Posted on October 17, 2017
Here’s a video essay I did on Thevar Magan, which was released 25 Deepavalis ago. (Gulp! How time flies!)
For more, subscribe to FILM COMPANION SOUTH: http://bit.ly/2xoNult
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
 | MANK on Pre-release Talk: Shankar… |
 | madhusudhan194 on Interview: Kajal Aggarwal (… |
 | Jay S on Interview: Kajal Aggarwal (… |
 | Isai on “Chekka Chivantha Vaanam… |
 | Satya on Interview: Kajal Aggarwal (… |
 | Jay Krishnan on Interview: Janhvi Kapoor |
 | mvky on Interview: Janhvi Kapoor |
 | Anu on “Chekka Chivantha Vaanam… |
| Jay Krishnan on Interview: Janhvi Kapoor |
| Jay Krishnan on Interview: Janhvi Kapoor |
 | BR FAN on Pre-release Talk: Shankar… |
 | brangan on Interview: Kajal Aggarwal (… |
| Satya on Interview: Kajal Aggarwal (… |
 | My two cents on… on Readers Write In #697: My two… |
 | hari prasad on Pre-release Talk: Shankar… |
Baradwaj Rangan 
GODZ
October 17, 2017
SuperB Observations BR. Expecting more videos from you like this. It’s really a delight when you do the dissection with an eye of a true movie fan than a critic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Purple Sky
October 17, 2017
It was a good video essay. I guess you focussed more on the screenplay and direction part of it. For me a discussion about Thevar Magan is incomplete if there is no mention of Naseer. There was a point made by someone in Spyder that a hero can be magnified only if there is an equally strong villain. Going by the same thought, Thevar Magan is what it is also because of Naseer (who is another regular in all Kamal productions).
Coming to the tropes which is there in most Kamal movies
1. Naseer / Nagesh (obviously before his demise)
2. Atleast 3 south indian languages. And best part is, he allows certain sentences (especially the puns) to remain untranslated.
3. Trying his hand at a different art form
LikeLiked by 1 person
complicateur
October 17, 2017
Nothing like Thevar Magan to bring me out of the wood work. I’ve written and spoken about it ad nauseum but no single film has had a greater impact on my life and no single character has had a greater impact on me than Periya Thevar(PT).
Consider, if you will, a small sample from this incredibly dense 15 minute stretch:
Sakthi does get married at this spot but to someone else (the plans much like the photo @ 0:28 go awry)
The intrusion popping up from a window behind (This is one of Kamal’s favorite visual analogies at least in interviews – windows built for us to see the world being turned around and used by the world to see us)
The silent signalling you mention isn’t reserved just for PT-Sakthi. Kanakku (Sangili Murugan – More on him in a minute) trying to warn Kamal that his father is upset at 2:18
The unadulterated rage on Sivaji’s face at 2:50 is a pure delight. He thinks his son wanted to see the temple but when he realizes he opened the temple for Bhanu he is just apoplectic and it’s all fire and brimstone from there. I’m always unsure of how much of a role Bharathan played in the film, but this cut is especially important to me. The choice to move from a mid shot in a tight space with just 3 people to a close up of Sivaji’s face is particularly relevant underlining his specific reason for anger. It’s consciously sublime film making.
We cut back to the mid shot when Banu enters the scene @3:35 – PT cannot be shown to care so much in front of an outsider.
PT’s unending petulance toward Bhanu is a constant source of enjoyment for me. The “ehh” @ 3:45 and the withdrawal of the feet @ 3:54.
This is just a smattering in under 4 minutes. Which brings me to my first larger point: I think it’s great that the “new age” directors in your films pay homage to Kamal in the same breath as say Vittorio De Sica or Truffaut. There exists a robust tradition of good film making if one knows where to look in Thamizh cinema. It’s gratifying to see them start with a base level of craftsmanship and they ought to identify themselves clearly as being part of a continuum not as path breakers.
Now on to the often quoted and broken down interaction between Sakthi and PT. Everyone (even your video) focuses on the lines delivered after PT stands up but few look at what happens when Sivaji is reclined, me included until @dagalti (on twitter) pointed this out. This was a time when dialogs where dubbed – no sync sound IIRC. Look at how Sivaji’s voice changes as he uses that reclining chair (something very familiar to an old Nair household – Not sure how common it is in a central TN household – again probably a function of either Bharathan or the fact that they shot in Pollachi) @10:03. He had to relive in a dubbing theater what it means to have your voice change as you adjust your position on the seat and replicate, while standing, in a sound booth. And it is brilliantly effective. He is without doubt the GOAT.
