingering in the air (something he genially spoofed in Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey, when the bumpkin brother launches into garbled guttural explosions in order to mimic the Westernised cadences of his sophisticated twin). It was in the way he swiveled towards the camera – towards us, with that check-me-out glint in the eye – in the one-one-two-two-three-three-four-four preface to the Kaamanukku Kaaman dance item from Uruvangal Maaralaam. It was in the ‘fro he wore while twisting his astoundingly flexible pelvis to the strains of Solla solla enna perumai in Ellaam Inba Mayam.
It was in the way he made the camera a stylish accessory around the neck when he sobered up as a documentarian in Aval Appadithaan. It was in the silver headband and the Age-of-Aquarius medallion that dangled over an open-chested cardigan while an enraptured audience nodded to Engeyum eppodhum in Ninaithaale Inikkum. And it was in the ovoid sunglasses that framed his twinkling eyes – amused and self-aware as any Lothario’s – while he took an impossibly demure Sridevi out on dates in Sigappu Rojakkal. Has any earlier film depicted, with such anthropological acuity, the wooing-wining-dining mechanics of an honest-to-goodness date, with the candlelight dinners and the making-out-during-a-movie? (Never mind that the “making out” here was merely the grazing of his lips on her outstretched palm – the point is that this handsome devil in the red baseball cap was so exotically dude-ish that Sridevi, with that sari-pallu draped carefully over her shoulder, appears to stand in for all of conservative Tamil cinema up to that juncture.)
That’s the Kamal I recall as I read fawning fan-boy tributes (of which, you’ve no doubt realised, this is unabashedly one) about his completing a half-century in the movies – the Kamal who was cool way before cool came to Tamil cinema. In some sense, he seems to have been around for much longer than fifty years, perhaps because every stage of his life has unfolded in front of the cameras, as if his existence were preserved for posterity in a time-lapse – the precocious (but never precious) child; the reed-thin, whiny-voiced adolescent; the bell-bottomed Kaadhal Ilavarasan (The Crown Prince of Romance, as he was nicknamed), and the adult (and increasingly, sometimes frustratingly, ambitious) actor-writer-filmmaker. And if I appear to have dwelt on a relatively frivolous aspect of the man who’s given us a Mahanadhi and a Hey Ram and a Virumaandi, it’s because it’s that Kamal, the cheerful cool-cat Kamal, that I miss the most.
I miss the Kamal who didn’t try, the Kamal who just effortlessly was – the photographer from Tik Tik Tik who couldn’t believe his luck that these bikinied beauties were splayed out in front of him, the tenderhearted pickpocket from Savaal who blossomed under the maternal gaze of the Burmese Fagin played by Manorama, the tufted villager from Sakalakalavallavan who migrated to the city and bought himself a pair of shiny pants and drove his bike through a wall of glass during New Year celebrations. The goodness or the badness of these films is irrelevant – and besides, the test of a true star is how good he is in bad films. Kamal made these outings fun, intentionally or otherwise. Kamal’s films, those days, felt like the summer vacations – while today, they’ve come to feel like annual examinations. (We practically end up making a checklist before entering the theatre: paper, pencil, sharpener, thinking cap…)
Before you brandish your pitchforks and come charging at me for overlooking the inevitability that an actor cannot play in his fifties what he did in his twenties and thirties, this isn’t a plea for Kamal to go back to making a Savaal or a Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey or a Vikram. (And truth be told, I’m not making a plea for anything, actually.) This is simply an attempt to contrast the lighthearted Westernisation of his early years with the more solemn Westernisation I see in Kamal today, which is no longer in the surface details of his person, but has percolated down to his core, to his preference for prestige projects and the meticulousness of his Hollywood-model scripts and the elaborateness of his boundary-pushing conceits. And in the process, there are times I wonder if he hasn’t forgotten how to just go out there in front of the camera and have himself some fun (and radiate back to us some of the enjoyment he’s experiencing).
It’s not that I mind sitting down for these examinations (though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel an iota of dread as they approach) – it’s just that I miss the vacations. I wish Kamal would transform into a cheerful actor-for-hire like Amitabh Bachchan today, who’s having the time of his career playing ghosts and pedophiles and gangsters and cheeky bit-parts. I’d like to see Kamal size himself down to the amusingly earnest director he guest-starred as in Manakanakku. I’d like to see him surrender to younger filmmakers who’d surely salivate at the prospect of creating vehicles worthy of the cinema-lover whose shadow they’ve grown up worshipping. Rather than wait a couple of years and watch him in ten latex-lathered parts, I’d like to see him in ten different roles in ten different films during the course of a year. He’s done enough for Tamil cinema. I’d like to see him shrug off that responsibility. I’d like to see him back where he began – as, quite simply, one of the coolest people, if not on the planet, at least on the Tamil screen.
Copyright ©2009 The New Sunday Express. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Venkat
August 22, 2009
Oh my! Oh my!! You left me whistling and laughing my heart aloud in a desolate building in the corners of pune..felt nice to go back to chennai thru ur words n experience those good ol’ kamal days!! Amazing stuff.. Im gonna print this stuff and keep it for posterity
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Pearls
August 22, 2009
Very well said. And the actor for hire might come yet. though we might have to wait another 10 years…. maybe?
