BEHINDWOODS CELEBRITY COLUMN

Hi ‘behindwooders’

This is a new column started so that you do not miss certain nuances which caught my eye and I either appreciated / loved / smiled or laughed. It may be a specific shot, stand-apart lines of a song, dialog, or a particular situation. This is not a (p)review but a small nudge/ poke at your ribs to say, ‘hey don’t miss this’!

This is director Barathi’s well thought out theme for Vizha (‘Fiesta’)

Vizha has an unusual back drop of a funeral, wherein Sundaram (child star Mahendran, of Naattamai fame) a drummer and Rakkamma (Malvika Menon) a lament singer fall in love.

As soon as the film starts, within 10 minutes, your ears perk up and you can’t help smiling. James Vasanthan has come up with a beautiful score for the heroine’s introduction. Take a guess, character name mentioned already!

Again another score so beautifully interspersed is ‘ninaipadhellaam nadandhuvittaal’ (If whatever we think comes true…) at the most appropriate juncture. Check it out.

When the friends ask the hero about his ‘rasathi’ (princess) our ears are treated to Pushapavanam’s folk album, ‘rasathi unnai enni’ as background score.

Half hour after interval, while Mrs Sethupathy played by ‘Pillaiyarpatti’ Jayalakshmi as the (late) landlord’s wife spews her dialogs with venom, James has chosen a befitting synthesized- magudi theme.

In James words “I used ‘live’ parai percussions throughout the film and the accompaniment to all the songs in the funeral contexts is very minimal and I focused on the tunes and the rusticity. Except the filmy duet and another fun song, I have totally stayed away from digital sounds”

James, you rock!

The village gudugudupandi (fortune teller) rattling away his oracle is a fine touch.

Before the film ends, last 10 minutes or so, watch the neat touch from ‘the drum’s point of view’

The producers can take a bow with aplomb!

Like I said in the beginning, this is not a review, accolade-awarder or analysis. They are nuances, niceties and subtleties I noticed, purely from the audience / film buff point of view.

In this face book-twitter age when a film isn’t allowed to survive days/ shows for WOM to take effect, with the producer and director’s consent, I present this as a ready-reckoner of sorts to help fine tune your senses.

Fiesta – feast of the folk-beat

Until next year,

rekhs