Arrambam is a feet-hands-face movie – the kind of hero-centric film made for fans (and you know you’re one if you scream angrily at the screen when a character mocks or insults your idol) who like being teased with their hero’s slow reveal: feet first, then hands, and, finally, to ear-splitting screams and whistles, the face. A lot of filmmakers, when recruited for a feet-hands-face movie, take the easy way out, resorting to fan-appeasing clichés – six songs, five fights, punch lines, the works. Some, like Shankar with his Rajinikanth films, strive for a sensibility midway between that of the rabid fans (who always come first) and those who aren’t especially fans and have showed up just to be entertained. In Arrambam, Vishnuvardhan manages a reasonable balance. Fans are likely to be delighted with a narrative that pumps up their hero’s strengths (coolness; good comebacks, including a terrific punch line about fingerprints) and downplays his failings (dramatics). And others are likely to come away without feeling too insulted.
For a while, the goings are fairly generic – and in the case of a comedic subplot involving Arjun (Arya) and Anita (Taapsee), downright excruciating. While it’s a relief to be spared a wisecracking comedian who’s constantly making quips over the hero’s shoulder, Arjun and Anita, after the fiftieth instance of calling each other “baby,” make you wish that one of the numerous firearms in the film had been pointed in their direction. (Even by the standards of loosu ponnus in Tamil cinema, Anita is in a different league altogether.) But once Ashok (Ajith) enlists the services of Arjun, who’s a genius-level hacker, to commit a series of crimes, the film takes off. Ashok’s motives keep us guessing. It’s great to see a big star not worry about his “image” and agree to do scenes like the one where he threatens someone by holding a steam iron over the latter’s infant – and we wonder if he could really be that much of a badass.
Even the heroine (Maya, played by Nayantara) does things you don’t really expect in a feet-hands-face movie. At one point, she shows up in a wet, white shirt thrown over a hot-pink bikini top and micro-mini shorts – none of which would be remarkable if it were a dream scene, a song with the hero, for his eyes only, but here, she attempts to seduce someone else. It’s refreshing to see a non-virginal heroine, even if the part isn’t as well-etched as you’d like it to be. There’s a sense of Hollywoodian scale in the action sequences (the explosions look cheap and fake, though), and a shootout in a cramped flat is especially well-choreographed. And even within the confines of a film where the hero can never be conquered, Arrambam manages, at times, to make Ashok look vulnerable. Arjun manages to outwit Ashok’s hoods, and the cops, too, prove that they aren’t always one step behind.
But once the story brings up a Shankar-style flashback, some of the momentum is lost. The quality that made the first half so different –the coolness, the complete lack of family and tear-jerking emotion – gives way to sentiment, and we’ve seen these scenarios too many times to be really affected. I wished the villains had been better, more worthy of their gory deaths. I wished some of the geographical leaps had been better explained. I wished they’d shown how a character survives what looks like a fatal fall. But I suppose if these concerns had been addressed it would have eaten into the screen time reserved for hero worship. And if you’re a fan, you’d rather see the hero slip on sunglasses and stride in slo-mo, you’d rather see him whiz through the streets of Dubai on a gleaming Ducati, you’d rather see him – while being tortured by the police, hung upside down and dunked into a vat of water – shake his thala stylishly and send droplets spinning across space. Even when feet and hands are tied, the face cannot be overcome.
An edited version of this piece can be found here.
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Baradwaj Rangan 
KayKay
November 4, 2013
“where he threatens someone by holding a steam iron over the latter’s infant”
Aaaaaaah! Rip Off alert! Scene lifted directly from a Colin Farrell/Edward Norton cop drama called “Pride and Glory”
Should I be surprised? Ajith did make a steaming pile of turd several years back that lifted the Big Reveal climax of The Usual Suspects…..for it’s hero intro scene!
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MANK
November 4, 2013
BR: This one is ripped from Hugh jack man starrer Swordfish at least the first half of it is.Then the flashback baggage kicks in.I liked Vishnuvardhan’s billa exactly for the reasons you mention here :the coolness, the complete lack of family and tear-jerking emotion.One must say that the recent Ajit films like Mankatha etc was also in this vein. Do you think it was the failure of Ajit’s last film Billa2 that prompted him to add these elements here.You mentioned Ajith’s badassary but what about his salt n pepper bearded appearance, Don’t you think that itself is a great risk, Even Rajnikanth who has no qualms in appearing like that in real life never appears like this in his films.
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Harish Ram
November 4, 2013
@MANK a stylish version of his real look comes as Mottai Boss in Sivaji right? Anyway I feel Ajith is overdoing the anti-villain role. all his last 3 movies had him play a bad guy with some humanity thrown in as an afterthought. It looks more of a showoff or to be rational a templated character – see am being mean by trying to kill a baby or cheat a girl & throw her outta the car – see am an angry borderline psychotic baddie so I will shout “my f*&king game” “keep it simple”. I don’t mind the anti-villain roles but our directors could ask our writers to flesh it out better,
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MANK
November 4, 2013
Harish:I think he is trying to take over that sophisticated classy performing hero mantle from Kamal Haasan. You know like kamal changing his appearance from film to film and playing not so heroic roles. Of course lacking Kamal’s skills as a performer, whatever he does turn out to be sought of glorified cartoons rather than characters. Also many of Kamal’s greatest characters where created by Kamal himself, While Ajith is dependent on writers who has no idea how to combine his ambitions as a performer with his mass appeal as a star.
KayKay: Yeah that usual suspect scene , I laughed my guts out on it. By the by the name of that film escapes me. Was it something called villain or Citizen or something else.
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venkatesh
November 5, 2013
@MANK: The salt n pepper look itself is a risk , as far as Tamil cinema goes. Not to mention that he plays his age.
@Harish Ram:“It looks more of a showoff or to be rational a templated character”
– Absolutely , though within the confines of the Tamil “Hero” Cinema , that itself is a change from the norm and more power to him.
What i have not been able to figure out is – when did he actually become a bona-fide star , to me at least it seems there was a period where he was just another wannabe and failing badly at that and then boom, suddenly he is Thalai with gargantuan openings for even his worst films. There doesnt seem to be a period of gradual ascent or may be i am missing something.
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brangan
November 5, 2013
KayKay: Why am I not surprised? 🙂 Even “Pattiyal” was a ripoff, right? But I am not holding this against the filmmaker, because he shapes his material well enough to make it seem like an adaptation.
Of course, I wish these guys would do this the legal way and admit to the inspiration, but that’s a more ethical kind of grappling, which doesn’t take away from the filmmaking talent…
MANK: Am writing a column this week about Ajith vs Hrithik, where I talk about the grey hair, paunch etc…
Harish Ram: Why is he “overdoing” the villain role?
(1) It’s working for him commercially.
(2) It fits into his acting limitations, as he doesn’t have to do amma-thangachi tearjerkery.
And (3), there’s no one else doing this.
He’s found a great niche and he’s exploiting it. That’s what a star does (as opposed to an actor).
I agree that these roles could be better fleshed out, but these films, which are essentially stylish and (enjoyably) trashy star vehicles, don’t lose much. Rather than his role, the weaknesses in these films are because the *scenarios* aren’t better fleshed out. They could be tighter, the segues more “logical” etc.
MANK: To continue from above, I don’t think he’s trying to do a Kamal. He’s just lucked into a never-before niche and he’s exploiting it. Earlier, generally, when a big star played a bad guy, there was a good-guy double role, and Ajith isn’t using that crutch. I think that’s refreshing.
venkatesh: Yeah, I have also wondered about this overnight transformation 🙂
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KayKay
November 5, 2013
MANK: Now that you mention it I think the film is Villain
B: Actually, it’s the complete misreading and in most cases, total lack of understanding of the context of a scene that’s being ripped off that annoys the crap outta me.
Taking the Villain example again, the Keyser Soze reveal in The Usual Suspects wasn’t about glorifying the baddie, but the culmination of the audience’s manipulation throughout the film, the knowledge that everything fed to us was a complete fabrication of the Unreliable Narrator.