Now on to my second larger point. The allegations of Thevar Magan being a “caste praising” film come from how certain parts of the film have been used or politicized rather than an intrinsic position of the film itself. Even Potri Paadadi PonnE is used to mark a (necessary) decline of the feudal way of life. Contrast his to say a Sundara Pandian or a Mathayaanaikkoottam or any of the modern day clearly caste glorifying films we see today. The more academic explorations that call Thevar Magan the film that typified the south as a “sickle wielding culture” ignores a vast treasure of far more regressive movies that came out before. There is a conscious choice it seems to avoid all other castes in the film – what caste is Esakki? Or even Kanakku? (note he is Kanakku not kanakkupillai as is usually wont). Kamal is not concerned with what it means to be Thevar, but more concerned with what it means to be a Thevar’s Magan. How easily is the individual able to engage or disengage with this birth-based identity? What happens when it is tied to a larger community? I’m sure there will be refutations of this second point that will (and must) be recognized as valid, but it is this line of questioning that the film evokes for me and thus allows me to revisit it all the time.
LikeLiked by 9 people
"Original" venkatesh
October 17, 2017
@BR: Wonderful review. I was hoping you would touch on the fact that Inji Idupuazhagi is a “copy” of Yeh Dil Diwana hai by SD da.
And one scene which is absolutely fabulous is when Gowthami comes to visit him after he is married; she breaks down, the song happens. And they look after her as someone from the Family who is not well rather than as an outsider. A small 90 second segment but really lovely.
@complicateur : Fabulous observation and what a great point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
phaneendra201
October 17, 2017
Fantastic video essay. I enjoyed each and every bit of it. I feel becoming young when I watch this kind of stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vignesh Ganapathi Subramanian
October 18, 2017
The Godfather, to me, has always first been the story of a family, and only then a story about the mafia. I’ve always felt that the characterizations in Thevar Magan have been a stronger mirror of The Godfather, than even Nayakan, though the actual story has been different. Michael/Sakthi, the younger “more civilized” son, coming back into the lives of the father, someone who lives an older life, a gradual change of attitude that goes from hatred to that way of life, to reverence and a deep wish to change how things are done. An elder brother who is maybe more cowardly (there isn’t an obvious Sonny in Thevar Magan, but Thalaivasal Vijay’s character has a touch of Fredo to it). There is the Kay/Appolonia dichotomy in Sakthi’s life as well, with the woman of his previous sensibilities and the woman rooted in his family’s culture and tradition. There is also the end where the hero, despite all his attempts, is made into what exactly he doesn’t want to become.
I haven’t watched Kaadu, and obviously, you’ve watched a lot more cinema, but I’ve always found the relationship between the Godfather and Thevar Magan more dense than the one between the Godfather and Nayakan! 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
Ram
October 18, 2017
Nice video, Sir. It is one of my favorite film that we can watch multiple times. I wish you had talked a little about the brilliant performance of Nasser sir. I think his performance is also an important factor that makes us talk about this movie after 25 years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Honest Raj (formerly Venkatesh)
October 18, 2017
Not a big fan of the film but it’s easily the best screenplay of the 90s. And, you don’t have to be an expert to say that! My favourite scene is the “planned accident” one – in the end when Kamal tells Revathi, “yaravadhu ketta accident nu sollu … vibathu nu …”, she asks “idhu accident thana”? Her innocence doesn’t get lost a tiny bit even at this “serious” juncture. Coming to performances, my favourite one is Nasser’s. He is simply brilliant in the scene where he gets caught red-handed by Kamal for attempting to lure “Thalaivasal” Vijay. About characterisations, “Kaka” Radhakrishnan’s family members are very interesting. The patriarch himself is paralyzed. He has two overweight (and mentally-challenged) children from his second wife. There’s a disturbing belief in villages (and among a few orthodox circles) that the reason why certain families beget such children is because of the “sins” they’d committed in the past (the same birth).
Also, the film gives some insights about the power structures of “dominant” castes. The Rajus – the Gauthami character’s caste – are known to have frequent clashes with the Thevars down south. Interestingly, when Kamal somehow gathers up the courage to tell Sivaji that he loves Gauthami, he says “namma casteukku equal thaan ya”. In another scene when the caricaturish Madan Bob tells Nasser “periya kallan ayya neer”, Nasser (proudly) corrects him “Maravan”.
As for Bharathan, I don’t know how far this is true but somebody told me that halfway through filming he had a spat with Kamal and left the crew. And, since Kamal himself managed to finish the remaining portions, the latter half of the film looked a bit “amateurish”.
