I was just listening to the Pudhupettai soundtrack.
Must say it is quite ambitious with orchestra music and all that, but it has adequate punch to cater to the front benchers too — his staple.
It’s one of those tracks that totally worries me, cuz I really like the sound. It’s definitely gonna be on the lips of every rowdy and roadside romeo, the kinds who hang out leching at women outside women’s colleges, sing riotously inside city buses or outside movie halls.
As if sexual harassment understated as eve-teasing wasn’t a menace enough, now Yuvan and Selvaraghavan come up with a peppy and upbeat “Variya” (supposedly picturised on ‘Night Life’), a song guaranteed to be an instant favourite among the city’s sidiest bunch…
What irks me is that Selvaraghavan is a pretty talented director with great potential … Very few understand the middle class like he does, very few succeed in telling stories of normal people and intense relationships, very few command the respect of stars, technicians and producers alike … But to quote the cliche, with great power comes great responsibility … something this juvenile delinquent does not understand.
A few months ago, I said why 7G Rainbow Colony was a wrong good movie. Yes. Wrong and good.
I suspect Selvaraghavan has decided to make that style and content his signature.
He better know that by doing so, he’s only gonna remain the poor-man’s-Maniratnam and never be able to relate to a wider audience, let alone the World Cinema he wants to compete with.
The same thing applies to the stars too. Starting with Vijay (he would do a world of good for himself refraining from another one of those shorts-jatti lines that smack of sexist policing), Vikram (no more slapping heroines) and Suriya (the young man has taken to sexist policing too in ‘Aaru’)…. surely they don’t want to be seen doing things which the likes of Simbu and Dhanush do!
MADRAS INK. 
Haven’t heard the track…Must be good…after listening to awesome music in Kadhal Konden and 7G. So I thought..but it changed after browsing thru a website that had proof/tracks to prove that most of them were directly lifted. I just hope the music/movie is good – waiting for the film to hit the theatres. (PS- am sure that ‘Puthupettai’ will bring Dhanush back in reckoning. Watcha say?)
College girls watch out, for a 185 cm, handsome (I am giving you the benifit of doubt)guy standing next to your college gate singing ‘variya’… it neednt be a rowdy or a roadside romeo, it mite as well be a superhero.
rim:
yes, no doubt pudhupettai will bring him back in contention… im sure he’s done a pretty good job too… its not dhanush, its selvaraghavan and his sensibility that im bothered about.
sagaro:
tamaasu tamaasu tamaasu!
Great Post Suderman. Haven’t heard this song yet, but I clearly remember reading your review on 7G before watching the film and it does gives out wrong messages to even the naive ones who start believing that if you keep pestering and harrassing a girl you eventually stand a chance.
Couldn’t agree with you more on the last paragraph of your post.
Suderman, IMHO, its not the job of a filmmaker to be socially responsible. Its his foremost job to entertain people paying their hard-earned money to see his movie.
Selvaraghavan or any other filmmaker did not create these people you talk about. They will continue to exist even if every filmmaker became socially responsible. Popular culture is culpable only to the extent that it enables them to think they are cool when they copy what they see in the movies.
Its funny
that when a politician says something about how a celebrity should be responsible in interviews…he is sexist…moral police and what not…(“Women are always targetted”)…he is against freedom of speech,”the quintessential trait of democracy”
Then how can we expect such a sleaze director to be responsible…he may claim his freedom of speech…
ok…there’s no point in my rantings…
What irks me is that, I was actually having an argument with one of our common friend, who is very much involved in Tamil cinema. I told him, that here people(in the industry) dont allow or support good cinema. entertaining and sensible without involving or actually popping out item numbers at random and songs when the situation doesnt call for at all. All the cinema producers, he claimed, want to make good profit whatsoever. I agree.. but sticking to the same formula ..? and the only difference that we ever come across is different permutations and combinations of heroes and heroines. That also is dying out. He said, the audience want only that.. and like what they see.. Is it that we are not able to understand/accept changes.. Where I claimed, even I am an audience, and I seriously cant stand look-alikes. Is it not possible, suderman, to take a movie that you really believe in and still get the producer to go ahead with it? He claimed that I was not supporting this industry. But he doesnt understand that, I was actually trying to tell him that we are much better off and are capable of something more. We actually have good technicians.. and the full potential is driven. Something that I fear, And , I thought, even if I work under an art director for so and so years, I will still land up with the same sets for koothu song and item number.. where is the challenge?
