A worrisome discrimination between commercial and parallel cinema exists constantly in Kollywood. Even matured critics have got themselves entangled in the confusion as to which genre is generally more appealing and successful in terms of critical acclamation as well as box office success. However, now the situation is changing(for the better) and the haziness is getting cleared up as there seems to be no such apparent bifurcation amongst the current tamil films.Its been realised that ,films which have blended interesting commercial aspects with a genuine and solid script and characterisation have worked wonders in recent times. Sadly, only the critics (and not all directors) seem to have realised this as there are only a handful of such meaningful and sensible films . Films lacking in solid content which have sheer gloss and irrelavent commercial aspects are aplenty and continue to dominate in numbers. Though this infuriates me on one side on the shamelessness of the makers, it equally makes me sympathise with them for refusing to come out from the darkness they are in .
Lets recollect a few films in the last couple of years which are memorable, not due to their commercial success alone, but also because of the interesting content and substance value. The conclusions I am going to make from these could have been easily made from the films of the past decades also. Just that I wanted to take up the current scenario and discuss the prospects.
Mozhi- This is one of my favourites in recent times. A beautifully and poetically narrated film which had a serious theme about the attitude of a physically challenged lady. On paper,it is indeed a grave subject without any apparent room for "commerial aspects" like humour, romance, dream song sequences etc .Surprisingly it had its relavent share of all these. However, thse factors only enhanced the film and never tried to stand out odd or hinder the main storyline. Every aspect of the film like music, comedy gelled so well with the story that they were like gems studded on a necklace. I could nt but only thoroughly enjoy every moment of watching the film.
Chennai 28 - Another refreshing movie which had a never before dealt subject-gully cricket. Most of the faces were fresh and the director was a debutante. But this in no way afftected the wide reach of the film. In fact the movie ended up becoming the talk of the town despite the poor opening. Though there were too many characters in the film, the characterisation was superbly effective and the humourous sequences were a part of the main story without the need for a separate comedy track. Like the previous mentioned film, the technical aspects succeeded in enhancing Ch-28 and and stayed obediently "behind" the script.
Anjathey- This film was a big success though the "commercial aspects" were less in content. Thanks to the powerful characterisation and gripping screenplay. The main reason for its appeal can be attributed to the loyalty of all aspects of the film to the main story right from casting to music.
Analysing the success of the previous films, one thing becomes very clear. A film's success doesnt demand a powerful starcast or out of the world technical aspects costing a fortune . An engrossing screenplay along with the relavent commercial aspects and a good marketing strategy are enough to do the magic. Even a new comer can become a household name if he is true to his script and works hard on it.
I personally feel that this lack of a sensible script is the prime area where Sivaji failed. Though the film might have been a blockbuster,it is a milestone cinema neither for Shanker nor Rajini. The USP s of the film might have been the extraordinary technical aspects along with lavish sets, rocking music and of course ,Thalaivar :), but certainly not the story or the way the black money theme was dealt. This is why the movie can never be remembered for its content. Only the sensation over the budget and other superficial aspects stay in our minds still. However, Shanker was intelligent enough to make sure that he can completely bank on the magic name-Rajini...Same can be said of Dasavatharam. A blockbuster declared,its high point is the 10 roles and the 10 roles alone.Of course apart from the superior technical part of it.
But Rajini and Kamal are two big forces in Kollywood who have the capability of single handedly bringing about the success of their films with their remarkable performance and their screen presence, irrespective of the story. This is especially true with Rajini. So ,by just considering one film of each, their case cant be blatantly equated to that of the one we are discussing now. They have given marvellous films in the past with strong storylines. We can just hope that they dont get carried away by the enormity of the success of their recent films both of which are weak story wise.
The actual culprits are people like Vijay who simply try to emulate others giving absolutely no consideration for the story. Eventually, this ends up in repeated failures. As is clearly evident from the latest 2 mega flops from ilayathalabadi(vidi). He is one actor(??) who doesnt bother to bring about a difference in his films.This is the case even with his costumes...leave alone the performance or story. He infact,once shamelessly told in an interview that he goes from the shoot of one film to another in the same attire. Admittedly,a graceful dancer, he gives plenty of importance to his dance movements in the songs. Had he taken even half of the same efforts in improving his histionic skills or choice of scripts, he could ve achieved reasonable heights as an 'actor'. But its useless talking about such an impossibilty as his refusal to change is apparent from the stills of his forthcoming film where he holds the same old porikki...err...Pokiri look..
Now lets leave 'Mr. Do the same ' alone to dance and see why even meaningful films like Evano Oruvan have also failed in the recent times . This film did lack in masala stuff like songs/comedy and did bear a grave feel throughout. Nonetheless, it was gripping. The main reason might have been the poor marketing and wrong time of release. The film was running in the same cinema houses where the much hyped fashion show Billa was tasting great success. While releasing such an offbeat and lesser expected film along with an overly sensationalised flick , the distributors and the producer ought to have taken extra efforts to market the film effectively, which they failed at miserably. Thus,Evano Oruvan did remain true to its name.
From the above examples, it gets very clear that the script has to be the driving factor for any film to succeed.The converse is also true. If the script becomes the mainstay, the films success follows path automatically irrespective of the other superficial aspects like starcast, technology etc provided a wise marketing strategy is adopted. This not only helps the collections to reach the break even and go beyond, but also makes the film a memorable and widely acclaimed one. It stays in the minds of many for long, for the novelty and substance.
As someone rightly said ,a 'separate script writer culture 'can be adopted in Kollywood lifting a big burden from the directors head. Without having to take up all the work in his hands, the director can pay good attention to aspects other than the script , leaving the headache to someone else. However, such a turning point in Tamil Cinema seems nowhere at sight in the near future.
So,its high time directors start slogging over the script ( story, screenplay and characterisation including) trying to make it as novel and interesting as possible till they get it right. They can start thinking about other secondary matters like casting and scope for technology after this . However, they must constantly remind themselves of their responsibility to ensure that these secondary aspects including the "commercial aspects"are just servants who must stay faithful to their one and only master- THE SCRIPT!
Its time film makers give importance to us gaining value for our money than them valuing their gain.
