Remakes are safe, but adaptations are challenging to make. I can make it easy with an example – Santhosh Subramaniam is a remake of Bommarilu, but Thillu Mullu is an adaptation of Gol Maal. There was a time when Rajinikanth remade Amitabh Bachchan’s movies with minor changes to it. Most of these films were produced by Balaji (an actor who later turned into successful producer). He used to buy rights to movies even before they got released. Remakes have a better chance of success at the box office. Adaptations are tricky because you are trying to alter the storyline or characters. Usually, the directors claim that these are to suit the sentiments of the local audience. If you consider the successful adaptations like Thillu Mullu, the soul of the movie stays preserved. Even in the adaptations done by Kamal from certain Hollywood movies, you find the soul is intact. For instance, Mrs.Doubtfire is about the love between the father and the children is preserved in Avvai Shanmughi. The biggest problem I had with Thaanaa Serndha Kootam is that the soul of Special 26 was plundered by Vignesh Sivn and Team.

Special 26 was unique because it was based on a real-life smart motley crew that was never caught. The soul of Special 26 is the methodology of the heist, and Neeraj Pandey doesn’t dwell on back stories of individuals. They are not Robin Hoods, nor they do have any higher purpose. What Vignesh Shivn has done is, take the soul of the movie, tear it up into pieces and rebuild it with some other kind of life to create a Frankenstein monster that looks ugly, boring and unlovable.

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Clik here to view.In every frame of the movie, Vignesh Shivn is trying to beat the original and not emulate. It’s a kind of one-upmanship attitude that Vignesh employs, and it has cost the movie dear. Take, for instance, the forced setting of Gold Spot and Campa Colas in few frames. It’s like saying I want to show these brands from the 80s and hence I will do it. It doesn’t flow into the movie nor it matters. Every character has a back-story, Suriya is a Robin Hood and he is a big star, so let’s have two villains instead of one. When you think Suresh Menon is unwanted, you get an inconsequential Karthik’s role (I expected a Mankatha like twist). In fact, there are no villains in the original movie. Manoj Bajpai’s role is an honest police officer who genuinely wants to nab the crew. (GVM’s voice for Suresh Menon? What were you smoking, Vignesh). 

And in the climax, when his Robin Hood acts pay dividends is even more laughable. I do agree with Vignesh in that matter when you are killing something; you need to make sure you murder it entirely including the beautiful climax of the original. Nandha and Vinodhini’s characters from the original are the trump cards of the movie. The characters fizzle out (Vinodhini doesn’t even get the screen space during the climax) in Thaanaa Serndha Kootam because Suriya wants to fight, dole out a long monologue and show the world why we need Robin Hoods. And the point is, Suriya doesn’t stop and the political references just to get applause leave a bad taste.

There are two things that I loved about the movie – Ramya Krishnan and Senthil. You wish that they get more screen space than others. In the original, Anupam Kher receives an equal footing along with Akshay Kumar. It can’t happen in Tamil because you know why. The movie revolves around one man called Suriya and that’s what makes the movie cringeworthy. 

The most prominent criticism that might arise from this review is that I have to see Thaanaa Serndha Kootam as an independent movie and not as an adaptation of Special 26. Most of the audience wouldn’t have seen the original. Agreed. But even as a stand-alone movie, it’s yet another Robin Hood movie that we have seen since the Malaikallan days. There is nothing new in the film to celebrate. People have started accepting politically incorrect protagonists even when it’s portrayed by big stars (Mankatha for instance). Thaanaa Serndha Kootam was conceived because Special 26 was available and Special 26 is special because of the smartness in the con. Thaanaa Serndha Kootam is a blatant daylight murder of the original, and it shouldn’t have happened.

But what to do, it has happened. I go with 1/5 for Thaanaa Serndha Kootam for Ramya Krishnan and Senthil. Indha Thaanaa Serndha Kootam seramaye irundhirukkalam (This gang could have just stayed without coming together). If you are making an adaptation, please respect the original. There is a reason why it’s loved by people and if you can’t, just remake it. You will not be blamed for a frame-by-frame remake. 

I request people to watch Special 26. Netflix has the movie with subtitles.

P.S., Probably, Vignesh Shivn has taken a Robin Hoodish revenge on Akshay Kumar for murdering Joker (Toilet Ek Prem Katha) and Airlift.

Naachiyar Review

When Bala tried to change his template last time by adapting a novel like Eriyum Thanal, it failed miserably. Whenever he wants a hit, he goes back to his template. His previous movie Tharaai Thappattai didn’t fetch the necessary response from the audience.

What’s a Bala Template?

He is a master creator of characters. Nobody can think of a person raised inside a graveyard or a boy who hates his mother or a man with a God complex delusion, but all these movies will have one common conflict – the age-old good vs evil. The evil kills a significant person in the life of the good. The good doles out brutal vigilante justice on the evil at the end. This template hasn’t changed in his movies except for Sethu (his first movie) and Paradesi.

What’s wrong with a Bala Template?

Any template fizzles out after a point of time. There are many examples of directors in Tamil cinema who got sucked into their template and eventually perished. Visu, Vikraman and short-lived Perararsu are some of them. The producers will love these directors when they are at their peak. When the template fizzles out, Tamil cinema will push them to obscurity. Bala is surviving with his template because of the unusual characters he creates and Naachiyar is not different from his template.

In Naachiyar, he presents you with a complicated Police officer character. She is flawed, vulnerable but bold, righteous and breaks the rules to help the people she wants to. It’s not a surprise that Jyothika owned up the role and she has given a splendid performance. You can’t see a single trademark Jyothika expression in the movie, and that shows the deftness in handling such a substantial role. In fact, I think it’s one of the better female characters written by Bala.

I somehow felt that Ivana (a newcomer) made her mark than GV Prakash in the movie. But to be honest, you wouldn’t have expected GV Prakash to give such rustic performance in the film. It says a lot about Bala as a director, and he extracts the best out of every actor.

Bala’s sharp dialogues shine throughout the movie. He doesn’t shy away from using religion or caste names in the midst, and although controversies are surrounding it, I don’t find anything wrong with it. I don’t know when we are going to look beyond these things.

The way Ilaiyaraaja handles background score should be a textbook for other music composers. The use of silence when the screenplay takes over shows why Raaja is the best and when Bala wants the audience to feel a particular emotion, he looks up to Ilaiyaraaja, and he delivers. It is so evident in the climax sequence, and probably, no other music composer composes for a movie and not think the film as an album of songs.

Cosmetically, you might think that it’s a different Bala movie, but it follows the Bala template to perfection. An imperfect protagonist, Good vs Evil storyline and brutal punishment. Naachiyar is another typical Bala movie that camouflages into a police investigative thriller. The problem with Naachiyar, none of these themes are complete. You don’t get to explore Naachiyar’s character (or any other character), the investigative thriller part is choppy and Bala practices subtlety in his brutality. This chaos doesn’t help the movie, but the short run-time might help you to overlook the issues.

Naachiyar stays in that average zone – it’s neither great nor bad. Bala needed a victory, but Naachiyar is not the one that’s going to fetch him. Naachiyar is not a bad movie to watch. It’s worth watching for Jyothika, Bala and Ilaiyaraaja. And in 100 minutes, it’s not going to bore you to death like lot other movies in the mill.

I go with 2.5/5 for Naachiyar and watch it if you have kept away from Bala movies because of brutality. But Bala needs another movie to revive his position.

Thank you for reading my Naachiyar Review. Give your feedback in the comments section.

Tamil movies are used as launch pads to enter politics. Politics and cinema are intertwined in Tamil Nadu from the days of early Tamil cinema. In fact, directors used cinema to infuse revolutionary thoughts into public discourse. When politics became business and politicians became corrupt, they didn’t want them to be portrayed as is. Politicians have been depicted as villains in different movies, but nobody dared to show the modus operandi of a corrupt, vicious politician on screen. If Muhammed Bin Tughlaq made it to the list for satire, Amaidhi Padai is here for the stark depiction of politics in Tamil Nadu with a pinch of satire and black comedy.

Amaidhi Padai (1994)

Amaidhi Padai is the story of Amavasai or Nagaraja Chozhan (he changes his name to suit his political image). A pauper, he fights with children to get a piece of coconut smashed as an offering to the gods in temples. He becomes a political speaker after he impresses Manimaran (played by Manivannan), a local MLA from the ruling party, with his mimicry skills.

He makes Thayamma (Kasthuri) fall in love with him, rapes her under the influence of drugs and dumps her after he becomes an MLA. He marries the local landlord’s daughter, Sivakami (played by Sujatha), makes Manimaran as his sidekick (after using Manimaran’s money to win the elections) and remains as the MLA of the constituency for the next 20 years.

After 25 years, Amavasai’s son, Thangavel (also played by Sathyaraj) raised by Thayamma’s parents works as a police constable and during his betrothal with Kuyili (Ranjitha), a dispute arises about his father’s identity. When he accuses his mother as a whore, his grandparents reveal the identity of his father and the back story.

Meanwhile, the ruling party decides to field another candidate instead of Amavasai in the upcoming general elections, and Amavasai orchestrates a communal riot to stop them. Thangavel gets posted as a head constable in the riot police, and he saves Amavasai from an assassination attempt. Looking at the resemblance, Amavasai meets Thangavel and identifies him as his son. He even asks him to join him, but Thangavel refuses and vows to expose Amavasai’s nefarious activities. The rest movie is a battle between the son and the father.

MR Films International produced the movie with Sathyaraj, Sujatha, Ranjitha and Kasturi in the lead. Ilaiyaraaja scored the music, and D Shankar wielded the camera. Manivannan wrote and directed the movie. He also played one of the most memorable villain sidekick roles in Tamil cinema as Manimaran.

Why is Amaidhi Padai special?

1. Amavasai (Nagaraja Chozhan) is one of the most memorable villain characters in Tamil cinema. It’s not usual for Tamil movie audience to fall in love with a negative role (although it has become normative these days due to the glamourisation of such characters) but Nagaraja Chozhan is different. The cult status of this character should have come from either through Stockholm syndrome or probably the role is the perfect representation of all bad politicians. Nevertheless, the portrayal by Sathyaraj and the writing of Manivannan is the prime reason for this character to be so hated yet loved. In the current world of meme culture, Amavasai makes fun of the current state of politics.

