Spoilers ahead…
Sakalakala Vallavan, directed by Suraaj, belongs to the genre I like to call the “whoosh movie.” Every edit is accompanied by a whoosh on the soundtrack. The idea is to give the impression that something is happening all the time – and if nothing is happening, if it’s just a simple edit taking us from one place to another, then at least put a whoosh on it. After a while, I began to feel the film would have been better with nothing but whooshes, start to finish. That would certainly beat listening to dialogues like this one: Enga atha ponnu… naan kattikka pora bun-nu… Or this one: Ava gummunu irundhaa… Naan gammunu irundhen… Or the one in which Vivek rhymes “anaconda” with “muttai bonda.” For some reason, that combination is making me think of the porn sites that have been banned.
The story goes something like this. Jayam Ravi plays a heart-of-gold villager named Sakthi. He loves Anjali (Anjali). But he’s forced to marry Divya (Trisha), who’s such a Horrible Damsel From the City (HDFC) that she feeds her dog burgers. I need you all to pause here and absorb this tectonic moment in Tamil cinema, which, so far, has only shown the HDFC herself eating burgers. Divya marks the evolution of the HDFC – all “realistic” filmmakers, please take note. Moving on, anyone who’s seen the older Sakalakala Vallavan (or Pattikada Pattanama) will guess that Divya will learn about the existence of rice, sambar, meen kuzhambu, and so forth, and live happily ever after with Sakthi. Oh, but to get there.
With these films, you have to find some way to pass the time. Some people play games on their smartphones. The guy next to me was playing a cricket-based game. I chose to tick off the numerous film references. Soori’s introduction scene is from Thevar Magan. Then there’s Endhiran, Annamalai, Thalapathy. The most bizarre reference is from Padithal Mattum Podhuma. As Anjali teaches Sakthi swimming, we hear strains of Pon ondru kanden from the older film, which had Sivaji Ganesan and Balaji swimming in a similar pond. The fact that Suraaj went for this song over the more obvious Oru poongavanam says something – I just haven’t decided what.
KEY:
Copyright ©2015 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Madhu
August 3, 2015
So, does she make the dog use a fork? After all, using hands…er paws, is a strict no, no.
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gvsafamily
August 3, 2015
So if Trisha is HDFC, Anjali is HSBC? (Half-Saree potta Bhavyamana Chick?)
Sorry, couldn’t really come up with anything better 😀
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Ram Murali
August 3, 2015
You have got to be a comic genius to make “elaneer” rhyme with “siruneer!”
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MANK
August 3, 2015
da man is a rock star!
That’s a good one and the review is a riot
But what’s with all these 80s kamal /Rajni titles . there is a new payum puli coming
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doctorhari
August 3, 2015
I was awaiting your review for this. 🙂 Makes me pity your profession some times.
The fact that this director is getting the producers consistently to keep making such movies – that tells a bit about the audience too, no?
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KayKay
August 3, 2015
So, once again, a title is appropriated without any sense of context or irony? Or knowledge that the ONLY reason it fit an ’80s super Hit AVM Masala like a glove was because it’s star truly lived up to it’s title in all his multi-talented, multi-faceted glory?
33 years later, and someone thought the most worthy successor for it is……. Jayam Ravi???
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venkatesh
August 3, 2015
And I like HSBC – Anjali 🙂
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apala
August 3, 2015
BR, the review was a riot!
Why do people keep making hits out of these trash movies……….well that’s the “Golden Rule”, I guess, Sujatha was talking about!
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Ram Murali
August 3, 2015
@brangan and @apala – the “Indian” reference also reminded me of the hilarious line that Kamal utters in “MMKR” — “Romba puratchigaramaana naadagam…flop aayduchu!” (Love the way Kamal takes umbrage later at Nagesh saying, “Ena Sir, en kavalai-ya sollitruken…neenge ivlo asingama paadreenge!” as a response to Kamal singing, “Kadan Pattaar” in a high pitch, theatrical tone!)
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Sutheesh Kumar
August 3, 2015
Hi, gvsa family I don’t know your real name, but when I was typing gvsa my phone suggested haha. That’s the reaction I had to your HSBC comment. Good one.
