I’m a very proud Tamilian. Seriously, one of these days, it’ll be my downfall. But let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? Everyone who thinks that the Kollywood industry has hit its peak and is currently falling, say ‘Aye’.
AYE.
As a 90’s kid, I grew up enjoying the ‘Thala vs Thalapathi’ conundrum and the ‘first day, first show’ ruckus in every Rajinikanth movie. I was thrilled to watch Superstar on the big screen after YEARS in Pettai. I whistled, yelled and cheered along. But that’s purely out of nostalgia.
Let me get this straight, our crass comedians are now MASS heroes, and our comedies (our pride, the cherry on top, something we must safeguard at all times) is now lame? This is terrible. We are struggling to churn out good content.
The golden crown that the tamil audience wore as ‘the most tasteful’, is long gone. Actors don’t strive to leave an impact anymore, they aim to create a movie or two annually. So when the bar is set so low by the actors, they pick almost any script that comes their way.
Everytime I feel like watching a Tamil movie, I find myself yearning to watch K Balachander’s works or old Mani Ratnam films or even late 90’s SJ Surya’s movies. There was a plot, and a plot twist. You wanted to pick sides, slap the protagonist for being an idiot or cheer him as he beat 10 bad guys into parked Contessas in the rain. I walked out of a theatre AFFECTED, in a different headspace. The recent Dulquer Salmaan movie ‘Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal’ is a dramatic comedy and is your B grade commercial romance movie. But I loved the script. It was unique and reflected the depth of the characters so much.
Yes. There have always been terrible movies, in all eras. Trust me, I’ve watched them. What I am saying is, those movies are all we got now. Let’s take Sivakarthikeyan for example. I have a lot of respect for that man. He was a tamil teacher who showcased his talent in the reality show ‘Kalakka Povathu Yaaru’. He grabbed the opportunity to compere. Next thing we know years later, we see him as the hero’s side-kick. Soon, he starred in his own movie. He was still doing a good job. Ethir Neechal was a good movie. A man, who doesn’t feel comfortable in his own skin- I mean how relatable is that? What went wrong was his horrible attempt to stay afloat in the industry thus pushing him to pick the most random scripts.
I really hope more gems like Aruvi and Otha Seruppu number 7 are made. But I also want more sensible dramas. Movies like 96, Uriyadi, Nerkonda Paarvai, Kodi, Visaranai, Taramani and Super Deluxe have really left the Indian audience shaken. I’m tired of directors hiding behind the “This is what the audience want” reason. We have the talent, we have the money, we have the experience, we have budding artists filled with creativity and potential. It’s high time directors pull up their socks and start dishing out some good content, because I can be sure that the audience is going to lap it right up.
ABEL CORP 