simplicity and spontaneous mirth are hard to replicate.
Many have tried doing it but the magic from the first
time has never been recaptured.
The ‘Vazhappazha comedy’ is a perfect
example. Try as they may, both Goundamani and Sendhil
could never make another scene as immortal as this
one, though they did create many other enjoyable moments.
Or, the N number of attempts that have been made by
Vadivelu, Vivek and scores of other comedians at replicating
the almost everlasting effect that Winner Kaipullai
had. Ever since Winner released, more than 90% of
comedy tracks have revolved around ‘dummy rowdies’
and their methods of getting beaten up. While many
of them have been enjoyable (and others, especially
recent ones like Mappillai have made us want to walk
out of theaters) Winner still is the clear favorite.
Yes,
success spawns a number of followers, some of whom
want to emulate, while others want to imitate. More
importantly, success creates a tag on the person who
is successful; especially in cinema. In cinema, success
can be a baggage that one has to carry around everywhere,
sometimes falling into image traps and repeating oneself.
Success in cinema creates pressure to succeed again
and the easiest way and most dangerous trap in such
situations is to imitate earlier success.
Suseendiran might have found himself in such a spot
when his career took off on a positive note with VKK.
He chose not to repeat and or replicate and went for
something completely different in Naan Mahaan Alla.
And, when he came back to the rural setting in Azhagarsaamiyin
Kudhirai, the comparisons and expectations were inevitable.
Would he be able to replicate the magic of VKK? Will
he repeat the success of VKK?
NO, he neither replicated nor repeated; he recreated.
There is very little or nothing of VKK that we can
see in Azhagarsaamiyin Kudhirai, except of course
the cast and the ‘Parotta’. Isn’t
the ‘Parotta’ a repetition, you would
ask? Wasn’t that an attempt on the part of the
director to cash in on the success of a previous film?
Would Azhagarsaamiyin Kudhirai have been a lesser
film without the Parotta?
The answer to the first two questions isn’t
clear. But the answer to the final one is a definite
‘Yes’. Having watched the film, one cannot
think of it without the ‘Parotta’ scene,
however small or inconsequential it might be. It does
not look like a mere repetition, a pale imitation
or an attempt to put in a small piece which can be
used for good recall value in publicity. And, that
is where the skill of the director comes to the fore.
There is a very thin line between looking brilliant
or stupid in such matters. Suseendiran has walked
the line like an expert.
Finally, it takes strong characters, or big hits to
create screen names that stick to an actor throughout
the career. But, there is one actor who got a screen
name with just a Parotta, ‘Parotta Suri’.
And one guesses the name will stick for a few years
to come if not longer. And, so, the man who made this
possible, Suseendiran, will be the ‘Parotta
Master’ of the Tamil industry.
We call Suseendiran the ‘Parotta Master’
not just because he has woven two delightful scenes
around it. It is also because of his ability to make
cinema that is simple, cheap (on budgetary grounds)
and can be enjoyed by everyone; just like the Parotta
– the poor man’s Pizza. Suseendiran is
certainly a master of simple and beautiful film making.
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