2. You can call it the vision or politically astute Manivannan’s writing, because, when you see the movie, you might think that he had a “futuristic” outlook to politics. The political history might remind you that there have been similar cases. The stinging satirical dialogues (usually delivered by Sathyaraj and ManiImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.vannan) are still remembered and reproduced to show the state of politics in the country.

3. One of the problems of having such a towering character in the movie is that the supporting characters lose their place in the mayhem. In fact, the other Sathyaraj role fades away in comparison to Amavasai. Even in the mayhem, Sujatha and Halwa Vasu are remembered for their short but impactful roles.

4. Ilaiyaraaja’s impact was felt in the background score especially during the riot sequences, and also he portrayed the evilness of Amavasai through his music. The songs are underrated gems – Sollividu Velli Nilave, the experimental Ada Neeyachu Naanachu and Muthumani Ther Irukku never got their due in the popular culture.

Why is Amaidhi Padai on the list?

1. It was not easy to make political satires, and Manivanan balanced the humour with reality to present us with one of the most memorable movies.
2. Amavasai has become a cult villain and in the recent past, a political commentator in the meme world. The impact of the character will be felt until there is politics in Tamilnadu
3. The unique combination of Sathyaraj and Manivannan. There are only a few such partnerships in Tamil cinema.

Trivia

1. Manivannan hailed from an agriculture and trade family. He was inspired by the movies of Shyam Benegal and Mrinal Sen. Impressed by movies like 16 Vayadhinile and Udhiri Pookal; he wanted to join Tamil cinema. He worked as an assistant director with Bharathiraja. His first credit is in Nizhalgal for story and dialogues. It’s interesting to note that he wasn’t credited in earlier movies directed by Bharathiraja^[2].

2. Manivannan jokingly remarked that Bharathiraja never expected him to direct a movie. But Ilaiyaraaja saw the potential in the young Assistant Director and suggested his name to Kalaimani (scriptwriter turned producer). They both collaborated to make Gopurangal Saivathillai with Mohan, Suhasini and Radha in the lead^[2].

3. Manivannan directed 50 films in different genres. The range of scripts he explored is fascinating. Notable films are Gopurangal Saivathillai, Kuva Kuva Vaathugal, 24 Mani Neram, Nooravathu Naal, Palaivana Rojakkal, Ini Oru Sudhanthiram, Jallikattu, Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi, Ganam Courtar Avargale, Moondravathu Kann and Amaidhi Padai^[1].

4. Sathyaraj and Manivannan were close friends as they started together in Tamil cinema. Manivannan cast Sathyaraj in challenging roles. They collaborated in 25 movies, one of the longest director-actor collaborations in Tamil cinema. This combo started the unique sarcastic Lollu comedy of Sathyaraj in Mudhal Vasantham. Sathyaraj’s role as Kunguma Pottu Gounder became so popular that they used the same character in Jallikattu and Sathyaraj made another movie of the same name. On Deepavali day of 1986, Vidinja Kalyanam and Palaivana Rojakkal released on the same day, both directed by Manivannan and Sathyaraj in the lead^[3].

5. Interestingly, Manivannan collaborated with Mohan for eight movies, and Manivannan recalls that Mohan was a friend and it was easy to work with him. Mohan got some radically different roles with Manivannan than his usual Mic Mohan stereotype^[2].

6. Amaidhi Padai was a huge success and became one of the biggest hits of Sathyaraj. Manivannan directed a sequel in 2013 titled Nagaraja Chozhan MA MLA. Except for the conversations between Sathyaraj and Manivannan, the movie was drab and failed miserably at the box-office. Nam Thamizhar Party leader Seeman played an important role in the movie. 

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Clik here to view.

Nagaraja Chozhan MLA - Amaidhi Padai 2

Nagaraja Chozhan MLA is a sequel to hugely successful Amaidhi Padai but failed due to the lack of same spark between Manivannan and Sathyaraj

7. Although he made cameos in some of his movies, Bharathiraja cast him as a villain against Rajinikanth in Kodi Parakkuthu. Bharathiraja dubbed for Manivannan in the movie. His acting prowess was evident in Amaidhi Padai, but Ullathai Alli Tha (directed by his Assistant Sundar C) catapulted him to stardom. He had a good run as an actor in many movies^[2].

8. Manivannan was openly political. He supported the Eelam movement in Sri Lanka, joined Vaiko’s MDMK and later with Seeman in Nam Thamizhar Party.

9. Although Manivannan worked with many music composers, his best output was with Ilaiyaraaja. The background scores of movies like 24 Mani Neram, Nooravathu Naal, redefined the thriller genre music in Tamil cinema.

10. Born as Rangaraj Subbiah, Sathyaraj started his career as a henchman in Tamil cinema. 24 Mani Neram, Nooravathu Naal and Kaaki Sattai established him as a seasoned actor in antagonist roles. After 24 Mani Neram, he acted as a villain in 27 movies in one single year. It was Bharathiraja (again), who redefined the career of Sathyaraj through his Kadalora Kavithaigal^[4].

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Clik here to view.11. Vasu or Halwa Vasu as he is fondly known as started his career as an assistant director to Manivannan. His role in Amaidhi Padai made him famous and fetched him the moniker “Halwa” Vasu because he is the person who provides drug-tainted Halwa to Amavasai which he uses to intoxicate Thayamma. He acted in more than 900 films as a comedian and known for his roles with Vadivelu. He passed away in 2017 due to Liver failure^[5].

12. Sujatha was born in Sri Lanka and spent her childhood acting in school plays. She debuted in Malayalam at the age of 14 and acted in 30 movies before she got her big break when she was identified by Balachander to do the lead role in Aval Oru Thodarkathai. Known for her nuanced portrayals of strong characterisations, Sujatha made her mark with movies like Annakili (1976), Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu (1976), Avargal (1977), Poonthalir (1979) and Vidhi (1984). Manivannan presented her with some challenging roles in Vidinja Kalyanam (1986) and Amaidhi Padai (1994). She moved on to do character roles (especially mother roles) and continued her run in movies like Kodi Parakuthu (1989), Senthamizh Paatu (1993) and Aval Varuvala (1998). Her last movie was Varalaru (2006), and she passed away in 2011 at the age of 58. One funny trivia – she has acted as a pair, sister, sister-in-law, mother and mother-in-law over the span of 25 years.

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Clik here to view.13. It took time for me to get info on Sujatha. Have you ever wondered why there are no interviews of Sujatha? It seems, her husband Jayakar was overprotective of her and created a huge wall between her and the public. He managed her finances, career and her media appearances. There was a running competition among journalists to get an interview from her, and I could find only one interview. She opened up with her co-stars but never gave up on her husband. Balachander, who is known to recast his favourite actors in subsequent movies couldn’t cast her after Noolveli (1979). It’s ironic that her reel life in Avargal and real life became one and the same^[6][7].

14. Kasthuri started her career with Aatha Un Kovilile when she was 15. A Chennai born, she won the Miss Chennai, 1992 and was one of the finalists alongside Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen at the Miss India Contest, 1994. She had a good run with movies like Chinnavar (1992), Senthamizh Paatu (1992), Urimai Oonjaladugirathu (1992 – one of my favourites), Aathma (1993), Indian (1996) and Annamayya (1997, Telugu). She got married and left to Europe to be with her husband. She worked as a Business development head for a Chennai based International movie distribution company. Due to her mother’s ailment, she had to return to Chennai and later came back to the industry through a cheeky item song in Tamizh Padam (2010). Now, she is choosing character roles and the latest role being an international agent in Simbu’s Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangathavan (AAA, 2017). An avid quizzer, she was the finalist in Mastermind India and also hosted Vina Vidai Vettai, a quiz program on Puthuyugam TV. She is vocal about her political views and participates in TV debates on various issues. Richard Breyer made a documentary on Kasthuri, titled “Kasthuri: A South Indian Film Star” that dabbled with the public and private life of an Indian actress.

15. There is a popular Facebook meme page on Ammavasai’s name. 

References

1. Amaidhi Padai – Wikipedia page
2. Manivannan’s speech – Nagaraja Chozhan MLA Audio Release
3. Sathyaraj’s Speech – Nagaraja’s Chozhan MLA Audio Release
4. Manivannan – Wikipedia page
5. Comedian Alwa Vasu passes away – The Hindu
6. Enakku Nadigaya Pesa Theriyathu – The only interview of Sujatha
7. Sujatha ennum Kavitha enge ponaal – An unverified blog account
8. Kasthuri – Interview with Peppers TV
9. Kasthuri – Interview with CineGoer TV
10. Kasthuri – A South Indian Film Star – Worldcat Entry

Amaidhi Padai is part of the 50 Best Tamil Movies to watch before you die. Access the entire list in the below link
http://www.sylvianism.com/50-tamil-movies-to-watch-before-you-die/

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Clik here to view.The 80s are the golden period of Tamil cinema. It brought in the best of story writers, directors, actors, music composer(s), cinematographers, editors and above all, influential producers who were willing to experiment. But the problem with the media, audience and even the reviewers is that they restrict their discussions with few directors. The conversations are around the works of Mani Ratnam, Balachander, Bharathiraja and Balu Mahendra. In fact, the number of discussions on Mahendran and Bhagyaraja is few and rare. The movie industry doesn’t start and end within the walls of these stalwarts, but other prolific directors made us laugh, cry and think. They entertained us, and it’s time that we recognise them. 

These series aims to introduce you to the 80s directors and also to create a ready reckoner of movies to watch from that era. As I am planning to write a separate series on directors like Mahendran (my most favourite Tamil director), Bhagyaraj and SP Muthuraman, this series will feature only lesser-known directors from that era. 

Ameerjan

Ameerjan started his career as an Assistant Editor to N.Kittu, who edited movies from K Balachander. He began assisting K Balachander from Aval Oru Thodarkathai (1974), and he was credited as SA Jaan. He graduated to become a co-director and associate director of movies like Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu, Thillu Mullu, 47 Naatkal, Poikkal Kudhirai and almost all films of K Balachander at that time. 

