Saturday, March 3, 2012

On sensitivity among other issues

Its been a long time since I've been so mesmerised about a movie much less write about it. Malligadu joins the elite list of brilliant films that have come out of Tamil Cinema in the last decade. What a breathtaking decade it has been for Tamil Cinema. Oh! boy am I jealous? Actors like Dhanush, Jeeva, Karthi, Aadhi and so many more I haven't had the privilege to see yet. Directors of the calibre of SelvaRaghavan, Ameer, Balaji Sekthivel, Bala, Samy, Gowtham Menon, Sasi Kumar, Samuthirakani and I'm just looking at the tip of the iceberg. But no, this isn't just about Kollywood. Or great cinema. This is also about audience. This is about the power of a community as a whole to be mature, considerate, open and appreciative enough to true genius.


If you have seen Malligadu, you'll understand what I'll be talking about. If you haven't watched it yet, and if you believe you have the ability to be open to great cinema, I suggest you watch it. If for nothing else, for Priyamani. What an actor. Nobody made me flinch like that ever. No other women. And if I hadn't known that this was Karthi's first cinema, I might have under appreciated his intellectual and emotional quotient for pulling Malligadu off. Kamal in Swathimuthyam, Rajni in Dalapathi, Chiranjeevi in Aapathbandhavudu, Suriya in Sivaputrudu, Hirsch in Into the Wild, Warsi in Munnabhai, Akshaye in Dil Chahta Hai, Crowe in the Cinderella Man and now Karthi in Malligadu. There's no great acting skills for display out there, no need for genius. They are truly earnest characters and pulling that off is much harder.


I have nothing more to say. Watch the movie and please don't walk off during the last fifteen minutes citing reasons as varied as "I'm sensitive", "I can't bear to watch it", "There was no need for it", "WTF" and "Its frustrating". And no, all these excuses are not made up. Ameer, I'm getting back to you again soon.

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