:notworthy:Quote:
Originally Posted by abkhlabhi
Murali sir, thanks for that wonderful link.
திரு பம்மல் சுவாமிநாதன் அவர்களுக்கு நன்றி & வாழ்த்துக்கள்.
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:notworthy:Quote:
Originally Posted by abkhlabhi
Murali sir, thanks for that wonderful link.
திரு பம்மல் சுவாமிநாதன் அவர்களுக்கு நன்றி & வாழ்த்துக்கள்.
Got this in a mail.
Quote:
Golden days of Cinema at Sathyam
The city’s most happening multi-plex gives you the opportunity to watch two thunderous hits from the distant past and two resounding hits from the not so distant past, on the big screen!
The movies to be screened include Ulagam Suttrum Valiban on the 12th of September, Thevar Magan on the 13th of September, Vasantha Maligai on the 19th of September and Annamalai on the 21st of September! A fab way to spend an evening during the weekend. Make your reservations NOW!
'தி வீக்' இதழில் அசோகமித்திரன் போன்றவர்கள் எழுதும் ஆதாரமற்ற விஷயங்களை நம்பக்கூடியவர்கள் குறைவு என்றாலும் கூட, 'நாம் என்ன எழுதினாலும் அதற்கு எதிர்ப்பு இருக்காது' என்ற எண்ணத்தை வேரறுக்க, குறைந்த பட்சம் 'தி வீக்' இதழ், திரு ராகவேந்திரன் அவர்களின் மறுப்பு அறிக்கையை வெளியிட வேண்டும்.
அந்த பதிப்பை, "வேறொரு" த்ரெட்டில் ஒருவர் பதித்திருந்ததை நேற்றுத்தான் பார்த்தேன். அதே த்ரெட்டில் மறுப்பு எழுதுவது தேவையற்ற சர்ச்சைகளைத் தோற்றுவிக்கும் என்பதாலும், அதைத்தொடர்ந்து எழும் விவாதங்கள் மூலம் நடிகர்திலகத்தின் பெயரும் புகழும் மேலும் சீரழிக்கப்படும் என்பதாலும், முக்கியமாக அதை பதிப்பித்த ' உடைய சொந்தக்கருத்தாக இல்லாமல் வேறொரு இதழில் வெளியானதை அவர் சுட்டியிருந்ததாலும், கணடனத்துக்குரியவர் அசோகமித்ரன் தான் என்பதாலும் அதைப்புறக்கணிக்க வேண்டியதாயிற்று.
அதே சமயம், ராகவேந்தர் அவர்களின் கண்டனத்தை 'தி வீக்' இதழ் பிரசுரிப்பதன் மூலம், அசோகமித்ரன் போன்றவர்கள் சேற்றை அள்ளி வீசும் நிகழ்வுகளின் நம்பகத்தன்மை பற்றி மக்கள் மத்தியில் விழிப்புணர்வை உண்டாக்கும்.
'தி வீக்' செய்யும் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கலாமா...?
(நடிகர்திலகத்துக்கும், அவர்தம் ரசிகர்மன்றத்துக்கும் களங்கம் ஏற்படுத்தப் படும்போதெல்லாம் பொங்கியெழுந்து சம்மதப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு சுட்டிக்காட்டி திருத்த முற்படும் நண்பர் ராகவேந்திரன் அவர்களுக்கு பல்லாயிரம் நன்றிகள்)
அந்த கட்டுரைக்கு கன்டனம் தெரிவித்து தாங்கள் அனுப்பிய கடிதத்துக்காக நடிகர்திலகத்தின் ரசிகர்களின் சார்பாக நன்றிகள் பல கோடி.
அந்த கடிதத்தை பிரசுரிக்காத பட்சத்தில் இந்த விஷயத்தை சிவாஜி சமூகநல பேரவையை சேர்ந்தவர்களின் கவனத்திற்க்கு கொண்டுசென்று தி வீக் பத்திரிக்கை அலுவலகம் முன்பு ஒரு ஆர்பாட்டமாவது(அமைதியாக) செய்யவேன்டும் என்பது என்போன்ற என்னற்ற ரசிகர்களின் கோரிக்கை. :oops:
The Stylist Forever
Kamalahaasan on Sivaji Ganesan
Sivaji saab is the genetic code embedded in every Tamil actor. Even if we try to be independent, the dna imprint remains. For 48 years, Tamils have been under the spell of Sivaji. He had a large heart—that was his medical problem too. We had almost given up on him in 1993 when the doctors gave him just two years. We took him to France, did everything we could. He survived his heart ailment for 15 years. But for his ill-health, he would have been active even in the last four years.