And one more thing, he said it is not necessary for a cinema to give a message. I agree. But it need not promote violence also. Many men/boys claimed that afte seeing 7G, this is what they felt exactly. What do they mean by that. What are we supposed to think when we are talking to our own next door neighbours? WE had this discussion amongst us girls. And the only thng we all agreed upon is the disgust. Enough of what happens in a boy’s world. Enough of promoting what boys think when they look at gals, or what they want in a gal. If they have guts, take a movie on girls, what they think about guys.. how they consider guys.. how they travel with lechers in the bus-trying to brush past or trry to fall blaming on the brakes, how they hear comments everytime they walk on crowded streets/try to touch . .or how they make us feel irritated/dirty/angry after experiencing any such.. And how we have to go on keeping a lookout for all that whenever we go out. They think we fall in love, just because they follow us, stare at us.. Ya rite, u wish
Selva is a tallented director, but I’m afraid he’s getting too stereotypical, much like Balachandar. Lazygeek once mentioned about this..All Balachandar Heroines smile alike and all selvaragavan movie reflect his inner self. Only when he comes out, he can compete with likes of Maniratnam.
If movies had that big an effect . we wouldnt have been able to move arnd without bumping into a Mahatma.. and If some moron thinks harassing a girl is the best way to woo her … well a peek into an M n B is long over due 🙂
I am waiting to hear that song though ..:)
Listened to the music…you’re right…its ambitious allright! Very diff feel about the whole album (shades of old compositions of Rahman seen in ‘gng thru emotions’…is that why he didnt say whose?!) Methinks Yuvan is here to stay, and I really liked all his ’05 scores!
Abt movies and responsibility, I feel movies and TV are over-rated as an influence and are (sometimes – not always – unjustly) lampooned. But hey, even I’m guilty – frequently! when there is a readymade scapegoat, who can resist it?!
Oh btw, happy new year folks!
Cheers,
Shelob.
(Jeez! The ‘variya’ song just came on….I eat my words!!! It is exactly what Sudhish warned….good…ergo, bad!)
Wish you a great new year 2006..:-)
Yes, S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I
T Y
selva
quite true – esp. padicha naaye kitta varaadhey.
but the soundtrack is really good inspite of yuvan blatantly reusing “Vivaldi” as is his wont these days… personal fav: the one sung by kamal.
Not only Selvaragavan,but almost everyone in the Tamil Film industry except a very few are socially irresponsible. Is sexism the only social irresponsibility we see here.
Is heroism socially responsible?
Does not heroism affect an immature adolescent?
Ours is a country where cinema is larger than real life.When a hero is shown as a demi-god in films our people believe so.
We see in our daily life that whenever a Rajini and Vijay film comes there will be people who do Palabishegam and stuff.Can a hero encourage or fail to discourage this?It seems the so called super stars are happy or atleast satisfied about these.That is why they create an image,a falseone about themselves in the films.
See what is happening in Vijay films.He uses dialogues that are sexist and mere ego-boosters and violent.Ask him? and he will say that his fans like these.Is it not his responsibility to give them the right thing rather than the easier one.
We have seen the usage of political dialogues in Muthu Padayappa and in many other Rajini films.Why are they included in films?.Is it not to merely exploit the interests of the fans and boost the revenues of the films.
Recently,in Chandramukhi,he uses double entendres also.P.vasu said in an interview that when he writes the script he makes sure to boost the image of the hero.Doesn’t that spoil the script?
Cinema as an art has definetely been reduced to a business here.But atleast they should take care that their films should not be detrimental to the society.
S.J.Surya takes lewd films that are obscene to the core and he too claims that his fans lke these.
There is only one motive behind all these.People are ready to be exploited.Why not use this oppurtunity to exploit them and earn some money?Who cares about the effect of these films on society?
Besides these there are only a very few people like Cheran ,Kamalhasan and ManiRatnam make responsible films.
