The history of cinema dates back to 1890s. Though Indian cinema was 20 years late in its establishment of a film industry of its own, its contribution to the world cinema is undoubtedly vast. Tamil film industry in specific has generated more than 5000 films in 100 years.
Every one of us is an art enthusiast in one or other form; we are the creators, audience and the critics. In India where cinema is almost a religion, we see every other person passionately conversing about something related to cinema. Suggesting international films to our colleague is the most prideful act to many. But the question is, have we forgotten our very own masterminds who unflinchingly delivered and developed our country’s art chest?
Specifically Tamil cinema has seen various real heroes – Directors who made masterpieces. Few among these heroes are our eminent directors, C.V Sridhar, K.Balachander, Balu Mahendra, J.Mahendran, P.Bharathi Raja, and K.Bhagyaraj to name some.
Sridhar's Nenjil Oor Aalayam reminded every viewer of their lost love. The epigrammatic humor coupled with a strong social issue made K Balachander’s Ethir Neechal a masterpiece. The climax scene of Balu Mahendra’s Moondram Pirai is an acting lesson by itself! Don't we still empathize with Mullum Malarum's Kaali (Rajinikanth) that was created by Mahendran? The rebels, Vichu (Karthik) and Mary (Radha) of Bharathi Raja’s Alaigal Oyvadhillai remain an inspiration to many couples. Bhagyaraj's Vidiyum Varai Kaathiru has been an unforgettable thriller!
The strong women protagonists, rebellious thought process, challenging characterizations, multi-stranded screenplays and the natural flow of humor with absolutely no deliberation are few aspects that these filmmakers incorporated in their films with ease. What takes me by surprise is that these same aspects are the ones that are much talked about by audience when they watch a film nowadays. The core fact is that, what we are raving about now was already done and excelled by masterminds even before big technical advancements took place in the industry.
Every time they set out to create a film, they created magic. The techniques and strategies they used in their films still remain astounding for many film makers. Film commerce and glamour elements never stood as obstacles to these creators. All their works were rooted at the core idea of innovation and freshness in thought. Each of them was highly conscious citizens of our country as they never failed to address social issues too. This aspect was of great importance at their time as people lacked awareness in most of the issues.
The success of these men lay at the fact that they were able to bring the women out of their homes to watch films. That was an era when ladies carried their toddlers and marched towards theatres.
My sincere message to our fellow youngsters is, not to forget our native heroes during our search to quench the thirst of knowledge with respect to cinema. They are gems who need to be treasured. An undeniable fact is that their works will stay eternal forever.
Hats off to them!
