Balu Mahendra’s demise is another reminder that a certain kind of “artistic” commercial film has vanished from our screens.
In the tribute I wrote in this paper for Balu Mahendra, I’d contended that Moondram Pirai was the “apotheosis of his art,” and that didn’t go down well with some readers. They felt that this was too “commercial” a film, with its ‘Silk’ Smitha item number and all, and that Mahendra’s art should be evaluated on the basis of films like Veedu or Sandhya Raagam. This, to me, basically reinforces the whole art-commerce divide that Mahendra fought against for most of his career. With a handful of exceptions, his films were “commercial films,” meant for large audiences – and that’s why it seemed appropriate to celebrate Moondram Pirai, a superb example of how the presence of a commercially viable plot and the participation of commercially viable actors and technicians can result in art. Can you imagine a similar situation today, where a young hero at the peak of his powers and a top heroine (who can actually act) agree to star in something that we’ll be talking about thirty years from now? No? That’s what I’m saying.
The Balu Mahendra kind of films are gone. Today’s commercial films are something else, and that’s because today’s audiences are something else. The people who came to theatres to see Moondram Pirai don’t come to theatres anymore, and even if they do, certainly not in sufficient numbers to make a hit out of something like Maryan – a flawed film, yes, but the closest that present-day Tamil cinema came to capturing the Balu Mahendra ethos, the Moondram Pirai ethos, with good actors and a top-ranked music director and a minimalistic storyline that the director at least attempted to narrate in a quasi-art-house fashion. The demise of these films is the demise of a certain kind of culture, where leisurely paced “art” could be snuck into popular cinema.
That kind of rhythm, that kind of pace has vanished from our screens. Watch the early films of Balu Mahendra and his contemporaries like Mahendran (Udhiri Pookkal, Nenjathai Killathey), and you’re astounded by how… slow and silent they are (in relative terms, compared to the films of today), and how, despite this slowness, this quietness, they found enough audiences to sustain them for 25-week runs in theatres. Of course, that was a time before DVDs and downloads and “special screenings” on television on a festival day that’s no longer spent visiting friends and relatives, so if you wanted to see a film a second time, you had to go to the theatre. Today’s films, therefore, cannot hope for such staying power in theatres. But though the metrics by which we determine hits may have changed – 25-week runs versus opening-weekend gross, or whatever – a hit is still a hit. And those slow, silent films were hits.
To make intensely personal films and still make them appealing to large audiences – that’s a near-lost art, today, and it’s in that context that I was celebrating Moondram Pirai. Is it the most uncompromised film Mahendra made (if that’s how you want to evaluate art)? Certainly not – and taken that way, Sandhya Raagam is probably a “better” film. There are so many opportunities for cheap melodramatic compromises in this story about an old man who, after the death of his wife, comes to Madras to stay with his nephew, but Mahendra opts, always, for the high road. The man’s loneliness isn’t milked for pathos. It just is. We think the nephew’s wife will turn out to be a shrill shrew, resenting this unwanted visitor’s claims on their already meagre possessions. But no, she’s kind and observant, and the only time she screams at him is when he (inadvertently) harms her daughter. At one point, she is unable to return a small sum she owes her landlady – the old man repays this loan without telling her. We think this turn of events will result in major emotion – maybe, she’ll feel guilty when she finds out and fall at his feet in repentance, or maybe she’ll scream at him, again, for poking his nose in her affairs – but the way this plot point is resolved is exquisitely understated.
And this is the point I was making with Moondram Pirai. In some ways, the understatement is even more remarkable here, because this film, unlike Sandhya Raagam, is an overtly commercial proposition. Events that could have resulted in major melodrama – and there’s nothing wrong with that style of cinema, provided done well – are presented in such a matter-of-fact manner that seeing the film, today, we wonder at how the audiences were then, and how they are now, hooting their derision at the slightest “lag” in the narrative. The film’s slyest trick is that the drama is always present, thanks to the underlying sexual tension and Ilayaraja’s score. After a small prologue (that details the heroine’s accident), the opening credits appear over an intense burst of violins – the same burst of violins that will be heard as a bookend towards the end, when the heroine and her parents enter the railway station and the devastated hero, far behind, is racing to meet her. So we’re already primed, subliminally, for this intensity of emotion – except that Mahendra takes his own sweet time getting to that point. As much as the themes in this complex film can be studied, the filmmaking, too, is worth putting under a microscope. Of how many commercial films today can you say this?
