Three things play an important role in Mani saar's stories- visuals music and an element of love. Everyone is all praise for the technical aspects, but no one talks about the romance in his films. But it's not the mundane run-around-the-fucking-tree kind of romance. His portrayal of love is more mature and almost matter-of-factish. There is no ringing bells or lighting or rain or violin music or any of that over the top bullshittery. I'm a novice here, but i guess that's how love is supposed to happen in real life. Maybe that's why they call it 'falling' in love, because it is supposed to happen spontaneously, with no effort on each others part.
Although a lot of his movies have been love stories, the fact that they're set up in the backdrop of serious issues pushes the 'love angle' to the background and highlights the sensitive issues. Ultimately, his movies deal with how love is affected by those external factors. Terrorism, riots, political unrest, social norms etc. It doesn't necessarily end with the triumph of love either. In fact a lot of them end in a tragedy.
Let's take a look at some of his works-
Pallavi Anupallavi- This was a movie that involved a younger guy falling for an older woman. The process of falling in love is mellow and slow and it kinda grows on you before anything is explicitly expressed. There are no sudden changes or twists when it comes to that.
Mouna Ragam and Roja- MR is more like a 'getting-over-someone' movie. But both Roja and MR deals with how daughters succumb to emotional blackmail and are forced into a marriage. These movies paint a very serene picture of such marriages, but it is far from the truth. Atleast that's what I think.
Nayagan and Thalapathi- Now the reason I clubbed these movies together is because they are Gangster flicks first and, although it is an integral part, romance takes a back seat. Nayakar falling in love with an under aged prostitute and Surya falling in love with an Iyyer Ponnu- notice how there is an immense scope for conflict and Mani saar doesn't exploit it.
Bombay- A picturesque love story which ends in a marriage and a bigger tragedy- the Bombay riots. Here, he has made best use of the whole hindu guy falls for a muslim girl conflict, the kind that he missed out in Nayagan and Thalapathi.
Alaipayuthey/ Saathiya- This is a complete love story from start to finish. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the lives of two ordinary middle class lovers who get married. This movie manages to effectively portray the kind of misunderstanding and emotional roller coaster ride every couples go through during the initial phase of their marriage (i'm just taking a wild guess here).
If you look for it, you'll notice a pattern here. All of the above examples have either a cathartic ending (with respect to the romance), like in Mouna Ragam or Alaipayuthey, or they have a tragic ending (with respect to romance) like in Thalapathi or Nayagan.
But there is this one movie of his which disguises a tragic ending as a happy one- Gitanjali. Think about it, both Prakash and Gitanjali are suffering from terminal diseases, you know they will die. But you don't dwell on it, you just sit back an immerse yourself in the wonderful love story, in the picturesque locations and the beautiful music. That's all fine, but you're so impressed by these elements that you forget to call up on reality even when you are desperately asked to do so! Remember the climax in the train station? Gitanjali is brought from her death bed, she is united with Prakash, they kiss, you wipe your tears and are happy that they are finally re united.
Aren't you missing something here? Like the fact that they both have their days numbered? Maybe Gitanjali lives for another month or so, maybe she dies after the last shot. And Prakash will suffer the same fate. If Gitanjali dies before Prakash (which is more than likely, considering how she was already on the verge of dying), then he will have it worse! Depression will take over, his condition will worsen and he'll die more of a broken heart than of cancer.
Poor fellow.
But no, the general perception is that if the hero and heroine get back together and kiss in the end = happy ending. Nobody cares what happens next.
Although a lot of his movies have been love stories, the fact that they're set up in the backdrop of serious issues pushes the 'love angle' to the background and highlights the sensitive issues. Ultimately, his movies deal with how love is affected by those external factors. Terrorism, riots, political unrest, social norms etc. It doesn't necessarily end with the triumph of love either. In fact a lot of them end in a tragedy.
Let's take a look at some of his works-
Pallavi Anupallavi- This was a movie that involved a younger guy falling for an older woman. The process of falling in love is mellow and slow and it kinda grows on you before anything is explicitly expressed. There are no sudden changes or twists when it comes to that.
Mouna Ragam and Roja- MR is more like a 'getting-over-someone' movie. But both Roja and MR deals with how daughters succumb to emotional blackmail and are forced into a marriage. These movies paint a very serene picture of such marriages, but it is far from the truth. Atleast that's what I think.
Nayagan and Thalapathi- Now the reason I clubbed these movies together is because they are Gangster flicks first and, although it is an integral part, romance takes a back seat. Nayakar falling in love with an under aged prostitute and Surya falling in love with an Iyyer Ponnu- notice how there is an immense scope for conflict and Mani saar doesn't exploit it.
Bombay- A picturesque love story which ends in a marriage and a bigger tragedy- the Bombay riots. Here, he has made best use of the whole hindu guy falls for a muslim girl conflict, the kind that he missed out in Nayagan and Thalapathi.
Alaipayuthey/ Saathiya- This is a complete love story from start to finish. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the lives of two ordinary middle class lovers who get married. This movie manages to effectively portray the kind of misunderstanding and emotional roller coaster ride every couples go through during the initial phase of their marriage (i'm just taking a wild guess here).
If you look for it, you'll notice a pattern here. All of the above examples have either a cathartic ending (with respect to the romance), like in Mouna Ragam or Alaipayuthey, or they have a tragic ending (with respect to romance) like in Thalapathi or Nayagan.
But there is this one movie of his which disguises a tragic ending as a happy one- Gitanjali. Think about it, both Prakash and Gitanjali are suffering from terminal diseases, you know they will die. But you don't dwell on it, you just sit back an immerse yourself in the wonderful love story, in the picturesque locations and the beautiful music. That's all fine, but you're so impressed by these elements that you forget to call up on reality even when you are desperately asked to do so! Remember the climax in the train station? Gitanjali is brought from her death bed, she is united with Prakash, they kiss, you wipe your tears and are happy that they are finally re united.
Aren't you missing something here? Like the fact that they both have their days numbered? Maybe Gitanjali lives for another month or so, maybe she dies after the last shot. And Prakash will suffer the same fate. If Gitanjali dies before Prakash (which is more than likely, considering how she was already on the verge of dying), then he will have it worse! Depression will take over, his condition will worsen and he'll die more of a broken heart than of cancer.
Poor fellow.
But no, the general perception is that if the hero and heroine get back together and kiss in the end = happy ending. Nobody cares what happens next.
Comments
Post a Comment