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Aditya Pant
August 22, 2009
“I wish Kamal would transform into a cheerful actor-for-hire like *Amitabh Bachchan* today…”
Touche….I can imagine a mischievious smile on your face while writing this line…in anticipation of the extreme reactions this statement would draw 😉
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Narm
August 22, 2009
Long time reader here. I loved this piece, it said perfectly what I didn’t realize I felt. Although my Kamal Haasan is the one of Punnagai Mannan and Vetri Vizha, he was still SO cool in those movies.
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raj
August 22, 2009
Who wants kamal to be amitap pachan? let pachan do all and sundry bit roles and underwear ads. Thanks and no, thanks
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Ajay
August 22, 2009
I think that Amitabh parallel was spot-on, but I couldn’t but help think of Aamir Khan when I was reading this. While not being thoroughly impressed by Ghajini, it felt like he’s stopped taking it upon himself to push Hindi commercial cinema along. He was cheerfully doing his commercial naach-gaana-beat up baddies bit, and quite well, I must add 🙂
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Venkatesh
August 22, 2009
Aah , cannot be bettered , brilliant article BR. Absolutely spot on.
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vijay
August 22, 2009
Found myself agreeing with this for the most part. I guess the fanbases in the South just cant digest their stars in cameos or such light roles their age be damned. And with recent blockbuster films bringing in the cash I wonder why things would change. Amitabh had a series of flops in his comeback before he decided to alter course.
Will Unnaipol oruvan, even if it is a remake, change things just a bit? I am not sure. But I hope Kamal doesn’t wait to do the switch after a string of flops
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Arun
August 23, 2009
He’s still the coolest dude around isnt he?!
Well written piece…
Perhaps he’s waiting for a collective ‘pass’ from the audience for his ‘examinations’ before granting us a ‘vacation’?!
PS:An opportune moment to once again ask you to dig out your Hey Ram piece?! also how about your top 10 Kamal films list on the comments section?
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Raj Balakrishnan
August 23, 2009
The problem with Kamal Hassan is his obsession to be present in every frame of his movie. He remains a petty, insecure actor who is not confident enough to share screenspace with other talented actors. He might have done some good stuff in the 70s and the 80s but he will never be able to do something like a Langda Tyagi now. In his interviews he comes acroos as a jealous loser who cannot stand his rival Rajnikant’s popularity. He may be talented, but his performances are very self-conscious and artifical; not spontaneous and natural.
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KPV Balaji
August 23, 2009
I dont know why but i kinda feel cheated after reading the article :(…
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kaos
August 23, 2009
I’d happily even take the semi-vacation that a Tenali or Kaadhala Kaadhala provided. I think his phone-in performances would be defining roles for lesser talents :).
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Adithya
August 23, 2009
Excellent perspective!
Though I have my own reservations with the Big B like transformation, I would definitely look fwd to Kamal in a Myskkin or Ameer or a Sasikumar film. I thought working with Gautam Menon was a step towards that. Apparently he and Mysskin are talking? I hope something materializes soon.
And am I the only one who is NOT looking fwd to Unnaipol Oruvan? I don’t like the idea!
I don’t want him to be like Big B just about everywhere. In Chameli ka tel ads, on game shows, in crappy movies etc etc(That Also-Ran ki Aag anyone?). I’d take Dasavatharam for that.
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Priya
August 23, 2009
You spoke (wrote) the thoughts of almost every Tamilian born in the ’70s… As always you have a really good way with words…
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Kavitha
August 23, 2009
I would love to see more of Kamal Hassan too! And I sometimes wish he didn’t take himself and his craft so seriously (though that has produced some brilliant movies in the past). *sigh* Perhaps you should send in this piece to Kamal…give him something to mull over. 🙂
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Kavitha
August 23, 2009
Oh and by the way, great choice of picture for the post!! How I adore the Kamal of “Varumayin niram sivappu”!
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Shankar
August 23, 2009
Baddy, I agree with you…most of the article is spot on. I know I’ve said this before…I still enjoy films like Vikram, for all it’s faults. It was an ambitious attempt also. However, looking at it in comparison to Dasa, today’s realism seems so fake while Vikram’s make-believe at least felt real!! 🙂
Also, you mentioned about having to walk into Kamal’s movies of the present with the thinking cap on. I remember the standard line in those days for Rajini’s films was that you had to leave your brains at home because you were not expected to question the physics of Rajini tossing a cigarette into the air and lighting it by merely staring at it. As a parallel, Rajini continued to have fun and it was entertaining (though I wish now maybe he would change tracks and become a for-hire actor).
But your point is taken…there just aren’t any cool dudes left in tamil cinema (maybe a Vikram…in some roles), certainly none to match the past.
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Karthik
August 23, 2009
Actually, Gautam Menon wanted this Kamal you described, in Vettayaadu Vilayaadu. Just that age was not on Kamal’s side, but it was the closest Kamal came to reliving his earlier swagger, though many of it seemed exaggerated now!
I adored his swagger in 2 other films – Kakki Sattai and Kaadhal Parisu. Both were pulp masala films – the former had typical costume numbers like Pattu kannam and a raucous track like Singaari saraku :-). The latter – had two sisters vying for our man’s attention, quite desperately and I remember completely hooked to Kamal’s ‘disco’ moves in the dance competition in ‘Hey unnaithaane’ 🙂
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brangan
August 23, 2009
kaos: Absolutely. Many of today’s so-called “actors” can learn a lot simply by watching Kamal stand still in a frame, or by the way he incorporates his surroundings (his props, his co-stars) into his peformances.
Adithya: Actually, I’m not very pumped about it either. It’s not that I don’t like the idea… I’m more like, of all the films to remake, why *this* one?
