Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/kallachirippu-karthik-subbaraj-is-that-it-exists-biggest-takeaway-southern-lights-baradwaj-rangan
OTT platforms may finally be on their way to dispensing content that does not have “mass appeal”.
The OTT media space (I’m including web series, here) in Tamil is still evolving, so everything from Balaji Mohan’s As I’m Suffering From Kadhal (on Hotstar) to the new Karthik Subbaraj offering Kallachirippu (written and directed by Roju; available on Zee5) is better seen as a work in progress – something like what we saw in the early days of MTV. We laugh (affectionately) at those music videos today, but they were important steps in the evolution of the form. Is this sounding defensive? Perhaps. There are going to be those who say they have access to the best of, say, HBO shows, so why bother with these baby steps? Fair enough. But for those who seek interesting Tamil content (as opposed to those who also seek Tamil content), something like Kallachirippu is a genuinely interesting change of pace.
The title is an indication of things to come. “Kalla” refers to something sly, deceitful – and this is the closest the Tamil entertainment space has gotten to those noir films about a nest of vipers, with everyone out to get everyone else. Only, this isn’t about a bunch of criminals but a family – so even the equivalent of the femme fatale (24-year old Mahati, played by Amrutha Srinivasan) isn’t so much a hard-bitten vamp as a creation of her circumstances. Take the terms of the moment – “toxic masculinity,” “male privilege…” Mahati’s father is all that. A part of me kept wondering why Amrutha was playing Mahati as such an angry, frustrated woman all the time. Aren’t there any vulnerable shades to this character? But you look at her father and realise she’s at the end of her tether, a pressure cooker waiting to explode.
Some of the most interesting moments in the series are the ones between Mahati and her mother, ranging from a quarrel about a blouse to quieter stretches of “girl talk” – but there’s a TV-serial air in the staccato rhythms of the performances. The scenes don’t flow as much as you’d like, and some of this is surely due to the direction. The writing, too. What makes these first-time criminals so icy-cool, even when they consider slicing up bodies? Where’s the sweaty tension that drives noir? Instead, we get melodrama. I burst out laughing when a character’s mother begins to whip him with a belt. Now, we are seriously in TV-serial land. Then again, maybe the brief was to target that audience, but with a more sophisticated narrative?
Continued at the link above.
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Baradwaj Rangan 
Prashila
July 26, 2018
work in progress – something like what we saw in the early days of MTV. We laugh (affectionately) at those music videos today, but they were important steps in the evolution of the form
BR, at least the Indian music videos on MTV for Indipop were far far ahead of their time. Take the video for Pretty Child by Indus Creed, or Tanha Dil by Shaan (that one never grows old), or for that matter most of Lucky Ali’s music videos. Heck, even the Gur naal ishq meetha with Malaika Arora and Jas Arora is deliciously rom-comish cheesy. They are not perfect but they operate in a zone that the current crop of music video makers or even filmmakers will probably never be able to get to. There is a story, a setting, a mood, even a narrative arc! But yes, agree with you on the sentiment of the OTT media space. I felt the same after watching your short film Kalki (though I liked the dialogues and the psychological push and pull). Even the Hindi ones on Amazon prime. Very ambitious, bold and well presented and all, but could get better. Sacred Games seemed to have hit the mark better.
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ini
July 26, 2018
I was seriously tired of all this ‘too-cool-for-school’ things in web content from India – even ‘Sacred Games’ – that I decided to wait out this initial phase of teenage rebellion. But then, ‘America Mapillai’ was a pleasant surprise though. This is going to get personal: When I was practicing my coming-out speech with my therapist, she insisted I do it in Tamil. For one, I am very comfortable in Tamil. And, I have watched so many coming-out scenes from movies in several languages. Yet I was really surprised that I struggled so hard to find the right words in Tamil. So when I watched such a scene – in Tamil – in this very sensitively-handled show (not great, but sufficient), I realized how important is representation. It’s not about the politics, it just might help someone express themselves. And that’s cool!
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rsylviana
July 26, 2018
zee5 ?!!?!
A Karthik Subbaraj’s product has been uploaded in zee5 ?! Not in netflix , not in Amazon Prime , not in Hotstar but in zee5 ?!?! Why ?
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brangan
July 28, 2018
Ini: Thank you for that recommendation. Watched America Mapillai and put out this tweet. This is a very sensitively handled show — the non-judgmental attitude not just towards the gay guy, but also the older woman who chosw to remain single.
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R
July 30, 2018
This is Raja, the creator/writer of “America Mappillai”
ini: Thanks for posting, so glad the show touched you in such a real way.
BR: Thanks for the tweet and the post. Unlike “Kallachirippu”, we had a rather low-key launch and your tweet has made a lot of people aware of the show’s existence. Really glad you liked the show. Thanks 🙂
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ini
July 30, 2018
BR: Cool you checked it out and tweeted. You are an ally 🙂 And, direction is so good for a web show, right? I loved the scene with Karthik and Vasantha (doing vadaagam or vathal) on the mottamaadi when she says ‘Nalla jodi’ after his friendly jibe at Ganesh’s reading habits. Easily my second favorite Tamil-woman-at-her-domestic-ease scene after Simran’s leftover-rice-packing scene in Kannathil Muthamittal. Another thing: even though I appreciated the unapologetic way it went about the first-worldness of the story, I wish at least one of the character is, you know, nonBrahm! Haha 🙂
R: Thanks for this! I think you have a good sensibility. Good luck with your future endeavors!
