In which I answer a few questions on an older film… or a new one.
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Posted in: #AskBR / #QnA, Cinema: Tamil
#AskBR – Vada Chennai
Posted on October 22, 2018
Baradwaj Rangan 
MANK
October 22, 2018
Aha, you started up with this again. But it’s always wonderful listening you talk movies
I thought RGVs Satya was an unapolegetic gangster film in the mold of Goodfellas. So was company
Agreed about pudhupettai, I was quite shocked watching it. Not a single good character including the heroine. The scene where it’s revealed that the politicians who are seeking an election ticket are even worse than kokki Kumar still makes me lol
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Voldemort
October 22, 2018
BR, didn’t you say that FC flashback was going to be replace #AskBR?
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Srinivas R
October 23, 2018
Hi BR, how about a one movie, one aspect discussion with Velraj about VadaChennai cinematography or with Vetri Maran about direction of VadaChennai. May be after a month or so.
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mrinalnarayan
October 24, 2018
Missed this AskBR session.
@brangan Difference between Pudhupettai and this — that’s a clearer way of putting it.
Two gangster movies in a month..I was actually drawing parallels between Chekka Chivantha Vaanam & Vada Chennai. I feel Anbu & Rasool share similar goal in eradicating a bunch of thugs (for greater good) who turn against each other for power. Anbu & Rasool are the outsiders who voluntarily or involuntarily get into the game. The scheme being a reveal as the movies reach the climax portion. Attacking “Periyavar” / “Rajan” in the respective movies start the events. What do you feel?
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jaga_jaga
October 27, 2018
Spoiler Alert:
This one is about the Vada Chennai – deleted boat scene (featuring an amorous scene involving Andrea and Ameer). This post could have been written anywhere – in the Vada Chennai movie thread, in the Vada Chennai/CCV comparison thread, or here. I choose this one because, this has the least number of comments. So the post is perhaps not likely to get lost amidst a deluge of other posts.
The gripe I have is the following – Vetimaaran, recently deleted a scene involving Ameer and Andrea having sex in a boat. It was wonderfully captured per me. Exquisite. A star lit sky, beautifully decorated boat, a virile man, and a vivacious woman – the ideal setting for love being made!
But the fishermen community thought it was sacrilegious. That their boat was used for such a lowly, and disdainful act of sex. Vetrimaaren then promptly deleted the scene, not wanting to earn the ire of the fishermen.
Two problems exist here:
(a) There have been numerous Tamil movies which have depicted boats being the scenes for murder, brutal torture, and all possible heinous acts. The notion that violence is acceptable but sex is not, is a rather disturbing aspect of the culture.
(b) Earlier, there have been numerous instances when other communities for eg. the Brahmins, have sought for the removal of scenes which depict practices holy to them, in a rather despicable light (seen through a Brahmin lens, akin to how the boat scene was perceived by the fishermen). But they were plainly dismissing as being castiest babble!
So isn’t it double standard that some communities’ requests are more special than some others’??
Of course it depends on the Directors also. Vetrimaaran was gracious to the fishermen here. But would he have been the same had such a question sprung from the Brahmins??
Something to ponder over??
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Honest Raj
October 28, 2018
@ jaga_jaga: This might interest you:
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19810131-malayalam-director-bharatans-film-savithri-kicks-up-a-row-805901-2014-01-21
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jaga_jaga
October 28, 2018
@Honest Raj – Oh wow! Eventually what happened after the protest??
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e221
October 28, 2018
@jaga So what if Vetrimaaran make the same story in “Agraharam” with a bunch of people from the aforementioned community by you performing cold-blooded murders, smuggling, salvaging, drug selling, Speaking trash etc. Have the film been even allowed? At least the fishermen are gracious, tolerant and sensible enough for asking “just” to delete a few scenes rather than making a sensation and controversy out of it.
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Honest Raj
October 28, 2018
jaga_jaga: We might have to email IT 🙂
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praneshp
October 30, 2018
@e221: Nobody will give a shit. Rangan will write two lines about it, and idiots on twitter will fall over themselves to call him an upper caste reviewer. That’ll be the end of it.
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