I finally watched 7/G Rainbow Colony.
It’s a very good movie that surely strikes a chord. It’s very realistic. It connects instantly with the heart. One small problem. It has the wrong morals. Which is why it is a wrong film. Which is why it should have never been made! Before you head for my throat, read on…
There is nothing heroic about the hero… an ordinary middle-class boy next door who does not have any super talent he can boast off. When he likes a girl or thinks he’s in love with the girl, he follows her, he pursues her, tortures her, stalks her, and even sneaks into her window when she’s about to take her T-shirt off… He has no self-esteem even after she slaps him, asks him why he’s begging for her love… He chases her like the Hutch dog…
And finally, the girl gives in!!!???
Come on, Selvaraghavan… do you know what you just did?? You’ve just given all those millions of people in the state HOPE. You’ve given them reason to tease, chase, torture, stalk and pursue a girl, who has no interest, no end, out of the sheer hope that one day she will see your love. Watch the movie and think if you’d like anyone do that to your sister, if you had one. I would kill the bastard! And not sympathise with him.
If you love someone, don’t force yourself on them. Give them their space.
Have some self-respect and have the girl love you for what you are. Think of the consequences of a relationship born out of begging and pleading. Are you ready to continue living with that equation… a master-slave equation? What was Selvaraghavan thinking?
If 7/G was a bad movie, I wouldn’t be complaining cuz people would be able to see through the indulgence of the director while making his autobiography. But here, the guy has made it sooo damn realistically, incorporating every possible thing an average Joe would do to woo the girl and in a way made the people in the audience believe that there is hope for them. If he’s trying to say that ugly losers like Ravi Krishna could bed a girl like Sonia Agarwal by the end, by just chasing the woman no end, it is a very scary proposition considering the impact a powerful film has on society. 7/G is a more than powerful, brilliant film that has raw appeal.
And our society is rich with these middle class lovestruck road romeos who follow women without realising that today’s laws consider this as sexual harassment. One movie like 7/G would make these road romeos believe that they are heroes. One movie like 7/G could give them the courage to chase any pretty woman on the road and continue even after the drubbing they might receive in the process. One movie like 7/G could change a road romeo into a psycho obsessed stalker.
Which is why it is a dangerous film. A wrong film.
Our country isn’t ready to handle realistic cinema yet. Simply, cuz people absorb morals from every film, and sometimes the wrong ones cuz they think they are real.
True, our cinema reflects our morals. But the morals from 7/G aren’t the ones we want our society to have.
Why some good films are wrong films!
Posted In: Archives
MADRAS INK. 
amen to that
no wonder my cousin being stalked by a psycho didnt like the movie!!!
very well said!! totally agree…
ghirijha
Do people in movie industry have a obligation to the society, realistic movies are good change from the regular run off the mill movies.
But you have point in “Our country isn’t ready to handle realistic cinema yet. ” I haven’t seen the movie, will see over this weekend, I might feel the same as you did after that, lets see.
Well written stuff!!! Actually this was in my mind when I used to argue about this movie with my friends, meaning this movie is good but doesn’t work out well morally. Can we digest some-one giving herself up to her lover before getting married to another person?
Ram.
I would truly agree. But I would say why should the menfolk be shown in this way ?
If it is college life , its explainable , but in true life , maybe after a point , you may like the girl around the corner , but ahh , wish I had the time to pursue her, too much work to do. Such states in society like that of stalkers is one of unemployment. If the guy has a job , coming back home would be to sleep or rest , there goes the girl through the door…
As for college life , things are blown way out of proportion in the movies…
Arun
Dear Anon!
Wats worse than being stalked by one person is being stalked by many… 7/G mite create such situations for every pretty girl… after all u cant expect a PYT to have just one stalker rite… which is why i think the film has dangerous consequences among a certain section of the audience who can relate to the same situation the protagonist of the film is in
gij…
how come suddenly u turn against ur tribe?
he he!
L:)ve
Me!
do filmmakers have an obligation to society??
hmmm… interesting question…
i think it depends totally on whether he’s making a painting for the appreciation of a elite few or whether he’s making a poster that will reach out to a huge population of the people who are representative of the society we live in…
artistic licence is something we all need to respect… which is why i respect selvaraghavan and think he’s made a good movie… it makes for great watching among ppl who know its just a movie, only a fantasy tale…people who understand concepts of film theory, alienation etc.
But it has an entirely different effect on the not so film literate ppl who believe that this movie is their story… ppl who strongly believe that this movie has the answers to their problems… which may just be about a really girl not reciprocating… they don’t realise their selfishness… they chase cuz they want the girl irrespective of wat the girl thinks!
So when u r a filmmaker who’s talking to a huge group of emotionally charged ppl in a country like India, you better know wat you’re saying! Cuz tomorrow, your own wife or sister cud be a victim of wat u’ve glorified… sexual harassment in the guise of love!
