Ezhai Dhinam Dhinam Sirikanum
Oru Pidi Soru, Avanukku Kidaikanum
Maayam Vilakanum
Arasiyal Saayam Velukanum
Medai Pechum
Vaarthai Veechum Enn !!
Theemai Engey
Thedi theerpom Vaa !!
Sathyaa. One of those rare films, dropped by the us(Tamilians), in the box-office. How crazy can we get ? From Sathyaa to Mahanadhi to Hey Ram to Anbe Sivam, we owe Kamal Hassan more than what we can comprehend.
kirukkal.com 
52 responses to “Potta Padiyuthu…”
GUru you forgot
GUna 🙂
(if it is only social-message oriented movies, you are talking about, then maybe it doesn’t qualify but BO success vis-a-vis artistic effort in inverse relationship, then it is one of them definitely)
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Hm-hmm.. 🙂
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Sathyaa was a remake of “Arjun” by Givind Nihalani, starring Sunny Deol. It was a well localized remake with a good romantic portion added to spice it up. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kalki in its review wrote for the last scene when the villains have been slain, the background voice over will be a judge’s verdict as per IPC 302 for Sathya and there will be a smile that appears in Kamal’s face and that is “Once More” class act from Kamal. Suresh Krishna directed that movie and it was too much for the thamizh audience of that time. All reviews of that time were fairly balanced and today I see the review standards have fallen badly that they (reviewers) have started to appreciate crass masala as something worthy of lauding and rewarding. I remember Kalki’s review of “Vaikasi Porandhachu” which was only a quarter page and concluded with “Paamara Janaranjaga padam”. A review of “Idhayam”, the stupid movie, said that “Padam odinaalum odidum”.
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“Oru nallavanukku kidaikka vendiya Ella mariyadhayum oru kettavanukku kidaichududhe !!”
Krishnaswamy’s dialogue in Mahanadhi. How true !
Anbe Sivam couldnt run as much as Sivakasi did.
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Sathya was quite a faithful remake of Rahul Rawail’s “Arjun”. Jaiganesh, it was not Nihalani’s. You are confusing KH’s remake of Nihalani’s “Drohkaal” (aarrgh.. damn those forum threads).
The key differences between “Arjun” and “Sathya” are two.
One, Kamal Haasan (as opposed to Sunny Deol; LOL!)
Two, IR (as opposed to R.D. Burman, I suppose). To be fair to those folks, IR’s bgm those days stood apart from any other person’s in that time period.
Lazy, just curious. Are you bracketting “Sathya” with “Mahanadhi” and “Hey! Ram”????
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Don’t blame the ppl for dropping movie in box office… Jus coz it is Kamal, its criminal to expect all his movies to run 100 days… I do agree all those movies u have listed are brilliant attempts on Kamal’s part… And if they don’t do well in BS, then it is for him to look at how he can make movies for the audience than for himself !!!
Good movies run, not just different attempts.
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doubl gamer, lazy
idiots like u who praise crap movies like sivakasi are responsible for this pathetic situation…..
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LG,
That Satya was a great one is undeniable….but was it a box office flop?….agreed it did not bring in money in potfulls…but i do remember it doing a decent run and even Kamal claims it ran fairly well and broke even.
Coming to the movie itself, the best scene in my opinion was the scene where Satya tries to get witnesses for his friend’s murder and junta deny seeing his friend’s murder.It had some unforgettable dialoguesSatya goes on to shout at the cowards around him…….
“Poi kaatulakadila oLinjuka, illana unmai vanthu kaduchirum paaru”….and
“Kadhai kadhaiya solluveengale maram vanthu satchi solluchu, yannai vanthu satchi solluchunu…ippa yevanavadhu vandhu sollungalen”
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MutRupuLLi,
yeah, you reminded me of the dialogues. They were fantastic, written by Ananthu (as far as I remember). But, I would not call the movie great… not definitely in Kamal’s retrospective, IMO.
