A chat with Sivakarthikeyan, about his growth from Marina to Velaikkaran, and how he did not expect this success. About the comedian-to-hero trajectory that even legends like Nagesh did not attempt. About what success means to him, whether it has changed him. About his fans and his responsibility towards them. He talks about his serious side, and how he followed Mohan Raja’s lead to get into a “dramatic” zone, and whether fans will accept him this way. He talks about PC Sreeram’s contribution to Remo. He talks about social responsibility and addresses the “stalking” allegations against his films. He talks about his salary and how he reduced it for Velaikkaran. He talks about stand-up videos and how they are never going to replace the theatre experience. He talks about his favourite comedians (Goundamani, Vadivelu) and his favourite comedy scene (the “vaazhapazham” scene). He talks about his favourite films (Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, Edhir Neechal) and his favourite role (Velaikkaran) and what it taught him.
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Baradwaj Rangan 
Pavan
December 22, 2017
Subtitles please..!
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Krish
December 22, 2017
What a waste of your time BR. Clearly this idiot can’t be saved.
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anon
December 22, 2017
To hear this guy speak, you would think making a bunch of low IQ shitheads laugh is the noblest thing of all. Way to miss the point and make it ALL about yourself. For someone who started out in comedy, he takes himself way too seriously. Dislike intensifies.
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meera
December 22, 2017
I’ve always been stumped when people say diva karthikeyan is the next “star”… he “seems” extremely approachable and totally rooted in the mass mentality but his body of work is ahem!!!
Also why this victim answer when asked about stalking.. he really doesn’t own up to it..
The other factor is people equate him all the time with dhanush which is highly annoying… I remember when gvm asked D if he had to play a role which would make his kids squirm when they watch it he (without missing a beat) answered yes… obviously you cannot screen pudhupettai to a 10 year old but when they grow up am sure they would be proud of his talent.. if you will only act in films which your kids can watch then it seems very unfair(recent wave of Sivakumar family claiming this as well)… siva seems to get trapped in this as well… I mean stalking is fine but playing a murdered for a solid script is a no no.. this mass elelment is a little too hyped up don’t you think…
In the end we just want good films from our “stars”
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meera
December 22, 2017
Krish and anon: extremely gratifying to see your comments… I was shocked to see BR interview this vijay tv in chella pillai… why br? Did you have a choice? I mean why not Mohan raja or lady superstar.. why this am a star am a star Am a star propaganda machine … 😭
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sachita
December 22, 2017
I liked the interview. couple of other ones I spotted of the actor were either boring or extremely condescending. Loved your whole style.
On the hero himself, I dont like him as an actor. Definitely not planning to watch velaikaran. But it is finally hitting me that this guy is going to stay.
His acting is really bad though. With just one film a year, ample time and all that money, cant he at least enroll in some basic acting classes? It is afterall his profession, isnt it?
Regarding Remo stalking issue, I am glad all the hue and cry, atleast lead him to acknowledging it. Now to do something to make these heroes actually remove the stalking aspect from their template/formula.
Ps:Please please interview aruvi team too.
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Pavan
December 22, 2017
meera: Let BR interview people like SK. You know, fools too can teach good lessons at times. I wonder how BR kept a straight face listening to what he said (which I didn’t understand, but the tone was the “humbler of the humblest” ones and makes sense why you all are angry with him).
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 23, 2017
This guy is seriously suffering from sudden exposure to fame especially after that shithole Vijay said “pasangalalam pudichitaaru” to this dumbass. These guys who once bragged about boys addressing their girlfriends as ‘Oi selfiee’ are now finding excuses by saying that comedy films are meant not to create any impact. I was wondering, if this guy can adapt to serious films in order to reach further, why can’t he adapt to good content to develop and grow further. After all he considers it as mere business. Look at Vijay Sethupathy. He entered the industry as a comedy lead and now , in spite of all his acting flaws, he continues to push further to deliver great content and tries to improve him at least through baby steps.
BTW BR, you cameraman was great.
The way you are lit up conveys your mood perfectly (1st interview after the infamous remo thread discussions) 😀 :p
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brangan
December 23, 2017
sachita: His acting is really bad though.
Really? I find him very easy to watch. I quite like him on screen. I mean, he’s no ACTOR, but in the small space he operates in, he does those small things well enough.
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praneshp
December 23, 2017
@Pavan: So you did not understand the interview, but made conclusions? Nice!
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GODZ
December 23, 2017
Its ok to have an opinion. But its really sickening to see mindless hate like this. BR interviews an Actor. if you like watch. If not stay away. If you have such hate on the actor then why waste your precious time by clicking and commenting on the thread? He is a decent actor and a very good entertainer. I really enjoyed watching him both in varuthapadathe vaalibar sangam and Rajni Murugan. I mean..He clearly says he can able to connect personally to a character that has an inferiority complex. Whats in it that he brags about? He is trying to break the mold and dare to try a different and socially responsible content. When big Bollywood actors and cricketers are making a living out of commercials, he clearly says that he wont act in commercials going forward. Give him some credit for that decision. IMO, He is someone who has clear clarity in what he is doing. Everyone stumbles and make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. Atleast he has not committed anything like the so-called Greatest acting scum bags like Kevin spacey, Dustin Hoffman etc. He is the only actor right now in Tamil cinema after Vijay sethupathi who has clear clarity in what he is doing. But seriously, this is mindless trolling at its best.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
December 23, 2017
Just remembering the awesome snippet from the REMO review “He not only references Rajnikanth, he references Himself. He’s both deity and high priest. This isnt movie making – this is masturbation”.