Balachander was so fond of him as he produced his first movie as an independent director – Poovilangu that introduced Murali and Kuyili to the Tamil movie world. Ameerjan was known to be the director who made the masala entertainers of Kavithalaya Productions. Although he had a knack for spinning masala movies like Poovilangu (which was a huge hit), he made his impact with Thulasi, a social commentary on the caste system in the villages. He made different movies like Unnai Solli Kuttramillai, that talked about the life and dilemmas of police informers and Dharmapathini, that dealt with the life of a police couple.

Ameerjan continued to assist K Balachander even after he became a director. In fact, he was an integral part of Balachander’s team when he moved to TV serials. Ameerjan also directed few series for all the major Tamil TV channels and his last Tamil movie to release was Chinna Chinna Kannile (2000). He introduced actors like Murali, Kuyili and Poovilangu Mohan and he was also instrumental in the rise of Radha Ravi and Karthik during their formative years. 

Breakout movie: Thulasi 

Thulasi was about a casteist temple administrator and village bigwig (Major Sunderrajan), who kills his son’s lover because she is from a lower caste. His daughter Thulasi (played by Seetha) falls in love with a lower caste man (played by Murali). He creates a story that Thulasi is an incarnation of the Amman to stop their wedding. The rest of the movie forms how his son (played by Chandrasekar) fights his father and the village to help his sister Thulasi.

Thulasi openly criticised the caste system in villages and discussed atheism through the eyes of Sambandham (played by Chandrasekhar). It cemented the place of Chandrasekhar as one of the prolific supporting actors in Tamil cinema. 

Youtube link to the movie

Movies to watch

1. Poovilangu
2. Thulasi
3. Dharmapathini 
4. Siva
5. Unnai Solli Kutramillai

References

1. Tamil Director Ameerjan dies at 73 – Andru Kanda Mugam
2. Veteran Tamil Director Ameerjan passed away at 73 – Red Pix 

B for Bhaskar

M Bhaskar graduated from The Presidency College, Chennai and joined as an assistant director to CV Sridhar in 1964. He worked with him until 1975. Most of the websites report that he worked as a second unit director for a Hollywood production produced by 20th Century Fox. It was tough to identify the movie, and I gave up after a search. 

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Clik here to view.Although he started his direction career with an innocuous movie titled Innum Oru Meera, his breakthrough came in his second movie when he made a growing actor by the name Rajinikanth as his lead actor. He was impressed with Rajinikanth when he saw him in Aarupushpangal, but none of the actors was ready to play the villain for Rajinikanth. Finally, Srikanth accepted to play the antagonist, and Bhairavi happened. Superstar title for Rajinikanth was first used in this movie. 

Post-Bhiaravi, Bhaskar didn’t receive any offers, and so, he produced and directed Soolam under the Oscar Movies banner. Soolam was a masala entertainer that made some real profits and Bhaskar adorned the title of “Soolam” Bhaskar. He made more than 20 movies in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. He continued to produce and direct films in Tamil, and his last release was Thotta that had Jeevan and Priyamani in the lead. 

M Bhaskar’s work as the Tamilnadu Film Producer’s Council’s secretary is well appreciated in the industry. He was instrumental in making the council cash positive, and he also worked as CBFC Chairman in Chennai. He passed away in 2013, and he had a movie with newcomers in production titled Oodhari. 

Breakout Movie: Theerpugal Thiruthapadalam

M Bhaskar is known for his moral dilemma thrillers and drama. But it started with Theerpugal Thiruthapadalam. The movie is about Radha (played by Ambika) is a hysterical possessive woman who loves her husband Rajesh (played by Sivakumar) and daughter (played by Meena). One day, when Rajesh returns home after work, he finds Radha sleeping in a dilapidated state and a dead body in their study room. He discards the corpse, but Radha doesn’t have any inkling of what happened. The rest of the story is about how Rajesh finds the truth about his wife and the dead body. 

When you watch the movie, you will be surprised at the way M Bhaskar jumps into the conflict and sucks you into the narrative. The movie analyses the moral dilemma of the characters and interestingly doesn’t shy away from discussing infidelity (in fact, the 80s movies were more open about these issues). Although the film meanders into unwanted comedy sequences and has a usual twist (wouldn’t have been a typical twist in that era), the movie is definitely worth a watch. 

The movie was a big hit for M Bhaskar, and he started making similar films like Thandikapadatha Nyayangal (dealt with infidelity) and Oru Sumangaliyoda Katha (Malayalam). He moved on to courtroom dramas like Pournami Alaigal, Sattathin Thirappuvizha etc., 

Youtube link to the movie

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Clik here to view.

Theerpugal Thiruthapadalam - M Bhaskar

Theerpugal Thriuthapadalam is the breakout movie of M Bhaskar, director and producer, who served as secretary of TFPC

Movies to watch

1. Theerpugal Thiruthapadalam
2. Pournami Alaigal
3. Sattathin Thirappuvizha
4. Chakravarthy

References

1. Andru Kanda Mugam 
2. M Bhaskar’s Wikipedia page

C for Cochin Haneefa

You would have hated him in Vaname Ellai for marrying his son’s lover’s mom and in Mahanadhi for ruining Kamal’s life,  you would have laughed when he played Vikatanandha in Kadhala Kadhala but you wouldn’t even guess that this guy was a playwright, writer and director of more than 30 movies in Tamil and Malayalam.

Born as Salim Ahmed Ghouse, he took his stage name Haneefa after a famous play of Cochin Kalabhavan Group. He started his movie career as a writer to RS Srineevasan, RS Manohar’s brother, who ran a production company. He began acting in tiny roles but moved on to make a mark as a villain. 

His acting talent is well known, but we are here to discuss his writing/directorial career. Although he started writing dialogues and screenplay in 1977, his first directorial venture was Oru Sandesam Koodi. His first Tamil movie was Paasa Paravaigal (1987), a remake of his Malayalam movie, Moonu Masangalukku Pinpu and he got Kalaignar Karunanidhi to write the dialogues for the film. He became the 80s “Pa” varisai director as all his movies started with the word “Pa” or “Paa”. Bhimsingh was considered the original Pa Varisai director. 

Although he mostly made family drama, he surprised everyone with Pagalil Pournami, a true-blue horror movie in Tamil cinema. I still remember watching the film on videocassette and didn’t sleep for few days. I couldn’t find the movie online. Sadly, out of 7 Tamil movies that were directed by Cochin Haneefa, there are only two movies of Cochin Haneefa that are available online, I will write about it. If I am not wrong, his last Tamil directorial venture, Naalai Engal Kalyanam didn’t even release (it has some beautiful songs from Ilaiyaraaja)

Breakout movie: Paasa Paravaigal

Although I would have loved to discuss Pagalil Pournami (if you get it somewhere, please watch it), I have to write about Paasa Paravaigal because that brought Cochin Haneefa into Tamil movies. Paasa Paravaigal is a movie about the emotional struggle between a brother and sister. The brother (played by Sivakumar) is accused of murdering his Sister’s (played by Radhika) husband (played by Mohan). While all evidence point to him, his wife (played by Lakshmi), takes the indomitable task of defending him in the court against the sister who is the prosecutor. 

I haven’t watched the original, but the Tamil version should have been different because of two reasons – the dialogues were penned by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, and the lead actors were perfect in their roles. I would give it to Cochin Haneefa for bringing out the best in Radhika and Lakshmi especially during the court sequences. The scenes are overdramatic, but it was a treat to watch two talented actors trying to outscore the other. 

Cochin Haneefa has worked mostly with Sivakumar in Tamil, and when he passed a few years back due to cancer, Kalaignar Karunanidhi gave a personal obituary as he was so fond of Haneefa. The movie was produced by Murasoli Selvam, brother of Murasoli Maran under the Poompuhar Productions. 

YouTube link to the movie

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Paasa Paravaigal - Cochin Haneefa

Paasa Paravaigal is the breakout movie of Cochin Haneefa (also known as VMC Haneefa) and dialogues penned by Kalaignar Karunanithi

Movies to watch 

1. Paasa Paravaigal
2. Padatha Thenikkal
3. Pagalil Pournami 

I haven’t watched his Malayalam movies, so I will refrain from recommending anything. 

References

1. Cochin Haneefa’s Wiki Page
2. Cochin Haneefa passes away – Chennai365
3. Cochin Haneefa – Director Actor – Andru Kandamugam
4. Image courtesy – Veethi.com

D for Devaraj-Mohan

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Devaraj

I think I have to make two things clear – Devaraj and Mohan are two people and they didn’t make only Annakili. The biggest problem of a supporting act in a more prominent story is that you are just remembered for that one performance (like Sathyaraj’s Kattappa). Devaraj-Mohan made 18 movies together, and Devaraj made five more films after they split, but they are known for only one movie – Annakili that launched Ilaiyaraaja

I couldn’t find any history about the duo except for the fact that they assisted K Madhavan until the early 70s. They became friends and looking at their talent, P Madhavan produced Ponnukku Thanga Manasu (1973) that had Sivakumar and Jayachitra in the lead. Although Sivakumar had acted in more than 40 movies, this was the first lead role, and Vijayakumar debuted in the film. GK Venkatesh was the music director for the movie. 

The movie was a huge hit, and the partnership between Sivakumar – Devaraj – Mohan continued for 13 more films. According to Sivakumar, Devaraj was incredibly creative with respect to scene compositions and song sequences while Mohan was the executor as he was from a stage drama background. Even Ilayaraaja recounts a beautiful incident regarding the En Kadhali song from Chittukuruvi.  He wanted to make a counter-point song, and the song situation helped him. He had got the permission to make the song from Devaraj, but Mohan wasn’t happy about the idea. But Devaraj was willing to experiment with the song, and we got a classic. 

Although 16 Vayathinile is usually touted as the movie that took the camera to the villages, it was initially Devaraj-Mohan who made the first move to the villages with their Annakili. According to Film News Anandan, Devaraj-Mohan was instrumental in changing the landscape of Tamil cinema – the transition from a synthetic hero to a more complex protagonist that allowed the audience to think about the culture and circumstances attached to him. 

