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Pen
Winner
Chennai
behindw@behindwoods.com
The
trend now in Tamil cinema is to shoot the songs in some
foreign locations. The bigger the stars, more exotic
the locale. If not all the songs, at least one or two
must be shot abroad. It would be interesting to study
the evolution of this fascination for overseas spots.
When films were in their infancy, almost the entire
film was shot in the confines of the |
studio.
It was the era of
black and white. Outdoor locations usually were villages
or hill stations within Tamil Nadu. The richness and
diversity could not be captured in black and white.
With the advent of colour came the film, Anbe Vaa
in which MGR paired with Saroja Devi. This film was
shot in the beautiful hillstation of Shimla. AVM was
the producer. Slowly, the producers were trying to
seek newer pastures. Then came the landmark film,
Ulagam sutrum valiban with MGR in the lead. It was
shot in Japan, Hongkong and Bangkok. The breathtaking
beauty and enjoyable entertainment elements made the
film a huge success. Besides, in this film foreign
places were essential to the script. That is why it
gelled well. Then onwards, we did have many films
here and there which had one or two songs. Another
film which was shot almost fully in Singapore was
the Rajinikanth starrer, Priya. Overseas location
was again the central
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of the story and hence the film had a good run. Ullasa
paravaigal and Jappanil kalyanaraman are some other
films set in foreign countries.
An
important point to remember is that the use of a foreign
location was not incidental but central to the plot.
The exoticism added to the fantasy aspect. The suspense
and drama were heightened because the Tamil audience
was quite new to international exposure. Therefore,
it made logical sense to shoot abroad. But then the
situation changed and more and more producers wanted
to capture the richness and affluence of overseas locations.
They were willing to spend more. However, the directors
and stars prefer only the songs to be shot because of
three main reasons. Most of the stars work on multiple
projects and hence have tight schedules. Going abroad
for long shoots is ruled out. Secondly, as more and
more Indians travel abroad on work or for pleasure,
foreign countries do not create awe in the minds of
the audience any more. It is enough, they feel, to get
a picture postcard effect and shooting only the songs
is the easiest way. Thirdly, the cost involved in taking
a huge entourage does not fit well in the whole matrix
of completing and releasing the film.
It
makes sense to use locations, both Indian and foreign,
sensibly to provide visual depth and richness. Directors
are also waking up to the immense possibilities of shooting
within the shores of the country in hitherto unknown
places. Remember the Kochi fort in the Uyire song in
Bombay or the vast expanse of snow deserts of Leh in
Uyire? Songs in Tamil films are meant to add appropriate
mood. Hence, the directors should look at locations
only with the perspective of enhancing the mood. As
long as the location satisfies this requirement, Indian
or foreign is immaterial.
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