kirukkal.com

May 3, 2004

Rajini Avatars as JAGGUBHAI

I was surprised when my friend called me this early morning and asked me if I was looking at the newspaper. Not the English dailies he said but the Tamil ones. He dropped the happy bomb too. See it, a surprise awaits you.

I knew it was coming. There were talks all over the last week about it. It was said to be on 4th. I was awaiting it but I never knew it could be one day before. It rained all over yesterday and today morning. So I biked against the drizzles to the newspaper mart only to find that Rajini has announced his new film Jaggubhai. Ravikumar had announced last week that he would be directing Rajini’s next flick and so he does. But AR Rahman back on the tunes and Jeeva on the angles have certainly impressed me to the core. I am sure Jeeva can pitch in a lot with his experience.

This move of Rajini announcing his new movie Jaggubhai is certainly very dramatic. For a complete Rajini Fan like me, it is refreshing news. But when I look at with an outsider view, it is dramatic in all the angles. Especially during this moment when Rajini’s integrity gets beaten up by the media and the political arena, this move of Rajini balances him as level-headed. Still it is very dramatic pre-dominantly because Tamil Nadu is set to vote in just one week and the opinion polls suggest DMK / Congress sweeping across the state.

Having been an all-time fan of Rajnikanth films, I was definitely not convinced by his off late call for democratic opposition against the PMK. Rajini who was expected to be refreshing change in the political arena shouldn’t be seen as someone who is involving his fans for a personal benefit. Though I am sure it wasn’t his intention, it was projected by the media and he was forced to do it.

On the promos Rajini poses like a muslim/hindu with a gun beside him sitting in an odd pose. This oddness isn’t new for Rajini. When I saw the first ad of Basha on the same paper, I felt it. The name was very odd. Continuing the same oddity of name was Padayappa. I was thinking that Basha would fail miserable for the name itself. But both Padayappa and Basha proved in the Box-Office as the most successsful movies.

For the hunger stricken media, this odd costume and the pose, inclusive of the name will be a dream come true news. In the next few weeks, Jaggubhai will occupy the first pages and screens of most of the media. Jaggubhai’s news will be bitten, chewed and eaten by the every available media till they over expose the film and it’s cast. I only hope Rajini plays safe this time with the media and makes sure he feeds them well, else the hype would be blown enough that the bubble bursts soon after it’s created.

Check out the Daily Thanthi Ad of JagguBhai.
April 29, 2004

Funda on Fanah

Guest Blog 4 – Anand Chandrasekharan

Just like a book on Oprah’s list suddenly sees sales go through the roof, words used in a Rahman song suddenly come find themselves in vogue. Fanah may have come into popular conversation that way, but it actually has both spiritual and philosophical meaning in Islam.

One of the early Islamic writers (Ghazzali) used Fanah in the Ihya to refer to self-actualization, in a Buddhistic Nirvana Sense. In the state of Fanah, the individual loses the person in the temporal world. This kind of writing met with opposition from some interpreters, who claimed that such a moral world had never existed except in the Quran.

The general theme of the song, that love leads to a higher plane (a la Piravi pizhai, kadhal thirutham) resonates with Ghazzali’s writings, which says that an understanding and following of the Tawhidi in daily life, leads to the state of Fanah.

There you have it! When Vairamuthu says Yakkai thiri, Kadhal Sudar (My body the wick, your love the flame!), we know nothing can follow but Fanah!… It probably also explains why, this is one of those rare occasions when it’s hard to come up with a single word in Tamil which conveys the same meaning (and hence the Urdu word is re-used in the Tamil version).
April 28, 2004

Four Movies and a Weekend

1. The Last Samurai :

It was great to see Tom Cruise in this remarkable role of Captain Algren who is a plan less American soldier. His self-esteem and his sense of being a soldier gets him in-between two worlds which have their own philosophies. There lies perhaps his greatest challenge and this challenge is all about the battle of two completely different psychologies.