Lights, Camera, Conversation… is a weekly dose of cud-chewing over what Satyajit Ray called Our Films Their Films. An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright ©2014 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
venkatesh
February 21, 2014
@BR:
“a top heroine (who can actually act)”
– ooh snarky.
But yes, the overall theme is absolutely right, films that are “just” there , characters that are given space and time to breathe, to live, do not exist any more. A simple scene like Farooque Sheikh and Deepti Naval in Chasme Badhoor, drinking Coffee and eating Tutty Fruity listening to birds chirping in a true to life cafe’ is simply unthinkable.
The last major film-maker who managed to fuse this “art” sensibility with commercial success that I know of is, surprisingly M. Night Shyamalan. On revisiting Signs and Unbreakable recently I was struck by how quiet , how slow and how understated these films are.
Pokkisham (by Cheran) also had passages that were running to a different more measured rhythm though arguably it was a period film and therefore could accommodate it., though I don;t know if the film ran or not.
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Ganesh
February 21, 2014
Wonderfully written 🙂 echoed my emotions about Moondram Pirai so well! It’s such a balanced work of art. And today, I really pine for those slow narrations with understated emotions. Didn’t manage to find it even with mariyaan actually. Though I did like pannaiyaarum padminiyum a lot & wrote about it here http://ganeshjeyaraman.blogspot.sg/2014/02/its-lot-more-than-car.html?m=1
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Rajesh
February 21, 2014
In those days, that slow pace was quite normal even in commerical films. It was allright to have a movie whose total length would be between 2 1/2 to 3 hours and the directors could take lot of time for some scenes or to detail every scenes, for eg like the scene mentioned by Venkatesh in Chasme Badhoor. Ask todays youth to watch the best potboiler of 80’s and they would find it too slow.
I think, it is only from Agninakshtram – that we started noticing the speed of movies. As a teenager then, I loved the speed of that movie. In Malayalam, this I think (I could be wrong with my memory) also started with Rajavinte makan or New Delhi. And there after everything had to get faster.
Movies of Balu Mahendra or Bharati Raja in Tamil or many of the 80’s Malayalam had this characteristic of detailing, which is an important aspect (even in todays) of French cinema, that watching them today, many could consider those movies as very artistic or parallel or middle of the road or whatever name you call it. For eg. in Malayalam I V Sasi made so many mass movies, most of them super hits, but watch them now and todays youngsters can find it too long or bloody slow.
I understood why you chose Moondram Pirai, after you explained it in the comments, and it is fine explanation for me. I wish you watch Yathra, though.
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nagharajabishek
February 21, 2014
IMO, these sensibly made/quiet “commercial” movies,do trickle out steadily.There was Mariyaan, like you said. Aadukalam also comes to mind. I’m sure these and films like paruthiveeran , vaaranam aayiram, Hey Ram and Pudhupettai will be talked about 25 years from now- and they also fit very comfortably in the “commercial” mould. But if an ardent tamil film aficionado, in 2040, was to judge the 2000s by these films and term it an era of amazing filmmaking, he wouldn’t be talking of the Veerams and Jillas. Similarly, there were also crap films being made then, in the Moondram pirai era: It’s just that they aren’t relevant anymore; Nobody talks about them. Let alone KB, Mahendran and BM- what of SP Muthuraman and all those masterpieces he made? I’ve seen some of 80s films starring kamal (well…yeah and rajini 😐 ) which make thuppakki or singam 2 look like inspired works.
Don’t you think an era is always judged by it’s best? isn’t it unfair to, say, those of the Vetrimaran-Gautam Menon ilk, when commercial cinema of this age is written off altogether? (not that I’m implying they are in the same league as BM (may his baggy cap RIP).)
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ram murali
February 21, 2014
my good friend Director Vasanth is another one that tries to combine artistic elements that he respects in the works of balu mahendra, balachander, et al with commercial elements. to me, his best work till date is not aasai or keladi kanmani. it is Rhythm, a “quiet” tale of love and loss…the emotions, esp. between arjun and his parents, are so understated that the “drama” actually comes from the smallest of scenes and the most crisp of dialogues (“romba nalla paiyyan paa nee…unaku innum konjam nalladhu nadakkalam”)…when i told him that the scene in meena’s house where lakshmi repents for her past deeds was a classic, he smiled and said that the theater operators would “edit” that scene out since there was a “lag”…
poruthaar boomi aalvaar…poruthar nalla cinema paarpaar!