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Rajeev Hari Kumar
July 30, 2018
@ini – I get what you mean by the “‘too-cool-for-school'” thing, but does Sacred Games really fall into that category? It’s a well-made show, and I haven’t exactly gone ga-ga over it the way others have (I guess the nudity, sex, violence and political references haven’t exactly made me gasp the way everyone else has. Partly because I read a lot about it before I watched the show, and partly because, well, it is a show co-helmed by Anurag Kashyap.), but I honestly don’t think you can accuse it of a sort of ‘look-ma-I’m so-edgy’ vibe.
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ramitbajaj01
July 30, 2018
spoilers ahead
It’s hard to believe that someone would realize his sexuality so late. @ini- could you buy the protagonist’ character arc in America Mapilla?
Also, so many characters behaved in abusive ways. The father threw the dinner plate away, the daughter threw the chess pieces away, the roommate shouted at the protagonist ‘I need time’. Given their other character shadings, and the milieu the drama was set in, it’s hard to believe those people would behave that way. It seemed more like a low hanging drama inducing fruit.
The ex gf in the cab + unraveling the situation by her- way too convenient and simplistic.
The brother-sister awkwardness reduced just by one gift?
And the casualness of the father in watching cricket when the girl side has visited to see his son – it appeared like a mockery of the depression that the parents of queer people undergo. And later, the father accepted his son so easily? No lecture on morality, family name or a visit to doctor? And the father even agreed to meet the ‘boyfriend’ within days of his son’s coming out? I just hope no one ever mentions this as a representation of LGBT community, because it isn’t!
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ini
July 31, 2018
@Rajeev, ‘Sacred Games’ is not that bad of an offender, true. I do think it is a good show with some top-notch directing, and I am recommending it with pride to every non-Indian I know. But I still think the new-found censorship freedom did get in the way during writing. First, the swearing! Even though these characters be swearing a lot, the quantity, I think, is totally over the top. And the violence? The ‘glorious middle-finger to censorship’ dog death – the very first scene of the show – is just a passing reference by a side character. There are so many shootouts some of which don’t even have any consequence in the screenplay. And the innumerous cuts to sex! Again, I am really happy that the show exists, but I can’t NOT look at the show and think some of the writing is childish.
@ramitbajaj, I am sorry you didn’t find the show a good representation of the community. This is always troubling. I usually like to consume stories just as they are told, they don’t have to be all-encompassing stories of every person in the community. We would only end up with bland, fits-all stories. As long as the storyteller does not impose his own morality viewpoints (this is not right, that is how one should be, etc.) on the characters, I am fine.
As for the show, I am not going to go all defensive 🙂 I just liked it – good writing, cute guys and sweet Tamil! You should also acknowledge that this is a small-time show with not much space to solve every conflict in the way that is believable to every viewer. And throwing dinner plate is abusive? Haha! I really did believe every character’s reaction. I don’t want to quote any personal stories, but you would be surprised how even the most liberal of people react in such a situation when it’s their own son/brother, etc. Ex-gf was definitely blah, but again, not much time to let the guy breathe and come to a realization himself. Which bring me here: there is no specific age when one realizes he or she is gay. There are people who have realized this after their kids have gone to college 🙂 Overall, I appreciated the non-judgemental tone of the show. As far as the believability of every character’s action/reaction, I just resigned to the fact they are all just, you know, human. That works for me.
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ramitbajaj01
July 31, 2018
There are people who have come to terms with their sexuality much after their 40s. In their case, a lot can be attributed to their generation’s lack of awareness/vocabulary in this regard. But even they claim that they had attraction towards the same gender right from the beginning but they brushed it off as a phase.
spoilers ahead
However, in America Mapilla, Ganesh is working in the US, his relations with his gfs are not working, his roommate is gay, and he even acts as a moderator for the fights between his roommate and his bf. In such empowered situation, it’s hard to believe that he is not aware of his sexuality. Even if he needs to be made aware of himself by others, there could have been an admission that he had felt like this from the beginning. Instead he goes – Because of Karthik, I have realized I am gay. This not only sounds wrong but it also perpetuates the stereotype that people become gay at certain age and because of someone.
In any case, someone who is this confused is unlikely to form strong opinions on the redundancy of marriage, leave aside coming out to parents firmly on this matter.
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Rajeev Hari Kumar
July 31, 2018
@ini – I can understand your point about the swearing. As for the violence and sex, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. Maybe I’ll feel differently on a second viewing.
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Kay
July 31, 2018
“This not only sounds wrong but it also perpetuates the stereotype that people become gay at certain age and because of someone.”
There are lot of stereotypes attached to the LGBTQ+ community, but I don’t think that’s one of them.
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