Villain used it as a Star Intro, where we’re supposed to Hoot and Whistle at the Hero’s Awesome Coolness, neutering it’s effectiveness (unless you’re a Thala Fan Club member).
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KayKay
November 5, 2013
Venkatesh, that’s a head-scratcher for me too. I mean, Ajith’s always been a “chocolate hero” to me, kinda like Madhavan (the difference being the latter’s a performer with more range), possessed of a more genial screen presence, and I don’t mean that pejoratively. It’s a nice counterpoint to the in-your-face machismo and chauvinism of a VJ, but it also makes him thoroughly unsuited for the “mass hero” tag and all that it entails.
He has a weak voice, not the best Tamil diction and can’t project “bad ass” toughness the way someone like Vikram seems to do so effortlessly.
Even in this new “anti-hero” niche that, as B mentions, he’s lucked into quite fortuitously, I can’t help but think of someone like Sathyaraj who can ace roles like this in his sleep while Ajith always comes across as trying too hard.
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Sid (@Tweet2Sid)
November 5, 2013
@Venkatesh and @BR:
As a Tamil Cinema follower, my observation about Ajith’s transformation…
I don’t see it like he became a star suddenly / out of nowhere. I see there were rises and falls, also he had personal problems mainly about his health but he was consistent with his efforts during a period when certain stars of today such as Vikram and Surya were not visible or obvious competitors.
Comparatively Vijay was doing more number of films, regardless of failures and Ajith was also seen in a Vijay film, in a not so significant role during early phase of his career. Ajith had done films sharing screen space with Vikram and Prashanth as well. Even during the year 2000, Ajith did not seem to have a problem in being a part of a multi-starrer film, Kandukondein Kandukondein.
Tamil Cinema always had this marketing gimmick to hold two prominent stars as archrivals and give them relatively more importance in the market, even if the stars themselves don’t want to feel so. After Rajni Vs Kamal, maybe there was a need to find and fix two new stars by 2000, from the younger generation, and there was Vijay, while nobody else was as consistent about delivering hits amid their own failures. So, I guess, slowly but steadily Ajith proved (to them, those marketers) to be another salable and reliable star?!
As far as I know and remember – the much celebrated title for Ajith, THALA, was not in use until Dheena (2001), which marked AR Murugadoss’ directorial debut. In that film the ‘Thala” title is just about his sidekicks addressing their leader, a gangster, with that word to mean he’s their Head. But somehow eventually Ajith fans started to call him ‘Thala’ and I guess but am not sure if it had something to do with Vijay fans addressing Vijay as ‘Ilaiya Thalapthy’ which later got shortened to ‘Thalapathy.’
(So now, it’s officially Thala Vs Thalapathy)
Until recently Ajith also had the ‘Ultimate Star’ title which he chose to shed off just when he decided to dismiss his fan clubs officially.
Director Charan, who had earlier done 2 films – Kadhal Mannan (1998) and Amarkalam (1999) – with Ajith, chose to exploit this ‘Thala’ prefix in his 3rd film with the star, Attakasam (2004). In the mean time (2001-2004) there were Red and Citizen. Those two may not be commercially hit films but did they try to showcase Ajith as a Star who can Act (especially the much showy Citizen).
In 2001, interestingly Ajith had appeared in a negative role in Asoka. I thought it was appropriate and relevant to mention it here, as his Villain roles are being discussed.
From my point of view, this is another reason to his success and growth – Ajith has always supported assistant / associate directors who wanted to make the first ever film of their career with him and there’s a remarkable number producers who believe(d) Ajith was/is relatively more reliable to them. It’s been those producers and directors, who, after working with Ajith, have always wanted to do more films with him.
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oneWithTheH
November 5, 2013
“What i have not been able to figure out is – when did he actually become a bona-fide star ”
Looking at wikipedia, I think it was with Billa(2007) that he started getting massive openings for his movies. It brought in this whole suave template and he’s stuck with it since then. Prior to that I always used to hear that he was a “performer”(duh?!) and comparisons like “vijay na dancing, ajith na acting”
Also, his outspoken ways has helped him a lot too I think, especially in recent times. He has this maverick kind of outlook working well for him outside of movies.
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MANK
November 5, 2013
KayKay: Its nice that you bring Vikram into this discussion. Really He is more talented , more charismatic and more macho than both Ajith and Vijay put together. But what the hell happened to him. He was at the height of his superstardom in 2005 with anniyan and then totally disappeared from the scene. He now turns out muck like taandavam and Rajapattai which even the frontbenchers don’t want to see.I don’t know whether its the politics in the industry that totally fixed him. Actually it was after his disappearance that Ajith suddenly became touted as a megastar with grand openings for his films. @venkatesh is right, There was no gradual progression for Ajith, I believe it was Vikram’s disappearance that paved the way for him.
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Prakash
November 5, 2013
@Rangan: Your review pretty much summed up my thoughts as well. Just one question:
Is this the first big-hero film where the opening song had absolutely NOTHING to do with the scenes preceding or following it. Like ZERO context, you know? Have you ever seen this before?
@kaykay
Dunno whether you are based in India or abroad, but your perception of Ajith’s rise as being “out-of-nowhere” is hardly close to the reality.
Let’s take this “chocolate-boy” perception of yours, where you try to shove Ajith into the same mould as somebody like Madhavan. The last full-blown romantic movie Ajith starred in released more than 11 years back. I think it was a dud film named Raja. So that notion is nonsense right away. He has come out of that mould lo….ng back, atleast in the views of much of the TN audience.
In contrast, his “Mass” origins are hardly “recent” and date back to atleast Dheena in 2001, and his “Anti-hero” credentials even further than that, to Vaali in 1999. Post 2002, he has simply done more of these kinds of roles.
In the decade since, Ajith has(consciously perhaps) chosen to focus on a narrower spectrum of themes, namely commercial(5 songs, 5 fights and a bit of sentiment), and(of late) stylish mass vehicles that appeal to the hero-worshipping cravings of his fans.
Rangan has hit the nail on the head when he described the latter as feet-hands-face movie(Mankatha and Arrambam takes this to a whole new literal level). They serve a primal need of people(Indians in particular) to erupt in orgasm(strictly metaphorical 😉 ) as they congregate in worship of any being that fascinates them, sort of like Tendulkar or Lord Venkateshwara. Anyway, that is a whole new topic for a whole new debate.
Not that such “genres” are free from failures or have a better success rate at the B.O. Hardly.
From Aalwar to Anjaneya and Aegan to Aasal, Ajith’s recent career graph has shown that really lousy films do perform lousily at the B.O. whether with Masala or not, whether the film is “stylishly mass” or not.
But, in choosing to stick to them(either by design or out of compulsion from fans expectation), Ajith has emerged as a hero from whom you can expect a reasonable amount of “mass” in his films, whether good or not.
And please, spare the Vikram comparisons. Vikram is a better actor by far but his game was up once it became clear that people didn’t watch movies “for Vikram”, but because the films were good. His fans aren’t “mass” fans, wouldn’t pay to watch repeat shows in theaters or plaster their auto windshields with his face. And frankly, if you don’t have that kind of a base, you aren’t that big a star. And that kind of a fan-base needs charisma, patient cultivation and luck. Ajith has more of the first, Vijay has probably done more of the second and both have had the luck(some would call it resilience) to bounce back from interminable strings of failures.
And kaykay, this is the key point: for a preponderant majority of fans, Mass is like Manna. It justifies their existence, validates their screams and whistles and, in turn, encourages film-makers and Ajith/Vijay to do more films having the same ingredients.
P.S.Your notion about Ajith’s voice is also out-dated. True, Ajith had a weak voice till around his “Citizen” days, but intense efforts(and I suspect, years of smoking) have changed his voice and modulation significantly. Has a much more rougher, gravelly tone to it. Goes very well with the more mature and serious looks he has been projecting on screen in recent years.
