[Big A]

ஹூம்..பிள்ளை குட்டிக்காரன் நிலைமை உங்களுக்குப்புரியுமோ என்னமோ...

'பச்சை நிறமே'க்கு அனுமதி உண்டு...my 3 yr old's fav during meal times...

I find all songs of Alaipayuthe to be of an acceptable standard for family viewing (maybe Kadhal sadugudu is a slight exception). And Snehithane for its lyrics (that too children won't be able to get any subtle meaning that is hidden in it) Otherwise it's the most family friendly video songs of MR's (post 90's) films.

[MannoFr]

non-existent

[Lillie_Steins]

Particularly in the context of equanimar's this statement:
"So I'm more than a bit wary of slotting an actress as a "touch me not" type, because it could very well be the case that her expectations as an actress were very reasonable.
"
we have two options:
1. Kinda ignore it and go ahead and label as touch me not and discuss anyway
2.Discuss in this context

I am wary of 1 for the reductio-absurdum potential of a simple poll of touch-me-not heroines. Infact, such a discussion almost touched midnite masala range before people pulled themselves back and abandoned it.
For 2, equanimus has to post to kickstart. Doesnt look like he is interested. Conundrum, eh?
compli, PR, yaaravadhu start pannungalen

[Lt_Apple]

dignity among heroines ...
shalini was dignified in alaipaayuthey IMHO..

maadhavan-a katti pidichaa dignity koranju poyidumaa??

puthiya thathuvam 1012145 !!

[Paul Bunyan]

In the context of dignity as a calling card for the 80's actresses, the sociological and psychological contexts of such 'boxing self into a corner' by heroines such as Nadia deserves examination. Here's a summary of random thoughts spread across the forum before...

Originally Posted by Prabhu Ram indha dikkinity matter-ai konjam psychoanalyze paNNa vEndi irukku. appuramaa...

paNNuvOm. Let's just take any other actress from the 90s and see if she wasn't made to look like a bimbo waiting for the wave of approval from the macho hero boy and to be 'reared' by him. Who is the best candidate for the contest?

Politically, I'd argue that Nadhiya should be leading the list though she would also be the most conspicuous entry in it. At a superficial level, she was supposed to represent the modern urban independent woman, but almost all her roles were patently in the child-woman mode; mischievous and cutesy break-the-little-rules type, but ultimately all too pliant. All the middle-class patronage she received (right from the sort of immense appreciation she always received for her "decent" costumes) was, as I see it, a profound reflection of the Victorian-style morality of the middle-class.

I must also add that I find the label "touch-me-not heroines" quite caricatural. We're talking about an industry which stops offering lead roles to an actress because she got married. An industry which insists on labelling actresses either "this way" or "that way." (It is essentially this kind of binary classification that narrows down the "possibilities" in their careers.) It is bleeding obvious that the kind of difficulties an actress would have to face to establish and assert her identity will be much more compared to an actor. So I'm more than a bit wary of slotting an actress as a "touch me not" type, because it could very well be the case that her expectations as an actress were very reasonable.

Discuss!

[HedgeYourBets]

Plum, intha dignity antha actresses-ka, illa avingga play pannura characters-ka?

Oh, I am just an observer. Neengga taralamaa discuss pannuggga. Lemme get some coke and popcorn.

[NeroASERCH]

Plum, intha dignity antha actresses-ka, illa avingga play pannura characters-ka?

Groucho,
I had made that comment originally (elsewhere) and that was in the context of the characters they played. My complaint was about the utter frivolity that surrounds and overarches the archetypal persona of female leads in most Tamil films. One has to understand 'dignified' in the larger sense here (the manner in which they carry themselves off with self-respect, the extent to which there is a kind personality to the character, etc.), not just as a matter of whether they are fine with skin-show or not.

Plum,
The crux of the third comment quoted here is actually somewhat orthogonal to the point of discussion. I was talking more about how actresses constantly get slotted, and way more narrowly than actors, and so on and so forth.

Currently I'm a bit busy with work, so can't actively participate in any impending discussion. thaviravum perusA sollavum edhuvum illai 'nnu ninaikkiREn.

[PhillipHer]

The crux of the third comment quoted here is actually somewhat orthogonal to the point of discussion

eq, thats the mental dilemma I had which I opened up in my prev comment. Whether to ignore your orthogonal comment, and go ahead with the original planned discussion, or to abide by it, and start a new one on those lines. Sari, neenga kai kazhuvitteenga - appo I'll have a field day.
(neenga andha comment pottadhulerundhu, nadhia-vai kindal panna romba guilty-a irundhudhu - not the least because I 'get' what you are saying as I had explained in the other thread.)
Kooppudara andha prabhu ram-ai. Nadhiayavai courtle ethidarom.

[radikal]

thaviravum perusA sollavum edhuvum illai 'nnu ninaikkiREn

idhai neenga solla koodadhu, mudiyadhu. Work irukkunu solreenga - nambarom - gnayamana reason, but idhellam selladhu.

[Lillie_Steins]

Plum for the sake of novices in such a psycho-analysis can u trim down the crux of this discussion in simple terms ... have been wondering for quite some time on the thoughts of such heroines - on themselves and viewers .... i may not be an active contributor ... but may be a learning novice
please ...

