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By:
JBR
"Malayalam films always show about the Kerala culture but there seems to be no such necessity in Tamil films."
"Wearing jerkin to the temple….wearing shoe to bed…these are some elements from Tamil films that have found their way to Malayalam films and are a cause for concern."
This is what Mammootty and Jairam have said about Malayalam films.
Not only Malayalam film actors, but even those who speak about good cinema, somehow seem to have a low opinion of Tamil films. (This is true of Telugu and Hindi films too).
Is it like they say? That the Tamil films are in poor taste?
There are many who have been citing some reasons that contribute to the poor taste. One is excess of everything - overacting, unnecessarily lengthy scenes and exaggerated reactions. There are still many who insist that Sivaji Ganesan always overacted.
Even after seeing natural films like 'Kaadhal' and 'Autograph,' one still can't seem to get rid of the exaggerated feelings seen in Tamil cinema. The Tamil re-make of Malayalam films 'Chidambarathil Oru Appasamy' and 'Kasthurimaan' deserve mention here.
In the Malayalam version of 'Chidambarathil Oru Appasamy,' there was no item number or duet songs. But in the Tamil version, such numbers were added to give it a commercial touch.
The husband sees an actress wearing a glamorous outfit on screen and gets one like that for his wife to wear. A song follows that. What is the necessity for a song sequence like this in a film about a no-good loser? The sexy number at a hotel club is superfluous too.
This is a sure sign that film people think Tamil film fans will enjoy a good story when there are about 4 songs - suitable or not - interspersed in the film. When a film suffers this fate at the hands of people like Thankar Bachchan, who has always professed idealism about Tamil and Tamil people, talking about others is redundant.
The excess has found its way in 'Kasthurimaan' too, where the character of Kolapulli Leela who comes as Vinodini's mother-in-law has appealed to everyone. While she played a normal role in the Malayalam version, she has been made grotesque in the Tamil version with her darkened face and almost villain like characterization. How else can one explain her appearance? She could hardly be shown like the usual villain, with a bristling moustache, clad in lungi and banian and bellowing in a gruff voice.
The poverty of the hero is shown subtly in a couple of scenes in the Malayalam version. But in the Tamil version, "There's no money even to buy an egg," or "I have been starving since morning," make a drama of the whole situation and detract from the effect it should have. These scenes have been added in the Tamil version to highlight the pverty situation.
The Malayalam film climax shows the hero visiting the heroine in jail and finishes with his promise to wait for her. But the film extends by another 10 minutes in the Tamil version. Is it necessary for such scenes that do not need explanation to be shown unnecessarily? Can't people understand such simple conclusions? Such dialogues and unnecessary scenes spoil the mood of the Tamil version.
Directors of Tamil and regional films, think that overdoing emotions and elaborating on situation scenes are necessary for the viewers to understand and enjoy the film and make their films with that in mind.
Is this drawback because Tamilians do not know how to enjoy films? Or is it because the intelligence of Tamilians is being under rated?
The answer to this has to be found with consultation between makers and viewers!
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-02.12.2005