I’m quoting this from memory – not doing a Search Copy Paste.
P.S – I find it difficult to remember the list of veggies wife gave me to buy exactly 5 minutes after she’s told me.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
December 23, 2017
BR : You’ve hit the right note. Not aggressive like Karan Thapar nor fanboyish like Rajeev Masand.
You join the interviewees on THEIR terms without being judgemental
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Ashwin
December 23, 2017
Surprised to see a fair bit of hate for Sk here. IMHO, he is a pretty good entertainer, humble and grounded. Enjoyed his movies especially varuthapada valibhar sangam, rajini murugan. Remo was not that good but passable. Hope he continues to grow and make a space for himself.
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Jetlagged
December 23, 2017
“Andha oru vishayam eduthuta it wil be nice film nu solunga. Othukaren” – Sorry boss, andha oru vishayam eduthalum padam nalla illa.
“Release ku 2 days munnadiye en idha start pannanum gradhu dhan en kelvi”
Mr Sivakarthikeyan – This is something you have to ask yourself. May be that is the precedence you have set with “indha ponnungaley ippadithan” and other bashings in VVS and Rajini Murugan (“Ennadi nenachitruka, love panramaari paapeengalam, pesuveengalam – ippo appavukku pudikaley aatukuttiku pudikalenu sonna uttruvoma”)
The songs in Remo released well before the movie and the sample that says what we can expect is:
“enakku nee easy ah venam, pesi pesi correct pannuven amam; Tholla panni alayama thiriyama kadaikura kadhale venam”
So going by the precedence and the lyrics in Remo, don’t you think it was not unfair to raise the point before release? Given that the Swati case happened just months before release of this movie?
May be you had other issues before release and people working with other propaganda against the movie – which mad you think THIS issue was also one such. Well if you honestly think that was the case who can question.
No on is saying you are working with an agenda to glorify stalking. Rajini did not work with an agenda to glorify smoking. Yet, when he was well in his glorious peak, he acknowledged it could be bad influence and refrained from on screen smoking.
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Krish
December 23, 2017
@GODZ
This is a forum where everyone is entitled to their opinion and are free to express it. You like him and stated that and others who disagree can do that too.
Also, “He is trying to break the mold and dare to try a different and socially responsible content”.. Seriously? This is your inference after watching Remo?
What kind of mold is he trying to break. Please enlighten us. For almost every question BR asked his reply was – The formula works, people like it so I don’t care.
Not all actors shine from day one, but they challenge themselves and evolve over time. This guy is just riding the popularity and fan club wave like Vijay and Ajit.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 24, 2017
Godz : He is trying to break the mold and dare to try a different and socially responsible content.
You are trying to defend a person as someone who embraces difference while it is pretty evident from his interview that he is behind the so called formula. Difference – seriously ? The last time I watched a growing star do something different was in Puriyatha Puthir when VJS played somewhat of a bad guy. I wanna remind you that this isn’t about the VJS vs SK rivalry thing. The reason behind the hate (as you called it) is pretty visible in this video. He wants to be the chella pillai and yet go on to deliver shit by going behind the strategic formula. He wants to plan everything ? He wants to be a commercial hero ? He never wants to play a role against the wish of people ? I am completely okay with all of those ideas since all he wants to do is to rise to fame. But the path he chooses to attain it is what makes us unhappy about his ‘development’. Vjs is someone who acknowledges his job and asks his fans to go beyond their families. On the other hand, this guy lures his so called fans and uses them to rise to stardom. About his comment on the remo issue, where is a movie called remo if we removed the stalking aspect ? I was in school till last fall and you won’t believe the effect of the movie remo on teens. You call that socially responsible content ? Inspite of all his shortcomings, nobody hates him when he does movies like Ethirneechal. After all that is a neat way to reach the star position if you wanna see cinema as mere business.
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praneshp
December 24, 2017
And others have the right to call your opinion bullshit. Especially if some of those opinions about the interview (like Pavan’s) were formed without even listening to it.
I don’t care for Sivakarthik (except that I found the latest movie pretty ok when I watched it a couple of days ago), and I agree with most others that his stalking in movies is not a great trendsetter. But the “oh BR, I can see you holding back your smile, rolling your eyes” thing is not opinion. I don’t see Rangan doing that, and if he actually did that, that’s super unprofessional.
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meera
December 24, 2017
@Godz : mindless hate? like Krish said we are totally entitled to say what we dislike about SK… you can’t blame us for the watching the interview in the same way we cannot stop SK from making masala movies…
Let me say this… I was a huge fan of illayathalapathy and then I grew up.. not only is there misogyny and patriarchy at its loudest in his films he won’t care and change this a bit… when an actor can care enough to talk about societal issues like GST etc this was inconsistent… the other thing is that he rarely steps out of the comfort zone claiming his fan base etc.. I mean am not saying vijay should make pithamagan or something radical like that but can’t you at least try pushing it a wee bit without the 5 songs 4 action bits 3 heroines and where is the script movies? Now SK is dutifully following this route and if enough people say that this is not what mass movies are then maybe he will not follow the herd blindly…
Now that I’ve got that off my chest… i can get back to Christmas baking 😉
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sachita
December 24, 2017
In the few films I have watched of his, I did find him quite inadequate. Like you say, in his comfort zone scenes he is fine. but even in a very simple emotional scene or even a romantic scene for eg. in remo, he couldnt hit the note. Even in the poster of velaikaran he has an intense look – it really made me laugh.
