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Written by: Arun Gopinath; Edited
by: Priya Chandran. |
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| December
03, 2007 |
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You
must be wondering what in the world does cinema
have to do with the body, mind and soul. Well,
this just happens to be an attempt to enlighten
you metaphorically on the finer nuances of cinema
and movie-making, which you might have never
considered otherwise.
The
body of cinema is the trade or the business
aspect of making films. It has a minimal
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existence from the moment the movie is released to the day
of its’ last show. No matter how much hype is generated
prior to its release, it ultimately has a fleeting presence
and everything is forgotten in an instant. It is similar to
the mortal body that serves as the vehicle for the mind and
soul in the interval between birth and death. Commercial success
like the body is very crucial but it definitely not everything. |
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Kamal
Haasan once narrated a very interesting anecdote on
T.V., once, while chatting with the late Sivaji Ganesan,
the conversation veered predictably towards cinema
and Kamal confessed to Sivaji Ganesan that the latter's
performance in Uthama Puthiran was exemplary and that
his ultimate dream was to make a hit film like Uthama
Puthiran someday, Pat came the reply from Sivaji to
the visibly shocked Kamal, “Who told you that
Uthama Puthiran was huge hit?” There are many
examples of movies that were commercial duds in their
days but are currently classified in the genre of
classics or as path-breaking cinema. So in a few decades
from now history might just repeat itself, wherein
today's flops will be the "classics" of
the future.
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This
is where we need to understand the mind of cinema.
The creative mind of a film-maker generates ideas
that live on in the minds of others, long after the
mind from where it originated is non-existent. Let’s
start with something simple- the first ever double
role played by an actor in Tamil cinema – we
are not exactly sure who deserves the credit for this
ingenious idea but we do know that from the first
ever double role in films to the latest Azhagiya Thamil
Magan and Vel, this time-tested idea has been used
to render many a hit film. Today this idea has transcended
the double-role phase and has morphed into the 10
role stage which we are yet to experience. The first
Tamil movie in color and cinemascope, to the latest
innovations like freeze frames, skin grafting and
animated characters sharing screen space with actors,
to new methods of scripting and narration to ever
popular item numbers, have all been innovations of
the intellect. If a movie propagates a new idea or
theme which is successful, it is likely to live on
forever and can be gradually perfected to suit the
times. Any kind of cinema that puts your mind in the
thinking mode is a good cinema not necessarily commercially
viable cinema.
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Now would be the perfect moment to talk about the soul of
cinema. Why do we remember a movie and what makes us want
to see it a second or a third time? Certainly we don’t
care for its long gone box office status and most of us
are not educated enough to appreciate the technical aspects
of filmmaking. It is that special feeling we get when we
try to recapture the exhilaration when the trademark SUPERSTAR
signature flashes on screen every time you watch a Rajini
movie, the lump you get in your throat every time you see
Aravind Swamy lay on the burning national flag to douse
the flames in Roja, the awe that fills you every time the
towering statues of the two kings appear in the Lord of
the Rings and the beat of your heart when Kabir Khan’s
hockey team wins the World Cup in Chak De India. More than
anything else, we watch certain movies over and over again
to relive the feelings of euphoria, pathos, triumph, invincibility
and romance. That is the soul of cinema which lingers on
somewhere inside us long after the body and mind have faded
away. A movie with a soul never fades away. It is timeless
and ageless.
So
there you have it –the body, mind and soul of cinema.
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