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| MGR,
Rajini, Vijay and now Ajith |
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I
read the visitor’s
column in Behindwoods on Ajith
with interest, and would like
to comment on it. I saw Aegan
too and I must say within 30
minutes of the movie I was asking
myself: how did Ajith, after
working with Vishnuvardan in
Billa, agree to do Aegan?
Having said that, I would say
I enjoyed Ajith's performance
in the movie (it was the movie's
only saving grace). While I
agree with your questions and
suggestions for Ajith, at the
same time, I think you also
missed an important point: you
should have included a plea
for Ajith's fans as well. The
fans should allow him to make
movies that do not always play
up the Thala legend. In other
words, Ajith should be allowed
to take up some character roles
as well that veer far from his
Thala image because he is a
damn good actor. Case in point
is Kreedom where he played his
role so well. Unfortunately
this movie did not do well because
Thala's fans could not accept
Thala as a loser who does not
get the girl nor emerge triumphant
at the end of the story. What
idiocy is this on the part of
the fans? |
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So it is not just Thala to be
blamed for bad movies but also
the fans whom refuse to see
him in any other roles except
the masala films that play up
the Thala factor. Ajith is in
danger of falling into the image
trap of so many other stars
before him like MGR, Rajini
and now Vijay.
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MGR
gave a splendid performance
in Pasam. (The movie also starred
the lovely Saroja Devi) If that
movie had been a hit, perhaps
his movie career would have
taken a different trajectory.
But unfortunately it failed
miserably because the fans could
not accept the death of their
thalaivar at the end of the
movie. The same fate also has
befallen Rajini. The last good
movie that he made where he
gave a moving performance was
Thalapathy. In that movie and
earlier ones like Netrikan,
Moondru Mudithcu etc we saw
a glimpse of what a great actor
he could have developed into
if he had not fallen into the
Badhsah and subsequent larger
than life image in the movies.
The same fate also seems to
stick to Vijay. Early in his
career, in movies like Priyamanale,
Kadhalukku Mariyathai and Thullatha
Manamum Thullum (how about the
scene where he cries for his
dead mother without letting
others know how he felt? Will
we see such scenes again in
his movies?).
Only few actors like Sivaji
and Kamal Hassan seem to have
escaped the image trap and therefore
are able to utilize their acting
skills to the full, and show
the rest of the world that the
best actors of India are from
the South.
Tamil film fans have to change
their attitude towards their
heroes. Why is it in Malayalam
films and even Hindi films,
which- let's face it- has a
global audience that Tamil films
don't, (lots of non-Hindi speakers
watch Hindi movies. The same
can't be said for Tamil films
where right now I would guess
that 90% of its audience are
Tamil speakers. The marketing
of Tamil movies to non-Tamil
speakers can be a column by
itself which I will write in
future) do not force their heroes
into stereotypical roles? This
enables stars like SRK, Aamir
Khan, Salman Khan and a host
of others to experiment with
their roles and do different
types of stories.
The big stars have to realise
that there has been a fundamental
shift in the minds of Tamil
movie goers, especially this
year with the success of so
many `small' movies with non-stars
like Subramanipuram, Saroja,
Anjathe, Kadhalil Vizhuthen
and Poi Solle Porom to name
a few. More movies are being
launched with unknowns, with
the real stars being the story
-- which it is as it should
be. And it is so gratifying
to hear up coming directors
like Mysskin etc boldly proclaiming
that they are not dying to do
movies with Rajini or Kamal;
instead these stars should do
movies with them under these
new directors' rules.
Big stars like Ajith must be
daring enough to do roles that
goes against their image; where
the star is the screenplay and
not their larger than life histrionics.
They cannot dictate to the director
to add certain elements in the
movie to please their fans and
to solidify their image as how
Vijay asked a shocked Gautham
Menon to do (can you imagine
a kuthu song or a comedy track
in a GM's film?!). And you need
directors like GM who politely
turned Vijay down and looked
elsewhere.
The good news is, especially
for Thala fans, it seems he
is moving with the times. If
reports are to be believed,
his next film will be with Gautham
Menon himself and we all know
how well GM does his films especially
his characterizations of the
characters in the movies. And
there are also reports he has
agreed to do a film with Venkat
Prabhu and he has asked him
specifically not to change the
story to suit his image. That
is very good news indeed!
So fans of Thala, Ilayathalapathy
and whatever new thalaivars
out there, grow up! By all means
love your Thailavas but also
let them grow as actors and
experiment with new roles and
stories. If you are truly die
hard fans of whichever heroes
you support, you should be able
to appreciate all the different
roles they do. And yes, even
roles where the hero does not
always come out tops. What should
come out tops is the story;
the story my friends!
Cheers
Sharmila Valli Narayanan
sharmval@gmail.com
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