Btw, Kamal being inspired by Kaadu sounds very interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Honest Raj (formerly Venkatesh)
October 18, 2017
I’ve always found the relationship between the Godfather and Thevar Magan more dense than the one between the Godfather and Nayakan!
True. Pagal Nilavu is another (and perhaps the first?) Tamil film which is said to be inspired by Godfather. But it was “heavily” inspired by Nishant.
LikeLiked by 2 people
sai16vicky
October 18, 2017
My favorite scene from the movie is the Panchayat scene. The power dynamics is brought out beautifully: Sakthi gets easily provoked and is controlled by PT. Nasser, on the other hand, is left free since he is the mouthpiece for his dad (played nicely by ‘Kaka’ Radhakrishnan). The tension is brought out not with sickles but rather only with words that convey the shift of power dynamics.
Tidbit: Bharathan was a great painter too and used to paint some of his shots beforehand. Now, see the following shot!
(Isn’t it material for a great painting on its own?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vivek narain
October 18, 2017
An alternate version of the movie could have been that the londoner Sakthi imports hardened goons from East End to take on Maya, but then the sicilian traditions wouldn’t have come to effect. What strikes me is that the complacency and helplessness of proletariat is still rooted so deep that all the efforts of the millennium star, the angry young man Big B, has not been able to overcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Venkatesh
October 18, 2017
2nd half has all the best cinematic moments that Rangan highlights. Wish it was in deed Kamal who directed it. Amazing film.
LikeLiked by 1 person
brangan
October 18, 2017
To all those who feel this aspect (or that one) has been left out, this was not meant to be an exhaustive analysis (like in the Mani Ratnam book, though even that isn’t quite exhaustive). I teach a class where we do “frame by frame” analyses. And something like that just would not work on a video.
So i chose to acknowledge all talents upfront and talk mainly about a few scenes. A bit of a celebratory video.
LikeLiked by 2 people
podimon
October 18, 2017
Great Work Sir. But I think one of the key point is missing in this, that is Bharathan Sir. I am not sure why you missed Bharathan’s contribution in this film. The visual detailing and painting like frames are very familiar to us, the malayalam film lovers ( those who watched Bharathan films). We called those things as Bharthan touch / feather touch of Bhrathan 🙂
LikeLike
sravishanker1401gmailcom
October 18, 2017
BR : Pleasant surprise to see a remembrance of Thevar Magan in this format. It works very well
LikeLike
Sumesh
October 18, 2017
Curious to know why Bharathan is an odd choice? He made name for himself making all the rural dramas and people acting on their primitive urges. Even the way of life of certain castes is something he has done before. May be Kamal saw it and hired him? doubt the allegations of Kamal ghost directing it is true considering how Bharathan was as a director and person.
LikeLiked by 1 person
brangan
October 18, 2017
There’s a part where I talk about how well-directed the film is. Is that not in the final edit?
LikeLiked by 1 person
MANK
October 18, 2017
i feel the reason why Kamal had a happy ending for mahandi is because it was such a dark dark film with nary any mass elements. really downbeat themes like child prostitution, prison corruption . he wanted to leave the audience on a relatively upbeat note. TM is, for most of its length, a rousing mass film, so he can get away with a not so uplifting ending
i believe that the original title of TM was nammavar.I think nammavar corresponds very well with the insider outsider dynamic that is portrayed throughout the film. it was changed to thevar magan after Sivaji accepted the father’s role.so it became more like Godfather’s son which actually was the crux of those 3 Coppola films
Bharathan’s contribution to the film appear to be minimal.His trademark touches – what is referred to in malayalam cinema as the bharathan touch – is missing from most of the film. everything seems to be laid out in the screenplay by Kamal. if you look at all those Rajkamal films starting from Apoorva sahodarangal to Kuruthi punal, there is a common thread to them, visually or screenplay wise,suggesting that Kamal as the writer producer was the main creative force behind them . the Kamal films that has a different imprint are the more crass commercial films he did like Vetri vizha, singaravelan, Kalaingan, Indian etc.
