Tamil Cinema - The Renaissance

kadhal
Originally uploaded by theiyer.

As you walk out of the movie hall, every reel of the film continues to weave its magic in the imaginary screen before the retina and the "scent of nativity" continues to pervade much after the unexpected climax.... In other words, "Kaadhal" haunts you with its strong story line, a closely knit screenplay with no scope for sagging, well sketched out characters and all of them essaying it with elegance, and not miss out, directorial touches at those moments when you expect it the least...

Balaji Sakthivel has definitely left his debacle called " Samurai" behind him and has suceedded in weaving a two and half hour web of complex emotions , with a starcast that is replete with unfamiliar faces (i wouldnt say novices as I strongly feel that most of them must be from Tamil theatre)...credits are also due to debutant Joshua Sridhar for his lilting and foot tapping numbers....

One thing though is for sure..."Kaadhal" has just reassured every Tamil film buff that the "Renaissance" is truly real and was not just a blip in the Tamil BO radar.... Guess the new genre of directors emerging in Kollywood from the shadows of the doyens have finally decided to recreate the magic of golden times of Mahendran, Balu Mahendra, KB and Bharathiraja....

It started sometime back when Bala emerged from the shadows of Balu Mahendra and created Sethu and then went on to create two more cross over successes called Nanda and Pithamagan....Not to forget that Vikram has played a key role in the Renaissance with his performances in Sethu and then Kasi...Cheran then chipped in with his "Autograph" which probably ensured that every person who watched the film revisit for a split second his / her first love and gloat in those moments of nostalgia.....

Leaving his much despicable "Thuluvatho Illamai" (though a BO hit) behind him, Selvaraghavan has indeed come a long way with his two consecutive haunting films - "Kaadhal Kondein" and "7/G Rainbow Colony"....with Yuvan Shankar Raja playing a very crucial part in all Selvaraghavn films with his "soul haunting" music...truly haunting numbers

If you are wondering as to how "Anbe Sivam" and "Virumandi" seem to be missing in the neo-films list, it is for the simple reason that I strongly believe that Kamal Haasan has always been in the forefront ever since he came under the tutelage of KB....its just that others have decided to follow his steps with vitality only now....

And then comes "Kaadhal" out of the blue (with a shoe string budget of just 58 lakhs and having raked in 4 times the amount in under two weeks) , showing the biggies in town including its producer Shankar that "story and screenplay" still rules the roast...and not flamboyant and scantily clad Miss Worlds and mega budgets like his forthcoming Anniyan..

Saran, Dharani and Hari are definitely essaying their commercial sense with their blockbusters, with special mentions to Ghilli , Dhool and Saamy which definitely have created special slots for themselves in the Tamil Film Hall of Fame. But then we are talking about cross over films with off beat storylines....

Talking about Tamil cinema...guess due credits must go to the guru of all...KB... for creating a complete generation of veterans who have transmogrified from being just his Assistant Directors - Vasanth (with his unforgettable Keladi Kanmani and Rhythm), Suresh Krishna (Annamalai, Baasha, Aalavdanan, Aaha), Saran (Gemini, Amarkalam, Attagasam, Vasoolraja), Hari (Saamy, Kovil, Ayya)....

All we need at this point of time are producers who can let their directors experiment..and just let them be themselves. Golden times are here again....