Not because i couldnt imagine him in a serious scene, i am absolutely able to relate to him when he is angry in an interview/ release function, so it really is his acting.
I did like him a lot in his anchoring days and was a fan.
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sachita
December 24, 2017
of all things, has anybody done a serious study what makes a mass hero in tamil nadu. The only one i get is Rajni – he definitely has an unique strong presence. MGR too because people took his onscreen persona too seriously.
But dont get Vijay, Ajith or Sivakarthikeyans popularity.
I recall couple of discussions on your space on that but the phenomenon would need a series or few phds for sure.
I do enjoy one thing about siva’s journey though. From vishal to karthi and tons of other actors(initial days), every body wanted to be a Masala hero like vijay after couple of hits.
This guy manages to do that. He saw his opening day success and planned his moves accordingly. That credit goes to him.
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praneshp
December 24, 2017
Akash: Had Puriyatha Puthir released on time, it’d have been one of Vijay Sethupathy’s first 5 movies as a leading man, so not really breaking the mold.
Not that that’s something I’d accuse him of; VJS can be trusted to act in a couple of different movies every year.
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Devarsi Ghosh
December 24, 2017
BR sir, will the video be available with English subtitles? I am sure there are non Tamil speakers who would like to know what and how Sivakarthikeyan thinks.
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IMF
December 24, 2017
Good god. BR tried to emphasize and clarify the point re: glorification of stalking etc. – and yet the guy just went all “some films have social message, some don’t” (do you really think that’s how people watch films/any of this works, flicking their “social message” switch on while watching your “social message” fillums and flicking it off while watching misogynistic trash like Remo?), “it’s just a comedy” and even direct allegations about comedy/hate campaign prior to release. As Jetlagged said (assuming what he said is true), it isn’t particularly shocking why someone would assume that the film would highly rely on “harassing a girl into loving you” trope(s).
At least BR confronted him about this, I’m glad.
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Honest Raj
December 24, 2017
“Not all actors shine from day one, but they challenge themselves and evolve over time. This guy is just riding the popularity and fan club wave like Vijay and Ajit.”
And therefore?
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Purple Sky
December 25, 2017
U know, one can’t deny that he has atleast broken some typecast moulds in Tamil cinema. For eg.
1. The heroine characters are not all out loose ponnu in most of his films. They atleast have something to do to advance the story, than just come for 5 scenes and 5 songs.
2. This craze for foreign locale in songs was at a peak till a few years back. In his movies very earthy songs and duets are a norm.
3. Thereby giving more opportunity for smaller budget movies and new directors.
He is not as talented as vjs so obviously he can’t experiment too much. So maybe his business strategy to stay relevant is target family audience. Atleast he seems to acknowledge that a lot of children are also watching, so he doesn’t want to do too much violence on screen, which is atleast a more mature stand than the so called stars. (How many times I’ve cringed at Vijay’s portrayal of violence in movies especially since children are sitting in the theatres right behind or front of me!)
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Ramchander Krishna (@ramctheatheist)
December 25, 2017
Thanks for this interview Rangan and for taking the effort to rephrase the stalking question when SK tried to answer it with box office numbers. Well done! I agree with sravishankar140, “You’ve hit the right note. Not aggressive like Karan Thapar nor fanboyish like Rajeev Masand.”
I second Godz. I don’t get the hatred towards SK in this thread. (Calling him an “idiot”, saying he makes “low IQ shitheads laugh” and other commenters finding such comments “gratifying”) Buried within this is an idea that somehow SK is below BR’s standards to even be interviewed. I’m sure BR doesn’t think or feel that way.
I’m not going to watch Velaikkaran. I never watched Remo. I’m not a fan of Siva but that doesn’t mean I should gnash my teeth whenever his films come out. I can simply choose not to watch them. Just as I choose not to watch Ajith or Vijay films. That’s it. Nobody is thrusting these films down your throat. As the great Mysskin once asked, “Padam paakkaatti sethu poiduveengala sir?”
Each actor has a different career graph. What worked for Dhanush or VJS needn’t work for Siva. In fact, the true test of an artist is knowing his / her own strengths and weaknesses and working with them. Siva seems to be clear on that.
When I see this interview, I can see that Siva is thinking about what space he can occupy in Tamil cinema. He’s also clear who his target audience are and within his comfort zone he’s trying to do something new and is working on building an image of his own. What’s wrong in that? And like Rangan said he’s not a pathetic actor.