in some ways this was a deeply autobiographical film for kamal. he had mentioned in interviews that the gauthami -Kamal-revathi triangle in the film was based on his own real life story of being caught between his first wife Vani and his second wife Sarika. one could notice the similarities in their characterisation, except that he turned the first women into the outsider and second one in to the insider . Even Beyond that you could notice the meta themes. Kamal like Shakthi trying to break out of his native tamil film industry , but after a brief stint in hindi and other languages, finally returning back to his roots
LikeLiked by 1 person
MANK
October 18, 2017
Podimon and sumesh, I dont think this film was visually anywhere near the best of Bharathan. this appeared to me more as a screenplay driven film or a rajkamal film. in a sense that the somehow i fee the presence of kamal even in the frame compositions, or may be its P.C. Sreeram , i dont know, but this just doesnt feel like Bharathan to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
MANK
October 18, 2017
I have said it before and i say it again, Kamal is one of the greatest screenwriters of our country and probably in the world. Much of his iconic status in cinema, both as a star and an actor, can be attributed to his skills as a writer. the way he marries commercial with the artistic is something very few people has managed to do. the greatest thing about his writing\ filmmaking is that the commercial elements spring organically from the artistic core of the story rather than artificially tagged on.- as Brangan mentioned about the stick fighting scene in this film that then seamlessly segues in to a mass song-. in this regard, i would put him one step ahead of Mani Rathnam
LikeLiked by 3 people
Jetlagged
October 18, 2017
This was my very first movie on big screen when I was 6 years old. I still remember having sleepless nights after watching the baby caught in floods. I don’t think this movie will be allowed to be released today and that too with a “U” certification. At least we are allowed to celebrate it.
Padam eduthadhu avanga; Aana celebration… naa panradhu. Idhellam enakku enna perumaya? Kadame…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vinay
October 18, 2017
I have heard Myshkin (a pretty good screenwriter himself) say in one of his interviews that Thevar Magan screenplay is one of the best screenplays he has ever come across. I’d love to get a soft copy of the screenplay but I have no idea where I can find it or how one goes about it Anyone has any ideas?
LikeLiked by 1 person
sravishanker1401gmailcom
October 18, 2017
There is a scene in ‘Thaazhvaaram’ directed by Bharathan which is reminiscent of the fight in the mud between Kamal and the guy he chases down through the village.
There have been lots of views, mostly uncharitable on the (non) role of the director in a Kamal film barring the 3 Bs -KB, Bharathiraja and Bhagyaraj.
LikeLike
complicateur
October 18, 2017
I had to go back and find this conversation in light of the contributions of the other technicians and Kamal’s claim to being an auteur:
http://dagalti.blogspot.com/2012/06/kamal-writerdirector.html
LikeLike
sai16vicky
October 19, 2017
@sravishanker140: I strongly believe in the theory that Kamal ghost-directs his movies to a good extent (unlike BR). I mean it is so obvious. Some excerpts from BR’s article “Master of Arts”:
He says that the complex tracking shots in Guna were inspired by the legendary German filmmaker Max Ophuls.
He explicitly says the he doesn’t remember going to another Music Director apart from Ilayaraja.
Consider the following video:
Here, Kamal talks much more about the movie than Santhana Bharathi.
People who generally debunk this theory bring two good points to the table:
Why don’t these movies compare to even one-tenth of the movies that Kamal has actually directed, in terms of direction?
Why should Kamal ghost-direct and put someone else’s name when he is a director in his own right?
Honestly I don’t have convincing answers to those two questions, but I have two points in my defense:
Consider the quality of the movies the directors Santhana Bharathi, Rajasekar, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao (except ‘Dikkatra Parvathi’), Chakri Toleti and Ramesh Arvind made when they didn’t come under the aegis of Kamal Hassan. Do they even compare to one-tenth of the movies that they made with him in terms of direction?
There is definitely no smoke without fire. Kamal has literally had issues with every major director (including KB) and the last good one he worked with is Gautham Menon (where again he was not interested).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Uncouth Village Youth
October 19, 2017
Excellent points all around. The movie is a great entertainer. The last scene where Kamal ‘vanakkams’ with his hands cuffed, is the most mass ending in Tamil cinema. The ‘gramathu counters’ employed throughout the movie add to the nativity. Vadivelu’s Isakki stayed with me for a long time. In fact Esakki volunteering to hack a man’s hand and the counter he receives, was the cult dialogue/meme of the day, before perumai/kadamai overtook that recently. And Ilayaraja, watta score man – read somewhere that Roja and TM were tied for the national award, with Balu casting the deciding vote for Roja.
However, the movie inadvertently does glorify a particular caste – but this is hardly surprising, given that all the Tamil icons have been heavily castiesed steadily, since the 90s. 20 years ago, it was unthinkable that Kamaraj, will be claimed by a caste – he is today, which is mightily disappointing.