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venkatesh
November 5, 2013
@Sid: While you do have a point about the Tamil cinema gimmick of pitting one against the other , I don’t think Ajith’s rise is purely media/producer driven. For a long time he was only working for NIC Arts and was essentially just another bit player while Vijay was well on his way by then.
@oneWithTheH: I think 2007 is a bit too late – he was already a guaranteed opener. His opening in TN is second only to Rajini and this was already in evidence much before 2007. Billa definitely pushed him into another league.
@MANK , @KayKay: I don’t think Vikram was ever in the “star competition” – he was doing a Kasi right in the middle of his Dhill, Dhool days. He’s like Dhanush or Surya of now, not a natural fit for the “star” category.
“Actually it was after his disappearance that Ajith suddenly became touted as a megastar with grand openings for his films”
– exactly this , he was almost out of the industry, driving his bike and basically not being part of it and then suddenly what seemed literally like overnight he is Thala. Even movies like Ji, Paramasivan, Varalaru (movies with long gestation periods, no usp’s, medium budget filler cinema) had phenomenal openings. Thats the true mark of a star. It doesn’t matter what you do , there is a group that will watch you.
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Sid (@Tweet2Sid)
November 5, 2013
Ajith seems to doubt he deserves the place he’s been granted in Tamil Cinema.
He did make a remark on his own self in a 2007 interview (as he was promoting Billa) – he said: I think I’m an overrated actor..!
And, he didn’t say that about his acting alone. The way he said it was like he thought he didn’t deserve where he was and maybe he still thinks the same.
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Bala
November 5, 2013
Thanks for the discussion on Ajith’s present status as a “mass” star 🙂 I kinda lost touch with his career (and tamizh films) after Kandukondein Kandukondein (though I did hear of movies like Citizen ) and was utterly mystified (when I caught Attagaasam in Bangalore..well I had to get to Hosur to watch it in a pakka local theatre) that he was now no longer just Ajith but “thala” especially since I didn’t hear of any major hits from him.. (I am also mystified by Vijay’s succcess but that’s a different issue since I find him lacking in presence and charisma of other stars (Rajini or Vikram for instance) who have tasted success in commercial cinema)
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Amrita
November 5, 2013
BR: For us non-Tamil speakers, what in the world is ‘loosu ponnu’? I have read this phrase in your writings earlier & I can’t figure it out. That said, even though I have never watched a Tamil film in my life, I engage with your reviews of them at a purely literary level. Its a joy!
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MANK
November 5, 2013
@Venkatesh:It is wrong to say Vikram was not in the star category. After the success of Gemini, Dhool and sammy almost back to back, he was touted as heir to Rajni’s superstar throne. Remember Rajni himself was reeling from the Baba flop at that time. It was around 2002-03. Vijay hasn’t had a big hit up to that time. His real blockbuster Gilli came only in 2004. By 2005 Vikram was unmistakably the biggest star in tamil cinema discounting Rajni, and had also won the national award, the only actor to do so since Kamal Haasan, Vijay was second and Ajith was nowhere in the picture. I think after this he decided to take it a little easy and that turned out to be his undoing. In the next 5 years he had only 2 releases while vijay may have had atleast 10 release at that time, May be not all of them successes, but they kept his mass base intact. Vikram’s fans just waited and lost patience and gave up on him and shifted to other stars. But even as late as 2010 a complete monstrosity like Kanadasamy became a hit which alludes to Vikram’s mass appeal and debunks the theory that it is his movies that people liked and not him. But i sincerely hope that he bounces back into reckoning with Shankar’s Ai as he is an actor i love watching.
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Ram Murali
November 6, 2013
brangan, it is indeed sad that “dramatics” is now seen as one of Ajith’s “failings.” He gave knockout performances in “Vaali” and that underrated gem, “Mugavari.” I wonder if he used up all his genuine acting talent in those two movies and moved to bigger-and-not-necessarily-bigger things with action movies like “Dheena” and “Amarkallam.”
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Rahini David
November 6, 2013
Amrita: It is shorthand for “helpless, ignorant, daft, attention seeking, innocent, bouncy, effervescent, bubbly and sickeningly cute”.
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sachita
November 6, 2013
oh God, I have had this question for a long time now too. Primarily because Ajith doesnt look like the mass hero type, the lighter skin tone and I dont remember him doing a mass movie in the early period. My school friends had crushes on him.
But I remember way back in 2001 my 9 yr old cousin asking me if I liked Ajith or Vijay. My cousin stayed in a smaller city then. So, I guess Ajith had already started being a star. But this was also the period he was still starring in Kandukodain and the likes.
Even in the last decade he has been a flop master, but i guess stars are decided by the initial day collection ..atleast thats what I gather .
One thing is for sure, he sports one constant expression on his face – that of pain. (i realize he underwent a painful surgery quite a while ago.. still.. wasnt that a long time ago)
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venkatesh
November 6, 2013
@MANK : Granted that Vikram had big hits around that time – still i could never sense the “mass” hysteria element that accompanies the other stars with him , the number of hits/flops really doesn’t matter. If you purely look at numbers then Surya has much better ROI than either the Thalai or Thalapathy , but clearly he is not in the same league as them.
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dinakaranonlinenakaran
November 6, 2013
I came out of the movie baffled as to why I found the movie entertaining 🙂 There was nothing going for the movie in terms of story,screenplay and all cliches that one can expect from these type of movies. Other than the fact its a NEW movie , there was nothing NEW going for movie. After reading so many reviews and figuring out it’s a revenge genre , i had my expectations pretty low and hence this turned out to be a guilty pleasure ride.
Flamboyant action pieces set in some really eye catching locations, over the top acting and bgm coupled with some good cinematography could be reason why i was entertained 🙂
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Amrita
November 6, 2013
@Rahini David:Wow! A single phrase can mean all those things? Thanks anyway 🙂
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Prakash
November 6, 2013
@venkatesh
You are bang on target. Surya is as good, if not a better bet, in terms of ROI.
What some people don’t get is Mass is not about ROI or hits or B.O. success.
It is about pulling in a very specific kind of crowd, a young male audience, with a very specific purpose, i.e. induce large-scale hysteria by evoking awe and hero-worship for the finely fused amalgam of on-screen and off-screen persona.
THAT is what is MASS, not B.O. hit/flops(flops can dampen but never extinguish the spirit of a fan of a true mass hero) or puerile concepts of “skin tone”.
“Openings” are considered a good measure of Mass appeal precisely for this reason, as it is these guys who line up for tickets before everybody else.
@sachita
Apart from the fact that I found the spurious “skin tone”-Mass link insinuation a tad racist(hey, there are plenty of tamil people from all walks of life with all kinds of “skin tone”s, just to enlighten you), it is also bad on history. After all, MGR, Tamil Cinema’s first and most successful Mass star, had a “skin tone” that could make Ajith look positively dark in comparison.
@MANK
Vikram was NEVER considered as a Mass star. I also feel you are conflating commercial movies with Mass movies. While elements of the two are often co-extensive and balanced(Vijay’s films) for example, they need not always be so(Mankatha & Arrambam were primarily Mass films with bits and pieces of commercial offerings thrown in almost as an afterthought).
I have laid out my POV in detail in my earlier comment, to which I would like to add just one more point.
It is, finally, up to the audience to decide whether or not they lap up the Messianic persona of the hero. If the effect wears off as soon as they step out of the movie hall, he is not a Mass star. The bottomline is, therefore, that, while Vikram may have done his share of Mass films, he has never even come close to winning the kind of large-scale groundswell of adulation and fealty that some body like Ajith or Vijay command. Not now and not ever(including his Dhool days). He was very popular, yes, but not even remotely in the manner Thala/Thalapathy is right now.
I know that you like Vikram a lot( I also respect his acting), but adhukkaga ipdiya? 😉
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Rahul
November 6, 2013
Thanks Amrita and Rahini. This phrase has also troubled me for a while. I googled and found that some individuals proclaim themselves as Loosu Punnus on social networking sites but to the meaning there was no clue. Now that that is out of the way, what about the etymology? Where does this word come from?