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Guru,
Sathya pix are rare and glad i found one in your blog.
Another testimony to the belief that originals aren’t necessarily better than the remakes.
As mutrupuLLi said, The Line from the movie is “Poi kattilukadila oLinjuka, illana unmai vanthu kaduchirum”
BTW, Aandavar had written a book “Thedi Theerpom Va”. Chinna Bharathi in the making….
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Making masala movies is not a crime…but making a crap one a hit is one indeed. When films like Sivakasi and Aathi become hit, aspirant directors lose hope on good stories and screenplays and fall in the image trap. All the named Kamal’s movies were duds at Box Office, but were watched with great interest whenever aired on TV. Poor Kamal!!
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i think that was a time when Kamal’s influence on the director was much on to shape the charecter and the movie than to produce a “kamal’s punch” in his movies. We need to remember that was Suresh krishna’s first tamil film and Kamal’s own production. Without Kamal we can’t imagine how good the movie will be??
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The first time i listened to ‘Jana Gana Mana’ from ‘AAidha Ezhuthu’,i couldnt help thinking about this song from Sathya.I also vaguely recollect that back then,Kamals looks and mannerisms in the movie reminded me of the Gum-Chewing King of Cricket- Viv Richards.
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//GUru you forgot GUna :-)//
Thennavan, I think you got the genre. yes these are slightly different from Guna and we as a society are responsible to cracking this at BO.
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Jaiganesh, Wow. Good memory on kalki review.
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//Anbe Sivam couldnt run as much as Sivakasi did.//
Keerthi, Thats even more a pity. Anbe Sivam or for that case, all the four films listed here are better than Sivakasi . they shouldn’t be compared to sivakasi.
but i’ve say even this, sivakasi is also a good film in it’s genre 🙂
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//Lazy, just curious. Are you bracketting “Sathya” with “Mahanadhi” and “Hey! Ram”????//
Zero, YES. The reason is, Sathya was much ahead of its time. First I want to forget that it was a remake of Arjun. I’ve seen Arjun too but Sathya was class apart. For Tamil Cinema, it was a film atleast 5 years ahead, at that time.
And as Thennavan identified, all these big-time flops had an amzing social message embedded within them. From humanity to hypocrisy, they weren’t glaringly present to the common eye making them classics of their own. And why do you think Sathya couldn’t join these ?
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//Good movies run, not just different attempts.//
Somu, This is kind of eternal question, that I’m searching an answer to. though its easier to say, when there is a flop, the film maker should look within seems completely impossible for me. why should Kamal do soul searching after his movie anbe sivam failed in BO. it’s like the question kamal asks in mahanadhi which keerthi mentioned earlier here.
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//idiots like u who praise crap movies like sivakasi are responsible for this pathetic situation…..//
karthikeyan, i’ve to say this. sivakasi was totally a different genre than all of these. it was good in its own forte. such a situation isn’t prevalent in kollywood. we can believe an out-right commercial[with logic] can run in parallel to a classy artstic work.
and yeah it doesn’t make sense to try and explain you. i would do that if you, instead of swearing me , listen for a while. i dont think you would do that. after all, arent you a part of the society, just like me, which flopped these flicks.
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//That Satya was a great one is undeniable….but was it a box office flop?….agreed it did not bring in money in potfulls…but i do remember it doing a decent run and even Kamal claims it ran fairly well and broke even.//
mutrupulli, we have heard kamal say himself in more than one instance that sathya was a big flop, from a producer stand point. the reason, it was years ahead of kollywood cinema. it had commercial stuff like that amazing romantic interlude between him and amala but it was very different film. right from editing to the philosphy it adviced.
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Mutrupulli, thanks for dialogues. was just watching it yesterday and had great time.
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//Another testimony to the belief that originals aren’t necessarily better than the remakes.//
Bala, True. Sathya was much better than Arjun.