Devaraj-Mohan never shied away from making movies with experimental storylines. Annakili was about a love-struck village girl who doesn’t have the guts to express her love, Kavikkuyil was about a pregnant woman waiting for her lover who has lost his memory, Chittukuruvi was about an ex-convict who becomes a good Samaritan for a community, Poonthalir was about the search for a lost kid. The entire movie follows the small kid and the film was shot in the perspective of the kid. But I want to talk about Rosappu  Ravikkaikari.

Breakout movie: Rosappu Ravikkaikari

A story is set in a remote village during pre-independence period. Sembattai (played by Sivakumar) is a naive illiterate who lives by supplying betel leaves and other essentials to the villagers. His mother gets him married to Nandini (played by Deepa), a beautiful and educated lady from the neighbouring village. Nandini finds it challenging to live in the household, and Sembattai’s mother abuses her for her lifestyle. 

Sembattai establishes a separate home and supports his wife in her lifestyle choices. Manickam (played by Sivachandran), a distant relative of Sembattai comes to the village to recruit workers for the British. Seeing his suaveness and sweet talk, Nandhini falls for him, and they start an affair. Nandini gets pregnant, and Sembattai is devastated because he knows he isn’t the father. One day, he finds Nandini and Manickam in compromising position and commits suicide by jumping into the pond. Realising her mistake, Nandini also commits suicide. The film ends with the villagers speculating on the reasons for the death. 

Although there were movies that touched upon infidelity, there wasn’t one that openly portrayed infidelity like Rosappu Ravikkaikari. The film was based on a Kannada movie, but Tamil version had Sivakumar in his career best role and Ilaiyaraaja with one of the most haunting original scores. Sivakumar recollects that Devaraj comes up with scene compositions and you will see this in the picturisation of Uchi Vaguntheduthu song; the way camera moves to match the song and expressions of Sivakumar is the epitome of Devaraj-Mohan’s brilliance

Devaraj-Mohan parted ways after Kannil Theriyum Kathaikal. Devaraj made some more movies like Kavithai Malar and Isai Paadum Thendral that were successful. Some of the reports state that he lived in poverty, had a small cycle shop in Ambattur and died without any help. Mohan passed away in 2012 at the age of 81. Their story is the perfect example how quickly the film industry forgets people.

Trivia

They were the first directors to have multiple music composers in one movie. Kannil Theriyum Alaigal had composers including Ilaiyaraaja, MS Viswanathan, Sankar-Ganesh and V Kumar (technically five if you take Sankar and Ganesh as two different people).
They collaborated with Ilaiyaraaja for most of their movies and did interesting experiments with him. Balamurali Krishna for Chinna Kanna Azhaikkiran, counterpoint experiment in Chittu Kuruvi and made a film titled Ilayarajavin Rasikai but it didn’t make it to the theatres

YouTube link to the movie

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Rosappu Ravikkaikari - Devaraj-Mohan

Devaraj-Mohan is a successful director duo from the late 70s and 80s Tamil movies. Rosappu Ravikkaikari is one of their best movies

Movies to watch

1. Ponnnukku Thanga Manasu
2. Annakili
3. Rosappoo Ravikkaikari
4. Kavikkuyil
5. Poonthalir

References

1. Devaraj-Mohan wiki page
2. The 1970s and it’s legacies of Indian Cinema – Essay compilation – Contributed by FilmNews Anandan
3. இளையராஜாவின் முதல் படமான அன்னக்கிளியின் இயக்குநர் மோகன் மரணம்
4. http://reversetamilcinema.blogspot.in/2012/02/blog-post.html
5. மூகாம்பிகை மீது கன்னடப் பாடல்கள் – இளையராஜா பாடினார்
6. Pride of Tamil Cinema by G Dhananjayan
7. ‘Tell him that his cycle is Acting!’ எனக்குப் பிடித்த இரட்டையர்கள்!- நடிகர் சிவகுமார் கட்டுரை

E for இராம நாராயணன் – Rama Narayanan

As I mentioned at the start of the series, it’s tough to find film directors in all the letters. I don’t want to write about someone just because their name starts with the letter I need. For E, initially I wanted to write about E. Ramadoss, a talented dialogue writer but his directorial ventures aren’t that interesting. Also, I didn’t want to write about someone who is still working in the industry. E Ramadoss is a famous supporting actor in Tamil cinema. The other choice was E.M Ibrahim, producer and credited as director for Oru Thalia Ragam. The Oru Thalai Ragam dispute is long-standing, and I don’t want to get into that. 

After a lot of deliberation, I have chosen someone who was not the first choice for R. He writes his name with a Tamil “இ”. So, I thought I would go with Rama Narayanan. 

Rama Narayanan was born in 1949 and started his film career as a dialogue writer along with his friend MA Kaja. He assisted Kannadasan before starting in movies. They were credited as Ram – Rahim. After few unsuccessful collaborations, they parted ways and became directors in their own right. Rama Narayanan started producing movies under Sri Devi Priya films, and his first production was Durga Devi. His debut movie as a director was Sumai (1981), and he didn’t stop until 2013. He directed a record 125 movies, and I don’t think anyone in this world directed that many feature films. 

Although he was known for making movies with animals, he wasn’t stuck in a genre in his career, and he was known to make commercial hits on a limited budget.  His hits include Soorakottai Singakutti, Karimedu Karuvayan, Aadi Velli, Durga, Thirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa, Kandha Kadama Kadhir Vela, Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy. He was a close associate of Kalaignar Karunanidhi, and Kalaignar wrote the story and dialogues for Rama Narayanan’s 50th movie – Veeran Veluthambi. He directed 12 movies for Poompuhar productions, home production of Kalaignar Karunanidhi. Rama Narayanan was elected as a DMK MLA from Karaikudi Constituency in the 1989 elections. He headed the Tamilnadu Film Producers Council for three consecutive terms and was also the Chairman of Iyal Isai Nadaka Mandram

His production house Thenandal Films has produced more than 55 movies, and they also distribute films. They are known for releasing dubbed English and Chinese movies. Although there are funny movies that I can talk about, I am going to discuss one of his earlier films that might surprise you. 

Breakout Movie: Sivappu Malli 

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Clik here to view.It’s not easy to make a commercial movie but balance it with a right dosage of social message. During the 1980s, in the heights of labour unrest and unemployment, there were many attempts at anti-establishment movies in Tamil. SA Chandrasekhar and Rama Narayanan succeeded in making successful anti-establishment films.  Sivappu Malli is a story about two factory workers who fight against atrocities of the factory owners in a small town. Two friends, Thyagu (played by Chandrasekhar) and Ranga (played by Vijayakanth) fight for labourer’s rights and Thyagu gets killed. Ranga takes revenge on them

The movie was known for the fiery dialogues, and extensive anti-establishment sentiments propelled Vijayakanth and Chandrasekhar’s acting and the film. The movie had the communist flag in the entirety of the movie and Vijayakanth always has the traditional “Parai” instrument in his hands. I don’t think we can even imagine such a movie these days and it would have been banned. AVM produced it and surprised many as they were considered as conservative producers with respect to such themes. 

There were criticisms that communism was discussed superficially and the directors didn’t understand the concept. But the movie was quite successful in taking such ideas to the masses. The film had songs composed by Sankar-Ganesh. Erimalai Eppadi Porukkum was a revolutionary song, and you would have heard it in Singam 1 as the theme song for Vivek’s character. 

Sivappu Malli established Rama Narayanan as a successful director. He made some more anti-establishment movies like Sivantha Kangal and Idhu Enga Naadu. He made Soru, a movie that had no songs and the storyline was different. The movie bombed and he had to sell off his properties to clear his debts. He moved on to make movies with animals and that worked.It’s said that the movie was a remake of Telugu movie title  Erramalli, but I couldn’t find any info on that movie. 

Movies to watch

1. Sivappu Malli
2. Manaivi Solle Mandhiram
3. Durga – although the storyline is laughable, you can watch the movie for Shamili’s cuteness
4. Viswanathan Ramamoorthy – for the comedy of Vivek and Kovai Sarala

References

1. Rama Narayanan – Wiki Page
2. Interview with Rama Narayanan – IndiaGlitz
3. Sivappu Malli – Anandha Vikatan

F for Fazil

I fear a day when someone might end up asking whether Fazil is the father of Fahadh Faasil and might not know about his legacy. Probably, some people reading this post might be thinking why I am writing about Fahadh’s father. I would put Fazil in the league of Mahendrans and Mani Ratnams of the movie world. You might say that he primarily remade Malayalam movies into Tamil, but each of these movies has their own character and unbeatable legacy in Tamil cinema. 

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Clik here to view.Fazil initially studied BA and MA Economics, but he interested in Literature and cinema. He wrote dramas during college days, directed and acted in them. Fazil along with his friend Nedumudi Venu started a mimicry act that was quite popular across the state. Looking at his talent, Boban Kunchako, founder of Udaya Studio asked him to work for the studio. Meanwhile, his application to Adyar Film Institute was rejected, and he became a screenplay consultant for Thacholi Ambu, the first cinemascope movie in Malayalam. The movie was a huge hit, and Navodaya Appachan offered him to direct Manjil Vrinja Pookal, a low-budget film with newcomers. Mohanlal debuted in the film while Shankar got his Malayalam debut. 

Fazil recollects that the success of Manjil Vrinja Pookal went into his head and the next three movies were box-office failures. He went back to the drawing board and started from scratch to create Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku (1983) that launched Shalini as a child artist. 

He changed the landscape of Malayalam cinema with his Nokketha Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu (Poove Poochadava in Tamil) that was the first complete heroine oriented movie in Malayalam cinema, and it launched Nadia Moidu. He remade the film in Tamil, and it became a massive hit in Tamil too. Fazil continued to remake his Malayalam movies in Tamil that brought in new aesthetics to moviemaking and storytelling. It also brought different facets of the actors as he chose actors who were stereotyped into some other genre of movies. For instance, Sathyaraj in Poovizhi Vasalile and En Boomukutti Ammavukku was brilliant and made the audience to see him in a new light. 

Fazil’s movies explored the nuances of the human mind and how they react to tough situations. How would you respond if a mute child is in your custody? How will you react when your lover is shot and killed? How would you react if your child dies during a party? No other director has brought in that wide range of emotions into movies like Fazil His pinnacle was Manichitrathazh (in Malayalam) and Kadhalukku Mariyathai (in Tamil). He had the knack of identifying talent, and he introduced many actors in Malayalam.