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Aurora Vampiris
November 6, 2013
@Amrita: That… or it could just mean loose woman. You decide.
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Iswarya
November 7, 2013
@Rahul
The ‘loosu’ part is a common Tamilized version of “having a screw loose.” ‘Ponnu’ simply means a “girl.” Though this heroine-archetype in Tamil (or for that matter many Telugu) movies has been around for quite some time now, the phrase itself was popularised mainly by one of those annoying songs sung by Simbu. (Guess he wrote the lyrics for it as well!)
Classic instances of the loosu-ponnu characters are the roles played by Laila, Genelia D’Souza, Tamannah, Hansika, and generally the female leads in Vijay/Simbu/early Dhanush movies.
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Madan
November 7, 2013
I think Vikram did have a brief phase as a mass star or superstar from around 2001 to 2003. You can’t tell me films like Saamy ran for the ‘story’ or content. The film as such was roundly criticised in reviews but it was a major box office success. For a very short time, Vikram was actually able to carry mediocre films on his shoulders and give them a huge opening. He lost the momentum with Arul, which was just too ridiculous even for the Vikram-crowd and though Anniyan brought him back in the game, Majaa again had an average response and by that time, the Ghilli wave had started. Maybe Vikram should have taken on more projects during that phase to cash in on his superstardom, which doesn’t seem to have happened. On the other hand, Vijay unleashed Ghilli, Madhurey, Thupaaki in quick succession to consolidate his position.
I would rather put it this way that Surya was the one more dependent on author-backed roles (to the extent the term can be applied to the films he was part of). Kaaka Kaaka, Perazhagan, Pithamagan, Ghajini, he was trying to expand his niche and prove his versatility. That’s more like Kamal’s approach. Superstars just find their one sweet spot and milk it to the core. Surya was trying to make a case through his acting because he didn’t really command an emotional connect with fans at a greater (more irrational) level. To that extent, I am also surprised at Ajith’s emergence in the last few years as a superstar because he filled Surya’s space in the late 90s, banking on his versatility rather than mass hysteria for lead roles. It was more like “Ajith padam-na it will be something different, nalla pannuva”. Besides, there was only one Tamil superstar in the 90s (even if I disliked most of those films :P) and I am not sure if even now, either Ilayathalapathi or Thala can command the sheer pull of Rajini.
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Amrita
November 7, 2013
@ Rahul/ Aurora Vampiris: Very interesting. At first, when I read Rahini’s explanation I thought it is definitely a negative trait. But then if people are proclaiming themselves as ‘loosu ponnus’ as Rahul says, does it also have an aspirational quality?
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Rahini David
November 7, 2013
Amrita: 75% of all heroine characters in tamil cinema are loosu ponnus. In the last decade, there is a huge increase in percentage. It is the sucess of many loosu ponnu characters in recent times that must be the cause.
Loosu = “Loose” as in “she has got a nut loose”
Ponnu = Girl
Sridevi in Sadma/MoodraamPirai was the Trope Definer but Balu Mahendra gave her a legitimate bump in her head and then changed her into a girl-woman. Other directors don’t see a reason why they should be giving a reason.
In short, masala movies have become more masala, action sequences more stupid, heros rowdier and heroines more vapid than before.
As to why the girls of today identify themselves as loosu ponnus, you should look at the Bubbly and effervesent part of the definition.
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brangan
November 7, 2013
All: A lot of really interesting points about Ajith and stardom in general. Thanks for a great discussion.
Prakash: I look at the hero-intro song as the on-screen equivalent of a palaabhishegam. It’s there for fans to go berserk, and whether or not it has context is somewhat moot.
Amrita, etc: To add to what others have said, the “loosu ponnu” trope became especially set when we began to get North Indian heroines who didn’t speak a word of Tamil. They wouldn’t move their lips according to the lines they were supposed to be speaking (and to be filled in later by a dubbing artist). They’d end up gesticulating wildly to make a point. Their emotional reactions would be a bit “off.” And all of this ended up making them look like mad people… i.e. women with a screw loose, i.e. “loosu ponnu.”
These characteristics of the “loosu ponnu” are amply visible in the photograph of Taapsee in this post about similar issues. She’s scary, no? 🙂
dinakaranonlinenakaran: I came out of the movie baffled as to why I found the movie entertaining
Now try putting that feeling into words, trying to “explain” your reaction, and you have an idea about my job 🙂
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dinakaranonlinenakaran
November 7, 2013
@brangan I get it 🙂
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MANK
November 7, 2013
BR:the “loosu ponnu” trope became especially set when we began to get North Indian heroines who didn’t speak a word of Tamil
One word about that BR,Getting north indian heroines is not something new. Earlier also there was Radha saluja,Rati agnihotri,Zarina Wahab etc being cast in films. This loose ponnu trope seems to be a recent invention. Are you aware of any trope to describe them in those times or the case is that those heroines were convincing enough to appear normal on screen.(which i definitely think they are compared with todays lot) that they didn’t inspire tropes like those.
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Rahul
November 8, 2013
Oh I just realized.. Taapsi Punnu ..Loosu ponnu..Hmmmm.
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Rahini David
November 8, 2013
I kind of disagree that Loosu Ponnu Archetype is created by an actress not knowing the language.
The oldest Loosu Ponnu that I have come across is Savithri in Kai Kodutha Deivam. “Aayirathil Oruthiamma Nee” showed what the archetype is all about but there was a plot point based on her naivety. It costs her her reputation, her life rapidly spirals down and she commits suicide by the end of the story.
Next came Moondram Pirai Sridevi in which the sexual desirability of a loosu ponnu is explored. But as I pointed out earlier, the character was first shown as sane and loosu ponnu status is a disease to be cured.
Geetanjali was a loosu ponnu too. She was terminally ill and it was only a mask. She very soon reveals her normal self. The same can be said of other bubbly terminally ill characters of the 80s during which time cancer movies were in fashion.
90s probably had their share. But it was in the 00s that S.J.Surya came and made Valli and Kushi and catapulted the trope to desirability and cho chweetness. Santhosh Subramaniyam also had a very strong part. Again I feel that it was justifiable in SS. Santosh wants to marry a girl who the entire family disapproves of. Nobody wants a Loosu Marumagal/Bahu or a Loosu Anni/Bhabhi. And their initial coldness seemed believable. But Genelia was extremely successful and hence the Genelia wannabes.
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MANK
November 8, 2013
@Rahini:The same can be said of other bubbly terminally ill characters of the 80s during which time cancer movies were in fashion.
HA HA HA HA…………… .
Cancer movies!, thanks for reminding a lost genre.
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Mambazha Manidhan
November 9, 2013
I breathed a sigh of relief when Ajith is revealed to be a good guy midway, though it maybe through a hackneyed plot device – the flashback. Simply because it becomes much easier to root for him and you can finally stop squirming in your seat while the Ajith fandom is going berserk. I was happy I wouldn’t have to endure ‘Happy Children’s Day’ cut-outs by Thala rasigars featuring blown-up screenshots of Thala holding a steaming iron over a baby.
That Ajith just wants to be the bad-ass in every movie is a career choice – give his fans something to cheer about. The fact that he ends up being bad is poor design. To his credit, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t insist on a love interest. Or a ‘pet the dog’ scene.
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KayKay
November 9, 2013
Prakash, that’s probably the most in-depth analysis of Ajith’s career trajectory I’ve ever read (as to whether he deserves it is another question hehehe).
Your points are well stated and argued. But you’re using cold facts to rebut something far more instinctive and therefore subjective, on my part.
See, I get the whole “Mass Mania” in the context of Indian films. Have never taken to it nor indulged in it (my filmic diet consists of more Hollywood or HK films where the normal “mass” moment is when the hero earns his cat calls AFTER doing something cool, like Arnie blowing away a bad guy with a pump-action shot-gun and then spewing a cool one-liner or Donnie Yen laying waste to a battalion of baddies with some jaw-dropping martial arts work, NOT for just freaking showing up and having the bloody camera do freeze frames, slo-mos, zoom-outs and zoom-ins on his ass) but that’s hardly relevant, point is I understand the phenomenon, in spite of not being from India (blame a childhood exposed to my parents’ rabid love of Tamil Movies!) and I understand (sorta) what differentiates a mass hero from say, a hero with a successful track record at the BO ( someone who dabbles in family dramas, comedies or rom-coms that all become moderate to big hits) or a serious ACTOR (almost always never heroes but supporting actors).