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MANK
December 25, 2017
Yes, Brangan hit the right note between aggression and accommodation – as opposed to the Mersal producer interview where i felt he was just too accommodating 🙂 , there is no use pushing the guy any further. the dude doesn’t even understand he has a problem, worse he wants to play the victim card. what more can you do with a guy like that, unlike Dhanush who understands that there were problems in his earlier films and was gracious enough to say that he would try to do better in his future projects
And no, i dont have a problem with Brangan interviewing him, on the contrary i had wished Brangan would interview him and bring up these topics, which he certainly did, so thanks a lot for that
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anon
December 25, 2017
“When I see this interview, I can see that Siva is thinking about what space he can occupy in Tamil cinema. He’s also clear who his target audience are and within his comfort zone he’s trying to do something new and is working on building an image of his own”
You’re the guy that called stalking a mating ritual so you’re not gonna get it. Way to miss the point just like SK.
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PhilJ
December 25, 2017
There are a lot of us Mallus who see this guys ‘rise’ and his public persona and can’t help but compare him to Dileep-faux humility et all .
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Srinivas R
December 26, 2017
Ramchander Krishna – The hatred you see for Siva Karthikeyan is the combined hatred for mass stardom in TN. We already have two stars who have made a career out of shitty, lowest common denominator movies. They are mediocre actors, churning out mediocre movies and have reached the stage where, any criticism about them will be met with mindless hate. The fear is SK is also heading up the same path. Others like Vishal for e.g. have tried but failed, but this guy is succeeding with the same formulaic approach and its depressing. Our heightened awareness of the problematic way in which female characters are handled in his movies and his complete “i dont give a shit about it” attitude to such issues only adds to the misery. All the criticism against siva is, IMO, an attempt to prevent the creation of an empty misogynist star with blind followers.
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GODZ
December 26, 2017
” his complete “ I don’t give a shit about it” attitude ” – Fake statement – He says in the interview that he is ready to listen to constructive criticism (Starting at 17:00). Where does he say He won’t listen or won’t care?. He also says his upcoming movies do not have content related to stalking which is all we should care about.
The hatred you see for Siva Karthikeyan is the combined hatred for mass stardom in TN – No. Clear No The above comments say He is not qualified enough to be interviewed by BR. I doubt if similar comments would be made when BR interviews Vijay or Ajith.
Velaikaaran is not a misogynist movie. In fact Its too matured content for an actor at this stage of a career. Why you guys are not seeing his latest movie or Is it that you guys want to see what u wish to see? I guess he got the message. You can argue he wont change. But he says his upcoming movies do not have anything related to stalking. What else you want? Should he hang himself for acting in Remo?
I am not a Fan of Sivakarthikeyan. But come on guys.He is an upcoming actor and as I said he did not deserve this hate. Everybody does mistakes. Rajnikanth used to smoke cigarettes and God knows how many people followed him and died of cancer. No other actor is arguably has made misogynist statements in movies than Rajnikanth. But we are talking about his political entry. That does not mean Sk should not be called out when his movie has stalking or any other objectionable content. But As of now, I don’t see any reason to hate him.
There is a difference between Criticism and Hate. I don’t see any constructive criticisms above directed at the actor other than hate.
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Kay
December 26, 2017
“there is no use pushing the guy any further. the dude doesn’t even understand he has a problem, worse he wants to play the victim card. what more can you do with a guy like that”
Well said! 😂😂😂
That nonanswer was so annoying. I wish he would just acknowledge and move on.
Also, most of his answers were predictable.
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vijay
December 26, 2017
“I doubt if similar comments would be made when BR interviews Vijay or Ajith.”
why not?. Between the two of them they don’t deserve 15 mins of an interviewer’s time. But then if you want your blog to get more eyeballs then I guess they are the logical next choices.
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Vivek narain
December 26, 2017
If bollywood can have space for hams and gigolos and beatniks, why not tamil cinema. Siva can play either of the three aspects.
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shemz
December 27, 2017
To all those wondering about the hate SK receives, here is my.. explanation/ rant – Most heroes have acted in movies glorifying stalking at some point or other. True! Rajni, Vijay and the most accused before SK, Dhanush. Even when the youth in the audience, mimicked their actions, this is how it unfolded. They would roam our streets, bus stops, et all. They were scared if v were accompanied by a male member of the family. Oh mostly they were scared of us, if we threatened to tell a parent or the police or someone! If someone rubbed against me in a bus, I could stare him down to move away or raise my voice and get my safe space back. In other words, I could reject my roadside romeos and move on with life, and I m sure, in most cases, they did too.
But now, it’s scary. I am too scared to lift my head and say no, for I am not sure if he is going to fade away or come at me with a knife! This is not an overreaction, this is just the reflection of the current social situation. Now this is where his movies come into play. He makes a hero out of this guy, when variations of this ‘guy’ is actually killing women, here and there! Before you come up in his defense, that he never went at any of his heroines with a knife, he made it almost impossible for the heroine to say ‘NO’. His movies state it very clear – chase, chase and chase her until she tires and falls for you! He makes it ok for these men to relentlessly torture the female of their fancy, even though she is in fear that he could potentially harm her.
In Remo, he says the heroine made him cry, when he blabbers drunk in front of that Rajni cut out, but dude, she doesn’t even know you exist, let alone make you cry! In Rajnimurugan, it’s ‘appa ku pudikala aatu kuttiku pidikkala’ rant! He might defend that they are comedies, but we have no way of knowing if the guy at the street corner is having a rose or a blade. He is making them a hero! He should know better when lives are lost, but he is hailing the behavior and serving it as family entertainment, which the next gen of ten year old boys watch. It’s wrong at so many levels.