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//When films like Sivakasi and Aathi become hit, aspirant directors lose hope on good stories and screenplays and fall in the image trap.//
Mugamoodi, I don’t think this is the reason. we have to agree cinema is business and people want to make money. its only this sivakasi and other hits, make the cinema industry run. without commercial hits, kollywood would be null and void.
imagine a state of condition where there are only artistic flicks. i cant imagine. my yearning is only that, alongwith a commercial flick, such arstistic attempts should run.
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//Kamals looks and mannerisms in the movie reminded me of the Gum-Chewing King of Cricket- Viv Richards.//
Rama, yeah. we all felt the same.
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Spoken like a true kamal fan. How much more biased can we get ?. Granted that Kamal’s acting was good and certain scenes in the movie were good. However,you have glossed over all the deficiencies in the movie… What about the Ambuli mama climax ? (ref : Kumudam’s review of Sathya). Overall impact – Not a bad movie – nowhere near the greatness you have bestowed on it. I guess the same argument can be applied for the other movies listed…
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Lazy,
Just last week I was talking about this movie with ravages. And today I see a post from you. Wonderful movie it was 🙂 Wasnt this the first movie in which Amala spoke, wihtout dubbing?
Senthil,
Can you please list down some good movies, according to your own standard. And whats wrong in speaking like a true kamal fan? Is being a kamal fan a crime? Then we all are proud to be criminals!!
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Lazy: Last few months, I have been wanting to see this movie all over again. I have been “Valaiosai” (from the soundtrack) pretty much once every day! Same with Soorasamharam (inspite of the crux being based on Harrison Ford’s Witness), just to see a different Kamal!
Zero: I’d put Sathya up there too, with Hey Ram and Mahanadhi. Actually, if “difference” was a criteria, then Pesum Padam tops that list, doesn’t it 🙂
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When we are passionate about certain things, we tend to ignore its deficiencies and lose our objectivity – Hence my comment about Lazy being a kamal fan.
Imagine a one day game, Dravid plays a technically brilliant cover drive exactly according to the coaching manual. However, if the ball is hit straight to the opposition fielder, the end result will be zero !!! In my opinion, Some of Kamal’s movies belong to the same category – lot of hard work, innovative thinking, attempts at making a different movie… However, due to certain deficiencies they have not produced the desired results… Nothing in wrong in appreciating the effort,,, but going overboard and praising them as great movies is a bit difficult to digest…
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Sathya – A definitely path breaking ‘attempt’ at that time. Senthil, I don’t agree with your views. Sathya, deserved to be a hit for its unique subtle love of a angry son, brother figure which it represented. An angry youth movie well told, which was technically way ahead of its times deserves a place in ‘Great movies’ (considering it dint receive a great BO verdict).
When it comes to Kamal or Mani movies, People tend to unforgive even small things nitpicking and digging some scenes whereas when it comes to ‘Others’ grave mistakes are easily forgiven saying ‘Thalaivar padaththula idhellam sagajamppa’ (Thalaivar – Substitute any BO king here).
Good one Guru!
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Many of Kamal’s movies r ahead of time…. tats a big reason tat they r not commercially hit ones…. though, I hav my own frenz who appreciate such movies after say, 3 or 4 yrs….
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Senthil,
Before the 15 over rule came, if some one played like what Sehwag is playing today, he would not have lasted for more than 1 series. Rules of the game has changed 🙂
Rules of cinema keep changing. Adhe kaNgaL was an amazing movie those days. With suspense and all. Look at same movie today, and you will feel differently.
What were the type of movies during the time of Sathya? Wasnt this movie a class apart? And whats wrong in hailing someone who wants to try something different?
Look at lazy’s list. Has he mentioned movies like mangamma sabadham or magarasan? They were also kamal movies only right?
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Kamal has a very similar cut (between the eyes) on his nose in VV stills….
Talking of coincidences – I just watched Bruce Will’s ‘Hostage’ yesterday.. as the movie progressed I couldnt help but notice a few *keywords* Gautam used to describe Vettaiyadu… “Kamal pays a cop who is ice cool when things round him goes sour… Kamal pays a cat and mouse game with the criminals”
* Bruce Willis pays an ice cold cop who is eeriely calm (even pats others to stay calm)
* They play a cat and mouse game, which fluctuates between high and low points for him..