Somebody mentioned Nishant above : I happened to catch up the movie on my friend’s laptop. Given that my Hindi compiler is primitive and that we finished the movie in ~30 mins, with heavy forwarding, I have a few questions. a) How does Sushila reconcile with the fact that now she is a concubine – is her thought process shown somewhere ? Why doesn’t she ever attempt to escape ? b) There is a scene where Sushila and Vishwam have sex for the first time(not sure)- and it appears as if Sushila does it voluntarily-again does she calculate, that manipulating Vishwam is her best bet to surviving in the household. c) The film ends with Vishwam & Sushila running away to escape the mob’s fury – why does Vishwam choose Sushila, since it was Sushila’s husband who is the chief instigator. To be clear, I’m not asking for justifications of their actions – merely curious to see if my questions would have been answered in the scenes I missed.
LikeLike
brangan
October 19, 2017
I got a lot of comments asking why this isn’t a longer video, so a question. My original “script” was around 45 minutes, which I was told is way too long for an “academic” video like this. So I decided to zoom on on some aspects that would keep it under 10 minutes.
What is your tolerance level for long videos? Do you watch videos that are over 30 minutes (that, I am told, is the cut-off mark).
Of course, I can — in theory — put out videos of any length, but videos are also about number of views and building a channel. So I ask from that POV.
LikeLiked by 1 person
brangan
October 19, 2017
Coverage of this video:
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/watch-film-critic-baradwaj-rangan-why-kamal-haasan-s-thevar-magan-remains-classic-25-years
LikeLike
Kadambari
October 19, 2017
BR, we can watch a video of any length about cinema, but we are also of course your dedicated readership (or viewership). The layperson, on the other hand, may have a shorter attention span and tolerance, depending on how ‘lay’ they are. You could of course tailor your content to the audience you wish to attract, but personally, the best parts about your reviews is the depth, which is sometimes not possible to achieve without length. You never ramble, so the length is always interesting, at least for me.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Aadhy
October 19, 2017
BR : For me, a detailed written analysis and a video essay doesn’t require different patience levels. If a movie is worthy of a 30 minute video essay, I would definitely want to know the aspects of it that makes it worthy of a 30 minute deconstruction, and therefore would absolutely love watching it.
Even if it’s a movie that I don’t personally like, I would want to know, from an academic perspective & in a detailed way, why that movie is worthy of such a deconstruction, just like reading your written pieces. I also believe the reach of your video essays would be wider than your written pieces, as this is first of its kind in southern cinema. I know there are a few youtubers do such videos, but it’s still a largely unexplored territory.
Plus it hugely helps to evolve tastes and get a refined view of what cinema is. No offense to other reviewers, but the way terms like screenplay and editing are thrown around in a loose way has made me really want someone like you to do video analyses explaining what a certain edit choice or shot composition does to a scene.
LikeLike
Aadhy
October 19, 2017
Btw I just realised I had spoken about everything else except answering your question. What I tried to say is, personally, the length of the video essay wouldn’t matter when a movie deserves that length, from an academic POV.
LikeLike
Kay
October 19, 2017
My thoughts are similar to Aadhy’s. Ideal length would be however long it takes to deconstruct the different interesting aspects in a movie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
nadnivara (@rnadnivara)
October 19, 2017
BR, I felt this one and Santhosh Shivan’s interview being too short. I really wanted to know more.
I think anyone who has keen interest/time to read your reviews will certainly watch longer videos. Is it possible to release two versions? 40 minutes and a 10 minutes highlights. The view count comparison over a period of time should give the interest quotient.
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
brangan
October 19, 2017
So adding to the question above, is it better to do shorter videos for the ‘lay’ audience (whose numbers are surely greater than the number of my readers)? Shallower dips into cinema vs deep dives…
LikeLiked by 2 people
MANK
October 19, 2017
Shallower dips into cinema vs deep dives…
yeah, that might be best for the layperson. we will fill up the rest in the comments section anyway
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aadhy
October 19, 2017
As someone above said, maybe it’s a good idea to release both longer and shorter ones to compare the reception, though this would also split the views.
One other idea, if in case you’re planning to stick to short videos, is to focus on one specific aspect of the movie in a video and do multiple parts. For instance, part-1 could talk about the cinematography, part-2 about the screenplay, part-3 about the music, and so on. This helps the ‘lay’ viewer to delineate these different aspects, while people looking for in-depth analyses also stay happy.
Or you could also go ‘Every frame a painting’ way, picking a scene and explaining the vocabulary behind it, touching every department in the scene that makes it special.