On a related note, my sister was in the nungambakkam station, when Swathi was lying dead. She called me from the station that something has happened and there is police and press. It is too real, too close. When she entered her teenage, I taught her how to stomp the feet of the guy rubbing against her back in a crowded bus, how to aim her elbow to his ribs, in essence how to make him go away and not to fear her travel because someone thought it’s ok to feel her. Now all I can tell her is to go anywhere in a group, so someone would not come and talk to her and that way she would not have to say ‘No’. That is just, deeply sad.
Thanks BR, for this wonderful space!
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
December 27, 2017
Shemz : Many Thanks for sharing. This is very very disturbing.
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Srinivas R
December 27, 2017
GODZ – Just to clarify, I am not saying Siva is not qualified enough to be interviewed by BR. I was only trying to explain why the criticism of Siva is a sort of combined criticism of his predecessors as well, I remember feeling nauseated while watching Vijay comment on Asin’s dress in some stupid movie. At that time the platforms available for me to rant were limited and I just stopped at discussing with some friends, I am sure if such a scene appears in a movie now in any movie, I am sure to make a comment at least in this space.
I also disagree with “he is open to constructive criticism” argument. He still doesn’t want to own up, he still wants to play the victim. I haven’t watched Velaikaran, so may be it is unfair to discuss his prior mistakes now, but the fact remains that Remo was a commercial success and this guy even won some award for that, so the fear is that it will encourage him to take more such roles in the name of “family entertainment”, that’s a scenario we don’t need. I don’t see any harm in reinforcing our criticism for that.
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GODZ
December 27, 2017
Shemz – I agree with the core point safety cannot be compromised,
“I could reject my roadside romeos and move on with life,He makes it ok for these men to relentlessly torture the female of their fancy, even though she is in fear that he could potentially harm her”
I cannot completely agree on that. He is definitely not the first actor who acted like that. There were national award-winning movies like Sethu where the hero tortures the heroine to death until she accepts his love. So it’s definitely not Sk who started this or glorified this. There are numerous examples. But the key difference is Technology and revolution in Social media. The reach of the content. Even 10 years ago, People are not interconnected like this. Now each and every person is interconnected through Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc. Today Men and Woman share their personal information without knowing what the real impact. They share so many details in public domain so that anyone can know about anybody.
So These stalkers who always existed are now empowered by technology. They have so much information on their victim’s thanks to Facebook and WhatsApp post. You cannot simply put the blame on movie stars or a movie alone without considering the overall impact of social media in current society. Many youngsters share so many details that you can easily create a profile of them and it has so much leads.
And that’s what I believe even SK is overlooking too. A decade back, We don’t have Memes, WhatsApp sharing or Facebook sharing. Now everything is shared and normalized through so fast that even the smallest idea has a powerful impact and exponential reach. So I guess SK or for that matter, any actor should be conscious about the content because of its pretty much like Matrix We are all interconnected through a neural network called Social media..
People should also be extra cautious on the so-called privacy settings. Whats shared and what not. Every photo has a huge wealth of information that can give an exact picture of who you are which can be very well used by stalkers to full effect. The point is evil and the reasons for stalking should not be oversimplified by pointing the fingers on few actors and movie industry. Because Even if Actor SK stops making movies, Stalking will continue because the social media and technology has empowered the stalkers than ever before which simply cannot be overlooked.
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Kay
December 27, 2017
Shemz, don’t even bother. It will have zero impact.
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shemz
December 27, 2017
‘He is definitely not the first actor who acted like that.’
True, and I have talked about the same in the first paragraph of my previous comment. His excuse that this was always prevalent and industry expert writers know this sells, reeks of indifference. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me repeat this. The killings are happening ‘now’. You are glorifying them/ the phenomenon on stalking ‘now’. It’s like waking up a fine morning and realizing that the mildly annoying and slightly painful swelling on your leg is actually cancerous. You don’t lay back and say, ‘well it was there until yesterday!’ No, you take action.
Also, when I think Vikram, I think Sethu, pithamagan, Sammy, Anniyan and others. Not just Sethu. He doesn’t embody ‘stalker’, but that cannot be said of SK.
‘Even if Actor SK stops making movies, Stalking will continue’, totally agree! But you know what will change? The idea that stalkers are heroes and the phenomenon itself is harmless. That, right there is simply what we are asking for! Would you hail a murderer, a rapist, a terrorist in ‘most’ of your movies and say it’s artistic freedom/ industry expertise? I am sure his answer would be a resounding ‘No’.
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shemz
December 27, 2017
Kay – we try, we tire, we take a break and then, we try again 🙂
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GODZ
December 27, 2017
killings are happening ‘now’. – Wrong. Are you talking about Swati killing? I am not even going their. In Swatis case, It all started with Facebook.
He doesn’t embody ‘stalker’, but that cannot be said of SK.- Wrong again – The idea to force a woman until she accepts is whats stalker intent always and it falls under Stalking category too.
You can try try try ..The idea that stalkers are heroes and the phenomenon itself is harmless.— Are you reading the comments. Where Did i say its harmless. Who glorified it. Where did i mentioned artistic freedom? No body glorifies SK or such type of content. So please don’t try to give an impression that those who simply come in defense of SK are supporters of stalking and they are all males or who don’t have sisters or You guys are the saviours. I never in a single place mentioned or supported Remo.