Sivaji was style personified—he would not take it off like a shirt. He slept in style; woke up in style; came to work in style. He was style. He was the trendsetter. And I'm proud to be his descendant.
My association with him dates back to my childhood. I was about four years old when we met in the studios. Once, he even said how I might have sat on his lap more than his children. He would always be in the studios then. I was the vidushak who would be made to recite Sivaji sir's dialogues on the sets.
Sivakumar, a fellow-actor, and I used to have sessions where we competed over narrating his dialogues. We would compete over who remembered more. That's the kind of effect he has. Even for the present generation, Sivaji is the man. Upcoming artists are told, "Become an actor like Sivaji." Even for my children, he is the ultimate.
As for criticism that Sivaji overacted or was loud, why don't these westernised critics look at Akira Kurosawa's films? We have a certain style that is rooted here. We have either actors or non-actors. The Japanese never compromised to suit European tastes and I respect them. So much so that Hollywood went on to adapt/remake Japanese films. This is part of an Asian aesthetic. Sivaji too has to be translated for a western audience.
For that matter, even the early Chaplin was "loud". And so were Hollywood stars of the early black-and-white era. We are more willing to learn and try hard to appreciate an Elvis Presley but not our own icons. If Elvis spawned a thousand clones in the West, so did Sivaji here. He is our Elvis. He is the King.
Now, an Indian funeral is itself so different—there's so much emotion, so many tears, such drama. A European funeral is such a contrast. There's great restraint. Even the sorrow is muted. Sivaji's acting is as much a part of our culture. But see how Sivaji in Thevar Magan turns a new leaf. Here, the actor steps out of his era. And Thevar Magan was my kind of salute to a doyen.
Personally, I can't be critical of Sivaji sir. I have been so close to him and such an admirer, I cannot be alive to his faults, if any. I lose my critical faculties. He's been a goading force, other than a guiding force. I am utterly biased about him and there's no scholar left in me. Sivaji has been such a challenge that it makes an actor ask himself, "What's the use of being born after him?" With Sivaji, you touch base.
The only thing Sivaji perhaps regretted was that he was not well-read like me. He lacked the vocabulary, he felt. That was his modesty. "I'm just a school dropout," he once said at a function. On the other hand, I have the dubious distinction of having uttered dialogues, even reciting poetry, in Telugu, Malayalam and other tongues. But I cannot read any of these languages. Whereas Sivaji was the master when it came to Tamil. Nobody could match up to him. Once, when I was a child actor, I could not pronounce arisi (Tamil for rice) correctly and he would intone it like me and make fun. He was the master of Tamil diction.
As a politician, Sivaji failed. He was too straightforward. He never asked for favours, and was not clever or even wise in politics. Sivaji behaved like a king even in politics. I differed with Sivaji's political beliefs, but that would not in any way lessen my regard for him. And whatever their political differences, Karunanidhi and Sivaji made for a great artistic duo. (Karunanidhi scripted Sivaji's debut film Parasakthi and many more.) If one was the mind, the other was the voice.
The irony is Sivaji gave me an opportunity to rehearse the death scene in real life. After Thevar Magan, where we did a death scene, I received news from Singapore that he had passed away during a function there. I was so shaken and went through such emotions, and I was only a happy fool the next morning to realise that the news was wrong. But this time it was for real.
Strokes of a genius -Sivaji ganesan
(The Hindu- Hariharan)
The release of "Parasakti" in 1952 saw the birth of a star - Sivaji
Ganesan - in Indian cinema. His perfect delivery of dialogue and
identification with every role he played, established him as an actor
par excellence. K. HARIHARAN, film maker and scholar, writes on the
thespian's successes and failures.
WITHIN the post-independent history of Indian Cinema the role of Tamil
cinema has always been seen as a dysfunctional variant. For the powers
to be and the Indian elite, Tamil Nadu and Tamil cinema were
synonymous symbols of "kitsch" Madrasi culture. "Andu gundu nariyal
paani" was how, even I was referred to in Mumbai where I grew up! And
that's all my friends knew about Tamil Nadu. The only thing noteworthy
for them about this southern State was its "classical" Mylapore
culture - the world of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic classical music.
So to which culture did Sivaji Ganesan belong? The answer is obvious.