Kavitha: I know. He really looks like a dude, doesn’t he? 🙂 I wonder what happened to Dilip, by the way. Last I recall, he was in some Visu films. Haven’t seen him after that.
Shankar: Oh please — I’d take “Vikram” over “Dasa” anyday. Janakaraj as a eunuch-dubash, the catfight during “En jodi manjakkuruvi,” a rocket computer panel that resembled a calculator — dude, what’s not to love 🙂
Karthik: Kakki Sattai I can see the attraction — but the other one I remember hating every moment of. Started off as some light entertainer, then became some random melodrama about an illegitimate child. Yappa!
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Shankar
August 23, 2009
Add to that…Eli koil, Salamiya, Sugirtharaja, scientist chick from IIT-M, exotic princess, breaking into the mole’s house, rocket hijack…it’s a heady cocktail!! To top off, a terrific soundtrack as well. Does anyone think Rajashekar really directed that movie? 🙂
Also, I remember there was a distinct attempt to make sure Kamal was portrayed in stylish costumes (your point about coolness)…I can’t remember if it was Vani or Sarika who was handling that department for Kamal at that time.
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Kaiser_soze
August 23, 2009
I am forwarding this to all my friends who are huge Kamal fans, especially my wife.
I hated Kathal Parisu too..crap fest that was.
I heard he is talking with Mysskin..hope that turns out well. He should stop associating himself with KS Ravikumar..enough of that already…One more Mani movie with Kamal ..is that too much to ask.
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Venkatesh
August 24, 2009
Hmm , unlike most of the commenters here , i don’t want a Mysskin + Kamal movie – will be much too “offbeat” (Anjaathey was great, but… ) , i am not even sure if i liked the GM + Kamal movie – trying too hard.. ?.
What i want is a Kamal from the days of Kakki Chattai, Oru Kaidhiyin Diary ( “where is my son?” ) – as in something really pulpy , really masala – done effortlessly well – and please IR for music.
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Venkatesh
August 24, 2009
And oh brilliant photo choice .
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brangan
August 24, 2009
letter to the paper…
Dear Mr. Rangan,
I – as a die-hard aficionado of Kamalahasan (and not Kamal Hasam) – clandestinely share your wish that the versatile actor just gets back to acting which he is an exponent of (‘I miss the cheerful cool-cat,’ August 23, 2009). Kamal Hasan is great only in front of the camera and not so behind it. As an actor he has inspired generations. He never was out of fashion ever during his five decade career as he was always in sync with the times. Not only Tamil Nadu, but the whole of south India used to ape his style, way of dressing and his mannerisms. How we all wish he just throws his brains out of the window and just gets down to acting and only acting. Fun, serious, robust, angry, comical… whatever. He’s the master of the game!
Excellent piece of writing, Mr. Rangan. We enjoyed it.
Yours truly,
K. Chidanand Kumar
Bangalore.
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a
August 24, 2009
Wonder if twenty years from now, you will be able to write an article on any icon..
flash in the pan-todays stars generally dont merit that kind of standing…
they look the same, sound the same and dont seem to be having any fun…
kamal and rajini defined,defines an era for us.
thanks for takin me back to those times when there was still an innocense-well done,B
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brangan
August 24, 2009
and another
Your piece on Kamalahasan/Kamal Hassan was exquisite. Good, convincing piece of writing and it so nicely summed up a whole lot of floating emotions I have for that actor.
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Prasanna
August 24, 2009
Here’s wishing Kamals’ next (hopefully not last) 20 years don’t become become as insignificant as Sivaji’s twilight years.
“the test of a true star is how good he is in bad films”…really?how many of Sivaji’s past-prime movies do we even recall??Probably he had a different problem-being accessible to a whole lot of crappy directors.
How good have the tamil film creators been in using agesd/ageing stars?
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vigneshwaran shanmugam
August 24, 2009
rangan,
U missed out “nizhal nijamagiradhu” and “simla special” in an artcle on kamal’s coolness on screen.
he was too cool in them..
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dagalti
August 24, 2009
As Raju most famously said when it was suggested he razor himself down from the great-men brotherhood: “Nevaire !”
Who is going to write the kind of films he has ? With time healing wounds, now my only grouse with Dasa is that it took too much of his time.
When he acts, the ‘cool’ should be his own cool not someone else’s concept of cool.PKS I say. It was something he brought in well over the Mouli-Crazy duo. Adhi over Raghavan, any day of the week.
There should start some kind of signature campaign demanding he writes and directs atleast one film each year. And here is the sacrilege: his acting in them is optional.
While we are talking about going slow on the ‘why so serious’ and being more carefree, let me place a request to restart “Arre O Sambhar.”
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kid-glove
August 24, 2009
I don’t want him to be like Big B just about everywhere. In Chameli ka tel ads, on game shows, in crappy movies etc etc(That Also-Ran ki Aag anyone?). I’d take Dasavatharam for that.
———————
Exactly.
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anon_kamal_fan
August 24, 2009
Speaking of accents – the epitome of Kamal coolness is the train scene in Guru where he puts on an incredibly over the top firang accent. That movie was awesomely cool – had Sridevi at her peak – and fantastic Raja songs. Easily the best of his pre-Nayagan masala movies, I think.
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hariohm
August 24, 2009
Oh he was soo cool in his ray-bans in Kuruthi Punal
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Deepak
August 24, 2009
Brilliant article!! The swagger and the sophistication. You just nailed it!! Do you remember the introduction scene of Madan in Michael Madana Kama Rajan??