I hope not 🙂 Just one more trailer needed to guess the movie (if indeed it was copied)
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Prabhu, Thats a true co-incidence. I think you are right about amala dubbing in her own voice.
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I remember nilhani saying in one interview that ‘kurudhiponal’ was a remake of which was better than the original. Its ironic though whenever i bring the name of ‘Satya’ people instantly relate it to RGV flick by the same name.
“Bharatha nattuku oru kottai chuvar namaga”
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I think his films are over-rated. Never live upto expectations, especially if he is handling things.
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Lazy!
I dont know if it is right to be posting this here. Sathya was the movie in which Kamal had let Vikram Dharma go bonkers, with all the footboard pallavan chases and realistic, but impactful fight scenes. When one of the dhaadi group of friends gets killed on a rainy day with so many umbrella holding ppl around, the fight conception and execution by Vikram Dharma was superb. Even in movies directed by others, Kamal always managed to intervene atleast in the stunt department to bring in vikram Dharma. For a very few instances in recent memory Kamal’s stunts are being choreographed by Stun Siva in vettayaadu vilayaadu, who carries a good tag from amazing work done for Nandha , Pithamagan and Raam. Truly I am excited and at the same time keeping my fingers crossed as to how Stun Siva is gonna do it for a Kamal movie.. Vettayaadu Vilayaadu.????
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We need a new Genere in IMDB for movies of Vijay. Aathi, Thiruppachi, Sivakasi, Gilli, madhurey and many. They are all Masala. Same Intro Song. Same intro Fight. Same useless romance. Same so-called comedy. Same Screen-facing dialogues.
What has vijay put himself into. I can name Kamal’s movies by looking at his hairstyles. We can name Rajini’s movies even by looking at his clothes. But even after seeing and listening a song of vijay, you will be confused, if it was Sivakasi or Thiruppachi !
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Jaiganesh has made a valid point that Kamal makes it a point to use ‘Vikram’ Dharma for stunts…almost his “Asthana” stunt master….
When one sees the fight sequences in Virumandi (esp the climax fight), in Sathya and the sequences in Kuruthi Punal one understands why….
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mutrupulli.. how about stunts in Mahanadhi. They were great too.
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Hey Ram-somehow I didnot like-may be it is too intelligent for me to understand. End of the day common man should get what the director tries to say.
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Hi Guru,
Whether someone needs to do a soul searching is totally dependent on the intent of the movie… Kamal sure churns out good movies time and again. But then if he wants them to be commercially viable, that’s when am saying soul searching is required. The mindset of the masses cannot be changed overnight and so it becomes essential for any moviemaker to go with the taste of the people (if they look at box office seriously).
Why does Mani Ratnam keep having songs in all his movies, despite his desire to not have them at all… While for Yuva he contended he wanted to do justice to ARR, am sure he understands that they help bringing in repeat audience.
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“Ennaku ella neyangalum theriyum, ella dharmangalum theriyum” – Dhandapani(Kitty) in Sathyaa
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Geek…………………….what you said is correct “WE OWE KAMAL HASSAN MORE THAN WE CAN COMPHREHEND” I am doing intl dip in digital filmaking course my main inspiration to take this visual medium i can say is kamal sir not only wid is acting but the amount passion he imbibes in cinema as whole entity taking this as a cue if we can work wid orginality bring out our vision wid true passion then i guess thats the only we can give back to a visionary like kamal sir (on a personal basis).
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Lazy, Kamal once said in an interview that out of all Raj Kamal International’s films, only one movie has incurred losses and thats Hey Ram. Even Vikram, which was panned by critics, went on to do decent business, due to the hype it created.
I remember Sathya did create a stir among the public when it was released, due to Kamal’s different looks and the ‘Valaiosai’ song.