The world of "kitsch!" And why did this happen? I would like to
briefly elaborate here with the words of Edward Said, the renowned
critic of post-colonial culture and politics. "In the first place
culture is used to designate not merely something to which one belongs
but something that one possesses. In the second place there is a more
interesting dimension to this idea of culture as possessing
possession. And that is the power of culture by virtue of its elevated
or superior position to authorise, to dominate, to legitimate, demote,
interdict and validate."
So it was imperative that after 1947, counter-culture in Tamil Nadu
had to have a two-pronged attack for the people who actually
"belonged" to this "andu gundu" culture. They had to fight the Delhi
culture and the superiority complex of a local elite power, which
decided what would constitute "Indian culture". The local Tamilian
elite had to play mirror-reflection of "proper Indianness" and decide
what to authorise and legitimise as good Tamil culture too. So in 1952
when "Parasakti" was released it must have been obvious to every
"belonging" resident Tamilian that a great star had arrived. It was an
overwhelming success. Sivaji Ganesan captured the spirit of the
typical post- independence protest and disillusionment resting in
every Tamil youth. The film also dovetailed with the resurgence of a
strong pro-Tamil Dravidian movement and radical social reform
processes and in the process stigmatised the Tamil elite as corrupt
aliens.
There were many other stars in this game too. From MGR, SSR to
Karunanidhi and Kannadasan, the list was really long. But thanks to
his immense capacity to understand the melodramatic capacities of
cinema, Sivaji Ganesan could easily translate any potential story into
a series of powerful gestures. But the elite within and without,
however dismissed his performance as pure "hamming" or stereotypical
"overacting"! It was considered and it is still considered an
embarrassment to even talk about his films. High- class newspapers
would have pages on film festivals at Cannes and discuss films, which
would never see the screen. Yet, of the 300 films that Sivaji Ganesan
acted in, none of them were found deserving to win even one national
award for him as "best actor". But so were stars like Raj Kapoor or
Dev Anand, never considered worthy of any award. Fortunately they had
to counter just a single establishment. But together they were all
seen as "anti- social elements" fanning the taste for vulgarity,
encouraging disobedience and promoting indiscipline.
Why is there an antipathy by the elite and their media towards
anything which is genuinely "popular" by its own strength? Why do
serious discussions on cinema never ever figure Sivaji Ganesan as an
important element?
The problem is cultural. To accept Sivaji Ganesan is to befriend a
whole grammar of protest, profanity and reform. When I said that he
had the immense talent to convert any potential story into a series of
powerful gestures it is precisely in this area that he demonstrates
his versatility. Let's take the classic example of "Thillana
Mohanambal". (I am sure if I had called this film a classic two weeks
ago, several readers would have laughed but today they might accept it
out of hypocritical reverence to a dead soul. What a way to achieve
"classic" status!)
In this film, Sivaji had to combine in himself the traits of a
"classical musician" falling in love with a "classical" dancer but, in
an atmosphere of "low-brow" culture. Meaning, people who wear red
blouses and blue saris, "zamindars" who live in multi- colored houses,
and people who frequent cheap folk dancers. It is into this ambience
that Sivaji brings in his precise yet different strokes. In an
intuitive way he has observed the nuances and behavioural styles of
musicians. He brings in his enormous talent of perfect dialogue
intonations, flawless synchronisation of the musical instruments, and
a good timing for action/ reaction. And still he had to rise above the
character and display the sensuality of a Sivaji Ganesan. At this
level Sivaji is at his melodramatic best. He knows exactly when to
face the camera frontally, when to raise his voice and when to quiver
his lips. Only he knew well how to add the right amount of profanity
to an already complex script of love and sacrifice.
Several films breezed by in his repertoire. From comedies like "Bale
Pandya" to mythologicals like "Thiruvilaiyadal", from historicals like
"Veerapandiya Kattabomman" to family dramas like "Paava Mannipu", from
rural subjects like "Pazhni" to urban gangster dramas like "Thanga
Padhakam". But if I were to select his most comfortable position as an
actor, it was when he played the insider, the typical family man
caught in the crossfire of modernity and tradition. He was his best
playing the vulnerable hero who had to take decisions in Catch-22
situations. "Motor Sundaram Pillai", "Padithal Mattum Podhuma", and
"Aalaya Mani" are all films about a man torn between two loyalties.
Any one way was bound to hurt and only providence could reconcile the
differences. Besides being the perfect content for a man with such
enormous histrionic talent, I somehow feel that this must have been
close to his personal character too. The saga of the poor little lad
who came from humble belongings to live in a big mansion on Boag road
in T.Nagar. Seeing the house from outside, I have always imagined
Sivaji as the simple man who always humbly depended on others to make
all his decisions, a man who would religiously relish every morsel of
"home-cooked" food (veetu saapaadu)!