LikeLiked by 2 people
MANK
October 19, 2017
why is the layout on this page all messed up, or is it just with me
LikeLike
Jayram
October 19, 2017
I haven’t seen Nishant in a while, but I think I can answer UVY’s questions.
a) How does Sushila reconcile with the fact that now she is a concubine – is her thought process shown somewhere ? Why doesn’t she ever attempt to escape ?
Because she has been raped repeatedly by Anjaiya and Prasad and Pochamma has been poisoning her mind against her husband and Rukkamani. Due to her weakened state plus the fact she has lost confidence in the schoolteacher and calls him a coward for not saving her, she has reconciled herself as a concubine.
b) There is a scene where Sushila and Vishwam have sex for the first time(not sure)- and it appears as if Sushila does it voluntarily-again does she calculate, that manipulating Vishwam is her best bet to surviving in the household.
If I recall, he didn’t have sex with her the first time. While he was stumbling drunk towards her trying to forcibly have sex with her, he saw her in a weakened condition and prevented himself. Because of his sympathy towards her, she may have thought of manipulating him to survive and to take over as the main lady of the house much to Rukkamani’s chagrin. But I felt after the ordeal she experienced, she found Vishwam as the only person who understood her for who she was and saw him as her protector as she lost faith in her husband.
c) The film ends with Vishwam & Sushila running away to escape the mob’s fury – why does Vishwam choose Sushila, since it was Sushila’s husband who is the chief instigator.
Because he only cares about Sushila and although he screams for Rukkamani to come, she doesn’t because 1) she hates both of them and 2) she knew none were going to survive the villagers’ rampage. So she is waiting for her death.
LikeLike
Kadambari
October 19, 2017
I don’t know, I don’t like this idea of ‘pandering’ to the ‘lay’ reader, it feels like insulting the intelligence of some outsider, and at the same time insulting one’s own intelligence by saying we would do something that does not fulfil our potential. If I were BR, I would make the analysis videos that I want to do, that I think the movie justifies. The mythical ‘lay’ person, if they exist, will catch up. They will build up their attention spans, if they are truly interested. If not today, in 25 years’ time. After all, that is why people come to read a BR review. In the middle of 2-minute Maggi reviewers mushrooming up everywhere, we need all the BR-style reviews that can get.
LikeLike
zara196
October 19, 2017
Please post the in-depth analysis either in podcasts ( my first choice!) or as a series of short duration videos rather than 45-minute long videos.
LikeLike
Purple Sky
October 19, 2017
Then again BR sir, the answer will depend on what is your objective – if it is to get as many hits as possible, below 15 mins is the best way. If there is a topic deserving longer discussion it can be split to parts and released as separate videos. Usually I’ve seen that videos on YouTube that have high number of hits are under 20 minutes or so. Even TED gives only 18 mins time per speaker, that is mainly because attention cannot be held for more than 20. So better to pen your thoughts for a more academic purpose and keep videos simple, until the audience also eveolves.
LikeLike
raakshasan
October 20, 2017
Probably this is the only film in the world, where a screenplay writer credited more than anyone in for the success of the movie. Rangan may not be a fan of Auteur’s cinema, but I hope he may have heard of the name of the Director surely. He is Bharathan. The man who played pivotal role in “Malayalam New wave” in late 70s & early 80s. Yes, “Thevar Magan” may not be the best film he directed, but not the least.
It is another saga of STAR POWER Juggernaut diminished everything under it! I can understand a common man falls for it, but it is highly unusual for a CRITIC.
I am just quoting Director Myskin before I leave:
“There are three directors influenced my (cinematic) life. Akira Kurosova, Takeshi Kitano ( The Japanese greats) and one and only Bharathan. It was through the “Bharathan Touches” (a common term referring to the magical frames of Bharathan) on celluloid, I fell in into the love of colours (of cinema). Thevar Magan is my favorite Bharathan film. Though one can easily see “Thevar Magan” as a “Nair Magan”, it was really a great movie. I wonder How a director was able to picturize the “Thevar life of Madurai” so realistically and aesthetically in to celluloid. I doubt, any Tamil director could do it. Out of all boundaries and limitations, it was a director’s triumph to retrieve the essence of life (on celluloid).”
“In “Nandalala”, I have used a shot, directly lifted from “Thevar Magan”. There was a long shot used in “Thevar Magan” to portray the clash between two communities. I used the same in “Nandalala” to show my admiration towards Bharathan. Before taking the shot, I spoke (emotionally) to my crew about the relationship between that shot and me, about the greatness of director Bharathan,.. I said, it was tribute to my guru, whom I never had a chance to meet. Usually, I complete the shooting (of the shots) fast. But on that day, I took only that shot, I was taking it again and again, without satisfying the output. I always had a jealousy towards Malayalees about (director) Bharathan.”