Regarding your previous post Udit Narayan’s first song was Kadalikkum pennin from Kadhalan.
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Arun
August 3, 2015
And I cannot believe I watched this twice in a theater!! I found this an altered inspiration of Morai Maaman…remember the Jayaram-Khusbu movie directed by Sundar C.Perhaps if Sundar C had directed this, you wouldn’t have grumbled much!!
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Arun
August 4, 2015
And unlike other critics who tore apart this film, I found only these four flaws in the film:
3.The screenplay is uneven, somewhat poor. Story was decent.
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sachita
August 4, 2015
I understand you had to watch the movie but why do others in theater come to watch the movie if they are going to be playing games on their phone?
Also, Trisha mentioned in an interview how she is totally going for films based on the script and roles. Totally get it now!
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praneshp
August 4, 2015
When I saw the name, there was a surge of anger. Apparently the original name was sakalakala-vallavan, then due to naming issues they added the appatakar part. When you name your film like that, it shows that you don’t give a crap about your craft.
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praneshp
August 4, 2015
Not the biggest fan of this guy, but looks like he was really angry at having to watch this:
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brangan
August 4, 2015
gvsafamily: Haha. Good one. You could also say Half Saree’d B and C centre ponnu 😀
praneshp: I met this guy when I saw Orange Mittai.
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Ravi K
August 4, 2015
What is “appatakkar?”
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brangan
August 4, 2015
Ravi K: See here 🙂
Also see here: http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/tamil/article326247.ece
I think it was first used in this film:
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Shankar V
August 4, 2015
Another masala movie that should never have been made. What makes film makers do such crappy films? And someone mentioned about Trisha choosing films based on script…..!
Wish such films get banned under some pretext…..!
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gvsafamily
August 4, 2015
Sutheesh Kumar (and Ravi K.) – Thanks for the info on Udit Narayan’s first Tamil song. ARR anyway would still stand guilty I suppose (of introducing this idea of making UN sing non-Hindi songs). I have no idea why music directors have a penchant for getting random voices and force-fitting them in completely unsuitable milieus.
BR: haha. Your aversion to the alphabetization of cinema audience is showing up (again!)
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ThouShaltNot
August 4, 2015
Also, Trisha mentioned in an interview how she is totally going for films based on the script and roles
She is probably referring to the movies she “goes to watch” like the rest of us (meaning, she is totally frustrated with scriptless/roleless films in which other people act) and not the one she is in. I hope.
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ssllp
August 4, 2015
Why is Trisha in this? Some producer related commitment?
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MANK
August 4, 2015
No use blaming Trisha. How many good scripts and roles exist for women in Tamil films. She perhaps needed the money badly. Hope she gets to do better in the next film with Kamal
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Neena
August 4, 2015
ssllp: I was thinking the same. I thought she could comfortably choose to do only ‘classy’ roles or whatever, now, if not exactly well-scripted ones! I can see why acclaimed male leads (like Vijay Sethupathi or Dhanush) sometimes do trashy movies – the temptation to be the ‘man of the masses’ I suppose. but, what do established female leads get out of these movies?
Btw, BR: “How do you say ‘trash’ in Tamil?” Kuppai? Used all the time with a vengeance to describe bad movies. Boy, you must totally be feeding your dog burgers :p or is there a pun/reference I’m not getting about the title of your review?
KayKay: But, the original Sakalakala Vallavan was also trash, no?
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jerinasriram
August 4, 2015
Please tell me you at least glared at the guy playing a game on his mobile in a theater! Of course he wouldn’t have seen your glare and that’s why it’s the best way to show disapproval by people who hate confrontations ( I don’t presume you are one, but I would have done that!)
It’s always the ‘trashy’ movies that get some of your best reviews. 😀
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udhaysankar
August 4, 2015
Neena: Dhanush does do the mass movies often, but they do not always end up being in trash. VIP was an very good “mass” movie. Even maari wasn’t bad either. Add to padikadhavan (Vivek’s comedy worked a lot..), polladhavan he has already given us a handful of mass movies that isn’t complete trash..
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Srinivas R
August 4, 2015
“When you name your film like that, it shows that you don’t give a crap about your craft.”