I am told that he never saw himself as different from his brothers,
his wife or his son. I have always been told that he was the most
obedient actor on the set and a perfect co-actor to all the other
characters in the film. Recordists in all dubbing theatres will always
talk fondly about his speed and precision in voice dubbing.
No wonder he could never play a do-good "outsider" like his colleague
MGR. The "insider" in Sivaji was just too strong to see others as
schemers and capable of stabbing in the back. I am sure that it was
the brief foray into politics that would have brought all those
sycophants, who are the bane of true artists, inside his house. People
who would call him the second best actor in the world and never ever
tell who was actually the best! People who would put giant rose
garlands on him and praise every small gesture that he made. Such
people have the ability to put a brake on anybody's creative urge and
catapult them into isolation and a false sense of megalomania.
In the summer of 1972, Sivaji Ganesan donning the robes of an emperor
witnessed the biggest assembly of extras dressed up as soldiers. It
was the shooting of the greatest magnum opus in Tamil cinema called
"Raja Raja Chozhan". Sivaji would have felt uncomfortable watching the
spectacle of cinema take over his own charisma. Sivaji who had gotten
used to the intimate confines of Bhim Singh family drama scripts in
the 1960s suddenly saw himself being dwarfed by the colossus of the
Brihadeeshwara temple at Thanjavur. Even the great Raja Raja could not
survive the powerful shadow of exhaustion and isolation in the 12th
Century. Sadly for this film, the first cinemascope production in
Tamil cinema, it was a resounding flop. The summer of 1972 would end
the great Sivaji Ganesan's heyday. From that year onwards four out of
every five films he made were virtual disasters. He had to accommodate
all kinds of fancy demands by distributors who insisted that he had to
dance, fight and romance around despite his bulk, his age and his
brief foray into politics. Slowly, for all practical purposes, the
Tamil cinema industry would be writing off this thespian as a
non-viable entity. Writing about Sivaji Ganesan just a day after his
death, I too would be joining the long list of ministers, bureaucrats,
fellow film colleagues in singing praises of glory like an obligatory
ritual. Imagine reading laudatory statements made by "important"
people who would not have even seen a single film of his all their
life. Having neglected him completely during his lonely days, may be
lonely years, I certainly feel it is the greatest act of hypocrisy to
mouth long passages of praise when someone is no more.
It is indeed my deep regret that I learnt to truly appreciate the
great performative capabilities of a giant like Sivaji Ganesan only in
the last decade. Like most members of the elite, I was acculturated
into believing that acting could be worth considering only if it
bordered on a kind of naturalism, which in fact has never been part of
the so-called "Indian culture." Then whose culture is it? The elite
and even premier film institutions like the Film and Television
Institute of India (FTII) at Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and
Television Institute (SRFTI) at Kolkata will never question such
positions, which are prescribed by European critical standards. May be
the Directorate of Film Festivals and the National Film Development
Corporation (NFDC) will now hold retrospectives of his films at some
international venues while several non-popular film-makers will
continue to have their films toured all over the world, endlessly. Is
this the burden of being popular?
The writer is an alumni of FTII, Pune and has made "Thangaraj Enge" the first children's film in Tamil. His "Ezhavathu Manithan" won an
international award, for the best Tamil film (at Moscow). He has also set up the first and only Indian Film Studies Department abroad
Note :
Sad that the article came after the thespian left us
Like Saradha said, I too saw the post in one of the threads of Tamil Films section and for the same reason mentioned by Saradha, I ignored the same.
Even in the link given by Bala [abkhlabhi] the director Hariharan had goofed up big time saying that summer of 1972 saw the end of heyday of NT. Can anything be far from the truth?
Same manner Asokamithran talks of so many things which are nothing but historical blunders like saying that MGR acted in only one movie after entering politics.
So while dutifully protesting the bloofers printed by today's media, we need to move on highlighting the actual facts.
Regards
PS: Thanks to everybody who thanked me for providing the Parasakthi link but எல்லா புகழும் சுவாமிநாதனுக்கே.
Mohan, no comments about Raman Ethhanai Ramanadi? I thought you would recall your theatre experience of RER.
Rakesh, saw the Parasakthi link?
Thanks Bala [CR] for the info on Sathyam celebrating (G)old cinemas.