My point was that I simply don’t see Ajith fitting this mold. The common link between the “massy” heroes like Rajini and Vijay is a healthy dose of machismo (which in the context of South Indian cinema is inseparable from an equally healthy dose of sexism), that cock-of-the-block swagger, the smile that’s half shit-eating grin, half sneer, a kind of presence that just spells “bad-ass”. Not the biggest fan of either, but the irrefutable fact is that they both have it and can sell it. I just don’t see that in Ajith.
You state the movies Ajith has done, the fact that it’s been years since he’s done a bona-fide romantic movie to underline the fact he’s not a “chocolate” hero anymore, but once again, those are the facts, not a confirmation that he can now sell the kind of “toughness” and bravado required of a Mass Hero.
Let me give you an example as I’m far less adept at articulating my points compared to you:
This year saw Hollywood producing 2 movies with identical plots: Olympus Has Fallen (OHF) and White House Down (WHD), 2 movies about a terrorist attack on the White House and a lone hero who takes them on.
OHF had Gerard Butler as the hero. Butler exudes “bad-ass” with effortless ease. The voice, the build, the easy, confident and occasionally cocky swagger, all of it spells “Tough Guy” .
WHD has Channing Tatum. In spite of some pretty good action scenes, Tatum with his smooth complexion, pretty looks, weak voice and soft spoken demeanour simply can’t sell you on his “toughness”. And this is taking into consideration that Tatum’s filmography isn’t exactly chock-a-block with rom-coms and romantic films. The guy’s also done GI Joe, but the guy can slap on an Uzi, Aviator shades, bulk up and toss away some one-liners, but he just can’t get you to buy him as an action hero.
For me Gerard Butler is what I would expect a typical Mass Hero in India to be.
Ajith’s Channing Tatum. You’d expect him to complement a girl on her dress, before taking her out to dinner. Not give her a dressing down for that tight blouse she chose to wear and turning her dinner invitation down because, shit bitch, I’m on a crusade to save the world and don’t have time for this crap!
But then again all this amounts to a hill of beans as I’m clearly in the minority. Ajith’s obviously sold himself to the people who matter, so more power to him I say 🙂
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ManOnTheLoose
November 9, 2013
The Tamil film “Loosu Ponnu” spans the spectrum…
you have the perennially irritating and screechy loosu like Laila
you have the mildly-irritating-mostly-amusing loosu like Meera Jasmine
you have the one-track loosu like Genelia
you had the character driven loosu like Sridevi
you had the over-the-top-bust-the-eyeballs loosu like Jyothika
you have the can-never-make-the-grade loosu like Asin
you have the watch-me-grin-oh-there’s-my-navel loosu like Tamannah
you had yesteryear loosu s like Jayachitra and Jayasudha
and then there is the Queen of all Loosu Ponnus (a cherished small screen icon),
who was no Tamil, but IMO is the copybook loosu : Loosil Ball 🙂
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vijay
November 9, 2013
The bigger mystery to me is how Ilayathalavali became a “star”. I guess he was forcibly pushed down our throats as one by the PR industry running behind the scenes and overseen by his father. Because for a long time (and even now) he doesn’t have most things that a star needs to have (think of Ramki in the early 90s). His longevity is a new low for Tamil audiences and cinema as such.
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Anima
November 9, 2013
Hahaha @ ManOnTheLoose.
Who’s the queen? is it radhika or deivyani? both seem to be pretty strong contenders for the throne.
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venkatesh
November 9, 2013
@KayKay : Like you said – irrespective of what he think of him – my original question still remains as to “how” he became a mass hero. He is a Mass Hero is simply the truth of the matter.
@Vijay: Illayathalavi has been groomed to be a mass hero ala Hritik in the Hindi scene,
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Jo
November 10, 2013
@ Anima
I think he means that the queen is the iconic Lucille Ball.
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MANK
November 10, 2013
@Venkatesh:But is Hrithik really groomed to be a mass hero. He does not do a dabbang or Singham and does not indulge in those massy histrionics. Even in a would be mass film like Agneepath he remains detached and effeminate as we have already discussed.I don’t think Krrish series qualifies as mass movies. Mass hero does not require superpowers.
And Yes i have listened to both Prakash and KAYKAY and have the same doubts as you have,about Ajit becoming a mass hero.As far as Vijay is concerned , i think right from his debut to his latest political entry , everything seems to have been planned and executed by his father.
@KAYKAY: I was intrigued by your comparison of Ajith with Channing Tatum. But isn’t Channing predominantly a romantic comedy actor.I think the real Hollywood counterpart for Ajith is Tom cruise. Really how Tom cruise became a superstar in the middle of Macho heroes like Stallone and Schwarzenegger and ford could exactly be mirrored in Ajith’s rise to stardom in Tamil in the midst of Vijayakant Sarathkumar etc.Because both of them became stars doing sophisticated roles , You see Tom with top gun, mission impossible,jerry maguire while Ajith with Vaali,Billa, Mankatha.Both of them has to put that extra effort to appear raw macho on screen.
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Prakash
November 10, 2013
@kaykay
I have no problems whether sparring on the basis of facts, opinions or anecdotal evidence. But, PLEASE don’t couch self-admittedly “minority” opinions in such vaguely absolute terms like “irrefutable”, which seems to be an ill-concealed sleight of hand to pass them off as widely-accepted home truths, when that is far from the case.
Coming to your arguments, I see how you look at it, but, again, your views are, as you yourself put it, a minority opinion and, dare I say, more coloured by your own out-dated perception of Ajith’s physicality(I do see a transformation in that physicality over the years which I have outlined in my earlier posts). That would account for your deeply flawed Hollywood analogy. (As a side-note, some Ajith fans like to call him as Tamil Cinema’s George Clooney, which makes sense atleast viscerally on the basis of handsomeness, salt-n-pepper hairstyle and stylised action flicks like Mankatha/Ocean”s trilogy)
I understand that opinions are subject to personal biases, but to base them only on biases without being exposed to/unwilling to consider ground realities erodes the credibility of such opinions, which is, unfortunately, the case with you.
The reason I quoted the facts was not so much as to mark Ajith’s career choices but to show that people’s opinion of Ajith, as with many other stars, have evolved over the years owing to those choices. Alas, I think you missed the woods for the trees.
I also feel you are mixing up villainous bad-assness(and the misogyny that goes with that) with the generally “Tamil” every-day sort of layman misogyny that involves putting women in their “rightful “place. The former, over the years, has come to be almost perfected into an art form by Ajith. The latter, I agree, has been a frequent presence in Rajini’s and Vijay’s movies, and give them that extra “Tamil” feel. I do disagree with your contention that it is the only way do bad-assnes or misogyny.
I dare you to watch this single scene from Mankatha. I have watched many tamil films of all heroes over the decades but I am yet to see the unadulterated acidic misogyny(filmed to brilliant effect) in this scene from any actor other than Ajith. Say what you will, I don’t see Rajini/Vijay(especially Vijay) having the ability to pull off a scene like as effortlessly as Ajith. I detest Ajith’s performances in many films, but his madcap performance in Mankatha was damn good. Not in a nuanced-acting-Hey-look-I-got-National-Award-performance like Kamal/Dhanush. But in a manner that was 100% mass, and 100% crowd-pleasing.
Rhetorically speaking, if you asked a cross-section of tamil movie-goers who comes to their mind when you mention the word bad-ass to them, I can assure you Ajith would win hands-down.
