Quote:
Originally Posted by tamizharasan
Except for Kamal's controversial discussions about the God in that movie,
:? Which ones are you referring to?
To me one of the interesting parts of the characterization is to show that Saket Ram is still progressive (அட வாயா... மாமா தான் இல்லையே) and continues to be a skeptic (இங்க யாருமே ஸ்வயமா பேசறா மாதிரி தெரியலையே....என்ன பிசாசு பேச வைக்கறதுங்கறேள், உங்களை என் மாமா தரப்போற காசு பேச வைக்கறதுங்கறேன் நான்). Even though he subscribes to some form of Hindu cultural oneness which he feels is under attack.
He does not suddenly become an unquestioning religious fundamentalist. When his existence and future in a secular (as in irreligious, not the Indian meaning of the word :-) ) existence is challenged by a horror, he seems to plunge back to the familiarity of his roots. Here religion, caste, family, way-of-life are all one indistinguishable lump. To think of them independently is largely not possible in our context. In a way Saket returns to what he then thinks is his identity.
When he tries to sever himself off all these then the basis of his 'culture' is itself on this ice. He has to come to face to face with the antagonism that propelled him in this direction. And one show of horror, the horror that he had almost himself perpetuated, is enough to shock him back to act in accordance with his true nature. Restores his basic sense of balance - which is perhaps more fundamental to his identity than he had previously imagined.
That is what makes Hey Ram very engaging. Saket the fundamentalist is NOT caricatured. He is shown to be doing exactly what most people would turn to in such a situation, and thus we truly follow his journey.