Tom Cruise gets two thumbs up for producing this saga of a samurai. Also he has disciplined himself for a role like this. He has managed to bring to life, the American soldier who is caught amidst two eras in Japan. This will be one of the milestones in his filmography after Mission Impossible. Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto brings to life, a true samurai hero. He manages to bring in facial expressions well to balance his character with fewer dialogues. The movie also talks about the Samurai culture and their strong way of life.

As the director Edward Zwick remarked in his interview, it was a time of transition. In every culture, that moment of change from the antique to the modern is especially poignant and dramatic. It is also wondrously visual. Each image, each landscape, each room tells the story, the juxtaposition of the old and new. A man in a bowler hat strolls beside a woman wearing a kimono. A man firing a repeating rifle faces a man wielding a sword.

However, the process of Tom Cruise getting mentally bent towards the Samurai is very detailed. Very dragging at times. A must watch for tom cruise fans and also others who love to watch inspirational stuff.

2. Udhaya :

This movie is from director coming from the camps of Mani Ratnam. Azhagam Perumal, the director of Dum Dum Dum and the latest Joot started this film as his first attempt. But before the film was out, it had various hiccups and that delayed the film’s release. The film was in production for more than 2-3 years which is evident from the looks of the stars getting changed from scene to scene. It’s a classic example of how a film fails in the box-office because of the timing of its release.

A R Rahman being the music director has done justice for the songs. Thiruvallikkenni Kaari gets a pat for AR Rahman.

Any day this movie will be on Ungal Sun TV. So watch it then.

3. Kill Bill :

I want to place my review of Kill Bill Vol 1 after watching Kill Bill Vol 2. Being a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino since his Pulp Fiction, I felt a little let down by looking at those blood fountains pumping out of those Japanese heads since they lacked the finesse and the creativity of Q.T. However it was more gore and violent than The Passion of the Christ. Actually both movies shouldn’t be compared for the violence. Passion of the Christ was more historical violence and Kill Bill was very fictional.

However, I’m inquisitive to watch The Bride take over Bill in Vol 2. Incidentally, I also developed a liking for Uma Thurman since her role as Poison Ivy in Batman and Robin. She is one hell of a female and she hasn’t got roles that matched her capabilities. I wish and hope Kill Bill Vol2 fills the gap. The reviews of Kill Bill Vol2 are out and they are promising and making me more curious. Let’s wait and watch on the big screen.

Co-incidentally I watched The Last Samurai and Kill Bill on consecutive days and it was a Japanese overdose for me 😉

4. Vaanam Vasappadum :

Will write a brief review on this. Read my pre-release note on Vaanam Vasappadum.
April 26, 2004

Social Influence in Media – Art or Science?

Guest Blog 3 – Anand Chandrasekharan

When I was in India recently, I heard about several younger actors aspiring to the title of Superstar. Having grown up in Tamilnadu, I know that is a title Rajnikanth has been holding on to for two decades. The aspirants have several things going for them, and have created varying degrees of influence and acceptance among the public and in the industry.

One of the best books I have read, Robert Cialdini‘s Influence, came to mind immediately. It presents social influence not as an art but as a science – a combination of six simple human psychological tendencies, based on years of experiments that provide insights into consumer behavior.

No better industry to apply it to than to media – one where careers are made or broken based on consumer whims and social acceptance by the public. It’s hard to think of many artists who have been successful without one or more of these techniques working for them subconsciously. The six techniques and some garnishing in terms of who it may have worked for (or not) are:

1. RECIPROCITY: People generally tend to respond to a small favor with a larger one. Rajnikanth is a good example of an actor for whom the reciprocity factor and his direct relationship with his fans and the public has worked wonders. In addition to making it work for him, he has also shown what a powerful factor of influence it can be.

2. COMMITMENT AND CONSISTENCY: People tend to believe in something and do everything they can to stick to it. For instance, Hollywood actor Jim Carrey fell flat on his face as a serious actor because the public wanted to stay true to their long standing belief that he was only a comedy actor. This type of pigeon-holing does not help an artiste’s cause, and artistes trying to reinvent themselves have to take the commitment and consistency factor very seriously.

3. SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE: People tend to accept things they believe their peers have accepted. Artistes who have benefited from this factor include directors Mani Ratnam and Shankar. This factor has also worked well for Steven Spielberg. Their universal themes that resonate with people’s daily lives and their ability to consistently appeal to the public with their stories have rightfully earned them the social acceptance they have today.

4. LIKING: People tend to be swayed by people they like. Traditionally, MGR has benefited immensely from this trend as has NT Rama Rao. Audiences in Andhra apparently still identify Lord Krishna with characterizations by NTR during his acting days. Shah Rukh Khan in Bollywood and Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp have all had this factor work to their advantage.

5. AUTHORITY: People tend to respect people who have been perceived as leaders or figures of authority in their chosen fields. The Passion of the Christ and The Lord of the Rings are two recent films that have benefited from positioning themselves as the authority in portraying themes that people already have intense emotional connection with (the last hours of Christ, JRR Tolkien’s trilogy). Amitabh Bachchan (father figure of Bollywood), Aamir Khan (perfectionist with intense focus on his roles), Shekhar Kapur (unique understanding of the trends behind Asian entertainment) and Charlie Kauffman (a unique ability to delve into the working of the human mind) are some of the many artists who have made this factor work for them, leading the public to trust them immensely.

6. SCARCITY: People tend to take whatever is scarce seriously. Good cinema is scarce and Kamal Hasan has made his career from consistently taking risks to deliver new roles, try new things and in the process raise the standards that audiences use to rate good cinema in the South. Needless to say, there are quite a few examples of such artistes in the west – Rowan Atkinson and Woody Allen being two examples that come to mind. Another angle to this factor is overexposure, something that has not served artistes well unless done in combination with the reciprocation factor in mind.

Comments and other examples of how these factors have worked in the industry are obviously welcome!
April 23, 2004

Let music bring in communal harmony

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

– Rabindranath Tagore in Nobel Prize winning Geethanjali

What if all the artists, not just the cine artists, but all kinds of performance artists join hands and vouch against communal violence. Well, You can witness that tomorrow(5:30) in Wesley Grounds, Royapettah, Chennai.

With a tamil slogan Veruppin Veppathai Thanikka Kai Serungal, People’s Union of Civil Liberties has arranged for a celebration of communal harmony. The celebration will have artists from all sorts like painters, poets, rock bands, carnatic musicians, cine music directors and ofcourse kollywood artists who will vouch for communal harmony in their own ways of expression.

What’s appreciable is that, such acts of kind gestures are supported by ever-busy-never-free cine artists. From Usha Uthup to Sudha Raghunathan, from Harris Jayaraj to 4 rock bands of Chennai, from Director Vasanth to Kushboo, from SPB to Kamalhassan himself will make the show a delightful event.

Rabindranth Tagore’s Mind Without Fear will be the song of the event. It has been translated into tamil and the honey-sweet SPB has recorded this song with his own voice. PUCL has also a demand to make this Mind Without Fear as the national anthem instead of Jana Gana Mana for Jana Gana Mana talks just about the geography of India whereas Mind Without Fear dwelves into the mind of an Indian.

The artists will start their painting from morning and the audience will be allowed to appreciate them during the show. One of the biggest highlights is the performance of Koothu Pattarai. Also four of Chennai Rock bands have joined together to come-up with a united effort of rock music ‘n’ communal harmony.

Every show has a climax. So this show will have Kamalhassan read out a vow for communal harmony which will be taken by the audience. I’m personally happy about the way in which the show is organised. The reason behind the show is very very genuine for we are in a country where communal violence has been offlate dancing, Rudrathandavam. Agree ?

Rajini Avatars as JAGGUBHAI

Funda on Fanah

Four Movies and a Weekend

Social Influence in Media – Art or Science?

Let music bring in communal harmony