“Sorry to barge in on your meeting like this gentlemen”
Who else could pull that off?? He had a laptop in that movie!! n that was in 1990!!
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Qalandar
August 24, 2009
Superb piece BR — you have summed up what even people like me who haven’t grown up with Kamal have been trying to articulate, but would never be able to — at least not with this combination of affection, enthusiasm, and courage (that last because, my friend, one day you will cringe when you re-read the piece’s fanboydom :-))
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Tambi Dude
August 24, 2009
“Who else could pull that off?? He had a laptop in that movie!! n that was in 1990!!”
and was running DIR command while talking to Nagesh about him embezzling 25 lakhs from the company.
Frankly in that all time entertainer, Madan was the weakest link. No match to other 3.
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brangan
August 24, 2009
anon_kamal_fan: Okay, if you’re such a fan of “Guru,” maybe you can tell us the codename of the moll who speaks into the miniature disco-ball-cum-microphone (on the train). For bonus points, you can name Y Gee Mahendar’s love interest 🙂
Qalandar: But sometimes, you have to put yourself on the line, no? Embarrassment be damned? 🙂
Tambi Dude: But Madan was intentionally a straight-arrow, I thought. He was the comic foil, so to speak, for the other three to bounce off of.
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Hemanth
August 25, 2009
Thank you for reminding me how cool Kamal used to be.
The way I see it; Kamal has this sponge-like ability to pick up every bit of new idea in the movies (non-mainstream, ofcourse) he saw, the books he read and the people he met. He’s unable to hold these onto himself and wishes his Directors make it happen for him. Unfortunately (with the exception of ‘Singeetham’ Srinivasa Rao) he does not have the faith to submit to any of them.
Out of this frustration and anguish he had to become THE Director himself (first using proxies, then thrusting himself directly), just to satiate his drive. I believe that’s the time we lost the cool cat!
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APALA
August 25, 2009
Great piece, BRangan! You know that I jump on anything about Kamal! I think he should do his kind of movies – who else can give you a “Anbe Sivam”, “Virumandi”, “Mumbai Express” ….Others don’t have the guts – but he should just have fun with some other directors like Sasi, Ameer (who, in his own words, admitted that Kamal had given him the chance but he is too scared still to direct him!), Bala … just to give us something to enjoy as a vacation!
BTw, I hope he never does what Big B is doing!! I would rather take 15 more Dasavatharam’s for that (not that I don’t dislike the film as much as you do, but still it’s not his best……..!).
Vikram was really cool dude! (even his spoof for K Vishwanath, Oka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu was so much fun)!
Great piece, man. Thanks for taking me through those films, those times! It felt good!
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Deepak
August 25, 2009
@tambi dude…what were you expecting…windows vista?? N who cares if his character wasnt properly fleshed out… The point here is that he played the part of an nri to perfection…stylish and with a flawless accent…which was what rangan was talking about
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raj
August 25, 2009
Well, bachchan is only comparable to rajni. This bachan advice should go to rajni not kamal.
Kamal is vishal b plus kashyap plus naseer shah. The bar should be higher for him – coolness be damned.how cool was virumandi?
On multiple viewings, even the much derided jail riot scenes of viru sparkle with his genius. Under appreciated writer-director, kamal is.
Dgalti nailed it – unsurprisingly bachan coterie here ignored that comment.
Bachan is not in same post code as kamal as an actor. Shah puri come close.
Bollywood opiated fans can live in illusion that bachan is comparable. Go ahead.
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Tambi Dude
August 25, 2009
@deepak,
Read my reply in the context. If showing laptop in 1990 was cool (per you), showing DIR command was not (per me).
And I am not talking about the character. His protrayal of NRI in MMMK was not upto the mark. I always find Kamal’s English speaking role annoying because of his highly put on accent. To me he is just not cut of such roles.
Wanna see how to act as NRI. Back in late 1980s there was a TV serial based on hospital. Pankaj Kapur played the role of a NRI doctor. Absolutely Perfect.
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Tambi Dude
August 25, 2009
Kamal was excellent in 1970s and early 1980s before his king sized ego started taking away the spontanity in his roles. having recently seen nizhal nijamagiradhu and Avargal I stand by my assertion.
I hated him in Kuruthipunal and I am sure he will mess up A Wednesday also.
Nasirudding shah may be a limited actor, but of late I find him more likeable in his portrayal than KH.
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Shankar
August 25, 2009
Baddy, was the codename “Cleopatra”? Also, I think YG’s pair was V Nirmala.
BTW, in Guru, even though the other songs are more popular, my personal fav was “Enthan Kannil”. Very stylish song…with amazing violins and trumpets.
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brangan
August 25, 2009
Tambi Dude: Reg, “Kamal was excellent in 1970s and early 1980s before his king sized ego started taking away the spontanity in his roles,” how does one correlate something like spontaneity in a performance (which is a tangible, visible facet) with an invisible factor like ego? I’m not sure I understand the connection. In any case, he’s done some spectacular acting work even after the early 80s — my favourites being Nayakan (even though there was some explicit Brando imitation, either because he chose to pay homage or because Mani asked him to), Mahanadi, Virumandi, parts of Mumbai Xpress and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu.
And secondly, “Nasirudding shah may be a limited actor…” Huh? Care to qualify? 🙂
Shankar: Bingo on Cleopatra. But dude, that was Jayamalini. How can you forget that bathing scene, or even “Maamanukku Paramakudi”? 😉
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Tambi Dude
August 25, 2009
Kamal’s ego reflects in his acting too. I find many of his method acting lacking spontaneity.