Being a tamil and living in TN my whole life, your description of Rajini and Vijay’s other “commonalities” made little sense to me. If anything, you seemed to be highlighting all the aspects of Rajini’s personality that Vijay is perceived to be lacking in order for him to become the next “Superstar”. 🙂
Rajini has got Swagger. Irrefutable? Yes, surely.
Vijay has got similar swagger. Irrefutable? Anything but.
I will put forth my own perception of how I think the TN people see it.
Rajini has three things going for him.
Firstly,the fact that he looks like an ordinary-Tamil-man-next-door and so the section of the audience who want to see themselves on screen take to his presence.
The other thing, seemingly contrasting, in his favour is that he has this aura(or style) about him that marks him out as a Distinct-Individual-in-a-crowd who is destined for special things. This endears him to other sections of the audience who want a God-like Hero presence on-screen who can deliver them from danger to safety.
The third is his lean, fit frame that enables him to continue doing youthful roles in a credible manner for a span well past his true youth. It also gives him an edge over others when it comes to dancing despite him limited dancing skills. This aspect is crucial since it gives him more weapons in the arsenal in addition to “Massdom” to aim for B.O.success.
Of the above three qualities, I see Vijay as blessed with numbers 1 and 3, and trying hard to fake number 2.
Ajith may be quite low on numbers 1 and 3(but again, it is not a simple question of “ruggedness” as you put it, since that would amount to glossing over changed realities) but he has shown himself to be considerably gifted with number 2, and that, I believe, is why he is/will continue to be a Mass star.
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Prakash
November 10, 2013
@MANK
All these hollywood comparisons ring false at a very basic level.
Firstly, the very concept of “Mass” that is integral to the biggest stars of Indian Cinema is missing from Hollywood movies, At least Stallone and Arnie offer some of the raw action that could partly fuel a similar nature of “stardom”, but I just don’t see anyone similar to Ajith with his stylised Mass projects. Tom Cruise is close but not quite the same since I don’t see audiences rooting for him to the extent that they would for Stallone in his Rocky/Rambo movies or for Arnie in Terminator.
Also, generally, Hollywood action scripts are more intelligent and less performance-driven than Tamil movies, and, the slicker and more stylised they are, these differences become even more accentuated.
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Prakash
November 10, 2013
@MANK
Also, Ajith rising in the midst of Sarathkumar/Vijaykanth? You gotta be kidding me 😉 Pass me whatever stuff you are smoking.
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MANK
November 10, 2013
@prakash:Also, Ajith rising in the midst of Sarathkumar/Vijaykanth? You gotta be kidding me Pass me whatever stuff you are smoking.
Man i didn’t get the sarcasm. May be because i am not smoking what you’re smoking.If you are alluding to their current status visa vis Ajith, then i get it. But When Ajith was coming up in late 90’s and early 00’s, then they were very much the template for macho mass stars. Care to elaborate a bit.
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Prakash
November 10, 2013
@MANK
Well, let’s see, in my view, by the time Ajith and Vijay had started paying more attention to carving out a Mass image for themselves, say around the 2003/2004 mark, these guys you mention were already well past their prime. Ramana, Vijayakanth’s last credible Mass hit, was in 2002. Sarathkumar had become dead stock even further back. Maayi(in the year 2000), a film made memorable more by Vadivelu’s fine rustic comedy scenes than its hero, was Sarathkumar’s last hurrah, so to speak(since he did continue to act in movies), before he faded away slowly but steadily from public memory.
It would be wholly erroneous and foolish to simply compare careers since debut, since most actors need a gestation period of 10-12 years, if not more, just to establish themselves as saleable actors, before trying to aim for bigger things. Both Ajith and Vijay took around that while, while earlier Mass icons like Rajini and MGR took even longer, perhaps due to the slower pace of life back in those days.
The conclusion being that, Ajith/Vijay’s rise to Massdom happened not in the 90’s as you seem to be thinking, but almost entirely afterwards. Mere saleability is not an accurate predictor of starpower or longevity. Remember “Top Star” Prashanth(of Jeans fame) or Action King Arjun(of Gentleman and Mudhalvan fame)? Very saleable actors for a long time. But their careers eventually petered out, as they could not make it to the next level. Vijayakanth and Sarathkumar had a little more hold on the audiences, but that is all it was, a little more hold. Hardly comparable to Rajini/Kamal.
To compound this, you compare Vijaykanth’s machismo with that of Stallone/Arnie and I could not help but ROFL. 🙂 For heaven’s sake, have you watched Narasimha/Vaanjinathan? Vijayakanth is that fella whose idea of macho is to cover his paunch with tin foils to reflect bullets back to his enemies. Surely you knew that…… or didn’t you? 😉
The only legitimate comparison to Vijaykanth is Balaiya, that other one-of-a-kind Legend from the Telugu industry. No one else comes close.
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Prakash
November 10, 2013
@MANK
To be frank, I don’t see Ajith/Vijay following in any one person’s footsteps or visibly trying to distinguish themselves as different from any then-popular star either. Just as Rajini is different from MGR, these guys are different from Rajini/MGR and also each other. They are all Mass stars but within that description, each has evolved into his own niche, which is how it should be since audiences don’t want to see the same thing done the same way by two different stars.
In that way, I really don’t see any “template” to go by/discard. Every man on his own.
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MANK
November 10, 2013
@Prakash:To compound this, you compare Vijaykanth’s machismo with that of Stallone/Arnie and I could not help but ROFL. 🙂 For heaven’s sake, have you watched Narasimha/Vaanjinathan? Vijayakanth is that fella whose idea of macho is to cover his paunch with tin foils to reflect bullets back to his enemies. Surely you knew that…… or didn’t you? 😉
Man is that the only thing you remember about vijayakanth. You forgot the hero of pulanvisaranai,Captain Prabhakar etc, or Sarathkumar of suryan . Those were the ones that i was comparing with sly\Arnie machismo. Don’t tell me you haven’t watched those films.The reflecting of bullets was by your own admission in their past prime phase.
Ajith and Vijay had started paying more attention to carving out a Mass image for themselves, say around the 2003/2004 mark
Wrong Starting with his first film Vijay was trying to carve a mass image for himself. Just watch the string of action masala entertainers that his father as well the other directors made for him in the beginning , IT was their failure and the unexpected success of a series of romantic films starting with poove unakkage,Thullatha manavum thullam etc that spoilt his plans and relegated him to romantic hero status. But his constant trial and error worked finally with Gilli and the audience was also changed by then totally shifting to that kind of cinema.And as far as Ajith well that’s what we are discussing all through here, How he never tried to consciously do it.
The only legitimate comparison to Vijaykanth is Balaiya, that other one-of-a-kind Legend from the Telugu industry. No one else comes close.
Wrong again. Balaiyya’s stardom is completely due to the fact that he is NTR’S son and belong to nandamuri family. I don’t know whether you would admit it, But in Telugu they have family fan clubs. There is the nandamuri fan club, Mega family fan club, Akkineni family fan club etc. Irrespective of whether the actor is good or bad or atrocious , as long as the belong to any of these families the fans will support them. It is sort of like a dynasty and it is the fans that are inherited by son from his father. The sons stardom depends on how well he can emulate (copy) his father which is true of Balakrishna and which is taken to ridiculous levels by NTR jr.The stardom of Vijayakant,Sarathkumr etc are hard earned and very much their own. So please don’t insult them by comparing with the likes of Balayya.And Don’t tell me that their mass base suddenly vanished after 2002 and they were so foolish to launch their political parties after they lost their mass base.
I really don’t see any “template” to go by/discard
By template i only meant it in a broad sense, Say Rajni following an MGR template or Kamal foll a Sivaji template etc. I did not mean copying or following in footsteps or anything. Nobody can become a mega(mass)star by copying or following anybody else(except the case of Telugu ) . The USP of a star is his uniqueness and i am not that foolish not to realize that.
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KayKay
November 10, 2013
Prakash,
Okaaaaaaay…..I’m going to make this my last say on this subject. I usually avoid long drawn out debates with rabid fans (and yes! You Are One! NOBODY goes to this much trouble to explain a “star’s” appeal and saleability unless they’re a true, dyed-in-the wool, card-carrying No.1 Fan of said “star”) because of their complete inability to see beyond their rose-tinted view of their “idol” but I’ll make a final go of this anyway.