Ram,
I can see you are uncomfortable about premarital sex being shown on screen… 🙂
But personally I think that the love-making scene was handled with great sensitivity… you can see the class Selvaraghavan is capable of…. I have no problems with movies showing premarital sex, after all sex is a personal decision of two consenting adults… they know wats best for them… wat i have a problem is with the intrusion into another person’s space…
chennai zombie…
point pa!
only totally vetti, jobless people stalk… he he!
suddu…
its really funny… there are some idiots out there who mistake friendship for stalking… when a person reads ur blogs or mails u and says wassup after knowing u for 3 or 4 years illa, its not called stalking.. its called showing frienship. ana unfortunately there are some real LOSERS out there who think that this is stalking, they must be trying to boost their own ego or something illa suddu?? saniyena.. rombae paesadhe da!! 😛
lov
gij 🙂
Suderman, I’m yet to watch the film (love the music though) but if I remember correctly, the byline says “Based on a true story”. I guess this is all the ‘creative licence’ that Selvaraghavan needed to make this film. That plus that worn cliche – about life imitating art or is it the other way around? A very mean part of me also says when its the bucks at the B.O that matter these days, who gives a damn about morals? 🙂 Ravi
I agree. Gives all the wrong ideas. Urk.
Oiye (*cheri sound*)
adiye ghirijaaa!
Coovathu Elli… inna di sound kudukurai? Naan paakarathukku thaan decentu! ullai pakka cheri!
intha sight adikirai velai, sound kudukurai velai, yetti paakra velai, overa comment adikirae velai… ithu ellam yen kitae vechikaatha!
aparam i will have to introduce the real u to all the dejent people here!
ravi,
its quite dangerous. lets assume the boy next door has a crush on ur sister… imagine him doing all those things which the hero does in the movie… will u be okay with it… watch the movie and tell me.
its a serious issue.
pavithra,
almost all women who have seen the film seem to agree! thanks!
dai inna da??? dhil iruntha ondiki ondi vaa da.. mavanae.. piece piece akhiduvane!! pathu illana naaridum!!
koovathu elli! 🙂
p.s. thanks for the message and how many times do i have to tell u, im not stalkin u man!! get over urself!!! and big hug back! 🙂
Am happy to see how passionate you feel about this disturbing new trend. Yes, I hope to watch it one of these days and comment. That said, my new-films-to-watch list is getting out of hand 😦 Did read your report last week in the Hindu on the increasing revenues accruing to theatres now and how they want to plough back the same, for theatre-goers benefit. BUT, do update us B.Bazaar fanatics also with news on when they plan to resume business, without pirated TAMIL films! 🙂 Ravi
Did you guys see the Vijay TV- Lollu Sabha’s take on 7GRC y’day? I thorougly enjoyed this one more than the movie itself :-).
I remember a scene in the movie where boy tells girl that there’s only one way he knows to show his love, that he has not learnt any other ‘decent’ way other than relentless pursuit. I see a point there.
And there should really be no one sitting in judgement to say that a movie is a wrong one. you’re ok with the premarital sex, but not the stalking. ok, alright. but what if another guy got up and said “shet up da selvaraghavan! thappu-thappa scene kaati yenga youth mind-a darrty pannaadhe da!”? and what if the guy sat in the censor board?
morals, or no morals, there can be no “wrong” movies. only believable or unbelievable ones.
He does not know a decent way huh?
That’s wat all stalkers say Ro!
Answer me this: will you like it if a guy like that pursues u relentlessly and does all that he does, including peeping into ur window??
It’s cuz of innocent sounding arguments like that there are so many cases of sexual harassment (“Eve-teasing” as it is called) out here in our very own city.
Censorship should come from within a filmmaker. He should check if what he’s trying to say is for the greater good of the society. My only problem with the character is his intrusion of space and privacy, and the innocent sounding justification which even you have bought! Now think about the thousands of stalkers who will now believe all the more that they are right, there is no other way to show “lowe”!
hmmm.. censorship should come from within the film maker, aye? But ain’t it all subjective? maybe he empathises with the guys who stalk. ok, i’ll take extreme example– kill bill. awesome movie, no? but so much blood, so much gore. so will we all wield a sword and slash off hands and wrists.
you keep asking if i’d be ok with a stalker. no way. but i wouldn’t expect a boy like the one in 7/G to know how to come decently and ask me out for coffee or a play. and ‘invasion of privacy’? i don’t think someone living in a one-room house with amma, appa, thatha, paati, akka, anna, maama, maami will understand that.
Ro!