Break-out movie: Poove Poochudava

Poove Poochudava is a story of Poongavanathamma (Padmini) who lives alone in a village waiting for her granddaughter one day. The villagers are not fond of her because she gets irritated at people who sneeze and the kids make fun of her. One day, her granddaughter, Sundari (Nadhiya Moidu) visits her, but she doesn’t want to take her into the house as she believes that Sundari will also leave as her daughter left her for Sundari’s dad. Nadhiya convinces her, and both have a great time together. Poongavanthamma believes that Sundari will stay with her forever. Sundari’s father (Jai Shankar) finds that Sundari is staying with her grandmother and tries to take her back home as Sundari is terminally ill. Sundari refuses to go with him, but Poogavanathamma wants to save Sundari’s life. She sedates Sundari and sends her off to Sundari’s dad. The movie ends with Poongavanathamma repairing her calling bell so that Sundari will be back to meet her. 

The movie was a bold attempt at that time as it revolved around only two characters and didn’t have a traditional hero. S.Ve.Shekher acted as the neighbourhood boy who fights with Sundari and develops a crush on her. The movie entirely relied on the beauty of the relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter perfectly portrayed by Padmini and Nadhiya. It was like a sweet poem, and you shed tears when you finish it. I don’t think anybody could control the tears when Padmini repairs her bell during climax with Ilaiyaraaja’s score is breaking you into pieces in the background. 

The movie was a critical and box office hit with Ananda Vikatan giving 55 marks for the film. The movie completed Silver Jubilee and propelled directors to come up with heroine-oriented films. The movie’s music by Ilaiyaraaja was a huge hit, and Chitra was titled Chinna Kuyil after the song Chinna Kuyil Paadum Paatu. 

Fazil made ten movies in Tamil out of which 6 were remakes, 3 were direct Tamil movies, and 1 was a bilingual shot at the same time. 

YouTube link to the movie

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Poove Poochudava Full Movie

Poove Poochudava is one of the biggest hits of Fazil and marked his entry into Tamil cinema

Movies to watch

I would suggest except for Kannukkul Nilavu and Oru Naal Oru Kanavu, all of Fazil’s Tamil movies should be watched and cherished.

1. Poovizhi Vasalile
2. En Bommukutti Ammavukku
3. Varusham 16
4. Arangetra Velai
5. Karpoora Mullai
6. Kilipetchu Ketkava
7. Kadhalukku Mariyathai

Also, please don’t miss Manichitrathazh. The adapted versions of that classic (Chandramukhi, Bhool Bullaiya and Apthamitra) are abominations. 

References

1. Fazil’s interview with WebIndia
2. Fazil’s Wikpedia Page
3. The Pride of Tamil Cinema by Dhananjayan G

G for G.N.Rangarajan

G.N.Rangarajan started his career as an Editing Apprentice in Bhimsingh’s team. He worked for almost 30 movies with Bhimsingh. Later, he worked as an assistant director to SP Muthuraman. He also worked with Kamal Hassan as a kid in Kalathur Kannama (A.Bhimsingh directed it). This relationship continued after Kamal Hassan became a star. G.N.Rangarajan made some excellent movies for Kamal Hassan, and he recollects that Kamal didn’t get a salary for three films he produced. 

He introduced Deepan Chakravarthy as an actor in Rani Theni and adapted Karaiyellam Senbagapoo novel of Sujatha. G.N.Rangarajan had his training from SP Muthuraman, the master of masala entertainers and so GN Rangarajan took the same path with Kalyanaraman. Meendum Kokila showed that he could make an entertaining movie that was also critically acclaimed. He had a short directorial career and didn’t make any film after Maharasan. His son GNR Kumaravelan started his career as an assistant director to Balu Mahendra in Sathi Leelvathi and assisted Kamal Hassan in few movies. His debut directorial venture was Ninaithale Inikkum (a remake), but his Haridas was critically acclaimed, and he made his mark. 

G.N.Rangarajan directed 13 films, and 7 of them had Kamal Hassan in the lead. It’s a pity that he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. I have tried to list all his movies. 

List of movies directed by G.N.Rangarajan

1. Kalyanaraman (1978)
2. Rusi Kanda Poonai
3. Meendum Kokila (1981)
4. Kadal Meengal (1981)
5. Ellam Inba Mayam (1981)
6. Karaiyellam Senbagapoo (1981)
7. Rani Theni (1982)
8. Muthu Engal Sothu (1983)
9. Aduthathu Albert (1985)
10. Manakanaukku (1986)
11. Meendum Pallavi (1986)
12. Sir, I Love You (1991)
13. Maharasan (1993)

Break-out movie: Karaiyellam Shenbagapoo

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Clik here to view.Karaiyellam Shenbagapoo was unique both as a novel by Sujatha and as a movie by GN Rangarajan. It was different for Sujatha because the story was a rural-based thriller with a folk songs undercurrent. The idea was given by Ilaiyaraaja and Sujatha obliged to create a beautiful novel. The folk songs were acquired from a book titled “Tamizhar Naatu Paadalgal” (‘தமிழர் நாட்டுப் பாடல்கள்’) compiled by Na.Vamanamalai. Sujatha took permission from the author to use them as part of the novel. 

When Karaiyellam started as a series on Ananda Vikatan, there were a lot of producers who wanted to adapt the movie including Ilaiyaraaja, Pyramid Natarajan, Saavi and Panju Arunachalam. The film was supposed to be directed by Balu Mahendra with Shobha and Prathap Pothen. But producer Pyramid Natarajan wanted to have Sarath Babu in the lead, and the project was dropped. 

After few months, GN Rangarajan directed the movie with Prathap Pothen, Sripriya, Sumalatha and Manorama in the lead. Sujatha wasn’t happy with the adaptation, but he did express that the actors and Ilaiyaraaja did their part well. To be honest, the movie was the most decent adaptation of a Sujatha novel because the other ones like Priya were massacres. 

Kalyanaraman, a research scholar arrives at Meenatchipuram, to research on folk songs. He stays at an old Zamindar bungalow, and he starts to unearth some documents/diaries about the Zamindar. He is attracted to the village beau Velli (played by Sri Priya), but she is in love with her cousin Marutha Muthu (played by Sundar). Snehalatha (played by Sumalatha), the granddaughter of the Zamindar, comes to Meentachipuram to stake the claim on Zamindar’s properties. She is gets murdered, and everyone becomes a suspect. The rest of the story is how Kalyanaraman identifies the real murderer and the motive. 

The movie’s strength is the excellent acting of the leads and supporting cast (Manorama and Thangavelu). The music was filled with folk songs, and Eriyilla Elandhamaram is a classic fusion of western and folk genres. GN Rangarajan had tried to be faithful to the original novel as much as possible, and that’s one of the probable reasons why the movie didn’t do well. The film ran for a meagre one week.

If you haven’t watched the movie or read the book, please do as both are worth your time.

YouTube link to the movie

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Karaiyellam Shenbagapoo Full Movie - G.N.Rangarajan

G.N.Rangarajan made masala entertainers extensively with Kamal Hassan but his best movie would be Karaiyellam Shenbagapoo

Movies to watch

1. Kalyanaraman
2. Rusi Kanda Poonai
3. Meendum Kokila
4. Ellam Inbamayam
5. Maharasan (not a great movie but can watch it for comedy and Kamal Hassan’s perfect Madras Bhashai)

References

1. GN Rangarajan Interview with Sooriyan 
2. Tamil Directors List
3. தம்பி வாடா அடிச்சது யோகம் – RP ராஜநாயகம்
4. கரையெல்லாம் செண்பகப்பூ பற்றி சுஜாதா….
5. கரையெல்லாம் செண்பகப் பூ

H for K Hariharan

Why would I write about a director who has just one prominent movie? Is he that important? If the film is so important, so is the director. K Hariharan’s dad was the vice-president of Eastman Kodak in India, and he had cinematographers visiting his house for consultations with his father. He remembers that Charulatha’s storyboard discussions happened at his home and he used to listen to them as a kid. 

After finishing his graduation in Commerce, he joined FTII, Pune and his classmates include Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Kundan Shah, Saeed Mirza and Dibakar Ghosh. Hariharan formed Yukt Film Co-Operative along with three other directors (Mani Kaul, Saeed Mirza, Kamal Swaroop), four cinematographers (Binod Pradhan, Manmohan Singh, Virendra Saini and Rajesh Joshi), four sound recordists, three editors and one actor (Om Puri). They made an experimental Marathi movie titled Ghanshiram Kotwal (based on a Marathi play written by Vijay Tendulkar). The movie was chosen as an official selection for Berlin Film Festival in 1978. In an interview with Sudhish Kamath, he says that he had a halo over his head when he visited Berlin Film Festival as a young director. The movie was also screened at Edinburgh and Valladolid film festivals.

V Shantaram, then director of Children’s Film Society, asked him to make a children’s movie. That marked his entry into Tamil movie world. I could not find much information about the children’s film, Wanted Thangaraj (1979). “Palai” Shanmugam, a criminal lawyer from Tirunelveli, approached him to make a documentary on Subramania Bharathi. They dropped the idea after they realised that it would not be comfortable to discuss all the facets of the person and people would not be pleased about it. They decided to make a movie out of a criminal case attended by Palai Shanmugam himself as he was the labour union president of India Cements Factory in Thalaiyuthu. The story became Ezhavathu Manithan and guess what, all the songs in the movie were Bharathiyar poems. The film also gave us one of the best actors of Tamil Cinema – Raghuvaran. 

Break-out movie: Ezhavathu Manithan

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Clik here to view.Anand (debut role of Raghuvaran), an Engineer joins the Dharmaraja Cement Factory at Ezhavathupuram (fictional name to avoid issues), and he realises that the owner Gunasekhara Perumal (Ramamurthy) is ill-treating his workers and also polluting the environment through smoke emissions from the plant. He creates a social movement along with his co-workers and villagers. After a struggle they eliminate the terrible management, take over the factory and run it as a co-operative with less pollution. 

