We’re beginning a new column in Film Companion, on important Tamil filmmakers. The author is Ram Chander, who comments on this blog. The first installment is about Bala.
Read the full piece on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/article/5-filmmaking-tropes-of-bala
During a rare television interview, while Bala shifted in his seat, the interviewer noticed some strange beads around his neck. “It was given to me by an aghori from Kasi,” explained Bala. “They’re people who eat dead bodies. But isn’t there an artist inside everyone? He eats one person every other day, collects a small piece of bone from each carcass, shaves it patiently into the shape of a skull, and keeps it with him. Once he collected 108 such pieces, each from a different person, he strung it into a chain and gifted it to me.”
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Nambirajan Vanamamalai
April 24, 2017
Hi Baradwaj,
Why don’t you please give the film companion link first? Why this unneeded redirection?
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brangan
April 24, 2017
You can’t see the link? It’s right up there!
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
April 24, 2017
BR: I’ve been wanting to ask this for long. You seem to have a great respect for the writer in Bala; however, you’re unimpressed by his directorial craft. It seems Shaji N. Karun (who chaired the NFA jury when Bala was awarded for NK) was impressed by his storytelling abilities and saw him as a “revolutionizer”. How does the process go about? Can you throw some light on it?
http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/28/why-bala-got-his-national-award.htm
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Srinivas R
April 24, 2017
Brilliantly written. I am not much of a fan of Bala, but completely agree about the depiction of living hell in Bala’s movies.
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Jyoti S Kumar
April 24, 2017
Congratulations on your column and here’s to many more!
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Madan
April 24, 2017
Great article. Good point that he takes outcasts and makes them into larger than life characters. I wondered how a film like Pithamagan could become a hit (I did like it). I guess you have given a good explanation.
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GODZ
April 25, 2017
“But what fuels them is different. Chithan’s (Pithamagan) strength is from the awareness that everyone ends up in the grave eventually. Rudran’s (Naan Kadavul) strength is from his transcendental spiritual enlightenment that he has no boundaries. The peculiar backgrounds of these characters make you believe that they possess superhuman strength.”
Impressive, Thoughtful and detailed Analysis….Thanks..But Still waiting for a stellar work from Bala after “Naan Kadavul” and its almost close to a decade…Hope my wait ends soon…
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Ramchander Krishna (@ramctheatheist)
April 25, 2017
It’s a pleasant surprise to see the article on your blog Rangan! An unforgettable moment 🙂
There’s some minor stuff that got edited out in the final draft. Just adding them here.
Embedded Narratives
In Avan Ivan, Walter Vanangamudi (Vishal) who calls himself an artist is taunted by his mother for being a hapless bumpkin who can’t steal to make a living. If you view Vishal’s character as representing a filmmaker who’s true to art and Arya’s character to be a commercial filmmaker who knows the tricks of the trade, then you’ll understand the depth of satire embedded in Avan Ivan’s narrative. Perhaps the two characters represent two opposing voices inside Bala’s head, when he’s making each film.
Bala also tends to embed a variety of inspirations into his narrative. His first film Sethu was inspired from a Malayalam short story ‘Iruttinte Atmavu’ by MT Vasudevan Nair, a Tamil poem by Arivumathi and a real-life experience. Naan Kadavul is loosely based on ‘Ezham Ulagam’, a novel by Jeyamohan that details the lives of Pandaram, his family and begging cohort. (There’s no Rudran in the novel though. So the whole aghori angle belongs to the movie alone.) The first couple of chapters of this novel will shock you with the portrayal of the lives of these characters but as you read further you’re drawn into their world. Naan Kadavul’s screenplay has a similar structure. There’s the initial jolt you feel when the camera first moves into Thaandavan’s den but you gradually begin to love the characters and enjoy their little moments of joy.
Jayankanthan’s short story ‘Nandhavanathil Or Aandi’ deals with how a grave digger is not moved by deaths but when his son dies at a very young age, he’s completely broken. He’s tormented by visions of all the dead children he has buried, rising up from the graves and dancing in front of him. However, instead of resorting to such outlandish visuals, Bala torments Chithan simply by the sight of Shakthi’s burnt skull.