I’m glad u brought up Kill Bill, one of my fav. movies to compare… 🙂
But the biggest difference 7G and kill bill is the realism…
Kill Bill uses adequate alienation techniques … camera angles, fx, cartoons to subtly register in ur subconscious level that Kill Bill IS just a “tale”… just a work of fiction and only a movie situation… but 7G uses NO SUCH ALIENATION TECHNIQUES… On the contrary, it says: Based on a true story. It uses realism to back up its arguments…it is the realism in the movie which makes it appear legitimate to stalk… while a movie like Darr… with all its alienation techniques (songs, exaggerated villainy, mr. nice guy hero and other stereotypes) register the movie in ur subconscious as a work of fiction which has no relevance to our everyday life!
yes maama, and the stalker dies in Darr. And in Pyar tune kya kiya, the stalker becomes a loonytoon. The only way, probably, to not eliminate the stalker would be to give him the girl. and hello, every hero in our movies has stalked and won. So Madhavan & Vijay do it, and its ok, but this poor dirty boy does it, and its not?
And yes, the alienation technique DOES distance us from Kill Bill, but you know, howevermuch you show certain things, they will not get legitimized. Example- rape (half the rapists in movies go unpunished), murder (Even if i’m angry young man fighting injustices in the world by killing villians and not ever going to jail for it. Oh, and killing hired gunda extras is not crime, of course)…
well… you have a point there about madhavan and vijay… but hey, when did i say that isnt stalking??
u must watch this movie called “Alli ARjuna” by Saran… it flopped… becuz it tried to say that no kind of stalking…however charming it maybe… is good… besides, there is a lil difference between wooing a girl will understanding wat’s her private space and intruding into it… most of vijay and madhavan movies use alienation techniques to disown
realism… so i think its okie as long as the director tells u its just a fantasy story… not when he’s telling u its true… this is how life is and only goes on to justify stalking and tryin to give it
the label of love!
and i can guarantee u…. ur response to a madhavan or vijay is likely to be different from the route taken by this boy in 7g!
guess we can talk about this for hours!! 🙂
love your POV – not a lot of guys wud see it that way. To be honest, this film had a weird after-effect on me.. felt really strange for days. Just cudn’t accept the guy, his character or even the girl for finally relenting. It was a little twisted too – the other marwadi chap being a loser too – but just cudn’t accept the movie. in fact if he “sincerely loved her” why was there so much importance given to the “physical” aspects – made it look like it was more of lust and infatuation than “true love” – whatever that is!
one person i liked in the movie – the boy’s father – good acting and very good dialogues. now that was a well done role.
but then in the end, it’s just a movie. selvaraghavan knew that – that’s why he could twist and tweak his characters so much so that everything they did appeared “just right” to the audience – now that’s clever direction.
in the end, yes. this movie sends out the wrongest of signals to a nation that still has youth swearing by rasigar mandrams and crazy people who believe every word and action in a movie cuz they just cant look at it as “just a movie”.
well made movie, wrong audience.
dude, you’re just “generalizing” things. you’re saying that THIS movie will mislead people into harassing women. i saw the movie, i never harassed anyone.
if a psycho roadside romeo sees it, he might harass. so, the problem is NOT with the movie; its with the people who percieve it.
people are people and a single movie cant change them. though, they might influence them in a minor way, but the bottom line is you cant call them as major cause.
even lots of “good” movies are being made. why dont people “copy” them and be good, going by your argument !?
when are we going to look at movies as just as movies and nothing more ? if people believe movies are “real” then they are no more than deluded individuals who are very confused (cave dwellers as described by Plato, you can say)
I just had a glance about the comment now… after its long 7G has released and finished its collections needed for the producer……
If u could think of a poster kept in Mount Road of this film triggered tensions (Bathroom Ad).. and Selveragavan cooly told thats for promos and producer demanded we should not have accepted that explanation and should have started at that time itself…….
Ya Selvaragavan proved that a realistic story with realistic screenplay with no heroism will be accepted large once again after thulluvadho illama, Kadal Kondein…… but one has to accept that totally we can show the reality as some comprise is needed in each and every job,…. even the job we do has some compromises…….
I am a great Fan Manirathnam he do make some compromises … what i like in his film is the way he shows the characters a shot about a artiste will describe his character and i think selvaragavan has the chance but very minute to be next Mani Sir according to me
The Greats of Tamil / Indian cinema
Balachander
Manirathnam
Kamala Hassan
Ilayaraja
A R Rahman
we are great to have that we are part of their community
mmmm….finally a good/realistic movie review (…After all the stupid movie rvws on TV – they praise all movies!!)
In the Tamil Movie Industry the hero is all powerful & sometime (like in 7/g) realistic.
The Heroine however is..always dumb…
Time they changed tht..
Good wrk…
Kepp it going
Regards
Jenin Judson
Really good review…
You just said everything that I had in mind… that I used to argue with my friends when they say it is as a good movie.
Thanks for posting this. Hope people don’t take such kind of movies in the future. ‘Hope’ is the only thing that we can hope for.
I know I’m pretty late at this…but I got to see 7G just yesterday.
Realstic? I believe its based on a true story. However, the scene that reduces all that love to a sort of a one night stand is ludicrous. Sensitively shot, no doubt, but rather unbelievable. And certainly puts the character of the heroine in a 180 degree turn from the rest of the movie (she’s even hesitant to be touched, for God’s sake!)