(An emotional) Mysskin, Tamil Director, Interview to Madhyamam weekly (2012))
LikeLike
"Original" venkatesh
October 20, 2017
“Shallower dips into cinema vs deep dives…”
I have seen something similar done for building a community aka larger views etc.
Some of the points for that include :
a_ A shallower dip that at the end leads to the link for a deeper dive.
b_ Deeper dives are clearly marked as such
c_ Show and tell. If talking about a shot, play the shot while talking about it.
d_ Deeper dive cater to the highest common factor , they require the viewer to contribute as much as the maker.
e_ Shallower dips are for the lowest common denominator , come in and whet your appetite.
And thats about it really.
Hope this helps BR.
LikeLiked by 2 people
"Original" venkatesh
October 20, 2017
“why is the layout on this page all messed up, or is it just with me”
Nope its screwed.
LikeLike
Ganesh
October 22, 2017
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/vijay-mersal-kamal-haasan-aboorva-sagotharargal-baahubali-thevar-magan-4899620/
LikeLike
Uncouth Village Youth
October 23, 2017
Hi Jayram – thanks for filling me in with the details. Much appreciated.
LikeLike
Jeyashree
October 23, 2017
Watched it again after many years and could appreciate many more layers to it…any light that you can throw on why could buy an almost one note villain in Nasser here in this movie, where as such a character in another movie would stand out as a sore thumb? Did I miss any other shades to him in the movie? Thanks 🙂
LikeLike
Arun Pradeep
October 24, 2017
Like a lot of people here, just re-watching bits of TM again and the little details stand out brilliantly. Like in the panchayat scene, when Sivaji gives Kamal a stern look after Kaaka Radhakrishnan is brought in, reminding him that regardless of the feud between the families, Radhakrishnan is still Kamal’s chitappa and he should pay his respects. Kamal offers an awkward ‘vanakkam’. At the same time, Nasser twirls his mustache and looks away when giving an obligatory explanation: “Konjam thaamathamaayiruchu”. It also shows how each man has brought up his son.
LikeLike
Nitin Sundar (@knittins)
October 24, 2017
“Why don’t these movies compare to even one-tenth of the movies that Kamal has actually directed, in terms of direction?”
@sai16vicky – You are being extremely uncharitable to Hey Ram, Virumandi and large portions of Mumbai Xpress – all supremely well directed movies in three different flavours, credited to KH himself.
LikeLike
complicateur
October 25, 2017
“why could buy an almost one note villain in Nasser here in this movie, where as such a character in another movie would stand out as a sore thumb? Did I miss any other shades to him in the movie?”: Jeyashree, it’s my belief that one’s understanding of Thevar Magan evolves as one begins to see how much in the right Nasser is and how Sakthi’s ‘mass’ perception denies him the status that is rightfully his.
The first time you see Chinna Thevar is through a bit of nifty sound editing. The sound we hear in the background at Periya Thevar’s house transitions to a “vaanavedikkai” shot and then to a close up frame of a hand feeding Chinnathevar. followed by an immediate cut to Nasser turning back and looking up at the sky. For about a half second you’re allowed to think Nasser is at least a caring son – but the next mid shot clearly shows S.N.Lakshmi is the one feeding Kaka Radhakrishnan. The film is quite unerring in painting Nasser as a bad guy, no redeeming features. And our first inkling for why comes much later in the film – specifically when Sakthi meets Panchavarnam and her father.
When Sakthi is talking to Panchavarnam she calls him “Chinnaiah” but Chelliah (her father) addresses Mayan as Chinnaiah. Until Sakthi calls him “Mayannan” we dont realize that Mayan is older than Sakthi. So rightfully once Sakthi’s older brother has been social purgatory due to his alcoholism Mayan should be next in line to receive all the “respect” from the villagers. Clearly this is not the case. Is his sour demeanor and crass language the reason for this or are these two a result of years of humiliation in front of Sakthi? Clearly a case of WWDD (What would Duryodhana do?).
When Sakthi disregards a Panchayat decree to break open the lock to the temple, it is he who disregards the social contract. Mayan sees it as a slight and an opportunity to teach esakki respect (which of course spirals out of control and is a terrible way to deal with it) but it’s very relevant in what recourse Mayan seeks later in the film. Every system he seeks to earn his respect back is rigged. The educated Sakthi refuses to acknowledge the feudal court, the state bureaucracy is in his favor (the collector is Sakthi’s classmate) and so all that is left are the courts where he has an advantage (a lawyer who thinks a “tough..gh.gh fence is required”).