That is true of 90% of the movies right? But for a Myskin here or a Vetrimaran there none of the current day directors seem to care about what they want to do creatively. The thinking is always let’s run away with whatever money we can make.
What is annoying is there’s hardly any good masala movie in tamil these days. It doesn’t seem long ago that Dharani was in form with Dhil , Dhool , Ghili et al. It wasn’t great by any stretch but it was fun and didn’t take audience for granted.
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praneshp
August 4, 2015
@Srinivas R: I don’t know about you, but I loved Maari. It’s not Ghili level though.
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ThouShaltNot
August 4, 2015
How many good scripts and roles exist for women in Tamil films. She perhaps needed the money badly.
Fair point. Why then make lofty claims about “scripts and roles” (and this applies to men who make similar claims as well) like you are, say…Revathy?
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Ram Murali
August 4, 2015
Talking of “Sakalakala Vallavan” and other SPM movies of the 80s, I don’t think they ever took their audiences for granted. I am not saying that they were aesthetically pleasing classics. All I am saying is that they had a script (even if it reeked of male chauvinism), a structure (even if the template was adhered to with painstaking predictability) and provided reasonable entertainment. Esp. when good script writers like Visu were involved (e.g., Nallavanuku Nallavan) you had some good dialogues too.
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Rahul
August 4, 2015
Please tell me you at least glared at the guy playing a game on his mobile in a theater!
JerinaSriram , I have a suspicion that the aforementioned gentleman may have been imaginary . Even while writing non fiction, writers should have the creative license to conjure up characters and situations to drive home a point. There is a slang term for this – faction (fact plus fiction).
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Rahini David
August 5, 2015
Seems like yesterday a.k.a Some things never change a.k.a Trisha reigns supreme.
http://bbthots.blogspot.in/2005/11/asins-screening-policy.html
Can some one please educate me on “You also agree to sleep with the hero to prove your love though you don’t know if he loves you and you get slapped when you ask him some practical questions.” I need it for my collection. 😀
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MANK
August 5, 2015
Thoushaltnot, These pious statements that the actors and filmmakers make are not to be taken seriously at all. Its just part of their official lingo: We are just good friends, I’ll expose only if the script demands, this film has cutting edge special effects on par with Hollywood, etc, etc,.. are mere platitudes handed out to the press.
The same goes for script and roles.Anyway keeping her current BO standing, I don’t think she is in any position to pick and choose roles.
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Oliver
August 5, 2015
Trash , not exactly Tamil but suits this situation 😉
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Enna_koduka_sir_pera
August 5, 2015
Talking about a trash movie and Trisha in it, the official Twitter handle of Trisha turns out to be @trishtrashers :O
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Shankar
August 6, 2015
@Neena, one could say that the original Sakalakalavallavan was trash but it was turned into a cult classic just by that one immortal song! 🙂
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cl
August 6, 2015
only one? there are three ! ‘Happy New Year’, ‘Nethu raathiri’, and ‘Nila kaayuthu’. 🙂
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brangan
August 6, 2015
What about Amman kovil kezhakkale? That’s such a fab song. Even the two Katta vandi-s are kinda fun. In short, the whole album rocks 🙂
Plus, HDFC-bashing much in evidence in these lyrics:
Pattanathu ponnungalin latchanatha kanda
Bayappadama manja thaali katturavan unda
😀
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Ram Murali
August 6, 2015
The most inane HDFC movie ever has to be the Satyaraj starrer, “Senathipathi.” They got a fabulous actress like Soundarya (playing a HDFC) to play a character who carries at all times…brace yourself for this…a check book, thinking that she can buy anything in the village…She dances to a song that goes…you better fasten your seat belt tightly…
Chikku Bukku Kannama
Un Check Booku Engama?
Vayala Vaangum Kannama
Indha Payala Vaanga Mudiyuma?!
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Madhu
August 6, 2015
Hey, when we are talking about HDFC bashing, we shouldn’t forget Bhagyaraj. There is Aishwarya in Rasukutty: calculates how long does it take to naathu nattufy one bunch of saplings and then multiplies and divides and figures out how the ladies who usually do the job are ‘cheating’ by doing one acre less than they should in the stipulated time. She has “studied” B.Sc Agri (or Botany or Zoology) and has no clue about anything related to graamathu kalaachaaram. But she is indeed a graamathu ponnu; studying in the big, bad city probably made her forget her roots, I suppose. Of course, falling in love with the graamathu hero converts her to a HSBC from HDFC.