Frankly speaking, though u consider Sathya as a class apart, i can still point out several masala elements in this film – the item number in villian’s bungalaw, double thankgachi sentiment, politics, violence and non-stop action, due to which its hard to believe that this movie flopped. Was it released along with a Rajinikanth movie or what?
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Lazy,
Atlast i get somebody to side with me. Even i remember the interview which Kamal gave( i think around the time Virumandi was released). He clearly said that Hey Ram was RajKamal’s only loss making venture. Actually i thought RajaPaarvai too would be in that list. Also i rem a interview given by Suresh Krishna in which Suresh claimed that Satya was hit..that maybe a bit of exaggeration…but one does get the drift.
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Watch these superb Kamal stills from VV in Indiavarta. com – http://www.indiavarta.com/gallery/show.asp?Topic=-1144
Alwarpettai Andavan comes again with Cute Jo kutty in this movie
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Kamal is a pragmatist at the end of the day and knows that if he does and experiment that gets shunted out by the audience, he can quickly come to lower gears and churn out a PKS or Panchathanthiram to make some quick buck to regain some lost foot hold. However one must be versatile, fluent, flexible and offcourse very brave to keep moving up an inch and falling a feet continuously and be still motivated to keep working. Thats the amazing quality of being Kamal. Like Shivaji his quiver has arrows of all sizes and shapes, right from Comedy (again all ranges, from front benchers to kids to class audience) to action to Tragic(exagerated as in Pasavalai to classic as in Anbe Sivam). As an actor I can easily say Kamal is the most fully rounded in the whole of Asia and even in the whole world(Am I stretching a little?). As long as Actor Kamal supports director Kamal one can only say “Go Kamal Go”. One piece of advice to Kamal will be just that he should act more in projects controlled by others more often (like he does now with Gowtham, he should work more with likes of Bala, Cheran) so that they too improve.
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How many know that SPB gave voice to the Dhandapany character (one that Kittu played)?
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Yeah WB, that was too obvious. I guess Kamal recomended SPB…cos there’s no reason anyone should dub for Kitty since he himself has a good voice.
Jaiganesh, I agree PKS was meant for the masses and did become a commercial hit(despite being released along with a better movie ‘Azhagi’) but not Panchathantiram. Panch was quite classy comedy which was accepted by the city folks but not by the rural mass.
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WB, I didn’t notice it. Donno why. Usually i catch SPBs voice at the first instance. Probably i wasn’t noticing it too much.
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So some people here think that even Sivakasi is good in its genre? ho ho ho, i m sure u saw Vijay floating and flying from bottom to top 🙂
OK, fine, even Anniyan has such scenes but atleast the movie has plus points in the technical aspect. What about Sivakasi?
It will be like watching Dravid in action if Kolywood produced only Art Films? excuse me but movies like Minnale, Kaaka kaaka or even Friends[Vijay] aren’t Art films. They were not crap like Director Perarasu’s films.
Mani Ratnam and songs, yeah! He is no exception, but can’t people see the difference in the clothing, dancing style and music?
I m not paying money to see some cine- hero show me his personal stuff. I have my own! Hopefully, everyone does 🙂
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Looking at the comments,it seems most of them are against Aathi,sivakasi ,vijay,etc..so enough of blogging..now how do we let Vijay know this and stop this crap-ridden-movies.Guru,do u know his id or something….where we can advice him on the movie..It is dissapointing tht vijay has taken the tamil film industry to a new low by dubbing these mind-blowing-SUMO-DRIVEN(hope u understand wht i meant) telugu movies..his job is now is to get some telugu movie,remake it and earn money..and above all it becomes a hit ..tht is the pain of all…On some sort of research i found of some thing(i am not infallible) tht SUN TV is vijay’s backbone..have u seen the reviews..Aathi tops the list..MIND BLOWING..there seems to be some arrangement with them..In such a case ppl watch the list and go to watch the movie..GOD HELP THE TAMIL INDUSTRY
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