I did not like him much in Virumandi or even in Mahanadi. The movie was very good. Same with Hey Raam, a brilliant movie otherwise.
As regards Nasir, well there are certain roles one can’t imagine Nasir doing. Romantic role. He was the worst link in Ijazzat. Or comedy. He is good for intense roles only.
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Deepak
August 25, 2009
@tambi dude…if Pankaj kapurs role as an nri doctor was perfect (per you) then kamals nri act was perfect (per me) 🙂 sorry had to bite
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KPV Balaji
August 25, 2009
If his king sized ego could give us terrific scripts and performances like the ones in Devar Magan, Mahanadhi, virumandi,hey ram, Guna and Anbe sivam i would sincerely wish his ego gets inflated furthermore 🙂
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Ariya
August 25, 2009
A cheers from accross the Ghats.
Cant agree more with you and couldnt help adding the Malayalee chant to the chorus of opinion.
I saw Vikram as a boy with my cousin and was awed -as little boys would -with the Bondesque action and Ms Kapadia .
He does seem to carry the mantle of method actor too seriously nowadays and one cant help but pine for an effortless pirouette from the master.
Which brings me to the Malayalee’s lament about the charmless performances that Mohanlal(a more gifted and effortless thesian—-pause while I duck for cover!) is awarding us ….but that is another tale and another drink’s worth.
Keep up the good work
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Mickey
August 26, 2009
Baddy,
VIKRAM was the first movie to be screened by PTM at DABBA and the “special effects” at the end when Kamal and Satyaraj fight for the the parachute were real “state of the art.” Excellent piece as usual and clearly echoed my sentiments as well.
Some of the earliest movies that come to mind are SATTAM EN KAYYIL and KALYANARAMAN. Heck, it looks like I may even have enjoyed movies like UYARNDHA ULLAM, ANDHA ORU NIMIDAM and ENAKKUL ORUVAN.
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Vijay
August 26, 2009
Raj, for a one-time Rajni fan your Kamal fandom is astounding. Bravo! 🙂
I partly agree with Tami Dude on Kamal’s fake accent. I always feel that Kamal gets too self-conscious when speaking in English. Watch him in Ullasa paravaigal or Sattam en kayil(?) or some such movie.The accent is ridiculous to go unnoticed. But I guess that’s a Kamalism his fans are used to, by now.
However disagree on Kamal lacking spontaneity in the 80s/90s. I feel Kamal was in top form between 87-94-Nayakan, MMKR, Guna, Mahanadi, Devar Magan. In between all those, Aboorva sagodharargaL had the coolness that BR talks about.
He was good in those late 70s movies too, thanks partly to KB. But in his second innings post-nayakan he was in top form as well for quite a while, while assuming additional responsibilities.
BR, wont Nalla sivam make it to your good performances list?
Ariya, charm/coolness all this has to do a bit with age as well. I can see Kamal’s reflexes slowing down in the painful comedies he does these days, as compared to say MMKR or even Meendum Kokila. PKS was a painful watch for me.
And of course romance wont be the same too.The teasing exchange between him and Lizzy in Vikram, if he does that now it would be awkward. He had no chemistry whatsoever with Asin in Dasavatharam, although I blame Asin and KS Ravikumar a lot for it.
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raj
August 26, 2009
It is telling that bollywood fans want the surface cool of 80’s kamal over the substance of mahandhi or virumandi. If we wanted kamal lite, the milestone to aspire for is mmkr – which is a much bigger achievement than jaane bhi do in that it packs in so many, treibutes, subversions into an essentially strait-laced screenplay. It looks spontaneous but most likely wasn’t unlike jbdy which looks and was a one off admittedly.
To desire for the cool dresses and accents betrays dhoom 2 lovers.
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brangan
August 26, 2009
Tambi Dude: I guess you’re talking of the more mainstream romance, but then Naseer was never the actor-star (or star-cum-actor) that Kamal was/is. Hence, he never really got “romantic” roles to speak of. But even within what he got, I thought he was excellent in “Masoom” (his early scenes with Shabana are quite spectacular, as also the very low-key romance of “Sparsh,” one of my all-time-favourite films).
Vijay: Reg. Nalla Sivam, I really enjoyed the peformance on the big screen, but subsequent viewings on TV have left me a bit cold. (Remember the discussion we had earlier about actors in showy-disability roles?) Whereas his very understated “Vettaiyaadu” performance wasn’t *that* impressive the first time around, but in subsequent viewings, it’s grown enormously on me. I think it’s one of his best in recent times, especially in the romantic track with Jyotika.
Reg. “charm/coolness all this has to do a bit with age as well,” I don’t quite agree. It’s not that he needs to wear a baseball cap or shiny pants again to be cool. He was charming as well as cool in VV. There was a real star “presence” in that film to speak of (ironically, from reports and what I’ve heard it’s the film he was least interested in doing, so perhaps it’s a “default” performance). I can’t think of many actors who can play the same old cop and come up with something so effective.
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raj
August 26, 2009
Vijay, it is just irritation at half-baked ttempts at analysing kamal – esp johnny come lately bolly fans comparing him to pachan and aamer kaan. It is even more painful when baradwaj does it.