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MANK
August 6, 2015
Hey, anybody remembers sukanya as HSDC in vandicholai chinnarasu. Sukanya for god sake. The terrific ARR number that immortalized misogyny and HSDC bashing for ages
One good thing though, the late shahul hameed was a wonderful singer and had a unique voice
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gvsafamily
August 7, 2015
Tried checking out these gems in Youtube.
Why on earth is ‘Senthamizh nattu’ titled a ‘Tamil Romantic Song’? A very twisted idea of romance indeed!
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newbie
August 7, 2015
I guess there was the odd Horrible Dude From the City too – the veterinary physician from 16 vayadhinale movie comes to mind.
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Iswarya
August 8, 2015
newbie: That’s just one of those wicked, twisted city dudes! But, don’t you know all, I mean literally all people from the city are Horrible? Check out Vazhakku Enn 18/9 and Eesan. 😉
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vijay
August 8, 2015
The director of this film has to be kept in solitary confinement, tied to a chair, and made to listen to Udit Narayan’s rendering of Thiruvasagam (or Aazhvar paasurams) all day long.
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Prasad
August 8, 2015
MANK
‘No use blaming Trisha. How many good scripts and roles exist for women in Tamil films. She perhaps needed the money badly’
That’s correct partly. But on one hand we keep on telling this. But take for example “Tanu weds Manu returns ‘ being remade in Tamil …pl take your time and suggest one Tamil heroine who can portray that on screen and do justice ….
In fact not only heroines we can extend this to our front line heroes also. Just take Nawaz siddiqui’s character in Badlapur. Can you think one of heroes who can do it without being melodramatic?
In fact only noteworthy heroine role of the Year came from a keralite “Nithya Menon” in “Okk” a normal girl with “Normal ” Sensibilities.
So yes on one had we don’t have scripts and also even if we’ve scripts not sure if we have talent to justify the demand. Even BR has said that in multiple blogs it has got do with our DNA of our acting fundamentals (Melodrama based and not being naturalistic and spontaneous).
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MANK
August 8, 2015
Prasad: Trisha was really good in VTV and she wasn’t bad in films like Manmadamambu. I think she is talented. But I get your point. That was the problem with kahaani remake. Nayantara in vidya’s role, come on.
But there is a flip side to that as you pointed out with nitya – that was a terrific role under a terrific director. So we know what she’s capable of. Many a times the actress never gets an opportunity like that, so we tend to assess them based on their roles in those pedestrian mainstream movies. also many of them don’t know the language. that’s a big hindrance in performing spontaneously. Just as an Eg. take Tapsee pannu. She is the archetype of the loosu ponnu acting in Tamil. But look at her performance in the Hindi film Baby. Not that its extraordinary, but there is a world of improvement.
Reg: nawazuddin, well dhanush comes to mind. He has the talent to boot. But I don’t think he will play that role. The role will have to be played by someone like bobby simha or vijay sethupathi. But then again nawazuddin isn’t fully mainstream either.
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vijay
August 8, 2015
Trisha is a mediocre actress who should consider herself lucky to be still relevant. Even in Ayudha yezhuthu (with the same Mani Rathnam) she wasn’t all that impressive. Nithya Menon is in a different league altogether. Trisha doesn’t have the talent to do the heavy roles. She didn’t have to do much in VTV, Simbu had the meatier part. The best performances in Tamil cinema in the last 10-15 yrs have mostly been from Malluland like Meera Jasmine, Parvathy Menon and so on. Save for Sneha, cant think of anybody else who even partly impressed.
The notorious trio of Trisha/Nayanthara/Jyothika underwhelmed consistently in the 2000s.
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Prasad
August 8, 2015
MANK
I agree to your points on Nithya Menon and Tapsee but let’s take Trisha, Nayanthara or other’s The Larger point am trying to make is the spontaneity and being naturalistic acting is missing. Probably they’re very ‘AWARE’ of themselves so they can’t pull of some scenes at all when compared to a Kangana, Vidhya or a Anukhsha that’s all.
