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Tamil Films – Transgression, Bloodshed and Vulgarity

Think of the nostalgic days of Tamil films and flash back to the classic 60s and 70s legends – self effacing great Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan, debonair M.G.Ramachandran. Then came the eighties and with it the ultimate romantic, Kamal Hassan and the eternal hero, Rajinikanth. They had the audience in raptures with young men copying them and young ladies sighing and swooning all over them.

But then, disaster struck. Films started becoming more and more violent and Writers and Directors began thinking up of newer and newer ways of making the films more gory and blood-curdling. The sinister era had begun. Pistols, guns, lethal bombs, missile launchers were all pressed into service to transform the Tamil Film villain from a crook to a homicidal maniac. The villain too changed in nineties as a politician and a Police Officer, who are mirroring the society.

Trends continued to change in the 90s. Now, the hero too has become an ‘anti-hero’. He is more violent, more foul-mouthed, more driven by hatred and revenge than even the villain of the earlier era to pave a new way to Tamil Films which was called as path-breaking. From the divinely perfect man portrayal of hero’s character slowly deteriorated and even gone ahead to show him living in the fringes of crime and upholding the dictum that murder and bloodshed is the only law and order in today’s world. Then what is next?? Villains turned into Villain-cum-Comedians.

Now, it’s the turn of heroines. Like the Villain-cum-Comedians, the heroines too has undergone a total change in image. Today she is no longer the humble and submissive image of Goddess Bhoomadevi, but she has become a Kaali. She can single handedly combat evil men, while also being capable of cavorting in discos and teasing men with her bare-dare antics. Then came the ultimate transformation to show the heroine as a vamp. Never before, the Tamil Film has witnessed such venom flows out from the heroine. Half naked heroines are being shown in Tamil Films in recent years.

A rich hero and a poor heroine or vice versa, villain, comedian, the eternal triangle, fights and stunts, crude and vulgar references to sex, unaesthetic exhibition of the female anatomy, rape scenes – these were the formulae for making a film which could, with a bit of luck, become a hit or flop. Recently heroes too joined in this race with their six and eight packs. Are six packs and eight packs necessary?? Thus the Tamil Film industry has brought a revolution in Tamil Film making as far as the content is concerned.

Songs are vulgar with sexual connotations. The songs and dances have reached nadir from where it will take a long time to come up.

Today in Tamil Film Industry, most of the films are mere copies. Mostly it copies all its tunes, music, dance sequences, stunts and vulgarity from the western culture. Tamil Cinema has forgotten all of our own great culture and has completely destroyed the image of Tamil women. Today, it has created such a situation that we cannot with our family to watch most of the movies. Tamil Films has become a real dustbin full of wastes.

Technically, I think we have made great strides and on par with international standards. There is no second thought. Mani Ratnam’s technical master pieces and the stylish works of Shankar, Bala, Gautam Menon, Vishnu Vardhan and few others stand testimony to this fact. The new techno-music trend set by the highly imaginative double Oscar Winner A.R.Rehman can be compared with the leading musicians of international standards. Computer technology is an increasingly crucial ingredient in visual art and virtual reality.

Is it possible that a Tamil Film be made without crime, violence, vulgarity?? I think it’s possible. Recently Radha Mohan proved with his Mozhi, Abiyum Naanum. Leave Radhamohan’s Mozhi and Abiyum Naanum. Santhosh Subramaniam may not be a classic but still it is entertaining without crime, violence, vulgarity. It is too hard to see these types of movies often coming out in Tamil Film Industry.

Who should be held primarily responsible?
Directors, Writers, Actors, Lyricists, Music Directors or Audiences.