All I say is Don’t over simply this as if its all due to Remo, SK, Movies etc. You can stuck in the past and keep saying SK, remo etc. The actor has moved on and coming back to my original point these things no way justifies hate and troll against anyone. Its just manifest into other form. For Gods sake Velaikaran is not Remo part 2. So I really don’t get the hate against the actor.Just see his positive side and if he does again glorifies stalking call it out. Who says No? But simply hating him just because he did Remo does not make any rational sense.
These healthy exchange of ideas are fine. But the comments in the beginning they just don’t make any sense and you cannot justify it. It just reminds me of vadively comedy..”Dei ivana enge ponnalum vidathingada.”
Social media is a critical piece in all this case. “Indhe ponnugale Ippadi thaan” I really laughed when it was on screen in VPS and to any one its completely harmless. Now someone creates a meme and its shared to millions of people. Now If i am ordinary guy fine. I forget. But lets say i am in a breakup or a girl rejected me, this meme feeds the hate in me. It feeds my wrong idea that all woman are all same. Years back this does not exist. Once you step out of the movie theater you forget it. You need to see the movie again or need to some conscious thinking. But now its all effortlessly fed write in you palm. You don’t need to watch the movie again. Here when the context changes everything changes. So I said every one in movie industry should be cautious. Where did i said or glorified anything here?
I again reiterate. The point is not about SK stop making movies. The point is please don’t overlook the evil impact of social media. As I mentioned above, It changed the entire landscape and its not just the movie and actors who should be conscious about. Its people including Woman who uses the content and be extra cautious of whats shared and what not.
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shemz
December 28, 2017
‘You can try try try ..The idea that stalkers are heroes and the phenomenon itself is harmless.— …I never in a single place mentioned or supported Remo.’
I don’t even know where to start. We have beaten to death the fact that it’s not about one single movie neither are we absolving his predecessors. But .. ok. And no, I was not accusing you in any place of glorifying stalking or of any other things that you listed. Just SK’s most movies. I thought it was pretty clear, but I guess not.
As to the idea that unless I rewatch a movie it isn’t fed to me, what about the numerous times the same songs and scenes appear relentlessly on the tv channels. I don’t need to go to the theatre to hear ‘indha ponnungale ipdi than’ or ‘ennama ipdi panreengale ma’!
As for social media, yes it’s ridiculous how some people overshare. It plays a major part in many evils. It still doesn’t lessen his movies’ impact.
Finally, no one is saying his movies are the only reason. Nope. But the reason he is hated to such an extent, which is what some, including yourself wondered about I guess and which I set about to clarify from my perspective, is because of the glorifying the stalker aspect.
But I am getting the feeling that, I am stating the obvious here.
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Vivek narain
December 28, 2017
Devanand, Shammi kapoor, Shashi kapoor etc. made stalking a component of romance. And that was some potentially poisonous trend perpetrated and perpetuated by the iconic mega stars of bollywood. Telugu and tamil cinema were the worst affected, creating a form of stalking that is banal and rustic, and as offensive as the worst of human instincts. But still it’s very natural and the legacy can be traced back to neanderthal age.
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Anu Warrier
December 28, 2017
@shemz, I hear you, sister. Loud and clear. I thought we had thrashed this out in the Remo thread, but it appears that every once in a while, we need to flog the dead equine. 😦
@Vivek, the fact that Shammi (not so much Dev – with the exception of Maana janab ne pukara nahin in Paying Guest, there have been very few films in which he ‘stalks’ the heroine) made a career of teasing songs is rather beside the point. What was once an innocent ‘wooing’ song done rather rambunctiously has today taken on more sinister overtones. As shemz pointed out, as a young teenager, I could get away with staring my ‘stalker’ down. Or just advancing towards him and asking him point-blank what the heck he meant was enough to make him scoot off. Even if he was singing (or attempting to sing) the latest hit song. There really was no idea, not even in their wildest imagination, that their following us around would cause us to fall in love with them. Not even when they dropped ‘love letters’ at our feet. They certainly weren’t entitled, and didn’t think that the very fact that they were following us around meant that we belonged to them.
Today, that same ‘stalker’ is more likely to pull out a knife or a bottle of acid if the woman doesn’t respond the way they want her to. And that can squarely be laid at the feet of the many ‘heroes’ who seem to think that objectifying the heroine, stalking her till she cries and falls at their feet (having realised the power of his ‘love’) is the macho way to win a woman’s heart. Because, after all, the woman doesn’t really have a voice – if the hero falls in love with her, how dare she have the temerity to say ‘no’ to him?
Shammi Kapoor’s movies were never that misogynistic. His heroines did have a voice. And he never continued to harass them to fall in love with him. Mostly, his films had scenes of both hero and heroine trying to one-up the other. Of course, it’s a given that in the end, they have to fall in love with each other. But let’s not conflate that with what’s happening on screen today.
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brangan
December 28, 2017
Actually, this is the part that I’ve found difficult to convince people about — that wooing is different from stalking.