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Tambi Dude
August 26, 2009
“I partly agree with Tami Dude on Kamal’s fake accent. I always feel that Kamal gets too self-conscious when speaking in English. Watch him in Ullasa paravaigal or Sattam en kayil(?) or some such movie.The accent is ridiculous to go unnoticed. But I guess that’s a Kamalism his fans are used to, by now.
”
It is not fake accent alone. That chap is an outright hypocrite.
Did you see his interview of Gavaskar in 1983 when Gavaskar hit his 30th century at Cheapauk. Kamal was sounding racist.
He made himself a laughing stock during the promotion of Abhay / Alvandhan by giving credit to self for things he had nothing to do with, la Al-Gore I invented the internet fame.
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Anand
August 26, 2009
raj: Love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him…one of the oldest cliches..but so effective when talking about Kamal or Raja. Chill dude, to each his own..if people miss something, it is their loss.
(I remember what Kamal said about working with Mani again – I am an expensive elephant, those who want a ride should be able to afford me – clearly indicating his stance: he has earned the right to earn, and the right to choose, due to his contribution to the industry).
Some titbits: Kamal was the first person to land up in Prasad studios to take a look at the new Akila crane they imported. First person in Tamil to use sync sound in Hey Ram. First person to use Avid editing in Mahanadhi. First person to use prosthetic make up. First person to try Red One camera.
And for whatever it isworth, let me register my opinion: Guys, if you do not like his work, stop watching his work. But he has earned the right to do whatever he wants. Fifty years in any industry is a goddamn feat and more so in an highly unorganized, yet talented one like Tamil filmdom.
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Vijay
August 27, 2009
The performance in VV I agree was devoid of the usual Kamalisms and more restrained. And maybe that got you engaged. But I am not getting that coolness/charm that you are talking about in VV. I thought Kamal looked old,fat and tired and that does take away a bit of the charm for me. He did’nt look like he was having fun out there. Is’nt that the whole point of your article, that Kamal should be having himself fun? Kamal, from what I heard, couldnt wait for the shooting of VV to end. He just did the bare minimum that the script demanded(which is of course still better than what most actors can pull off in terms of performance) and walked away
To me, the flashback portions of Sivam were the last of the cool Kamal. The street dance, the scenes with Uma, the painting scenes and so on. But for Kiran and the pathetic dubbing voice for her, it would have been even more enjoyable. That was more of Kamal the star.
He has to find a different kind of coolness/charm I feel. Like Freeman in some of his 90s films like Seven, Shawshank or having just plain fun in Bruce Almighty/Bucket List.And that has to do with the kind of roles he chooses to do. He cant be singing duets with actresses half his age and still look cool nor can he rely anymore on his timing/slapstick skills in screwball comedies like he did in late 80s/early 90s. That kind of charm does’nt last forever.
I mean, even SRK has lost quite a bit of the charm he had in Fauji that late 80s TV serial where he started making his fans. And SRK is just in his early 40s.
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Vijay
August 27, 2009
“(Remember the discussion we had earlier about actors in showy-disability roles?) ”
BR, but here the spotlight was not on the disability.We empathized with his character without for a moment, sympathizing for his physical disfigurement(except maybe during the yaar yaar sivam song). Like you had mentioned in your initial review, it helped in bringing out a somewhat unique persona. Stubborn yet understanding, strongly opinionated yet humorous, loner yet a great comrade.
Hoffman in Rainman, this was’nt.
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KPV Balaji
August 27, 2009
@BR : Do you really consider AB the actor on the same league as Kamal the actor.. i see no similarities or a common ground between the two to draw a comparison…
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brangan
August 27, 2009
Tambi Dude: You seem to have a lot of nuggets. What is this “racist” interview? I’m genuinely curious. Do enlighten us 🙂
Incidentally, I don’t much care about a creator’s personal life so long as what he creates works for me — that old “Wagner is an anti-Semite” debate. Whether he was or not, does that make, say, the “Parsifal” overture any less exquisite?
Vijay: The tiredness is part of the character. Whether it came about because he did it that way or due to his not being interested is irrelevant to me (as a viewer). He played a man of a certain age extremely well — I could hear the creaking bones, I could sense the caution in his second chance at romance, I could feel the frustration of having to chase two youngsters. The coolness/charm was very well there.
I think you’re equating coolness charm with “good looking” and “being fit” and “being stylish.” I define it as a sense of insouciance, a sense of presence on the screen that goes beyond “look how well I can act” (which he does on and off in his films) and “look how clever this film is.” Also when I say “fun,” I’m saying have fun doing a variety of roles — big, small, heavy, light, whatever — and not necessarily in the “entertaining” sense. His personal problems on the set of VV are of least interest to me. Raghavan was the coolest, most charming Kamal I’ve seen in years.
KPV Balaji: And where exactly in this article do you feel I drew a comparison between the two as “actors?” 🙂
As an aside, one of the most amusing/interesting things about going through comments is seeing how people read the same set of words and yet come away with entirely different sets of meanings and interpretations. It’s very much like the movies themselves — we may all be seeing the “same” set of flickering images, but each one sees a “different” movie depending on his/her own value systems, chips on shoulders, likes and dislikes, and biases and opinions.
Another similarity is in the way we all (myself included) seek validation of our own views in someone else’s thoughts (whether expressed in words or on screen or in terms of a written score). Even if I loathed Kamal and thought that Goundamani was the greatest actor ever — just being extreme here in order to make a point — all that a reader should care about is whether my arguments are presented in a convincing/interesting manner, and not whether *you* think they make “sense” (in your world).