Just take for e.g the scene when Kangana comes in a bathrobe and sitting with the family member’s in ‘Tabu weds Manu’…. Or that chilling scene at the end when Anuksha smokes a cigarette in “NH10” climax. not sure if our heroines can’t pull those scenes in a cool manner without being vulgar or artificial.
That’s what I mentioned about our DNA in acting are different when compared to Bollywood or a Hollywood. And this applies to our heroes also.
Reg. nawazuddin yes Dhanush can pull it through but am sure it’ll be more melodramatic. Yes Vijay Sethupathi also is a good choice.
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Neena
August 10, 2015
Prasad: what exactly is a ‘Tamil heroine’? I remember Kangana started out on an inane role in a Tamil film with Jayam Ravi playing a doctor who goes to Russia or something! I haven’t watched Anushka much or the NH10 scene you mention. Sounds like something Simran may be able to pull off – is Simran a ‘normal Tamil heroine’ though? Vidya Balan is also Malayalee, does that make her not a Hindi heroine? It’s a pathetic excuse for any film industry to say that the reason why they don’t have good scripts for women is because there aren’t any good actors who can play those roles!
I didn’t watch the Kahaani remake, but from reading reviews, sounds like there were many other things that were wrong with it apart from Nayantara. Not that she has ever given a noteworthy performance. But it’s a bit rich blaming her for why that film wasn’t as good as Kahaani. And not to say, Trisha is a great actor – but I don’t understand this theory that somehow Tamil women are uniquely ill-suited to acting. The female lead in the Cannes film Dheepan is supposed to be from Tamil Nadu. Priyamani, I’ve felt, is a consistently underutilized actor.
Also, nothing preventing directors from employing actors from outside Tamil Nadu to do those amazingly scripted roles they r finding hard to cast someone in.
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Prasad
August 10, 2015
Neena:
I stand corrected. I can say “Kollywood” heroine. That was my intention and again my comment was intended for both heroes and heroines.. And pl read my comments again. Am saying a generic comment that our (Kollywood) acting abilities are not naturalistic and spontaneous. That’s all.
That’s why i quoted an example that if “Tanu Weds Manu returns” is remade in Tamil who can act from “Kollywood” Not “Tamil” Heroine.
Reg. your other comments on Kahani remake, you can direct it to Vijay/MANK as I didn’t write those.
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apala
August 10, 2015
Talking about HSDC, this came 40 years ago, maybe?!
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Neena
August 11, 2015
Yeah, Prasad, the second part of my comment was addressed to the whole discussion and not just you. Anyway, I don’t think it’s got to do with Kollywood’s acting abilities but rather on the kind of audience filmmakers in the industry imagine they are targeting.
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Ravi K
August 11, 2015
I think the only reason women enter Tamil cinema (or Telugu or Kannada cinema) is for brief fame and to potentially make lots of money in a short time. They can’t be doing it for the love of acting, because there are practically no good roles for women.
Actresses may not be reaching their full potential because there are so few good roles to showcase or challenge them. If they’re lucky they will land one or two somewhat well-written roles in a good movie, but even then they will mostly end up doing crappy roles in crappy films for a while, or move to crappy TV serials, if they don’t quit altogether.
My advice to Tamilian women who want to act (and not just exist in the industry as eye candy and loosu ponnungal) is to write good roles for themselves, try acting in the theater (I’m assuming the theater has better roles for women) or learn Malayalam and/or Hindi.
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Rahini David
August 11, 2015
What I have often believed is that our Film Industry (And by extension the Audience) recruits glorified models and then gives them a shelf life as good as their dewy freshness. And when the Actress gives more importance to protecting her dewy freshness rather than improve her skill in the crying department, everyone gets all offended about the lack of talent and all that Jazz
There is a scene in Raja Rani where Nayantara cries her heart out without bothering if she looked pretty when doing so. I would not say she pulled it off big time but she did a reasonable job in showing how hurt she felt about being stranded in a registrars office. It did not seem to go well with most people (not people in blogs like this but general remarks I heard flying about). Trisha would have given a dreamy distant disappointed look. Some would have remarked how plastic she looked. But it is this plasticity that gave Trisha and Aishwarya Rai their improved shelf life. They did not give a rat’s ass about their supposed lack of talent and just maintained their figure and desirability and it paid off. Trisha did not even bother to improve her dancing skills.