“But, PLEASE don’t couch self-admittedly “minority” opinions in such vaguely absolute terms like “irrefutable”, which seems to be an ill-concealed sleight of hand to pass them off as widely-accepted home truths, when that is far from the case”
So my use of irrefutable got your panties in a twist? Ok, I take it back. I should have put a caveat to say that irrefutable was in the context of MY own personal opinion. MINE!! Get it? Which was the whole point of my post. MY PERCEPTIONS of Ajith, and NOWHERE did I try to pass them off as widely-accepted home truths.
And yes, my opinion is the minority one, a fact I admit to and state quite clearly in the last para of my post (damn! Now you’ve made me sound like a lawyer!)
You could submit a 12-part essay or a mini theses backed up by facts and stats on why Ajith so deserves his Mass Star mantle, and it would mean jack shit to me. Not because you’re wrong (his appeal,BO track record and longevity would attest to how right you are easily enough) but because it wouldn’t change my (very personal, very subjective) PERCEPTION of him. Which is that he’s pure vanilla. A genial screen presence who seems to have lucked into this whole Mass Star Phenomenon, complete with Rabid Fan Base and affectionate (ahem!) monikers.
“As a side-note, some Ajith fans like to call him as Tamil Cinema’s George Clooney, which makes sense atleast viscerally on the basis of handsomeness, salt-n-pepper hairstyle and stylised action flicks like Mankatha/Ocean”s trilogy”
I would like to call Ajith fans deluded and high on crack just for making that comparison. George Clooney???? Er….No. No. No. Hell No!!!!
There’s also the egregious sin of using “stylized” and Mankatha in the same sentence but I’ll get to this in a bit.
“I also feel you are mixing up villainous bad-assness(and the misogyny that goes with that) with the generally “Tamil” every-day sort of layman misogyny that involves putting women in their “rightful “place. ”
Dude, seriously? You are shitting me right? So now there’s different categories of misogyny?
You’re conflating Bad Ass with Misogynistic behaviour, something I never wrote nor intended in my post. It was about what I (see, there’s that subjective shit again) saw as what was expected of a mass hero and seeing that Ajith didn’t exude it for me and hence my puzzlement at his acceptance as one.
“The former, over the years, has come to be almost perfected into an art form by Ajith”
I’m not even going to rebut this as reading words like “ajith”, “perfected” and “art form” in a single sentence brings about uncontrollable fits of laughter. He’s neither villainous, a bad ass nor has he perfected any of it into an “art form” as you have called it. Any scene of Vikram in Raavanan has him exuding more raw ferociousness, misogyny, villainy and all round “bad-assed”-ness than Ajith in a dozen movies, but this topic is about mass appeal so let’s leave that aside.
“I dare you to watch this single scene from Mankatha”
Been there. Done that. Saw the whole freaking movie, dude. Wasn’t impressed. There was some amusement in seeing Ajith and Arjun step outside their comfort zones but the movie itself was a botched attempt, IMHO. Uninvolving as a heist movie, uninspiring as crime noir and outright lame as an action movie (par for the course for most Tamil movies which have no idea on how to shoot or edit an action scene. The cartoonish gunfights seemed longer than some English movies I watch!)
So, showing a 1 min clip or any scene from this film isn’t going to have me jizzing in my shorts, I’m afraid.
Your explanations for VJ and Rajini’s appeal is a case of preaching to the converted. I accept and get their Mass Appeal ( something I highlighted in my earlier post as well) but I classified their appeal wrongly? That’s the issue? Then, slap my butt and consider me soundly chastised, brother!
In conclusion, I reiterate that my minority, personal, irrelevant-in-the-larger-context opinion doesn’t mean shit, as the facts support the complete opposite, as you’ve gone to great pains to point out. Hell, if the majority held my views about him, Ajith would have to return to the mechanics workshop repairing two-wheelers with Shalini most likely having to don back the greasepaint to put food on the table.
So, tell you what man. Let me dig out copies of Kadhal Kottai, Mugavaree or Unnai Thedi if I crave an Ajith fix, and you can jack off to the 75th viewing of Mankatha, or Billa, or Billa 2 or Arambam…….to each his own.
Peace out.
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Ashok
November 11, 2013
Hey prakash buddy,you probably saved ton of my typing time over the last few days refuting to comments that are at the least – genuinely naive.Ok not so naive,but we see what we want to see,right?.But even with that extrapolation,I found them to be far from ground reality.
In my opinion,Ajith took badassery (if that is even a word) to a new level atleast as far as tamil cinema is concerned.. to a level experienced not since the villany days of Rajni and now as recently as Endhiran. To an extent that it has almost become his usp nowadays. and many a time,there doesnt seem to be any backstory/justification to justify his acts(read Mankatha,Billa). I can almost puke at the attempts of so-called badassery by his contemporaries (read Azhagiya Tamilmagan,Adhavan).
Yeah right,Ajith might have soft looks of a lover boy. But isnt it the essence of a phenomenon? That an unlikely candidate steals the limelight right under the nose of the incumbent through that x factor. I guess in case of Ajith, that x factor stems from his intent to stay out from the crowd(correspondingly his choice of roles) and his off-screen persona. Let me try to explain,At a time when Vijay (& prashanth not so sucessfully though) was reeling out hit after hit doing different iterations of the same love story and Vikram,Surya (known by all now for experimenting with their roles) were still in diapers(in industry terms ofcourse),Ajith was the first among the younger lot to start experimenting with his roles ranging from rustic mass entertainers(dheena,amarkalam) to failing-on-screen-weeping (Mugavari) to highly ambitious yet amatuerish (Citizen). Mind you he did this with all his obvious limitations and amatuer directors putting his own money most of times(Nik arts was almost like his home production then).I mean he could have easily continued to stay doing numerous lover stories (in which he obviously found more sucess, read kadhal kottai et al). I guess this intent to stay out from the crowd that found instant resonance with youth (as well as his choice of roles which now seems to experiment with badassery) and catapulted him to superstardom. I accept he did a lot of bad monotonous mass films in between (2003-2006)partly due to his rising interest in racing. But even then,his fans stood by givin great openings to even those mediocre films which is the true sign of a mass hero.
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ManOnTheLoose
November 11, 2013
@amina That mantle doesn’t fit Radhika… and @jo is right about the queen 🙂
And those in bewilderment over Ajith’s “mass hero” status and question why / where / how / when it happened, just remember that some things transcend explanation – like why Pluto is no longer a planet or why a Tamil comedian needs the tag “Power Star” or why nature abhors a vacuum. Yes, when the workings of the world seem at odds with how everything ought to be, a healthy dose of resignation doesn’t hurt 🙂
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Srini
November 11, 2013
“Rhetorically speaking, if you asked a cross-section of tamil movie-goers who comes to their mind when you mention the word bad-ass to them, I can assure you Ajith would win hands-down.”
Hmm….Ajith just in’t convincing as a bad ass IMO. I mean Rajini was the true blue mass Badass, others are just pretemders. But the good thing is , he doesn’t mind taking the risk and none of his competitiors ( Vijay , Surya et all) have the appetite to take the risk and I have feeling will fall flat on their face if they tried. I am hopng he works with someone like Selvaraghavan , who can push him to badass roles in an interesting story.
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Rahini David
November 11, 2013
“when the workings of the world seem at odds with how everything ought to be, a healthy dose of resignation doesn’t hurt “.
I was thinking the same about that metrosexual muscle article next to this. I mean sixpack is in vogue, size zero is in vouge. Big Deal. Whislte and eat the pizza/biriyani.
But the perfect route of a mass-hero is important or we’d not know who to vote for when they stand in state elections.
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venkatesh
November 11, 2013
I have lost the thread on this one – the question was “Why and how Ajith became a mass star ?” – the fact that he is one is irrefutable.
