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Why
’daddy’ gets it wrong!
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Dads
always want sons to be more successful than they
were. We have, over the years, heard some very
‘filmy’ dialogues that say ‘a
dad’s greatest victory is when his son does
better than him’. Should be true. Dads are
sometimes very eager to see their sons do extremely
well, so much so that they tend to lose the real
perspective. The impartial evaluation is very
important to make the right judgments. And most
fathers, how much ever successful they might have
been in their respective fields, are not able
to take an objective view of what is best for
their son. Now, this is the general stuff. What
does it have to do with cinema? Well, there are
two professions in our country where heredity
can help a lot. One of them is politics and the
other of course is cinema. Instances where dads
launch their sons are dime a dozen in the Indian
film industry. Whether this is good or bad is
a tricky question to answer. That is because over
the last decade or so, we have had a few good
actors who have been launched with great fanfare
by their dads under their home production banners.
But, there are also many
instances
when an attempt to provide a great launch pad
has backfired.
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Dads
tend to get carried away while directing their sons,
especially when it is his debut. Even the best filmmakers
of our times have faltered while trying to launch their
sons. One among them is Bharathiraja, the director credited
with taking Tamil cinema out of the confines of studios
to the outdoors. The man, who directed landmark films
like Kizhakke Pogum Rail and Karuthamma, seemed to have
lost his magic touch when launching Manoj in Taj Mahal.
It is hard to believe that the director who was instrumental
in introducing some of the most popular artistes in
Tamil cinema, including Karthik, couldn’t deliver
the goods when it came to launching his son. It is not
that Bharathiraja has never delivered another flop,
but the error frequency when dads direct their sons
is surely undeniable. Take for instance what happened
when T. Rajendar launched Silambarasan with Kadhal Azhivathillai.
Again, this is not to claim that whatever TR has touched
has turned to gold, but he has delivered big hits in
his time and by now we know that Silambarasan is an
actor who can do fairly well in any role. Yet, Kadhal
Azhivathillai failed to capture the imagination of audiences.
Similarly, S.Ve Shekhar couldn’t put together
a good script for his son Ashwin when he launched him
in Vegam. The man who is known for his rib tickling
jokes and gags, a part of many hits in his days, strangely
failed to produce those signature moments of humor.
There was undeniably a tendency to tilt towards a star
image for his son, rather than emphasize on a good script.
This was the first time that S.Ve Shekhar was part of
such a movie. As an artiste he has known to be extremely
selective about the films that he is part of, but his
selection policy seemed to have eluded him while launching
his son. Pandiarajan tried to launch son Prithvi in
the same mould as his, but couldn’t produce his
humorous touch. P. Vasu, hit maker who made the stupendously
successful Chandramukhi in 2005 could not get the equations
right for his son Shakthi in his debut Thottal Poo Malarum
in 2007. All star sons who have went on to become stars
in their own rights are those who have been allowed
to chart their career independently. Instances when
dad has launched son successfully are quite few, like
Kasthuriraja’s launch of Dhanush in Thulluvatho
Ilamai.
Instances of dads not getting things getting it right
when it comes to their son’s films are prevalent
in other industries as well. Bollywood is replete with
such instances. Recently, Harry Baweja went way off
target while launching his son Harman in Love Story
2050. The master director of Malayalam film industry,
Fazil delivered an absolute dud when launching his son
Shanu in Kaiyethum Doorathu. Perhaps, the only director
to have launched his son in a hugely successful manner
is Rakesh Roshan who made Hrithik Roshan an overnight
phenomenon with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.
When we talk about dads have been unsuccessful in launching
their sons, it is also important not to forget another
prominent trend; that of brothers. In Kollywood there
are two glowing instances where brothers have been able
to complement each other extremely well. Dhanush’s
career has been greatly enhanced by his association
with Selvaraghavan, so has Jeyam Ravi’s career
been taken to great heights by his association with
elder brother Raja. Venkat Prabhu made a promising comedian
out of an aspiring musician, Premji.
What is the reason behind the big error rate when dads
handle their sons in movies? Maybe, being overcautious
or overenthusiastic is the problem. Dads always want
their sons to be on top of the world. Aiming for the
sky and not even managing to reach a treetop is something
that many of us have experienced. It is always important
to be realistic about anything that we are doing. But,
it is difficult for a dad to be realistic about his
son. Maybe that’s why we see even famed directors
losing their calibrations when they direct their sons.
A very good example to illustrate this is the scene
from Vasool Raja MBBS. Here, Prakash Raj tells his students
that the most important thing to be a good doctor is
to be unmindful of the person whom one is treating.
There should be absolutely no emotion involved. The
patient must be seen only as a body that needs to be
treated, the name of the person, his position in society
should not be of concern to the doctor. Only then will
mind be focused and the hands remain steady. Prakash
Raj then tells that if he has to operate upon his daughter,
then his hands may tremble; because he loves his daughter
and that emotion gets involved. It seems to be a similar
case with directors launching their sons. They know
that a false move can land their son’s career
in trouble. It is this emotion that makes even the best
in the business make uncharacteristic mistakes.
In the large scheme of things, this might look insignificant.
The number of films where a dad directs his son is few
and far in between and in terms of impact upon the industry
it might be inconsequential. But, it is indeed interesting
to observe.
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