Dear friends,
Thank you all incl. Prabhu Ram, Thalafanz, Rakesh, saradhaa and Murali Srinivas for your valued opinions. I just came across the article in Week through google alert, otherwise, I too wouldnt have known this. Ignorance is the best way to show your dislike and I am the first one to follow this. But some things need attention and that too when comments from such a reputed writer Asoka Mithran, who has contributed significantly to Tamil literature gets much attention, then there is a chance that his writings are taken for granted. Whether we like or not, Asoka Mithran has considerable fan following in Tamil liteary circles and his contribution can not be written just like that. His comments would definitely make impact on the future generation and there is all possibility that the next gen may take him seriously. This thought compelled me to reply to the Week. And such way ward comments should not come from writers like Asokamithran. And that too when both are not alive. Whether it is MGR or Sivaji, he should not comment like this. Individual fans might have fought with each other in arguments but never did both the Mandrams as organizations tried to defame the other as Mr. Asokamithran claims. There was rivalry among the fans and not with the Mandrams or concerned artistes. While such is the case I felt it is my duty to give a reply to the magazine and hence I brought these points to the Week.
Hope the Week, which has considerable fans of NT in its staff, would take suitable steps to prevent such a kind of remarks in future.
Thank you all for the opportunity.
Raghavendran
Murali-sar got it :D. Thanks for forwarding to us.
Got lost amidst abk's huge posts...Thanks Abks, nice forwards.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murali Srinivas
சினிமா விமர்சனம்: தங்கப் பதக்கம் -விகடன்
'தங்கம் என்றால் இதுதான் மாற்றுக் குறையாத தங்கம்' என்று கையில் எடுத்துக்காட்டுவது போல, போலீஸ் அதிகாரி என்றால் தன்னைப் போல்தான் இருக்கவேண்டும் என்று சொல்லாமல் சொல்லும் சிவாஜி கணேசனின் நடிப்பும் தோற்றமும் தங்கமா, வைரமா என்று வியக்கிறோம்!
காட்சிக்குக் காட்சி சிவாஜியின் கம்பீரத்தையும், கண்டிப்பையும், கடமை உணர்ச்சியையும், கனிவையும் பார்க்கும்போது எந்த இடத்தில் உயர்ந்து நிற்கிறார் என்று இனம் கண்டு கொள்ளப்பார்க்கிறோம். முடியவில்லை.
கடமையே உருவமான போலீஸ் அதிகாரிக்கு 'என் னைப் போல் கண்ணியமான ஒரு பெண்தான் மனைவியாக இருக்கமுடியும்' என்று சொல் வதுபோல் லட்சிய மனைவியாக நடித்திருக்கும் கே.ஆர்.விஜயா வின் நிறைவை எப்படிச் சொல் வது? தங்கப் பதக்கத்தைத் தட்டிக் கொள்கிறார்!
ஸ்ரீகாந்திடம் நல்ல முன்னேற்றம். அப்பாவின் கண்டிப்பைத் தவறாகப் புரிந்துகொண்டு அவரை அவமானப்படுத்தும் சந்தர்ப்பங்களைச் சாமர்த்திய மாகப் பயன்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்.
சோவுக்குக் கான்ஸ்டபிள் பாத்திரம் ஒன்று போதாதா? கவுன்சிலர் களேபரம் கதைக் குத் தேவையில்லாத கூத்து!
மைனர் மனோகரை அங்கவஸ்திரத்தால் கட்டி இழுத்துப்போகும் போலீஸ் அதிகாரி, வழியில் மடக்குகிற அத்தனை பேரையும் கைத்தடியாலேயே அடித்து நொறுக்குவது இயற்கையாக இல்லை.
மகன் மீது போலீஸ் அதிகாரி காட்டும் கண்டிப்புக்குக் கதையில் கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள அழுத் தம், அவன் தந்தையைப் பழி வாங்கத் துடிக்கும் அளவுக்கு எதிரியாக மாறுவதற்கும், தேசத் துரோகியாகக்கூடிய அளவுக்கு மாறுவதற்கும் கனம் சேர்ப்ப தாக இல்லை.
ஜீப் வேகத்தில் ஓடிக்கொண்டிருந்த கதை, யுத்தம்-ராணுவ ரகசியம் என்று வரும்போது தடுமாறுகிறது.
இத்தனை இருந்தும், எதையும் கண்டுகொள்ளவிடாதபடி திசை திருப்பிவிடுகிறார் சிவாஜி.
தங்கப்பதக்கம்... சிவாஜி கணேசனின் நடிப்புக்கு ஒரு தங்கப்பதக்கம்.
Thanks : Vikatan.com