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Panel discussion on K Balachander
Posted on July 5, 2020
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11 Responses “Panel discussion on K Balachander” →
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Baradwaj Rangan 
deepakm1989
July 5, 2020
Great.. Looking forward to it.. 😊
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Aman Basha
July 5, 2020
K. Balachander, for anything he has ever done as a director, was far more important as a mentor who introduced some of the biggest stars and talents in our country. I’ve seen only four movies of his, Anthuleni Katha, Akali Rajyam, Rudraveena and Ek Duuje Ke Liye. The clear feeling to doing everything in a fresh and new way, although admirable and very successful, makes them feel overwrought at times. There is no need for that Fatafat character to say fatafat. The scene in Ek Duuje Ke Liye where the heroine takes the ashes of the photo in coffee and drinks it, I still haven’t understood why they had to die in the end and so on.
But the man was extraordinary in his use of music and in both Anthuleni Katha and Akali Rajyam, has Rajni and Kamal sing very pessimistic songs about the human condition. Was it a feature in all his films? The Bhale Bhale Magadivoy song, the duet between Kamal and Sridevi or any song in Rudraveena, he’s a fascinating filmmaker who’s done very interesting work and can easily be called our first Auteur.
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Honest Raj
July 6, 2020
K. Balachander, for anything he has ever done as a director, was far more important as a mentor who introduced some of the biggest stars and talents in our country.
Couldn’t agree more. Apart from shaping up the careers of Kamal, Rajini, Sridevi, Prakash Raj, et al, he also played a crucial role in the early success of several others such as Jayasudha, Jayaprada and Chiranjeevi.
But the man was extraordinary in his use of music and in both Anthuleni Katha and Akali Rajyam, has Rajni and Kamal sing very pessimistic songs about the human condition. Was it a feature in all his films?
His 70s films were heavily inspired by the works of Ghatak and Ray. I’m beginning to wonder if Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu/Akali Rajyam was inspired by some Mrinal Sen film.
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Aman Basha
July 9, 2020
@Honest Raj: Anthuleni Katha was inspired or was a remake of Megha Dhak Tara. But my point was more about the duets in the films, which were made in a very innovative and fresh way. These would definitely be his additions, in a era, where it seemed mostly Raghavendra Rao fruit and flower show songs and songs with embarrassing choreography were prevalent, a song like Kanne Pillavani where Kamal fills words to Sridevi’s tune or Bhale Bhale Magadivoy with the hero singing in English and the heroine in Telugu. There are many more examples and all these movies fit into broad themes that he constantly explored except for the occasional remake, I suppose.
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brangan
July 10, 2020
The video is up.
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Honest Raj
July 12, 2020
@Aman Basha: Yes, I missed your point. As far as song-picturisation is concerned, Sridhar was the trendsetter and KB was the pathbreaker. BTW, Anthuleni Katha was a near frame-by-frame remake of his own Tamil film Aval Oru Thodarkathai.
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Aman Basha
July 12, 2020
@Honest Raj: I didn’t know that Anthuleni Katha was a remake, did the original have Rajni and Kamal too? Have to say the confrontations between Jayaprada and Rajni were very fiery and maybe other actors wouldn’t help especially when it comes to the occasional cigarette flip he does even in a philosophical song like Devude Ichchadu 🙂 Plus am I the only one who noticed it or does KB have a tendency to show his heroines dressing up and in lingerie? It’s a feature I’ve seen even in Anthuleni Katha too and was surprised at how bold it must be for a mainstream film 40 years ago, excluding Raj Kapoor that is.
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Honest Raj
July 13, 2020
@Aman Basha: Kamal played the neighbour’s role in the original. Rajini’s (he was yet to make his debut then) role was played by the late Jaiganesh. Both Sripriya (perhaps, her first major role?) and ‘Fatafat’ Jayalaxmi reprised their roles in the remake.
does KB have a tendency to show his heroines dressing up and in lingerie?
This was a recurring feature in his 70s films – Noottrukku Nooru, Arangetram, Manmadha Leelai (the Telugu dubbed version became a huge hit and made Kamal a big star in AP overnight), Thappida Thala/Thappu Thalangal, etc. His critics have called him out for the same – showing his heroines that way under the pretext of projecting them as being revolutionary.
Hope you don’t mind me asking. Are you a Telugu/North Indian? I thought you were a Malayali.
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Aman Basha
July 13, 2020
@Honest Raj: Well I don’t mind at all, I’m a Telugite whose mom is a huge fan of Anthuleni Katha and that’s how I watched it. My general admiration for the Megastar made me watch Rudraveena, and though it was a good movie with a good role, still regretted that he didn’t dance :), Akali Rajyam and Maro Charitra I watched mainly for the song picturization and the Sri Sri poetry, which seems quite central to a lot of KB films in Telugu.
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ThouShaltNot
July 25, 2020
Quirky people have their idiosyncrasies. In “Aval Oru Thodarkathai”, that would be Jayalakshmi’s manifest heedlessness. An example of this is in how she craves instant gratification over enduring commitment and bonding in her relationships. Her repetition of the catchphrase Fatafat (meaning : pronto) is just a verbal tic (not in a chronic medical sense). KB might have used it to embellish her personality. There are other Tamizh movies of KB in which characters repeatedly mouth catchphrases (in Hindi no less). These tics may serve to marginally etch a character’s trait or background. Other notable examples are “Achchaa” in Iru Kodugal (by Sowcar) and a condescending “Teek hai ?!” in Moondru Mudichchu (by Rajini ; Sridevi turns the tables on him later). Annoyance or amusement is in the ear of the beholder.
To parse “Adi ennadi ulagam, idhil eththanai kalagam” is to understand Jayakshmi and her mindset. Jayalakshmi tells Sujatha that while untold tumult roils the external world, the right course for people is to indulge the self and promptly gratify their senses (mere agonizing gets you nowhere). Sujatha, a contrasting picture of self-discipline and gravitas (and a stern schoolmarm to boot), unceasingly puts family over self while Jayalakshmi is flighty and believes that family, bonding and community are all mumbo-jumbo. Jayalakshmi, through the song, preaches the virtues of “la dolce vita” (which, in real life, was also the lyricist’s credo; one crucial difference was that he did not shirk from family or bonding).
Beyond the song, within the movie, Jayalakshmi lives to learn. Sujatha continues to defer and suffer as circumstances continue to conspire against her. Here is the song that defines “Fatafat” Jayalakshmi.
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ThouShaltNot
July 25, 2020
I stumbled on a funny tribute (a recent skit) to the legendary director who had a penchant for the askew perspective (the “commercial” producer was perfect 🙂 )
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