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venkatesh
February 21, 2014
@Nagharajabishek:
“Aadukalam also comes to mind.”
– Aadukalam was not an understated movie – at all. A good movie with some lovely music and great performance but understated ? Definitely no.
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Rajesh
February 21, 2014
@ram murali- Rhythm was a very nice film. What you say about theatre guys are very true. They intervene a lot.
Recently when Annayum Rasoolum released in Kerala – it was close to 3 hours originally(I didnt even realise it as it was a beautiful peace of cinema with lots of detailing – I know some readers here dont like its theme), many theatres wanted the movie to be edited a lot, but the director stood his ground (he did edit a bit later, I am told).
Result, the movie had a good run only in Kochi and in very few other theatres. The major point by the theatre guys was – they were having extra expenses on electricity, and if they can replace it with a regular shorter movie, they could save a lot!!!.
Many of my friends from all around Kerala thought this movie was a big flop (some even came to Kochi to watch it, on my word), when I was looking at big crowds in the Shenoys theatre in Kochi, daily, even after the second week (I live next door to this theatre). So when I checked with theatre manager, he told me about this issue in other towns. He even told me that in a North Keralan duplex theatre, the staff were pushing people to watch the movie playing in the other screen, saying Annayum Rasoolum was bohring, artistic, too long and is like an award movie. The last term – award movie – definitely acts as a repellant, you see.
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MANK
February 21, 2014
@Brangan,
How do you feel about the Imtiaz ali films or the dibakar banerjee films. They seem to be not exactly in the league of balu mahendra, but does seem to be in the class of the marketable art films . A film like Barfi does remind one a lot of moondram pirai.The thing that strikes me most about moondram pirai is kamal’s performance, how terrific an actor he was sans any prosthetics or showy mannerisms.Does anybody know How and when he caught this fever of putting on getups and hammy histrionics?.it was truly a sad moment in his career.And i agree about rythm, i liked that film a lot. it was quite pleasant surprise to watch arjun in a totally uncharacteristic role and film.
@Rajesh
I think the film was irupatham nootandu, i mean even rajavinte makan and new delhi had moments of slowness and detailing. Eventhough the foundation was already laid with those slapstick priyadarshan comedies of 85\86.But starting with IP, pace gathered stream in mal. movies. But real game changer was ramjirao speaking and its massive success. that’s when all detailing started to be sacrificed for pacey humor.
p.s.: I think Brangan has already seen yatra, he seems to have mentioned that in BM’s obituary thread
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Nidhi
February 21, 2014
At least you Tamizhs frequently get watchable films now. Imagine the plight of us Telugus. Where are the audiences who flocked to watch the films of K. Vishwanadh, Bapu, Jandhyala et al ?
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Ceaser
February 22, 2014
Nidhi, why worry , you have Trivikram,Rajamouli and srini vytla now .I thought attirinki daredi and dukhudu were nothing short of masterpieces. Were so jealous :. Be grateful for what u got 🙂
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Raj
February 22, 2014
@Nidhi
It is sad that even the small audience that might exist have no such films to flock to. Barely few good films have come in the past but even that well seems to have dried up in the last two years. (Chandrasekhar Yeleti comes to mind who made good films earlier but now no longer has the conviction/support to do so). And none of the new generation filmmakers seem to be able to slip through the cracks to make those bold irreverent films. Although to be fair, unlike in Tamil, I am yet to see good short films being produced in Telugu – may be there’s just a slump in talent out here.
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Kutty
February 22, 2014
MANK : Would have agreed with you about Imtiaz Ali even yesterday solely on the basis of Rockstar. Having just returned from ‘Highway’ I agree even more whole heartedly. There are scenes where the pitch is a little too high (like in Rockstar). But the whole pacing and laying out the characters in both these movies is done in the old style. Beautifully done! Heard a lot of impatient murmurs everytime there was silence for more than 5 seconds. Maybe explains why directors are increasingly reluctant to let the camera linger on a hero/heroine and let everyone take a breather.