Ezhavathu Manithan was the first movie to talk openly about industrial pollution in Tamil cinema. Mind you, it was made in 1982, and as I said earlier in the series, the 80s directors were bold enough touch these controversial subjects and the audience were receptive. Arun Mozhi wrote the story and he and Somasundareshwar penned the dialogues. The fiery dialogues, realistic screenplay and above all strong content that analysed industrial pollution threadbare. The sad truth is that no other movie talked about the power of labour unions, affirmative action and the importance of collective responsibility like Ezhavathu Manithan. 

The audience received the movie with open minds, and it became popular among workers. It ran for 100 days and was a commercial success. Ezhavathu Manithan won the National Award for Best Tamil Language Film and was screened at the International Film Festival in 1983. It was also nominated for the Golden Prize at the Moscow Film Festival. The movie title comes from an adage that you need a seventh man to lead a group of six. 

K Hariharan directed two more movies from Children’s Film Society, Crocodile Boy (1986) and Dubashi (1999). He also made Current (1991) starring Om Puri and Deepti Naval, that talked about the plight of farmers. He also made series like “Take a break with Hugh and Colleen Gantzer”, Understanding Cinema and series on Bhakti poets, Maale Manivanna. He teaches cinema in various universities in the US and currently the director of LV Prasad TV and Film Academy, Chennai.

Trivia

The music for Ezhavathu Manithan is credited to L Vaithi Lakshmanan. There is another movie titled, Lottery Ticket credited to the same person. But most websites have credited L Vaidhyanathan as the music composer for Ezhavathu Manithan. There are no other brothers to L Vaidhyanathan apart from L Shankar and L Subramaniam. Is it a pseudonym for L Vaidhyanathan? 

YouTube link to the movie

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Ezhavathu Manithan - K Hariharan

K Hariharan is one of the radically different director who made only one mainstream movie in Tamil - Ezhavathu Manithan

References

1. Lessons from Cinema – Interview with Sudhish Kamath
2. History Reloaded
3. The Current – Cinema Rendezvous
4. 30th National Film Awards
5. Pic Courtesy: 99doing

I for IV Sasi

Some people might say that I am choosing IV Sasi because his name starts with I. Initially, this series wasn’t supposed to be an A-Z series and I wanted to have IV Sasi because of his bold film-making and knack of making good commercial entertainers. I consider Guru as of one of the crazy entertainers of Tamil cinema. Having said that, IV Sasi’s scripts have been successfully remade in Tamil. Palaivana Rojakkal ( and Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupadu are perfect examples. 

IV Sasi was attracted to the cinema at an early age and moved to Chennai to pursue his dreams. He started his career as an art director and assistant director. His first directorial venture was Utsavam (1975), but he shook the South Indian film industry with his Avalude Raavukal (1978), a movie about a commercial sex-worker played by Seema. It criticised the pseudo-morality of people and openly discussed the life of a sex- worker. He made 150 films and known for introducing a lot of actors including Mammootty, Jayan, Soman and Seema. He also introduced Rajinikanth to Malayalam cinema. 

IV Sasi was someone who could balance commercial cinema with critically acclaimed movies. His Malayalam hits include Eetta, Iniyum Puzhayozhukum, Ezham Kadalinakkare, Aarattu, Angadi, Ee Naadu, Ina, Aaroodam (Won the National Award for National Integration), 1921, Inspector Balram, Devasuram and many more. 

IV Sasi was a close friend of Kamal Hassan, and it was a bilingual that brought IV Sasi to Tamil movie world. Alauddinum Arputha Vilakkum was a fantasy movie that had a huge star cast including Kamal,  Rajini, Gemini Ganesan, RS Manohar, Jaya Bharathi, Sri Priya and SA Ashokan as the Genie (his Aalampana rendition is still famous).

His notable movies in Tamil include Pagalail Oru Iravu (that dealt with the trauma of a young girl who couldn’t comprehend with her first sexual experience and abortion), Guru, Kaali, Ellame Un Kairaasi, and Kolangal.

Break-out movie: Guru

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Guru is about a vigilante thief who robs the smugglers and helps the poor. He has an alter ego, Ashok (both characters played by Kamal), who is a philanthropist and businessman. He runs an institute for orphaned children in his mother’s name. He has an arch-nemesis MN Nambiar, with one metal arm and they constantly run-in with each other.

Guru was a Robin Hood movie in Batman setting with a James Bond villain. Although the film was based on a Dharmendra starter Jugnu, Guru was an audacious attempt in Tamil cinema. It was a crazy, weird and fun action movie that had unbelievable (illogical) action sequences, complicated plot that connects everyone and some scintillating western background score from Ilaiyaraaja. In simple words, it’s one of those perfect mass masala entertainers. 

The movie was a huge success. It ran for a year, and it completed 3885 houseful shows in 45 days (it was mentioned in the ads) 

Movies to watch

1. Allauvuthinum Arputha Vilakkum
2. Pagalil Oru Iravu
3. Kaali
4. Kolangal

YouTube link to the movie

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Clik here to view.

Guru (1980) Tamil Movie - IV Sasi

Guru is a crazy version of a Robin Hood movie in Batman setting with a James Bond villain directed by IV Sasi.

References

1. The end of an epoch – The Hindu
2. Kamal 58 – Webdunia
3. Image Credit: Wikimedia
4. Image Credit: Mangalam.com

J for Jagannathan

The problem of making movies with big stars is that films are tagged with their names and not the directors. Jagannathan was one such brilliant director who made masala entertainers with almost all big names of the industry during the 70s and 80s. You might know these movies, enjoy them on TV when they are played, but he is non-existent for most of us. 

Jagannathan was born in Tirupur in 1935. He completed his BA at Government Arts College, Coimbatore. He started his career with Dinathanthi as an Asst.Editor. Enamoured by the movie world, he joined Jupiter Pictures through a family friend, Gopal Chettiar. Gopal Chettiar was the brother of M Somasundra Chettiar, own owned Jupiter Pictures along with Moideen Khan. He joined as an Asst.Director to Prakash Rao in the movie  Ellorum Innatu Mannar (1960) that had Gemini Ganesan and Saroja Devi in the lead. Kalaignar Karunanidhi wrote the screenplay and dialogues. It seems Jupiter Pictures were producing five movies at the same time. In simple words, they were running a real production house. 

After the movie completed, he joined P.Neelakantan as Asst.Director, who made a lot of films with MGR including Kaavalkaran, Ulagam Suttrum Valiban, Maatukara Velan etc., The first movie Jagannathan worked was Nallavan Vazhvan (1961). He worked with Neelakantan for 12 years and became close to MGR. With MGR’s blessings, he directed his first movie for Sathya Movies – Manipayal with AVM Rajan and Jayanthi. The film had a song that described the life CN Annadurai, and it became popular. 

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His most significant break was when he directed MGR in Idhayakkani, that ran for 150 days. Jagannathan was known for creating excellent masala entertainers with all the right elements. His strength was creating exciting characters and mannerisms that fit his screenplay. For instance, Sivaji’s role in Vellai Roja or Rajinikanth’s role in Moondru Mugam. Jagannathan made 35 movies in Tamil. Telugu and Hindi. 

Break-out movie: Moondru Mugam

Moondru Mugam is the story of twin brothers, Arun and John, who take revenge for their father’s (Alex Pandian) murder. Alex Pandian is an upright and straightforward police officer who has constant run-ins with a liquor baron, Ekambaram (Sentharamai). Ekambaram cheats Alex Pandian and kills him. Alex Pandian takes a vow that he will come back to kill him. Years later, Arun, who is raised by foster parents, gets to know the story, uses the reincarnation ruse to start a court case but Ekambaram (now Amber) brings in John (Arun’s long-lost identical twin) as Alex Pandian and breaks the case. After realising that Amber killed his father, John joins hands with Arun to kill Amber and dies in the process. 

The movie was buoyed by the triple role performance of Rajinikanth and screenplay of Jagannathan. The varied emotions and styles that he showed in three roles became a benchmark especially Alex Pandian. Alex Pandian ’s police officer role has not been matched yet, even by Rajinikanth. Technically, it was an interesting experiment because there were multiple masked dual role shots in the movies. 

Moondru Mugam was remade in Hindi as John Johnny Janardhan with Rajinikanth reprising his role. There is a talk that current actors want to remake the movie but nothing fruitful yet. The film was a super hit and ran for over 100 days in various theatres. 

YouTube link to the movie

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Moondru Mugam - Jagannathan

Moondru Mugam was one of the biggest hits of Jagannathan, a director known for making masala entertainers with big stars

Movies to watch

1. Idhayakkani (1975)
2. Nandha En Nila (1977)
3. Krodham (1982) – Adaptation of Death Wish (1974)
4. Thana Magan (1983)
5. Vellai Roja (1983) – Remake of Malayalam movie Postmortem
6. Naalai Unadhu Naal (1984) – Adaptation of And there were none..
7. Kadhal Parisu (1987)
8. Muthukkal Moondru (1987)

References

1. Interview with A Jagannathan – Pyramid Glitz Movies
2. A Jagannathan – Wiki Page
3. The Pride of Tamil Cinema by G Dhananjayan

K for GM Kumar

If you think new age directors are the people who have problems with our censor board, our 80s Tamil movie directors were bolder and had constant run-ins with the censor board. GM Kumar directed four movies, and all of them had some issues. He had to cut 3000 feet off from Aruvadai Naal, Pick Pocket was banned, and for Uruvam he had to appeal Central board of certification in Mumbai. 

GM Kumar was known for original, bold content that rattled the apple cart and that’s one of the reasons why he didn’t get enough offers. He was stubborn about the technicians he wanted to work with (Ilaiyaraaja for instance), he was adamant about the story he wanted to make, and he had a broader vision that people couldn’t comprehend with. 

He started his career as an assistant director to Bhagyaraj. He was credited as Asst.Director of Andha Ezhu Naatkal (1981). When Bhagyaraj was getting married to Poornima, it seems he and Livingston had a small break for few days. They had to make a story for a Telugu production house. The story was about a small-time thief who creates a fake certificate and becomes a police officer.  At that time RM Veerappan of Sathya movies wanted a story for Kamal, and GM Kumar narrated the story that they had created. RM Veerappan was impressed with the story, packed GM Kumar to Mumbai to describe the story to Kamal (he was shooting for Sagar). He was impressed with the story but there were multiple changes to the story, and it became Kaaki Sattai. The original story was made as Pick Pocket by GM Kumar himself.