Which brings us to the Panchayat scene. Allegations (unfounded) are leveled on both sides. We have no basis to trust Periya Thevar other than the fact that he is played Sivaji. “Oorula mothalla sathamaa pEsurvan pEchuthaan nyaayamaa pOguthu, Athula nesam seththuppOguthu” is a succinct encapsulation of Mayan’s angst. It is also mirror plane that should be used to look at Thevar Magan for multiple interesting rewatches.
LikeLiked by 2 people
bart
October 26, 2017
Some titbits in the below:
http://cinema.vikatan.com/tamil-cinema/106035-vadiveluss-salary-meena-was-first-choice-devar-magan-rewind.html
LikeLike
brangan
October 26, 2017
This is such a vague piece, bart.
For one, the hagiographic tone (இருவரின் போட்டியைப் பார்த்து இயக்குநர் பரதன் ஓரிருமுறை கண்கலங்கியிருக்கிறார் என்றால் பார்த்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்.) — but at least, that’s something we’ve come to expect in magazine reporting.
But something like this?
ஊட்டியில் ஒரு மாதம் டிஸ்கஷன் நடத்தப்பட்டது. அங்கேயே அமர்ந்து கதை, திரைக்கதை, வசனத்தை கமல் சாரே எழுதினார்.
So according to this piece, they started shooting — and THEN Kamal was dissatisfied (with the fence scene) and THEN they went to Ooty and he hammered out a script.
Shouldn’t the first question for a journalist automatically be, “Then who wrote the script you started shooting with?”
Or am I missing something?
LikeLiked by 1 person
sai16vicky
October 27, 2017
@Nitin Sundar:
“You are being extremely uncharitable to Hey Ram, Virumandi and large portions of Mumbai Xpress – all supremely well directed movies in three different flavours, credited to KH himself.”
I think you misunderstood my point. I was saying people (like BR) who oppose the theory that KH ghosts-directs his other movies bring a valid point to the table:
“Why don’t these movies (say Mumbai Xpress or Panchathandhiram) compare to even one-tenth of the movies that Kamal has actually directed (Hey Ram, Virumandi), in terms of direction?”
This is definitely a valid point since I don’t even remember a shot in some of these movies. OTOH, the interrogation scenes in Virumandi and the wonderful time-transition scene in Hey Ram are textbook examples of great direction.
LikeLike
Jeyashree
October 27, 2017
@complicateur- thank you..that did open up a few windows for me…true that as a conditioned viewer we immediately imagine the rest of the evil about Nasser the moment we see him placed opposite a hero and here two heroes… the duryodhana hint was interesting… which is also why I thought some more shades to maayan would have helped us feel for him too and look at things unbiased .. we forgot the self-centeredness, the treating self as outsider, and the cowardice of sakthi wanting to run away from the reality of his life, the moment he chooses to step into periya thevars shoes…but we could have had a glimpse into what sowed so much vengeance into maayan…we do get some insight from the Panchayat scene and the later one regarding the thiruvizha..but I felt I don’t know much about him..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vivek narain
October 28, 2017
Before Maayan, it would be more enlightening to see some shades of Suyodhana who changed his name to Duryodhana at the instigation of Shakuni. Suyodhana means,a fine warrior, and Duryodhana means,a tough warrior. Changing his name to Duryodhana was the undoing of Suyodhana, a fine warrior and a fine man.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eswar
October 30, 2017
Dear BR, thanks for the video essay. I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to more of these videos from you.
Regarding your question about the duration of the content, as others pointed out, the answer relies on the goal of making these videos. If it is about viewership alone then even 10 mins is likely to be longer as even an ardent movie fan need not necessarily be interested in a movie’s meta or the academic part of it. Whereas a viewer who is interested in the kind of analysis you do wouldn’t really mind even a very long version. A related example would be your Caravan essay on Vikram. It was long but it was beautiful. But more importantly this particular essay is an artefact of a certain actor from a certain era. A reference for the future generation. If the idea behind making these videos is of a similar nature, then it only makes sense to have the full version.
The approach “Original” venkatesh suggested is what I was thinking as well:
This way, viewers get to choose which version of the video they want to watch.
LikeLike
vijay
November 12, 2017
If there was one thing that wasn’t very convincing about devar magan, it was that the background for the feud had to be something really big and it was never much brought out. The motive for Nasser’s actions had to be driven by something more significant. But in the big scheme of things, this was as close to a benchmark for how mainstream cinema as it can be
LikeLike