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sachita
August 27, 2009
Kamal in VV was a relief. I love him behind the camera. not because he is bad in front of it, but there are very few who are as good as him behind it in India.
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Sureshkumar
August 27, 2009
Just curious to know why that shot from ‘Varumayin Niram Sivappu’ was chosen for this article?
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Tambi Dude
August 27, 2009
Rangan,
In his highly put on english accent (as oppose to natural indian accent of SMGavaskar) he asked how he feels when a dark skinned ghost like person comes and bowls at him at such a speed (reference to West Indies fast bowlers).
Thinking back, India was probably little bit more thick skinned at that time. Today if that interview was taken live, he would have been lynched by the media, and if it was a taped one, probably edited out.
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Priti
August 27, 2009
In my world, the late-eighties kid that I am, Vikram was very wannabe, Guru and the likes thoroughly annoying (the humour particularly crass – don’t even get me started on Y G Mahendran and his idea of humour), blah. Yeah, it isn’t about these films as much as Kamal, but Kamal did nothing to make these experiences better for me. Although I admit, an occasional Ninaithale Inikum and a Sakalakala Vallavan were fun in a very detached, amusing way, not at all the way a fan would be pleased. And I loathe the accent! Ayyo, so positively embarrassing 😀 but yeah, maybe “it just wasn’t our times, it just wasn’t us.”
Stuff i genuinely like and think is cool: when Kamal plays middle-class youngster, like in Satya, Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (oh the picture is brilliant). There is that chilled-out charm in the light portions of these films.
For people of my age, it would be tough to gush about the Kamal you are talking about. The Kamal I love is the method actor of the 90s.
Oh, and Raghavan of VV was thoroughly charming, and in such a seemingly unconscious manner! 😀
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Sunil
August 27, 2009
B…..don’t normally comment here. But this was an absolutely fantastic fanboy piece. I could “see” thal old Kamal again. Beautifully written. Now I really feel like watching “Kakki sattai” or “Vetrivizha” this weekend. And, while it doesn’t really add to the panache Kamal could bring on screen, I think the closest Kamal came in the past decade to actually just having a blast with his character was in “Kadhala Kadhala”. No overly thoughtful bits in that, no inner meaning….just him having a blast on screen. Perhaps that’s why I liked that movie so much. And now that I mention “Kakki sattai”, I just remembered how unbelievably cool Satyaraj was in that one too.
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KPV Balaji
August 27, 2009
@BR : Actually my post is actually two different questions, one is do you think if AB and KH are on the same league as actors ( probably your reply implies a ‘No’ for the question) and the other one is relating to on what basis the comparison is based where you mention probably KH could do something like AB to be just a gun for hire..
I remember as a kid my first movie of Kamal on big screen was Pushpak.. he followed it up with Aboorva sagotharargal, MMKR, thevar magan, singaravelan, guna and so on.. i was introduced to the Kamal who experimented and had the guts to be different and was equally successfull.. for anyone in the mid twenties the kamal we adore will not be the one who was the cool dude.. but the guy who always stood out from the crowd..that is the kamal i/we relate to.. As much as i enjoy the cool dude movies fo the 70s and 80s of his..i am always super excited and cant wait to face the annual examination with the thinking cap on..alas explains my initial reaction to the article.
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brangan
August 28, 2009
Sureshkumar: Why? Because that’s the “cool” persona, right there 🙂
KPV Balaji: I’d like to use those questions for a future Between Reviews — but about your latter observation, “As much as i enjoy the cool dude movies fo the 70s and 80s of his..i am always super excited and cant wait to face the annual examination with the thinking cap on…”
I’m not arguing otherwise at all. I said “this isn’t a plea for Kamal to go back to making a Savaal or a Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey or a Vikram. (And truth be told, I’m not making a plea for anything, actually.) ”
Why does it always have to be this, or that, one or the other? Can’t both coexist? 🙂
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KPV Balaji
August 28, 2009
I am not arguing otherwise too :). both the things can very much coexist and i feel it does so.. all i said is the coolness factor is not the first thing that comes to my mind when i think of Kamal..and when the whole artcile was centered about that.. i felt kinda disspointed ..thats it. Nothin more..catch my point 🙂
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vengayam
August 28, 2009
utter crap!
Don’t you think the lighter movies like PKS, panchathanthiram, avvai shanmugi are not cool!
Also what you said about sivaji holds good for Kamal’s earlier efforts – “the last in the list lost at last” ( sollathan N)and “sappad what about sappad” ( Sattam en K) is to quote you “it just wasn’t our times, it just wasn’t us.”
“They needed to be viewed by squinting through a mist of nostalgia and indulgence.” you were spot on here but about Kamal not Sivaji.
So while others might have been taken in by your english prose you have got it wrong! he was cool then but going back to that cool would be totally uncool.
I think I made sense.