During the shoot of Mundhanai Mudichu, Pandiarajan, Livingstone and GM Kumar escaped and made Kanni Raasi. There is an interesting story behind it, you can read it in Mundhanai Mudichu trivia (it’s one of 50 Tamil movies to watch before you die).

GM Kumar’s first movie was Aruvadai Naal with Sivaji Productions. He made three more films with different storylines, Pickpocket (story mentioned earlier), Irumbu Pookal (a singer who is in jail but also a vigilante) and Uruvam (a horror movie based on black magic). As there were no supporters for his screenplays, he started his acting career with Captain Magal (1993). But his big break came with Veyil (2006) and Maayandi Kudumbathar (2008). Bala brought a different perspective of the actor in him as Highness in Avan Ivan and also, Tharai Thappatai.

It’s a pity that he was recognised as an actor and not as a director who wanted to break the rules and create something original.

Break-out movie: Aruvadai Naal

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.If this movie was made now, I bet it would have created widespread protests and would have been possibly banned for hurting religious sentiments. Nirmala (played by Pallavi), an orphan and a to-be nun, arrives at a village to work in the local church. She meets Muthuvel (Prabhu), the local chieftain Rathnavel’s (RP Viswam) son. A caste fanatic, Rathnavel controls his son’s life, treats him like a slave and arranges his marriage with his niece. Muthuvel reveals his love with Nirmala. Rathnavel accepts but cheats them. The rest of the movie is about how Muthuvel revolts against his father.

The storyline might seem simple, but the censor board didn’t accept the love story of a nun. Ramkumar (Prabhu’s brother) acts as a Catholic priest who supports Nirmala’s love and fights against Rathnavel. In the movie, he is crucified by Rathnavel’s goons!!! The climax was bloody brutal at that time (literally). But not so surprisingly, people and critics were appreciative of the unique effort from GM Kumar.

The strength of the movie relied on characterisations of Rathnavel (he is called Aranmanai in the film) and Muthuvel. The casual brutality of Aranmanai and naivety of Muthuvel makes the movie what it is. Both RP Viswam and Prabhu shine in their roles. Ilaiyaraaja’s music acted as the backbone of the film. In fact, GM Kumar and Ilaiyaraaja go a long way back. GM Kumar says the most popular song of the movie, “Devanin Kovil” didn’t make the first cut as Ilaiyaraaja told that it stops the flow of the screenplay. But GM Kumar insisted that song should be there in the movie. GM Kumar collaborated with Ilaiyaraaja for all his films and created some scintillating music.

GM Kumar is someone I would call a maverick director, who cared two hoots about traditional movie making.

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Aruvadai Naal - GM Kumar

Aruvadai Naal is one of the boldest movies you would see in Tamil Cinema, directed by GM Kumar, it was not well recieved by Censor Board

Movies to watch

• Aruvadai Naal

• Pick Pocket

• Irumbu Pookal (you can skip this if you are not interested but it had music by Ilaiyaraaja and MS Viswanathan)

• Uruvam

References

GM Kumar’s interview – Vellithirai – Raj TV
GM Kumar’s Interview on Behindwoods TV
Back in focus in Bala’s film

L for Liaquat Ali Khan

I almost completed my post on Lenin for L, but he is probably famous because of his other craft – editing and also active as a director (he made a movie last year). I wanted to point someone so discrete but played a huge role in the rise of an actor and politician through his dialogues and films. 

If you analyse the rise of Vijaykanth, there will be two people (surprisingly they are both from Islam) – Ibrahim Rowther (Manager and Producer) and Liaquat Ali Khan (Dialogue writer and Director). Vijayakanth’s movies were known for fiery dialogues that touched the hearts of people and at the same time, had an anti-establishment tone. Liaquat Ali Khan started collaborating with  Vijayakanth from Poonthotta Kavalkaran. If I am not wrong, this is the first movie produced by Ibrahim Rowther, and it started a string of films written by Liaquat Ali Khan with Vijayakanth in the lead and produced by Ibrahim Rowther. 

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Clik here to view.Liaquat Ali Khan became a director in 1989, and surprisingly it was not a political movie. Paatukku Oru Thalaivan, a love story that had Vijayakanth and Shobana in the lead with some fantastic songs by Ilaiyaraaja (Ninaithathu Yaaro, Azhagiya Nadhi Ena). I am convinced that Vijayakanth was ready to start his political life as early as 1991 and Captain Prabhakaran could have been the start of everything. Post Captain Prabhakaran, his movies were carefully chosen by Ibrahim Rowther that promoted him as a do-gooder and a  fighter for the downtrodden. Liaquat Ali Khan played a prominent role in projecting this image through his writing. The movies include Pulan Visaranai, Captain Prabhakaran, Maanagara Kaaval and the pinnacle was Ezhai Jaathi 

Break-out movie: Ezhai Jaathi

Ezhai Jaathi was an interesting experiment from Vijayakanth and Liaquat Ali Khan. The film is about Subhash Chandra Bose (Vijayakanth), son of Udayar (Vijayakumar), a prominent industrialist who controls the politics and industry in the state. Subhash always gets into altercations with police and local politicians to help the downtrodden. He wants to become a Police officer as he thinks that power will help him to help the poor. He gets into a fight with a Member of Parliament,  Thilakavathi (played by Jayaprada). Later, Subash finds out that Thilakavathi is controlled by the local MLA to do nefarious activities. The rest of the movie is about how Vijayakanth becomes a politician, rescues Thilakavathi and eliminates the MLA and his goons. 

The movie was filled political undertones and MGR references that touted Vijayakanth as the next MGR. In fact, the climax sequence was modelled on MGR’s appearance after his gunshot wound. The fiery dialogues were the backbone of the movie. Ezhai Jaathi wasn’t a super hit, but it did make an impact in the political life of Vijayakanth. Liaquat Ali Khan continued to write dialogues for Vijayakanth and joined his political party, DMDK. After Sudhish (Vijayakanth’s brother-in-law) became prominent in the party, both Ibrahim Rowther and Liaquat Ali Khan were sidelined. Liaquat Ali Khan joined AIADMK in 2006 and campaigned against Vijayakanth. He acted in few movies as the villain, and he was also part of the South Indian Writers Association. 

YouTube link to the movie

Movies to watch

1. Paatukku Oru Thalaivan

For his writing

1. Captain Prabhakaran
2. Poonthotta Kavalkaran
3. Pulan Visaranai
4. Makkal Aatchi 

References

1. South Indian Film Writers Association – Dispute Committee Member – Interview
2. Liaquat Ali Khan – Wikipedia Page

M for Manobala

Most of you would know him as that lanky uncle who is a staple comedian in every other movie. But there is more to this unassuming man – Manobala has been in Tamil movie industry for 40 years as an assistant director, writer, director, actor and producer. A painting graduate from Government Arts and Crafts college, he was part of the famed “Alwarpet group” consisting of Kamal, Mani Ratnam, Santhana Bharathi, PC Sriram, Robert-Rajasekhar and so on. Kamal’s house was their abode where they discuss and dissect movies. It was Kamal who introduced Manobala to Bharathiraja. He worked in 16 films with Bharathiraja and 23 movies as an independent director. He also directed about 19 telefilms and serials. 

Manobala says that he entered into Bharathiraja’s office with a cigarette in hand and criticised ”Pudhiya Vaarpugal” story when it was narrated to him. He even suggested that Bharathiraaja should take back Bhagyaraj (they had a small rift) and make the screenplay better. The current version of the movie is what Bhagyaraj wrote in three days and also made him a hero. Manobala had a long run with Bharathiraja and instrumental in introducing many actors to the industry during that period. You should listen to his funny narration about how Bharathiraja identifies his lead actors. 

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Manobala on Bharathiraja

Manobala explains how Bharathiraja chooses his lead actors

Manobala debuted as a director with Agaya Gangai (1982), a movie that was written by Manivannan, shot by Robert-Rajasekhar and scored by Ilaiyaraaja. The culture of sharing scripts and technical brilliance was so prevalent that time (it’s coming back to Tamil cinema with new age directors). But Manobala’s big break came with Pillai Nila – a horror movie with Baby Shalini in an important role. Manobala never stuck to one single genre.  He could make a masala fare like Oorkavalan with Rajinikanth but also make Vijayakanth act in a subdued role in En Purushanthan Enakku Mattumthan (the movie also took him to Hindi). He could make a female revenge story like Thendral Sudum (adapted from Return to Eden) and make a film about a womaniser in Mallu Vetti Minor. He was versatile and at the same time believed in his story and screenplays than the stars. 

He directed 40 films and directed 19 serials and six teleserials including Annai and Siragugal. Although he acted in tiny roles in Bharathiraaja movies, his big break as an actor came in Natpukaga and he credits KS Ravikumar for his acting success. So far, he has acted in more than 575 films, and there is no movie without a role for Manobala. He became a producer with Sathuranga Vettai that launched director Vinoth and was a massive hit in 2014. His last film as a director was Naina (2002).

Break-out movie: Pillai Nila

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Dolly is an independent but stubborn young woman, sister of a wealthy businessman, David (Jai Shankar). She meets Mohan, a poor but talented young man. Impressed by him, she gives him a job in her company and slowly falls for him. But Mohan marries the woman (Nalini) chosen by his mother. Dolly expresses her love after Mohan’s wedding, but he rejects her. Not able to face the rejection, she commits suicide, and at the same moment, Mohan’s wife gives birth to a girl child, Shalini. Years later, one birthday, Shalini sings the same song that Mohan sang to Dolly once. 

Unable to accept that it’s a coincidence, Mohan tries to investigate but later realises that Shalini is possessed by Dolly’s spirit and she wants revenge. The rest of the movie is about how he saves his child and wife from Dolly’s spirit. 

The movie was the first movie to portray a child as a ghost and Shalini shined in the role. There is a scene where she sits on an Easyboy and controls everything in the room. She shows anger, hatred and fury everything in her eyes. She has to act like an adult although she is a kid. I still don’t know how Manobala would have extracted such expressions from her and that’s why he was a master director. The other important aspect of the movie is the background score by Ilaiyaraaja, and he runs havoc during the final scenes of the film. It will stay as one of the haunting scores in Tamil cinema. 