Because both behaviours involve a lot of the same on-screen mechanisms (following a girl, maybe singing a song, taking a few liberties with personal freedom). But one never got the sense in the Dev/Shammi movies that there was misogyny at heart — that they were somehow better than the women, that the women had to say yes simply because the pursuers were men. I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest the Dev/Shammi heroines had agency — many of them were as loosu ponnu-ish as the ones today. But they somehow never suggested being treated like an object, and the films did not have lines that put down women.
Whereas today, it’s different.
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Vivek narain
December 28, 2017
Dev and Shammi were the greatest entertainers, Jewel thief song ‘Ye dil na hota bechara’ is part of the legend. What happens is you never know or imagine the metamorphosis that’s going to take place. A burnout can drive you into a state of catatonic schizophrenia like with Gregor Samsa or our own star Raj kiran, similarly the movie industry can crudify (almost crucify)the prodigal Dev to endorse the demonic and stupid trait of stalking. And yet i must say the base instinct is perfectly natural, one of the reasons to civilise the world and strike a balance between nihilism and bohemianism and civilism.
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Kay
December 28, 2017
GODZ: The point you are raising is kind of relevant and irrelevant to the discussion we are having here. Online stalking happens when the guy knows the girl whom he is stalking, enough to know her name. Whereas the stalking shown in most movies is when the hero sees the girl cuddling a puppy and he falls flat on his face (or bang on his brains) in love. Social media stalking is the second stage in this scenario, where he stalks her till he gets to know her name and where is working or studying.
Secondly, your reiteration that women should be careful what they are sharing on social media is another way of saying she should watch what she’s wearing or that women shouldn’t go out alone or late in the night. What about raising a son who doesn’t stalk a girl online even if she has a very public profile? To put it another way, just because I put up some public posts, a guy can feel entitled to follow me?
Adding to Shemz and Anu’s point, I have felt the same too. Ten years back I chased a guy who touched me inappropriately and tried slapping him. Today I put on my headphones, hang my head and try to make myself invisible. The first thought the comes to the mind is, what if he hurts me if I retaliate now.
We are talking about an actor whom a lot of young kids idolise. It makes me so angry. So angry that no matter how many responsible movies he makes in the future, as long as acknowledges that what he did was wrong, I will always hate him.
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Srinivas R
December 28, 2017
GODZ – don’t mean to gang up on you… you saw the Dhanush interview with BR? BR brought up the issue of stalking there as well. Dhanush didn’t apologize or anything, but he did accept the fact that as a star he has some responsibility and that his previous movies may have given an improper message to his fans. That’s all is needed, awareness. SK is playing the victim and that frankly is getting on my nerves…
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Anand Raghavan
December 28, 2017
After knife and acid, stalking has taken monstrous avatars, a guy with a petrol can burning the girl, her mother and sister just happened recently. A family is destroyed. No way stalking can be considered innocuous. At least those movies should not be off from children. But who’s there to censor TV, these are telecasted primetime.
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Anand Raghavan
December 28, 2017
Pls Read “should be off from children”, my previous comments.
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Anu Warrier
December 28, 2017
BR, actually I agree with your point – Shammi’s heroines had precious little to do except look pretty. (Dev’s heroines, on the other hand, were rather progressive, knew their own minds, and had something to do other than sing songs and fall in love.) Adding to your point about there not being lines that put down women, or objectified them: on the contrary, the women were treated with a lot of respect. Not once does he point out their clothes vs. ‘our culture’, not once is she told that she has to behave a certain way because she’s a woman, not once is she slapped or otherwise abused – verbally or physically – because she has /hasn’t done something. There was a sense of actual fun in those films, a sense of ‘Don’t take all this seriously; we’re not!’ that is missing today.
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Ashwin
December 29, 2017
Glad that BR brought it up- Wooing versus Stalking. What are discernable behaviors that separate the two. How does a guy who is wooing a girl he likes be cautious about overstepping the line. Recalled an interesting article that captures a film makers perspective on this sometime back.
https://m.timesofindia.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/stalking-in-tamil-films-yeah-its-here-to-stay/articleshow/58180643.cms
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Vivek narain
December 29, 2017
Any reasonably nice looking girl fron 12 to 60, dresses and makes up to kill, well mostly. So do guys, but not mostly, and only a really suave gent dares to woo openly. Stalkers are in miniscule numbers, but an occasional horrific act stuns the conscience to the core. Lucknow is relatively quite at peace with itself.
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Kay
December 29, 2017
Vivek, Lucknow is at peace as in the number of incidents are less? I’m not sure I get the meaning.
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Vivek narain
December 29, 2017
@kay Lucknow is the best policed city of India with a population of more than 5 million .All the big wigs of UP, the big shots and the jerks live here with their families, so for their sake Lucknow city,except for the fringe locations, is very safe, unlike Gurgaon of haryana or other districts of uttar pradesh.
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Balu
December 29, 2017
I do wonder often which of the 2 cases is likelier – (a) Heroes/Directors believe that the scenes they depict indicate stalking but keep them nevertheless in the movies to attract certain sections of the audience for the same reason an item number or an unnecessary climax fight is added or (b) they don’t actually believe that these scenes depict stalking at all. This is their candid imagination of what romance looks like.