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oneWithTheH
February 22, 2014
“romba nalla paiyyan paa nee…unaku innum konjam nalladhu nadakkalam”
ram murali, hi5 dude!
i am getting goosebumps as i write this. i cannot believe that there’s somebody out there who likes that exact same dialogue that has been etched in my mind forever! what a genuine moment of parental love that scene/dialogue conveyed. to add to that, a masterly bgm score by ARR for the movie, which i’ll go on to say is prob. his finest ever.
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Bayta
February 22, 2014
“But though the metrics by which we determine hits may have changed – 25-week runs versus opening-weekend gross, or whatever – a hit is still a hit.”
— Perhaps therein lies the problem. Maybe we should stop defining a hit based on performance of a movie in a theater setting regardless and instead start considering alternate means of gaining an audience.
In today’s world of high speed internet and HDTVs, people can get as good a movie experience at home. I, for one, prefer watching films in the comfort of my own home, especially when it comes to the kind of movie you’re talking about here – slow, quiet films – which benefit from the lack of distractions that are almost inevitable in movie halls. If such movies are made and released in a suitable format for consumption at home, I think there is definitely an audience for them. Basically, the visual medium of film should follow what music has already done by embracing the digital and adapting to the times.
Good “artistic” cinema (commercial or otherwise) needn’t vanish from our screens. We just need to be more inclusive in our definition of screens.
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Sriram Somasunderam
February 22, 2014
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Sriram Somasunderam
February 22, 2014
conversation between Bava Chellathurai and Balu Mahendra”:
”ஏன், ஏன், தன் உண்மைகள் படைப்பாகும் போது அதை அவனே நிராகரிக்கணும், ‘மூன்றாம்பிறை’ ஸ்ரீதேவியை கமல் எங்கிருந்து அழைச்சிட்டு போவார்னு ஞாபகப்படுத்துங்க பாக்கலாம்?”
மீட்டெடுக்க முடியாமல் திணறியதை ஒரு நொடியில் உணர்ந்தவர்,
”ஒரு விபச்சார விடுதியிலிருந்து’’ ஆனா அது உங்களுக்கு மட்டுமல்ல, படம் பார்த்த யாருக்கும் ஞாபகம் இருக்காது, ஏன்னா படத்தோடு Treatment-ல அது காணமல் போயிடுது”
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Nidhi
February 22, 2014
@Raj
Yeleti’s first two films are wonderful. He used to be so good at maintaining a certain mood throughout while making them just funny enough to be palatable to a larger audience. Regarding short films, so true. Maybe people have either blended into the commercial space or have completely removed themselves from Telugu cinema (Krish DK and Raj Nidimoru come to mind).
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MANK
February 22, 2014
@Kutty:Heard a lot of impatient murmurs everytime there was silence for more than 5 seconds.
@Bayta: I, for one, prefer watching films in the comfort of my own home, especially when it comes to the kind of movie you’re talking about here – slow, quiet films – which benefit from the lack of distractions that are almost inevitable in movie halls.
This is the biggest problem for both the makers and watchers of these kind of films. Brangan, the reason why the directors have totally given up on silences and detailing in films is due to this, the audience who like these kind of nuances in films are not frequenting cinemas that much and the ones who are, are overwhelmed by the audience who have become total slaves to the fast paced cinema .In many cases the theater owners themselves shy away or cut down the silences in these films as some instances as Rajesh has pointed out. I think the idea proposed by Kamal for DTH release of films simultaneously with the theater release will work for these kind of films.I have been severely disappointed by watching recent films like dedh ishqya or lootera or even a irandam ulagam etc in the theaters, as the others in the theaters are hellbent on spoiling the mood by laughing during poignant scenes, screaming during meaningful silences and all.However much i prefer the big screen experience i have begun to look forward watching these films on Bluray\DVD, now that their release window has been drastically reduced and they are available within 3 or 4 months of their release.
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Bayta
February 22, 2014
@MANK – Exactly. That’s why I feel the filmmakers should explore other avenues of revenue (DVDs, online streaming, DTH, whatever) so they can keep making such movies without reference to how they will do in theaters. Or, there need to be specialized theaters that cater to such films. Here in the US, there is a cinema chain that strictly enforces a no-talking/texting policy, and it is a godsend and the only theater I go to anymore. Not sure if that sort of thing would fly in India though.