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Shankar
August 28, 2009
Reading Priti’s comment above, I feel there is some validity that different generations tend to view these things from different perspectives. Also, the advent of internet and global exposure surely places a different measuring stick for today’s generation. Their interpretation of “coolness’ might be wholly different, as well. (A similar analogy of “coolness” and its interpretation, over decades, could be made for college campuses as well, at least one particular one I’m inferring to…:-))
So for one whose connection with Kamal began with “16 Vayadhinile”, his “coolness” might be omnipresent even through sub-standard movies since there is an element of nostalgia that plays into it. Back then, Kamal was (probably is, when you consider how most of the current set of heroes are more into maintaining their look and image, film after film, rather than venturing into uncharted territories) the pioneer in taking on new roles. As I have said before, I’m an unabashed fan of “Vikram”. I also perfectly happen to know where that film failed…however my love for that movie and to extend it, the characters that Kamal portrayed in his early days, come from the fact that these were played out when I was at an impressionable age. Sure, one could go back and blow holes through all of it…however the feelings that were created then will stay on. Of course, it also helped that Kamal played these characters in a more light hearted way…almost nonchalantly. Again, the analogy to ‘80s Malayalam cinema would be appropriate here as well. In my opinion, Kamal was abso cool…
Baddy, I completely get what you are trying to say here…
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Adithya
August 28, 2009
http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14907256
If this is true, nothing better to look fwd to!
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raj
August 29, 2009
Baradwaj, I think you are clubbing all “cool is not all” responses into one bucket.
Ok, so the pachan comparison irritated me but my point is the same put forth by dagalti ever so respectfully. But it has been ignored completely.
This is what dagalti said “While we are talking about going slow on the ‘why so serious’ and being more carefree, let me place a request to restart “Arre O Sambhar.”
”
In other words, wishing Kamal to go for 80’s cool(and that only in impressionable fans definition) is akin to ask Baradwaj Rangan to reprise his ‘cool’ “Arre o Sambar” stuff. For someone who absolutely hated that as much as Kamal’s TTT phase, it is traumatic to hear such calls. I think dagalti didnt mean to ask you for arre o sambar rather doing a baradwaj rangan viz a viz kamal there.
VIjay pointed to me being an one time Rajni fan – and I must confess the reason for that probably was Kamal’s total uncool 80’s masala. I think Rajni was far more cooler then – what with Thambikku endha ooru et al. Kamal’s 80’s is best forgotten with its saakada kala vallavans, thaangadhe thambi thaangadhes, azhukku chattais, kaadhal dhandanais, per kedutha pillai, thaazhndha ullams and so on
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raj
August 29, 2009
And how can one even think of calling that terrible GURU = trauma ensues when I think of his kudumi electrician avatar
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Vijay
August 31, 2009
“saakada kala vallavans, thaangadhe thambi thaangadhes, azhukku chattais, kaadhal dhandanais, per kedutha pillai, thaazhndha ullams and so on”
Raj, those are some good titles for future Dhanush/Simbu films 🙂
“The tiredness is part of the character. Whether it came about because he did it that way or due to his not being interested is irrelevant to me (as a viewer). He played a man of a certain age extremely well — I could hear the creaking bones, I could sense the caution in his second chance at romance, I could feel the frustration of having to chase two youngsters. The coolness/charm was very well there.”
Again, most of what you list is for the performance aspect. I can even buy that his tired look was “method acting” as some of his die-hard fans would argue. I am still trying to get your definition of coolness. To me, Samuel Jackson in Pulp Fiction was coolness.
But I guess you mean it to be more like a performance that is devoid of star-actor consciousness,something like Pacino’sperformance in Dog Day. In which case I can see how VV would fit the bill.
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GV
September 3, 2009
Charuhassan explaining INTERR CONTNENTAl BAAlAASTIC MISSILE – that’s my greatest memory of Vikram
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Ganesh
September 6, 2009
Hi,
I am one amongst those hundreds who hav read and re-read ur posts just to repeatedly satiate my thirst for some well written lines. I want you to know that there are a lot of students like me who benifit from ur writings. Pls keep doing this as much as possible.
This is a general comment, nothign really related to this particular post. But going thru this post, i really couldn’t but control myself from replying and expressing that what Mani Ratnam has achieved thru movies, u r probably earning thru ur blog. After all, to proclaim truth as it is ( yathartham ) is the toughest.
Though un-related as such, i forward some of my requests here. U are writing quite a lot about movies, their music, the actors and stuff. But in all the articles that i hav read of urs the one that caught me really happy cum enlightened on reading was the one where u wrte about the shifting of scales on the guitar base, which makes the raga of a song to have changed. Why i gav this one as the example is because, u hav a license that we normal guys dont. u can go and hav a one-to-one convo with many of these big shots and get to know first hand infm. from them. Though of course u hav ur work predesigned for a specific purpose, probably u cud try fitting in some space to inquire abt such details of not just music, but any aspect of movie making like editing ( which i still dont much off, except the ‘ katting and otting ‘ and Adobe ). Ur graduate level exploiting of these mysteries can help people like us, have school level conferences on tese things more comfortably. I mean, whats the hype given arnd the technical brilliance that a Shankar or Mani Ratnam film is all about? What is editing ? etc… u r doing it ( im not saying u rnt ) but if u cud take up some of the hundreds of such issues u wud hav pondered over while u were in ur hostel, an hour from the deserts of rajasthan, that wud help us know more than probably just ” Dude its Rahman, what else do u want, jus look at the violins and the chords, out of the world” without even realising that it wasnt a violin but a saarangi !
Hope i kind of conveyed whhat i intended to…. again its a pleasure reading ur works whether or not i confirm to what u say. Some of the expressions u use are quite amazing, not because they r ‘ out of the world ‘ but because its just so elegantly done. Please continue to fill in ur articles with those.
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tnsundar
April 13, 2019
It’s 2019 now. While reading this piece, my eyes became moist that we are never going to see that Kamal again-the kamal you and I wish for. Even Papanasam was a cake walk for him. It was refreshing to see the ordinary Kamal and a normal family man.
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