Was Tamil cinema slowly reaching up to international standards set by Hollywood, asked a scribe. “No,” he said. “Maybe our cinematography and sound are world class today but in the screenplay department, we have progressed only just a little since the silent era. It is unbelievable that the land that produced Kamba Ramayanam cannot produce scripts. We have lost the art.”
This is probably the biggest truth of our Kollywood. I agree with every inch of this comment. Many film buffs would agree too. The dude who quoted this was a film buff himself. Guess ??
P.S If you had read the original interview where it was quoted, I would request you to restrain from giving out the answer. Guessing is so much fun.
Update No points for guessing it right. As many guessed it was none other than Kamal. Here’s the link to the mentioned interview. The most odd guess was Sarath Kumar and Cheran(?!) made by Cocoa. I assume he/she was mocking at this whole post by making a guess like that.
BTW, the musical show that Kamal was mentioning in that interview was Banyan’s Netru Indru Nalai. It was actually planned to be executed last year and was washed out due to rain. Sudhish says its back with a bang. Flashback 2002 – Netru Indru Naalai.
kirukkal.com 
19 responses to “We have lost the art !!”
Ivanukku Siddha theriyum…
Ivanukku siththum theriyum…
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Ravi K Chandran?
Sharathkumar?
Cheran?
P C Sriram kinda ‘snooty’ fellows?
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Sujatha?
Madhan?
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quite a few have made such comments. I remember Balu Mahendra commenting something alone the same lines a couple of years back. He said most so-called new attempts in Tamil cinema were half-baked.
Kamal,Santosh Sivan are other guesses
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sud be ravi.k.chandran in vikatan ? mr.ravi, tamilukku vaanga sir. unga assistant hindi pannatum.
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I think it could have been Kamal.
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Ivanukku Siddha theriyum…
Ivanukku siththum theriyum…
Sakalakalaaa doctor doctor…
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Sakalakalaa Doctor ? I am sure it is Kamal. But does he include himself and Ananthu (his Guru as far as Screenplay goes) when he talks about half baked ideas ? I feel Virumaandi was a good attempt and not a half baked one as far as screenplay goes.
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My first guess on reading the quote is Kamal.. On seeing the comments I confirm that 🙂
It is very true…
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Shnaega, the half-baked comment was made by Balu Mahendra, not Kamal.
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Lazy .. if you still haven’t read this:
http://urpudathathu.blogspot.com/2006/01/blog-post_26.html
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here’re my guesses:
–kamal hassan
–selvaraghavan
–cheran
–bala
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Instead of thinking ‘we have lost the art’ I like to say ‘Some have lost the guts to go beyond!’
(note: i say ‘some’)
Technology and buying capacity today makes it easier to take our cinematography and sound programming to the next level, as for screen play and direction it requires guts to go beyond and not budge in the name of masala. how many producers are ready to accept a good movie without 5 fights and 5 songs in it ? I don’t buy the argument that the public is demanding 5 fights and 5 songs in every movie.
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Today in this site, I see a blog on current Tamil Films’ Screenplay which has got 13 comments, followed by a blog on Thyagaraja having ONE comment, followed by a blog on Biscuits eating habbits and it has got 30 comments !!! “We have lost the art ??”
And ofcourse needless to say the one comment on Thyagaraja was not from me. So I too plead guilty.
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LG,
Did we forget the art of screenwriting or do we fear that “vox populi” would reject our talent? I think that there is no dearth for talent in Tamil cimema, its just what the masses wants that counts. Think for a minute a tamil movie without a fight, song and dance sequence, an item number, appa amma thangachi sentiment- and what do we have – a megaflop. Or even think of a modern adaptation of Ramayana or the bible. How many takers? I can visualise the common man coming out of the theatre “Enna maamu, padam sappunu iruku. Ithelam velaikavathu” The main reason is that the film-going public in Tamil Nadu or for that matter India like to identify themselves with the hero and the film. Ever wonder how Vijay, Dhanush, Vishal (and the list goes on) have made it big. Its because the average man identifies with him. And I guess looks are not important as long as you can keep the audience enthralled. “Good films” is a relative concept like beauty. If a hero or film is sucessful I guess we all can have a little appreciation for it rather than treat it like an autopsy. I belonged to the “overcritical” bandwagon once but I realised that there’s nothing like enjoying life and movies as they are. Ippo illati eppo?
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SMK, I agree with u dude…u certainly echoed my thoughts to perfection…
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I read this interview yesterday…….. its none other than _______ .. btw guess his movies’ screenplays are better but certainly not a class above….
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Oh kezhattu haasana?
enakku HINDU oru naal late-a daan varum. iniikudaan paarthu, ennaye naa kuttikitten.. grrrrrr.. kezhatuu haasaaaaaaaaa
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Well and Yeah, SMK is rite! I should stop thinking “why???” and learn to enjoy films as they are!
Because, as long as such films [i call them crap!] keep appearing, we will only have a limited number of focused, informed & dedicated [potential]software professionals to compete with!
Therefore I can hopefully enjoy the money in the industry, like LG does these days 😉
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