Recently BR remarked about Amala now being cast as a mother for the hero. Plenty of people seemed to be all sad about it. This Amala really is the mother of 2 grown men. But it still seems sad and unacceptable by those who thought of her as a dream girl. She had captured more than our fancy, she had captured the part of the heart that is not used merely as RAM but is more enduring. Why wouldn’t our actresses try to be an Amala rather than a Revathy? There was a time where there was a place in our hearts for Saroja Devi and a place for Savithri and a place for Padmini. It got lower in the Ambika/Radha phase. But the place for Savitiri like women does not even exist anymore. She had acting opportunities and was paired with top actors like Gemini Ganesan even when obviously obese. Such was the respect accorded to her acting skills. Absolutely none has been able to match her in the past 3-4 decades.
Sridevi is yet another success story. She started early, finished her innings after many milestones, acted with all top actors, had pan-Indian appeal, pulled off glamour roles and comedy with equal elan and can still give a commendable comeback with a reasonably good opening weekend. If someone deserved to be in the cover of “Dispatches from the Wall Corner” it is Sridevi. Not Deepika.
I agree with Ravi K on women writing stories that really accommodate them as real persons. However, I feel the small screen has the scope for it. The way women like Radhika and Ekta have utilised this space is certainly nothing to write home about.
And yes, all this has been simmering for quite some time. Phew!
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superfan
August 11, 2015
Neena : no nayans was not the only problem with kahaani remake. There were other issues too. But the original wasn’t perfect either. Vidya gave such a magnificent performance that it took the film to another level
:
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sanjay
August 11, 2015
Why should sridevi be on cover and not deepika. It is her time now. In her time sridevi got the covers , not padmini or savitri
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Rahini David
August 11, 2015
sanjay: I am not taking about the cover of Cosmos where the current crop is shown in all its glory. This is a cover which had Big B in a urbane sophisticated avatar, Rajni in a villanish avatar, Kamal in a Rock Star avatar and DP looking calm and serene.
If it had had the current crop of eyecandy heros, then fair enough. That cover seemed to say “If you are a man, you need Charisma(AB), style(RK) and hardwork(KH) to make it big. If you are a woman. Be young and fresh. Nothing else matters. Certainly not talent. Don’t sweat it.”
BR: I am well aware that you did not have much of a say there. But in times of casting, directors probably do not have full say on the choices either.
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sanjay
August 11, 2015
@Rahini
Let us be realistic and not hypocritical. Any magazine puts a person on the cover to improve its sales. Bachchan is saleable, so is rajnikanth, kamal and deepika. Sridevi is not. Reading anything more is foolish. if they had put sridevi, it would look like anthalogy of old films. Putting deepika reaches out to youngsters and Hindi readers. Its a purely business decision. I will not blame Mr. rangan.
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Rahini David
August 11, 2015
Sanjay: Actually you are not disagreeing with me at all. Sridevi’s current non-saleability is what I am talking about too. I am not blaming Rangan. I made that clear in the below thread. But people who wonder why the current crop of actresses do not bother to hone their acting skills should remember that the male stars remain saleable for 3 decades, the female stars for approximately 5 years with better scope to dance rather than emote. How can we blame an actress who would rather spend her time picking out the best dress for the red carpet than choosing the most challenging script. We know what captures the crowds hearts and it is not their ability in the acting department.