It’s high time our film makers realise that they have to do some justice to the medium through which they earn money – Cinema
hey sudish why havent u mentioned that the theme of this movie is a complete rip off of The Godfather theme.people need to know that.after YSR shudnt get undeserved credit
hey Sudhish,
The next time you might have to carefully select your wishes.. Looks like Selva himself popped up on your blog and responded to your request of spelling out Social Responsibility..
He he he he.. I wish he could partake in a chat with you and the readers of your blog to discuss this topic of Social Responsibility.. It would be fun..
Andy
wicked angel:
thanks! lets hope Pudhupettai is more responsible.
kannan:
thats like saying lets start showing rape as fun. rape is just a greater form of sexual harassment. maybe its time u imagine someone u love being a target of such behaviour that u see and enjoy in movies.
anbu:
politicians wil say anything to get to a vote bank. support such idiots does not make ur case any strong.
incognito:
the key to good cinema lies in balancing what people want to see with what u want to tell them. and if u say something genuine and straight from the heart, people will sit up and watch. Just like u read a story written in simple english cuz its honest.
peelamedu bulls:
stylisation has its pluses and minuses. in the beginning at least, it helps the director establish himself and let people know he has a signature, he has a style. if people like that, they go to his movies because they expect that style, they want to see the narrative with his trademark signature. its only when people get bored of a set style, wil the director feel the need to do something different. its all a part of the cycle. as he matures into a finer filmmaker and when he has an established following who will watch his films unconditionally, he wud probably change his style, jsut the way Mani Ratnam has. It’s pure marketing.
neena:
wish ur statements were recorded in selvaraghavan’s films… since they dont, the content becomes one-sided and sends wrong messages to love sick romeos who have the love but dont know ways to express it.
shelob:
hahaha! happy new year to u too.
selvaraghavan:
dubukku… u forgot the space and ur alignment is all fucked up.
karthik:
i like the tracks too, tho a tad unoriginal.
madhu:
i agree a lot of them are irresponsible but there’s a huge difference between films in the mould of a fantasy (with song, dances, special effects, fights) and films rooted in reality… fantasy movies are about people aspire for, reality movie are about what people ARE. so it is really inappropriate to compare the two. fantasy movies use alienation techniques to constantly remind u its just a work of fiction. reality movies work hard in detailing little truths to make you believe its all true. hence, when u tell a story in the realistic mould, u need to be doubly responsible. when u r making the same mistake in a fantasy movie, people know its just a movie and stars have their trappings. which is why u dont see people doing Lakalakalakalakalakalaka in real life. but u see them pinching butts in the bus.
paurna:
its not a complete rip off but yeah I did think it had shades of the Godfather theme too… Glad Im not the only person to think it sounded familiar.
Andy is an idiot to think that my brother really came here.
avanakku vera velai illai?
andy:
heard wat dhanush said?
When it comes to social responsiblity,whether it’s a fantasy or a real one doesn’t make much difference.I know a guy who went to a thalaivar movie on the 1st day,25th day ,50th day ,100th day and so on as if it’s a ritual.Is it not an aberration?
One can’t expect rational behaviour from the audience ,particularly the class C audience.Given that most of the Heroism oriented films reach the Class C audience,Who should be more responsible?
By the way, what is unethical is the introduction of characters and scenes and dialogues that serves the sole purpose of improving the hero’s image.
Eg.The characters of Sheela and the Priest in Chandramukhi who are initially antagonistic towards the hero and finally succumbs before him.
By the way what are alienation mechanisms?
Madhu:
When you see Superman flying, you know he’s not real.
When you see the man doing death defying stunts, bedding the hottest women, introducing himself as Bond, James Bond, you know he’s fiction.
You know its fantasy.
It’s the same thing for a superstar movie.
There are songs, unbelievable stunts, stylisation in costume and mannerisms (to make up for a superhero cape)…
Alienation is a technique which filmmakers use to break the concept of time and space (time: when slow-motion, fast forwards or jump cuts are used, you know its not home video, you know its not real, you know its larger than life and not outta everyday life. space: when the hero goes to the Swiss Alps to sing a song with a dozen extras behind him, you know its fantasy)
These devices work at a subconscious level and you’d be surprised how they make all the difference between influencing people, especially the common man.
which is why they dont themselves think of beating a man flying in the air, but they do think feeling up women in a bus is cool…