Bala’s BOFTA masterclass, in which he shares several insights on his films
Ezham Ulagam, the novel by Jeyamohan on which Naan Kadavul is loosely based
Nandhavanathil Or Aandi, the short story by Jeyakanthan that inspired Pithamagan’s Chithan
http://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0199.html#dt203
A few articles by Jeyamohan clarifying questions on Naan Kadavul.
http://www.jeyamohan.in/1179
http://www.jeyamohan.in/1873
http://www.jeyamohan.in/1869
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Eswar
April 25, 2017
Very nice article Ramchander. Not a big fan of Bala but this write up makes one appreciate his works. Thanks.
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sakratalkie
April 26, 2017
BR is there a review of NK of yours? Searching the Indian Express archives has been fruitless
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brangan
April 26, 2017
I wrote this 🙂
I don’t think I wrote a review (though this covers many of the points I’d have made in the review)
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shaviswa
April 27, 2017
I don’t like Bala’s movies. Too dark, too sadistic. There is a word in Tamil that describes how you feel when you watch his films – அருவருப்பு. The word disgusting does not do enough justice as the Tamil word does.
I saw two films made by this person – and decided never ever to watch his films.
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"Original" venkatesh)
April 27, 2017
Loved your take on Bala’s tropes. , Hyper Realism is how i would think of his filming style.
I am just thinking how awesome it would have been to have a Sivaji Ganesan act in a serious role in a Bala movie.
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shaviswa
April 27, 2017
@”Original” venkatesh) Oh My God!!! Why? Why? I may have to report you to the Human Rights Commission.
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GODZ
April 28, 2017
Tragedies are needed for life…In most of Bala’s movies, their is this sequence of events that slowly shakes the sleeping giant in the protagonist and then their is this Epic tragic sequence that finally fully awakens the hero to his highest emotional state of strength.. In most of his movies, I see justice and Truth prevails and Evil is finally conquered no matter how grand the evil is because finally the Good rises up to this unconquerable Evil. .
Raw Realism is Ok..But Bala shows the most shocking aspects of the Evil in humans..The way ‘Highness’ is killed in Avan Ivan or the way the way Hamsavalli is Brutally defigured by Thandavan or how Sooravali’s being operated by Mortuary assistant..By the Time audiences reach this point, they are already exhausted, their emotions are taxed and they dont have the strength to watch this ordeal anymore..The same tragic sequence that awakens the protagonist causes an Aversion for the normal audiences..This is not audience fault and purely its the creators.
Many feel that Bala’s protagonist are Strong..But to me his protagonist are weakest link of his movies. Bala is not focusing on enough to establish that crucial emotional connect between his heroes and audiences. They are either Too Weak(Paradesi/Tharai Thappatai) or Too Strong…
One classic Example is Mahanadi..Its a Tragedy and the images portrayed in that movie is also Raw Realism…Kamal did not made any compromises in showing the images he wants to show..The protagonist is weak and he fails miserably consistently..and Then their is this epic tragedy in his life and Finally he raises against the evil. But their is no Pain or aversion for normal audience because the audience can relate to his pain, emotions, his mistakes, his thought process through out his journey and they too are raised to an emotional state of strength when he finally defeats the evil.
Unfortunately, Bala Diverts too much from his protagonist towards so many things that ultimately the audience cannot connect to their journey and their by to their true emotions and it all really falls flat towards the end as they just what the grand action and not FEEL the protagonist pain.
P.S: The Only exception to the above is Naan Kadavul..Its a Master piece and easily the best movie of the decade..Its the only tamil commercial film I believe that showed the suffering of disabled beggar in such detail. Hats off…
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ThouShaltNot
April 29, 2017
For drawing our attention to stories about the forgotten lot in our midst, Bala truly deserves praise. That aside, Bala’s movies are generally (if not all) a spirit-sapping trek through hell on earth (moments of cheerful indifference to despair are but fleeting interruptions). In the end, there is no redemption for the soul. He turns the lights off for the characters (&us) snuffing out every shred of hope. As we leave the theater, we (or some of us) are not merely appalled, but our spirits have been decisively sunk.
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