Manobala adores Ilaiyaraaja, and so he released the original score as an audio cassette for the first time. Needless to say, it sold like crazy as well as any song albums of Ilaiyaraaja. Manobala says that Kamal always chodes him for changing path as a commercial director and later as an actor. He shouldn’t have ended his directorial career to take up acting. But I am happy that he is producing some brilliant scripts. 

Fun Trivia: Manobala’s birth name is Balachander but he changed his name as there were two Balachanders in Tamil cinema. Manobala is his pen name. 

YouTube link to the movie

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Pillai Nila - Manobala

Manobala is really a versatile director, actor and producer who chose challenging scripts and directed interesting movies. Pillai Nila is his best

Movies to watch

1. Pillai Nila
2. Oorkavalan 
3. En Purushanthan Enakku Mattumthan
4. Mallu Vetti Minor
5. Karuppu Vellai

References

1. Velicham – News 7
2. Comedy Aayutham – Vendhar TV – Ayudha Poojai Special – Manobala
3. Jannal – Isai Raaja – Manobala on Ilaiyaraaja 
4. Image courtesy: Wikipedia

P for PS Nivas

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Clik here to view.Cinematographers graduate from shooting movies to become directors. There have been many cinematographers who have tried their hand in direction, but only a few were successful in the quest. PS Nivas was one of the earliest on the list, and he made a mark as a cinematographer and director.Although the Tamil industry knew him only through Bharathiraja’s 16 Vayathinile, PS Nivas had already made his mark in the Malayalam industry and had received a National award. A Kozhikode born, he graduated from the St.Joseph’s college, Devagiri and then completed his Diploma in Motion Picture Technology from Adyar film institute. He started as an Assistant Cameraman to Ashok Kumar in Malayalam.

He debuted as an independent cameraman with Sathyathinte Nizhal (1975, directed by Nathankode) and received the National Award for Best Cinematography (Black and White) in 1976 for his 3rd film, Mohiniyattam directed by Sreekumaran Thampi. Please note that until 1986, there were two awards in the category, one for Black and White and the other for colour.

Incidentally, PS Nivas and Ashok Kumar entered Tamil industry at the same time. It was Bharathiraja who brought PS Nivas into Tamil industry with his 16 Vayathinile. They were friends during their stint at the institute and Nivas obliged to become the cameraman although it was a low-budgeted movie. The world knows how vital Nivas was for 16 Vayathinile and the film for Tamil industry. They collaborated few more movies like Sigappu Rojakkal, Kizhakke Pogum Rail and PS Nivas directed Bharathiraja in Kallukkul Eeram.

PS Nivas was known for his point-source lighting and his pioneering work in Day-for-night shots in movies. ORWO films appreciated his work done with their film technology. PS Nivas graduated to become a director with Kallukkul Eeram (1980) that was written by Bharathiraja.

Break-out movie: Kallukkul Eeram

It’s so surprising that Tamil directors haven’t had success in making a movie about movie-makers. Except for some interesting experiments like Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam (I hate Jigarthanda), the films are not that interesting. You might see clips from Neengalum Herothan that makes fun of actors and their fans, but otherwise, movies about moviemakers aren’t that interesting.

But Nivas and Bharathiraja succeeded in making a movie about the life of moviemakers, their love and the celebrity craze of villagers. It’s a story of a film crew that arrives at a village for a shoot. Two young village women, clamoured by the film crew and their life, start following them. After an altercation, Solai (played by Aruna) falls in love with the director Bharathiraja (played by Bharathiraja himself) but doesn’t express it. Her friend Kaathi (played by Vijayashanthi) falls in love with the hero (Sudhakar), but he rejects her citing that everyone loves him. Kaathi commits suicide, but Solai grows her affection for Bharathiraja. The rest of the movie is whether Solai expresses her affection and what happens to the film crew.

As Bharathiraja wrote the screenplay, the movie had some compelling characterisations, be it Solai’s father played by Goundamani or limp played by Chandrasekhar. The film did have the usual village cliches, but on the other hand, it showed how a village’s life changes when a cinema crew lands in their village.

The movie was a hit, but Bharathiraja didn’t attempt to act after that. But now, he is creating ripples as a supporting actor with some scintillating performances in movies like Aayutha Ezhuthu, Pandiyanaadu and Kurangu Bommai. The film had some beautiful music from Ilaiyaraaja, and there is a complete Koothu performance. Manobala and Manivannan are credited as Assistant Directors.

YouTube link to the movie

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Kallukkul Eeram - PS Nivas

PS Nivas is a cinematographer who graduated to become a director. His breakout movie was Kallukkul Eeram

Movies to watch

1. Nizhal Thedum Nenjangal

As cinematographer

1. 16 Vayathinile
2. Sigappu Rojakkal
3. My Dear Lisa
4. Saagara Sangamam

References

1. Camera Kangal – CJ Rajkumar – Published by Kalaikuviyal

The idea for this post germinated because of a thought experiment. What would have happened if there was no Ilaiyaraaja? Can we imagine an alternative world without Ilaiyaraaja’s music? Although it’s impossible to live without his music, I thought it would be interesting to see the transformation of Tamil film and music industry because of Ilaiyaraaja. A primer on Linchpin Theory The controversial...

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b) Продвижение через описание и теги

Описание видео должно быть информативным и содержать ключевые слова, но не забывайте, что описание должно быть полезным и для зрителей, а не только для алгоритма YouTube. Включите в описание информацию, которая привлекает внимание и побуждает зрителя смотреть видео до конца.

Теги – это еще один важный элемент оптимизации. Они помогают алгоритму YouTube понять, о чем ваше видео, и показывать его в рекомендованных. Не стоит перегружать видео тегами, но использование правильных и релевантных слов поможет вашему контенту быть замеченным.

c) Привлечение внимания через миниатюры

Миниатюра видео — это первое, что видят зрители, и она должна быть привлекательной. Постарайтесь использовать яркие, контрастные изображения с крупными, легко читаемыми надписями. Это поможет привлечь внимание и увеличить количество кликов на ваше видео.

3. Создание качественного контента

Невозможно ускорить рост канала, если контент не интересен и не полезен для зрителей. Важно понимать, что именно ваша аудитория хочет увидеть, какие вопросы или проблемы она пытается решить, и создать контент, который отвечает на эти запросы.

a) Понимание аудитории

Проведите анализ вашей аудитории, чтобы понять их предпочтения и интересы. Используйте аналитику YouTube, чтобы увидеть, какие видео приносят наибольшее количество просмотров и какие темы вызывают наибольшее внимание. Это позволит вам лучше адаптировать контент под запросы зрителей.

b) Постоянство и частота публикаций

Регулярные публикации помогают поддерживать интерес аудитории и увеличивают вероятность того, что ваше видео будет рекомендовано. Найдите оптимальный график для загрузки видео и придерживайтесь его. Это может быть дважды в неделю, раз в неделю или даже чаще, в зависимости от того, как часто вы можете создавать качественный контент.

4. Взаимодействие с аудиторией

YouTube – это не только платформа для просмотра видео, но и для взаимодействия с другими пользователями. Чем больше людей взаимодействует с вашим контентом (ставят лайки, комментируют и подписываются на канал), тем выше вероятность того, что ваше видео окажется в рекомендациях.

a) Ответы на комментарии

Общение с вашей аудиторией – важный аспект продвижения. Старайтесь отвечать на комментарии под видео, чтобы создать атмосферу вовлеченности и заинтересованности. Люди ценят, когда авторы видео активны и отвечают на их вопросы.

b) Призывы к действию

Не забывайте вставлять в видео призывы к действию, такие как «Поставьте лайк, если вам понравилось видео», «Подписывайтесь на канал» или «Оставьте комментарий». Эти простые фразы помогают стимулировать взаимодействие и увеличивают активность на вашем канале.

5. Использование социальных сетей для продвижения

Чтобы ускорить развитие канала, необходимо активно использовать социальные сети для продвижения контента. Распространяйте ваши видео в популярных социальных сетях, таких как Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, а также на тематических форумах и в группах.

a) Создание тизеров для социальных сетей

Сделайте короткие тизеры или анонсы ваших видео и публикуйте их в социальных сетях. Это поможет привлечь внимание новых зрителей и увеличить количество просмотров.

b) Коллаборации с другими блогерами

Коллаборации с другими каналами и блогерами в вашей нише могут значительно ускорить рост вашего канала. Обмен подписчиками и совместные видео помогут вам расширить вашу аудиторию и повысить видимость.

6. Использование профессиональных инструментов

Для ускорения роста канала вы можете воспользоваться различными профессиональными инструментами. Например, AntichebBot предлагает услуги, которые помогут вам значительно повысить активность на вашем канале. Мы предоставляем инструменты для автоматизации и улучшения вашего контента, ускоряя его продвижение в YouTube.

Наш бот поможет вам:

• Повысить число подписчиков

• Увеличить количество просмотров видео

• Улучшить взаимодействие с аудиторией

Использование таких инструментов в сочетании с органической оптимизацией и качественным контентом может дать вам значительные результаты в короткие сроки.

7. Анализ и корректировка стратегии

После того как вы начали продвигать свой канал, важно постоянно отслеживать результаты и корректировать стратегию. YouTube Analytics – мощный инструмент, который позволяет вам увидеть, как ваш контент воспринимается аудиторией. Следите за такими показателями, как:

• Время просмотра

• Уровень вовлеченности (лайки, комментарии)

• Рост подписчиков

Анализируя эти данные, вы сможете оптимизировать ваш контент, чтобы добиться максимальных результатов.

Заключение

Чтобы ускорить развитие канала на YouTube, необходимо сочетать качественный контент, правильную оптимизацию, активное взаимодействие с аудиторией и использование профессиональных инструментов. Воспользуйтесь нашим телеграм-ботом AntichebBot для дополнительных услуг, которые помогут вам значительно ускорить продвижение и улучшить результаты. Применяйте рекомендации из этой статьи, и вы обязательно заметите рост вашего канала!