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Sid (@Tweet2Sid)
November 12, 2013
I watched this movie just hours ago, today.
Given that Arjun is the best hacker in the world, I can understand it’s that easy to hack bank accounts and transfer huge amount of money easily, but is it really easy to pass it to RBI and still remain anonymous? Won’t they question someone for having this huge money in his account?
I’m amused..!
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Prakash
November 12, 2013
@Ashok, Venkatesh, ManOnTheLoose, Srini and Rahini David
Happy to see some cooler(and saner too, if I might add) heads still following this thread. 🙂
@kaykay
Your hyperventilation and let’s-bash-the-messenger-tone reveal that, in spite of your desperate proclamations to the contrary, you are plain pissed at the fact that the majority opinion isn’t on your side and more importantly, your own fossilised and antiquated “opinions” have been soundly rubbished as being a product of your pre-conceived notions and with nary a shred of fact/reason to back them up.
Seeing that you’ve already bunched sexism, misogyny, badassness et al. as “inseparable” for the context of our discussion, forgive me if I can’t be bothered to respond to your latest bout of frothing at the mouth.
Different film cultures have different sensibilities and evaluating popular art/cinema of one culture wearing the blinkers of another culture and then finding them stupid/unsatisfactory speaks of a superficiality of taste and shallow intelligence that does not behoove a truly discerning film-viewer. Try to learn from good critics like Rangan, who can tune their sensibilities to adapt to the kind of movies they are watching for each movie they watch, spanning diverse film industries. Or, if you wish would rather find Nirvana sucking the ti*s/di*k/either of mindless pri*ks running blogs like Searchindia.com which thrive on that sort of asinine negativism, you are the one losing out.
Not people like me whose favorite movies include ones as diverse as “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, “Goodfellas”, “”Saving Private Ryan”, “Lagaan”, “Rockstar”, “Taare Zameen Par”, “Barfi”, “Band Baaja Baaraat” and yes, good old Tamil movies like “Ghilli”, “Kushi”, “Vaali”, “Kaakha Kaakha”, “Pudhupettai”, “Aaranya Kaandam” and that film which you hate with a vengeance, “Mankatha”. I find myself perfectly in harmony while watching any of these movies. In the end, movies are best enjoyed when you take them as they are, without constant(and mostly meaningless) comparisons across industries or even across eras. Which is why I can marvel at The Ten Commandments and Mayabazaar, while still being able to appreciate an Avatar or Eega.
Finally, if providing a point-by-point deconstruction of a movie star’s Massdom and admitting that I did enjoy certain movies of his are enough to qualify me as a fan of that Star in your “opinion”, fine. Go ahead. I am guilty as charged. 😉 Don’t allow your mind to be fettered by such trifling details like the fact(oops, sorry, I know you hate those) that I also thoroughly enjoyed Mass movies starring other heroes like “Pokkiri”(the telugu original), “Thuppakki, “Dabangg” etc and thoroughly hated both Billa and its even more torturous sequel Billa 2 which, incidentally did star your bete-noire Ajith. But hey, since when did you give a flying f*ck for such mundane stuff like reason/knowing-before-talking?
@MANK
“Man is that the only thing you remember about vijayakanth. You forgot the hero of pulanvisaranai,Captain Prabhakar etc, or Sarathkumar of suryan . Those were the ones that i was comparing with sly\Arnie machismo. Don’t tell me you haven’t watched those films.The reflecting of bullets was by your own admission in their past prime phase.”
Bro, I have an even sharper memory than you, seeing that I can also recollect some other very decent action entertainers of his like Ulavuppadai and Vallarasu, but the point I am trying to get across to you is that, while Vijaykanth quickly degenerated into a bloated political wannabe hopelessly inept at carrying Mass movies, Stallone was in a different league altogether, managing to sustain his physical vigor well into his sixties. And also the obvious point that those decent movies of Vijayakanth date back to an even older time period when Ajith was virtually a nobody, rendering the comparisons to Stallone-Cruise invalid.
“Starting with his first film Vijay was trying to carve a mass image for himself. Just watch the string of action masala entertainers that his father as well the other directors made for him in the beginning , IT was their failure and the unexpected success of a series of romantic films starting with poove unakkage,Thullatha manavum thullam etc that spoilt his plans and relegated him to romantic hero status. But his constant trial and error worked finally with Gilli and the audience was also changed by then totally shifting to that kind of cinema.”
There you go again, misinterpreting what I said. When I said, “serious attention”, I meant something like “continuous and undivided”. If you dabble briefly at something, find it not working and switch to something else, that’s not paying serious attention. I would like to draw your attention to the 3 and half years between Pokkiri and Kaavalan, when Vijay was giving a string of flops. The fact is that he persisted for a much longer time than earlier trying to make “Mass” films before finally doing a half-compromise like Kaavalan to buck up the B.O. spirits. That is the kind of “serious attention” I am talking about. Nanban was not shout-from-the-rooftops-mass, but it did give some nice low-key build-up to him which his fans enjoyed. And with Thuppakki, he was 100% back.
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Prakash
November 12, 2013
@all
Sorry for the lack of proper alignment. Probably a browser glitch.
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Prakash
November 12, 2013
@MANK
“Wrong again. Balaiyya’s stardom is completely due to the fact ….”
Oh save your breath. 🙂 I was making a limited comparison between the guy who stamps on trains to make them move backwards and the guy whose punch line goes “We will meet………will meet………meet”. Kind of like your comparison of him to Stallone based on a different part of his career. At worst, you could accuse me of over-statement, not factual error.
I am already aware of the clan-fan link in Telugu cinema thanks to telugu friends who have clued me into the phenomenon. But I guess your explanation could help any telugu cinema new-bie here.
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MANK
November 12, 2013
@Prakash:Bro this is getting nowhere. First we have to make a comment then we have to spend another half dozen comments to explain one other what one meant by first comment, then the second help!this is like hitting ones head against the wall. Wish we where face to face and we could thrash it out like men(Intellectually i mean ha ha) rather than sparring in trenches. I realize that we have rather divergent views about this subject and the comments section may not be enough to reconcile this. So we agree to disagree.
@Venkatesh was right .One looses the main thread of the discussion. We started with Ajith and his rise to stardom and here we are grappling with Captain and Balayya.. This is becoming like Ridley Scott’s the Duellists. Guess we leave it at that Bro, If you got something to add to this you’re welcome. Otherwise till we get another post to spar, Peace out..
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Prakash
November 13, 2013
@MANK
Fair enough, I guess 🙂
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Ravi K
November 14, 2013
“Nata Simham” Balayya is the once and future king. That is all.
😉
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milkngradha
April 2, 2014
Radha Saluja
kushboo
simran
jyothika
nagma
bhoomika (Chawla)
the list never seems to end.
Radha Saluja is the first one as heroine with who?, but none other than MGR.
MGR acted very sexily with sex queens in his last years.
Latha
Manjula
and Radha Saluja is another in his feather.
Latha surprisingly didn’t wear one piece or two piece swim suit.
Rahda Saluja didn’t wear churidhar her home dress in any of MGR’s films but wore one piece swim suits because her body perfectly suits for that.
MGR’s one of last few films were sexy like netru indru naalai, naalai namathae but “Idhayak-KANI” is the sexiest with Radha Saluja
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brangan
April 3, 2014
milkngradha: OMG, what a comment! Kudos!
But let’s not forget to felicitate Kamal as well, whose “Tik Tik Tik” featured the first Tamil heroine (Madhavi) to wear a two-piece bikini 🙂
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Ram
November 9, 2014
This was a combination of swordfish and mission impossible ghost protocol. I do see someone had covered less on ghost protocol. The bank robbery. The hard drive placing. The seducing everything leads to ghost protocol. I had my energy thrown completely out by whistling for billa and Mangatha. But now its only the raw masala nothing deep. Ajith is a brand for showing my existence and have a word and clasp on the crowd. It is not fair.
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milkngradha
January 18, 2015
Madhavi is not tamil she is telugu
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