[Lillie_Steins]

groucho, neengallam observernu thappikka mudiyadhu. Theme innum sariya form aagalai. Just oru initial thinking aloud pannikittirukken - oru maadhiri form aanavuna contributions expected(still cant forget the snake gag on vijayakumari, neengallam neraiya ezhudhanum)

[TorryJens]

Plum onnumE sollaliyE oru velai nAn kettadhu thappO

[S.T.D.]

bg, konjam porumai. Naane epdi idhai simple-a break pandradhunu thinking dhan pannikitturukkean, indha prabhu ram vandhappuram kalandolasithu threadai revamp pannidaren. Polladhavan-la Dhanush & co "out" kitta permission kettuttu police complaint kodukkara maadhiri, equanimarku oru vaaippu koduthuttu(for going in the orthogonal direction) appurama normal direction-la pogalamnu irundhaeen. Avar joot sollittar. Iniikkulla oru maadhir revamp pannidaren thread-ai.

[Beerinkol]

Plum, whichever way I think of it I don't think there can be a meaningful discussion here without a significantly high MPAA rating and without any of the participant talking more than they'd want to. So a fun poll - right down your alley - is what is in order here.

[NeroASERCH]

PR. ungalukku adutha post is not very encouraging...sari, en kovanama parakka pogudhu, startidaren...

[S.T.D.]

Prabhu Ram sonnadhu pol, since I must stick to my competence level, idhai oru poll-ave pannidalam.
The discussion was about ultra-pathivratha, touch-me-not heroines. Wait. Dont go off typing your pet hate heroine's name. I am only going to listen to people who articulate their choice here.

The discussion started with Nadia in the center, and she is the right way to explain this context. As equanimus said, there might have been a reason why she had to restrict herself to that image, and stick strongly to that vision. But accepting that takes the fun out of the thread. So, lets comeback to Nadia. Here was a heroine, who just didnt want to do anything remotely classifiable as 'touching business'. We saw how Rahman committed suicide in Nilave Malare after his experience in Anbulla Appa, where Nadia ran out of the first night room just when business could start into her father's hands. She was just...untouchable.

We want to decide who was the queen among these. This being a discussion with a lot of risk of high risque element coming in, we'll have to be very dijiplined and stick to some rules:

1. The heroine must have demonstrated consistent effort to remove any traces of intimacy from scenes involving the character - the last time I started this, the talk veered to heroines who refused to expose or so on. That is not what I am talking about here. It is more about people like Nadia, who even if the character demanded, would so much as refuse to allow the hero touch her hands. I am exaggerating ofcourse, but you can watch the respect and fear in the heroe's eyes when he is acting in duets or slightly proximate scenes with Nadia. She was a terror. Ofcourse, she had her reasons, but it was obvious she was carrying things too prudishly far.

2. The discussion also then veered to heroines, whom the particular Hubber wants to consider only a sister. This is out. This is not about who is attractive and who is not.
3. It is not about whether the heroine wasnt so prudish but hubbers didnt find it, for want of a better word, 'exciting'(yes, I am looking at you, PR!). A demonstrated, reasonably voluble, willingness to play necessary or unnecessary exposure or intimacy automatically disqualifies the candidate from this poll
4. Strict adherence to non-intimacy in most movies, but a willingness to be sensual if required, also disqualifies a candidate. This is where equanimus and I were placing Revathi in the last discussion - very admirably, while refusing unnecessary exposure etc, she did always go as sensual, for again want of better word, as the character required. We are not talking about such candidates, irrespective of
how strict they were about not being as 'free' as their peers.

In short, it is just about over-prudish heroines, who just went beyond the way to maintain a chamarthu homely girl image, and spoiled a movie or two in doing so.
These are the candidates I have thought of so far:
Nadia , the gold standard here.
Bhanumathy - just look at the terror she invokes in MGR almost slapping his hands away when he so much as touches her shoulders in his patented way. I assume none of the hubbers watched Vipranarayana, in which case I'll not talk about that which will ensure she remains in this list.
Suhasini who must be discussed, if only to provoke some hubbers into talking about her telugu films with Chiranjeevi . But Suhasini in tamil films did actually maintain that image, so I am going to discuss here because this is clearly an example of what equanimar said about morality, middle class etc. The very fact that she was free in telugu, shows that she was more worried about the victorian middleclass in TN, than any conviction that touching business was wrong. So she is a strong candidate here.
Shalini, just to provoke a discussion, and to ensure Nadia wins

This is a list which is difficult to get names from the post 80's tamil film world. So, idhukku mela thonalai.


RULES
=====
1. Just nominations without excplanations will not be accepted
2. When you nominate, explain the reason why you think the candidate qualifies. Examples involving specific attributes, or from specific films will help add weight to candidature
3. Counter-examples must be provided to remove from list. And that will involve demonstrate willingness to go with the character curve, and be sensual as required. Doesnt mean she should have done explicit scenes.
Idhukku mela pesina edagoodamayidum.

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

I haven't seen Vipranarayana. But I know the story of Vipranarayana aka thondaradippodi azhwar.

Bhanumathi

[HedgeYourBets]

Shalini disqualified - I cannot even watch some of my musically fav songs of 'alai pAyudhE' at home in youteeb (kAdhal sadugudu / snEgithanE). adi vizhum...

MR / Maddy'kku mattum dhArALam - idhu Ora vanjanai case

[HedgeYourBets]

app, input vEra output vEra

[Fegasderty]

app, input vEra output vEra

puriyalai...MR / editor sadhi'nnu solreengaLA?