Being fairly cynical and considering how much power bigger heroes and to smaller extent bigger directors wield, I am almost inclined to believe that (b) might be more common which makes it a harder problem. We are not just asking a hero to avoid scenes that are just there to commercialize their movies but we are just actually asking them to change their beliefs – I just don’t see that happening.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
December 29, 2017
Anu : Superb take on the Dev / Shammi films brand of “stalking”
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meera
January 2, 2018
Shemz: it is a bad ass world and thank you for writing what you did and yes we have to keep trying or we will simply wither …
Godz: am not saying rajni should not smoke as much as I’m not saying that dhanush should not drink… if the role demands a certain behaviour then go for it… for e.g. Mayakkam enna… (am not intentionally positioning Dhanush vs SK) but the thin character is a genius who is craving recognition and he needs a vent .. so smoke drink do what you should..
but with SK the movie seems to follow the see girl stalk stalk and stalk some more… suffocate her with your one sided romance and then she falls for you… this is dangerous when done in rinse and repeat mode because some of it becomes a reality. And it’s difficult to separate the star from the story so (again to no fault of his) men follow this to the T. So we are simply seeking acknowledgement that with power comes responsibility so change what you can when you can.. because we can no longer put up with this nonsense. Of course am not watching his movie but I also want to make enough noise so people will stop making these movies because that is no way to make a girl fall in love with you… and for heaven sake do not glorify it.
And then comes his star quotient… on a personal level I think you need some investment to star in a movie… not everybody is inherently talented but we as an audience should demand a certain level of skill… unless we demand we might not bE supplied with it… right?
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Rahini David
January 2, 2018
Blaming social media for stalking completely gets over my head. Every woman knows that if she has a FB account there will be a hundred Friend Requests that go “Hey sweetie, accept my requests”. While I completely agree that every person should be warned about the dangers of sharing their information to strangers at large, I don’t think women can/should protect themselves from the world’s eyes by not using their selfies as display pictures or whatever.
Ok, so I have posted the details of my home town, school and year of passing out on FB and accept friendships of men and women who seem familiar. Well yes, there is the occasional jobless man who wants to know what I had for breakfast and wonders if I got into my office bus safely. They send ‘wise’ videos and want ‘intelligent’ discussions with me though I am practically a stranger. These men are annoying. It is easy to inform them that I am ‘busy’ and when there is a bit more of annoyance coming my way I can block them out. It is no big deal.
But generally I don’t want to NOT have an online presence. I have enjoyed finding my old friends through Facebook and I have enjoyed making new friends through blogs. I have about 4-5 friends I found through BR’s blog and one I found through my own blog. These are valid friendships. I would have lost the friendships of these valuable people if I had taken the whole “Don’t share your phone number with a person you meet online” rule too seriously.
This isn’t just about what GODZ said here. I do notice that the thought is very prevalent. Social media helps even cowards indulge in stalking. And as more and more youngsters go online, we need to have proper dialogue on proper online behavior. But I don’t know what it has to do with movies that glorify stalking.
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GODZ
January 2, 2018
First of all, I am also one of the 3193 members who signed this pettiton. So I am not supporting Stalking in anyway. But I have few basic questions..
This change.org petition did not yet get its full 5000 signatures. What does it mean?
https://www.change.org/p/tamil-filmmakers-and-actors-stop-glorification-of-stalking-in-tamil-films
You have a biggest social media platform. Memes WhatsApp messages etc are getting viral. Whats so tough in getting 5000 signatures? So don’t we have 5000 educated women in TN to get this signed?
The easiest thing in the world is to blame a film star. To be honest, all the woman who went and saw the movie are to be blamed. You can say whatever u want. But Sadly Woman are not just bothered. That’s what filmmakers feel when u see the box office number. The Box office numbers just proves that. When u primary base still comes and see u movie, Who will you care? This is precisely whats happening all over the world. Majority wins no matter how rational the minority is.
This does not mean i am not getting u message. Sadly I hear you message but the ones who should hear u message are not hearing it. It takes just one woman’s college to get it signed..
Please Don’t think this message as mockery. If men and women realize this and get this message signed i will be happier. Real change starts their. Not shitting and hating against an actor in a blog which is the most easiest thing to do. Period.
P.S: The recent petition is signed by woman from sweden and Canada as if stalking exists their. Pathetic.
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Vivek narain
January 2, 2018
This whole stalking business is bad for dudes, they annoy a decent girl for no reason and get pissed off for no reason. What i look for is, not whether a woman is good enough for me, but whether she is bad enough for me. That way the world goes on merrily, according to Carroll. I will be glad to team up with a free booting Modesty Blaise knowing very well that Willie Garvin won’t mind, in fact he will be freed to pursue his own carnal variations.
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Rahini David
January 2, 2018
GODZ: I agree with everything you say. Except that there is hating against an actor here.
BTW, what is that point about Sweden and Canada that you made? I did not quite get it.
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GODZ
January 2, 2018
@Rahini, In the recent supporters list, you could see people from us and Canada signed the petition. When the woman from completely different continents in the world can take time and sign the petition, whats the matter with TN woman and people? They have time to like Oviyas message or to share, dance and like for Jimmiki Kammal? So how do you expect an actor to change?
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Vivek narain
January 15, 2018
A classic scene of wooing is Mona Singa aka Kalpana karthik in ‘Taxi Driver’, Jayein to Jayein kahan,with a pensive Devanand probably contemplating his future with the starlet, they were married within the making of the movie itself. Reality can’t be starker than this scene.
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