in the right manner) that brings the highest levels
of pure unadulterated entertainment on screen. But,
when it becomes a predictable good vs. evil battle
being played out for the umpteenth time, it gives
us an ‘old wine in old bottle’ feeling
and it is not at all in keeping with the times and
trends of current commercial cinema. We have had good
example over the past couple of years wherein the
commercial formula has been intelligently used (fights,
songs, romance, comedy) keeping in mind the changing
audience tastes – Ayan, Paiya, Uthamaputhiran
etc – to produce hits.
The films over the past fortnight that proved to be
a throwback to the days of ‘templateism’
are Aadu Puli and Thambikottai. Are these the only
movies in the recent past that have displayed the
traits of commercialism that are now passé
to Tamil cinema? No; there have been others too and
there still will be more of them. Then, why have these
two films been picked out from the lot? Because of
their male leads and the youth team that was behind
these films.
Both, Aadu Puli and Thambikottai have not been made
by over the hill directors from the 80s or 90s who
are still holding on to their styles of film making.
They have been brought out by teams that are dominated
by youth. The directors are either very young in their
careers or making their debuts. Both the male leads
have been identified as promising faces for the future
of the new Tamil cinema. Yet, such teams, which ideally
should be brimming with new ideas and concepts, have
given products that are regressive or run of the mill
at best.
The same time last year; both Narain (Thambikkottai)
and Aadhi (Aadu Puli) were being perceived as the
one among the few emerging youth faces who had the
courage to go along with the visions of daring directors.
After having done films like Anjathey and Eeram, both
of them had almost proved that they had the eye for
what was different and worthwhile.
But, over the last fortnight, that perception has
taken a beating. No one thought that Narain would
go in for something as clichéd (heroine being
villain’s daughter) as in Thambikkottai; especially
after having shown the courage to bide his time for
the right subject post-Anjathey. It has been nearly
three years since Anjathey; the only movie in the
interim was Panthayakozhi, dubbed from Malayalam (something
that can be termed as an aberration). One can hardly
say that Thambikkottai has been worth the three year
wait for Narain. One would not have had to wait so
long for a script that has so little to claim in terms
of novelty.
Similarly for Aadhi; his underplay in Eeram had us
applauding. He had shown us his likes for things that
were different right from his debut. But, one is not
able to understand what prompted him to suddenly shift
to commercial mode, especially producing back to back
flicks of almost the same genre. This is not to say
that either Ayyanar or Aadu Puli are bad films; but
they are so out of sync with the current developments
in Tamil cinema that it is disappointing to see promising
young actors, who are supposed to represent change
and dynamism, walk up the beaten path.
Of course, these are just two films and there is no
need to think that all is lost. Narain and Aadhi are
still promising faces. Commercial cinema is essential
for any actor to keep afloat. But, even a commercial
flick needs to have something that sets it apart from
the rest. And, we are sure that Narain and Aadhi will
be back with films that grab our attention soon enough.
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