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Srinivas R
August 11, 2015
@Rahini – I see your larger point , but I think you are being a little unfair to Deepika. She is talented in her own right , she gets top billing with the leading men ( similar to what Sridevi got in her heyday) and certainly not perceived as only a good looking doll. If the cover had Katrina Kaif instead, that would prove your point
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sanjay
August 11, 2015
@Rahini david- OK then it is fair enough. Yes talent is no necessity for heroines. We know how heroines are cast. Casting couch is a reality. Membership in a superstars camp is a requirement. A director in Tamil called actresses prostitutes. A director slaps heroine in public. Heroines have no value in films
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Rahini David
August 12, 2015
Srinivas R: I am not dissing DP’s talent here. I have not seen even a single DP movie so far. I don’t read filmy gossip and have no clue about her personality either. All I know is that she is has an angelic face, a nymph-like body and the ablity to maintain both for a decade. But I do know that her talent in the acting department is not what earned her that 4th slot next to those 3 guys. If it did, it played a rather small part in the same way the final Q&A round of the Miss.India 1994 determined that Sushmita Sen win the pageant and Aishwaya Rai be the runner up. She needed to be cute first and talented as an after thought.
I know people often assume that pretty women who achieve anything at all in life will not be talented and should have risen to the current position purely by triggering the animal instinct of the really talented men around them. This assumption that pretty women cannot have anything else going for them is not something I believe.
I am not grudging Deepika her position. I am grudging the privelege that is accorded to those 3 men. The privelege that is being denied to both Sridevi and Deepika.
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ThouShaltNot
August 12, 2015
@Rahini David:
She needed to be cute first and talented as an after thought…I am not grudging Deepika her position. I am grudging the privelege that is accorded to those 3 men
Welcome to earth, the land where all men are created equal, and all women are created cute and maybe, possibly, … grudgingly created equal as an afterthought 🙂
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MANK
August 14, 2015
Neena\Rahini, Nice points about actresses. I am not saying that kahaani remake failed because of nayantara, I was just making a comparison between the performances of the 2 actresses in the same role and found nayantara to fall way short. It was not a generalized comment about the Tamil actresses. I have already said that I don’t fully agree with prasad. but I am sure nobody would disagree with me if I say that nayantara is an actress of limited talent. I am not just talking about her glamour roles in Tamil films, she started out in Malayalam you know, even in performance oriented roles like elektra or vismayathumbathu, I have found her wanting. Yes the concept of a Tamil film heroine is an ambiguous one. Today’s actresses act in all south Indian languages and in Hindi also. I thought jyothika was wonderful in kakka kakka and vettiyadu vilayadu, eventhough she had limited screen time
Reg: Savitri kind of actress, I think soundarya was the last of that kind. Soundarya and meena. Who had the acting chops as well as a reasonable amount of star power. But the business has changed. Movies don’t tell stories like pasamalar or misiamma anymore. So there aren’t characters that would create heroines of that caliber. Those stories are now relegated to television. Its not necessary that women should start making movies to showcase women better. The best movies about women- whether in Tamil or Malayalam were made by Balachander, balu mahendra, bharatiraja, padmarajan, bharathan, K.G.George etc- all male directors.so there…. We only need some director to have the guts to show some full blooded fully rounded women characters as the leads in films and audience to vote with their feet for it. The rest will follow.
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Rahini David
August 14, 2015
MANK: That rant was all my own and not particularly meant as a response to the Kahani remake or Nayan. These thought have been simmering for awhile and were just expressed here. I’d naturally have to watch that movie to have any thoughts for or against your stance.
Here at BR’s we discuss Alabaster Automatons and loosu ponnu topics often. Perhaps Nayan when given heavier oppurtunities should have performed better. But perhaps the director should have had a good audition and then chosen the best woman.
There was a difference of opinion I had with one other commenter here who called Nithya Menon fat. When I watched OKK I tried to notice if there was any justice to the statement. I noticed that her clothes where chosen to hide the imperfection of her waist (by actress standards, not normal female standards). She is like that from the first scene to the last. So MR knew that fashionista costume was not going to be for his heroine when he cast her. He could have easily chosen an actress who’d look prettier in designer clothes. If we want more Nitya Menons, then we’d have to have more ManiRathnams first. The guy who chose Saranya for Nayakan.
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MANK
August 14, 2015
But perhaps the director should have had a good audition and then chosen the best woman.
Rahini, Absolutely. But many times star power trumps suitability and talent. Mani himself is guilty of this when he choose aishwarya for Raavan. Otherwise he does cast wisely whether its shalini or nithya. the culture of auditioning and casting appropriate actors is alien in this country. Very few powerful filmmakers tend to do this. Its picking up in Hindi films. Hopefully it will become relevant in the south also.
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