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Bayta
February 22, 2014
@Sriram – I actually remembered that scene from the film. Funnily enough what I had forgotten was that song Vaanengum Thanga was from Moondram Pirai.
Thanks for the link. Should make for an interesting read.
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soumya
February 22, 2014
@Nidhi: I miss that phase of telugu films so much.. K. Vishawanath actually made films where a form of art would be the “hero ” of the film and all the big actors in his cast just played supporting roles.. Bapu’s frames where his visual art medium.. These were films which were made by artists who happened to be film makers and they were huge money spinners too.. I dont agree with fact that audiences have moved away from such films.. I feel on the contrary film makers have moved away from such subjects.. and I feel this loss immensely.. everytime I want to watch a movie with my parents that I know they would enjoy truly, I have very little options left..
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Srijith
February 22, 2014
I’m probably going to be the oddest one out. I loved Veedu and Sandhya Raagam, but didn’t really care much for moondram pirai. The ‘silk smitha item number’ was the redeeming factor for me. I loved the atmosphere of Julie ganapthy too.
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venkatesh
February 22, 2014
@Bayta:
I know exactly the chain you mean and i must admit its wonderful. In India cinema is a “family” outing – whatever the fuck that means. You cannot watch an Indian (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri whatever) – anywhere in the world without hordes of screaming infants, preening ladies, pompous businessmen and their ilk joining in , Indians deserve what they get.
What i would love to know (from those who were there) – How was a film like Veedu received when it first played in theatres – were people absorbing the mood for the film ?
I saw Annayum Rasoolum recently (on DVD) – its a beautiful film and would love to know how it played in theatres. I for one, loved it.
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Abhirup
February 22, 2014
Mr. Rangan, can you name some other Tamil directors among Balu Mahendra’s contemporaries about whom you would say the same things that you have in this piece? I am asking because I don’t know much about that particular era in Tamil cinema and would like to find out.
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Bayta
February 23, 2014
@venkatesh – That’s a good point and one I hadn’t considered. Cinema as family outing wasn’t something I experienced much growing up, but yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember seeing that trend the last couple of times I visited home. I’d love to hear from people who had first hand experiences with films like Veedu in theaters as well. I only got to watch it on TV many years after it released.
@Abhirup – Sorry to jump in, but the first name that comes to mind is Mahendran, who’s been mentioned in the article. Some of K Balachander’s films are good as well though he does veer into melodrama frequently. Same goes for Bharathiraja. Not sure who made Palaivana Solai but that’s a good one also.
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brangan
February 25, 2014
venkatesh: Oh, “Unbreakable” is one of the all-time-great superhero films. I think I liked Shyamalan’s films till “The Village,” after which they became a little blah — though I still find films like “Lady in the Water” interesting on some levels. Here’s what I wrote on The Happening and Pokkisham.
Rajesh: It was allright to have a movie whose total length would be between 2 1/2 to 3 hours…
Most Tamil films today are 2.5 hours. It’s only the so-called new-age films that are shorter, and those are just a handful.
nagharajabishek: I am not saying all commercial cinema today is bad. I am just saying that that “Balu Mahendra” kind of cinema isn’t to be found anymore — and I don’t think I’d club “Hey Ram” and “Vaaranam Aayiram” into that kind of film. They are miles away from the Balu Mahendra sensibility.
Bayta: Agreed. But it’ll take a long time before Tamil cinema wakes up to this. I mean, it’s taken years just to get people to agree to lessen the time between end of theatrical release and TV screening. Look at how they squashed that whole “Vishwaroopam” idea. Distributors/ exhibitors/ producers need to see that opening up to TV etc. isn’t a bad thing.
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Sriram Somasunderam
February 25, 2014
br, pls give link for ur hey ram review
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sankram
May 22, 2014
What would be a good set of movies to introduce someone to Indian cinema? As an appreciator of art, I’m sure my friend wouldn’t take the movies as a representation of the Indian cinema landscape, but I’m at a loss as to what might paint a close enough picture. I’ve been a long time reader here, and Mr. Rangan, thanks for nurturing a community anything cinema can be discussed with civility and thoughts webbing through from one subject to another.
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