BEHINDWOODS COLUMN

Not too many days ago, we witnessed theaters receiving bomb threats that led to a series of other events that most of us are aware of. However, how many of us would have envisaged that those bomb threats would be real?

Yes. A few days ago, three directors, Atlee, Gokul and Mysskin, had dropped custom made bombs in the form of Raja Rani, Idharkuthaane Aasaipattai Balakumara and Onayum Attukuttiyum that bombarded the theaters with excitement, laughter and respect.  

As a result, the people at the box office have begun to work laboriously, breaking open the sides of their boxes, and rebuilding them to bigger ones in order to fit in all the goodies the bombs are bringing in.

What is more zestful than to see theaters flooded with people, filling up gaps that usually are either occupied by flies or barraged by the excreta of crows and pigeons? The heartening fact here is that, most of us have actually walked out of the theaters with a full stomach, not only because of the large tub of popcorn that is being sold these days, but also because these movies give you the feeling of having eaten a scrumptious full meal.

So let’s begin with Raja Rani. Amidst the avalanche of comical movies that are either dialogue oriented or are given tags such as dark, bright, fair and lovely, Atlee comes out with a fun filled romantic comedy that leaves the audience (especially the young ones) with that bizarre feeling, which provokes you to watch the movie again. The movie was released across 350 theaters in Tamil Nadu alone and made a whopping 10.5 crores in the first weekend of release. Emerging out from a five year camp with director Shankar, young Atlee has put his learnings to good use. Raja Rani still appears to be going strong and is sprinting hard in a race that somehow seems like a marathon.  

Less than a week later, director Gokul opened his palm to roll out the dice that he had cautiously been sculpting for quite some time. Idharkuthaane Aasaipattai Balakumara, a movie as mouthful as the title itself, falls under the list of the innumerable other comedy movies. However, Gokul's sharp narration style and the elusive magic of Vijay Sethupathi converted IABK into a dice that has six dots on all its sides. Releasing on the 2nd of October which was a holiday, the movie has had an impressive response across Tamil Nadu in the first two days of release. The success of IABK has encouraged the theater owners to increase the number of shows for the movie.

Last, but definitely not the least, in fact standing a step taller is Mysskin's ambitious Onayum Attukuttiyum. The movie was released along with Raja Rani last Friday, the 27th of September, 2013. The film has been receiving mind blowing responses from all the film enthusiasts and critics who have watched it. However, what disappoints me is that a movie which is as sincere as Onayum Attukuttiyum hasn't got the box office collection it deserves. I would personally recommend people to go for OA before catching up with the other two movies as it definitely is a novel script that would keep you engrossed till the end.

This reminds of an interview of director Cheran who appeared to be overwhelmed with happiness after watching the movie and dropped words of praises for the film and for Mysskin.

“Movies like Onayum Attukuttiyum are the future of Tamil Cinema. The box office success of the movie will predict the fate of the film industry in the coming days. Nowadays people complain that movies are becoming too stereotyped. But when someone comes out with a novel script they do not seem to understand the movie.”

Although OA has disappointingly not been provided with the goodies that it is worth, the movie has earned tremendous respect and honour for the earnestness of Mysskin.

Three movies. Three different genres. Crowded theaters. Huge box office collections. Tons of respect. It is immensely exhilarating to be a bystander of a successful week for Tamil Cinema.