Tamil Movies a bad influence?

Being a Tamilian, it's no wonder that I happen to watch Tamil films every now and then. Nevertheless, an email sent by a friend a few days back got me thinking about the influences of Tamil films in our lives, particularly in the lives of Tamilians in Malaysia.

You see, this friend of mine happen to read my previous posts on my blog and inquired if I'm getting paid for promoting VTV and Raavanan through them? Well, if that's true, then tamil film producers would be running at losses trying to pay each blogger for the so-called "promotion" of their films ;)

Of course, the sarcasm lying in his line of question could very well be noticed. Why the sarcasm, you may ask? This friend of mine (let's call him K, shall we?) happens to think that the Indians in Malaysia are suffering as they are influenced by Tamil films. In layman's terms, he's basically saying that Tamil films are the sole reason (or probably one of the main reasons) why Indians are in a dire state today (or are they?)

I have to agree with him on the fact that Tamilians are more fond of idolizing the stars as compared to other ethnics. Want a proof? Rajini in his 60's can still be accepted as a youthful hero (Sivaji The Boss anyone?) but the same cannot be said of Amitabh- well, even when he was playing the hero in Cheeni Kum, he was potrayed as a man of 64 years old...

How ironic that two actors of the same age group, each having their huge fan base, who grew up together as stars, and even attempted to enact the roles the other did in the original version (in their prime age),  be so similar and yet so distinctive in their choice of movies now? While one cannot be seen doing a youthful character, the other cannot be seen NOT doing youtful characters ;))

Well, whose fault is it that Rajini is donning the roles half his age today? The directors, the producers, the technicians or Rajini himself? If you ask me, it's the audience of course. It has to be remembered that movies are a money-making industry, just like any other businesses. Thus, more often that not, films are made to cater to the audience's taste. Very few has the guts to break away from the well ventured path, prefering to do something which hasn't be done before. Maniratnam for one, gave a diverse set of good film- Iruvar, Dilse, Kannathil Muthammittal to name a few. Nevertheless, all these films suffered a setback in collection, thus he has to resort to making commercially safe films (and compromising on creativity at the safe time) such as Alai Payuthey and Guru. While some might say Guru is a landmark as far as Hindi films are concerned, I seriously beg to differ. Maniratnam might not admit this, but for a man who did the emotionally sensitive Mouna Ragam and critically as well as technically acclaimed Nayagan, movies such as Guru are definitely a cakewalk for him. Probably the only hindrance he might have had in Guru is having to work with lame actors such as Abhishek and Aishwarya for the same. 

Movies like Iruvar, Dilse and Kannathil Muthammittal suffered financially at the box-office despite being good films

So where does this brings us back to? Does tamil films serve as a bad influence to the viewers? Again, I couldn't quite bring myself to agree to this. What are the elements of bad influences in tamil cinemas (which lacks in other regional films) that we can point out? The fact that it shows a huge dossage of criminal acts? Or that every other tamil films is filled with folk numbers with heroines dancing in skimpy clothes? Or the fact that heroism is at its pathetic state here? A big NO to the three options. Are we that naive to say criminal acts in films motivate viewers to do the same? Or do we see scantily dressed women dancing in street like how it's shown in the movies? Or do young men actually dress up as a Cock or utter punch dialogues, as does the heroes in the films? The idea is as laughable as projected in the films.

And what is the worst case scenario of films' influence in men? Maybe provoking the public to damage the theater chairs and screens if their "idol's" films are not screened on time, could be said as one. But if you ask me, the act can be credited more to the lack of anger-control management than to the untold interest in watching the particular film in the first place.

Otherwise, films have its share of advantages and disadvantages of its own. While certain films leaves us in awe of the way the film is projected, (if you've seen one shot of Iruvar, you know that it was definitely one of the best technically made films in India; for sample try this-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8EBPi3gWWE - take a look at how beautiful the up-close as well as the long angle shots were done for the scenes until 1.16, and mind you, this is just a pinch of what Maniratnam has done in the whole film!) certain films, on the other hand, do make us to rethink if we're giving the stars more than what they deserve (Barath's claim that his "Chinna Thalapathy" title is conferred by his fans might make us think who's the fooler of the two- the fans, for conferring such titles or the actor who shamelessly uses the same for the sake of publicity?)

How do you draw a balance between the good and bad of films? Simple, leave the bad films and promote good films- My guess is, if films like Kannathil Muttamittal, Anbe Sivam and Naan Kadavul have done well in the box-office, it would inevitably have resorted in more such path-breaking films to be produced in future. But nothing's of loss...yet. If anything, Tamil films seems to be treading the right path now and then. The fact that movies like Angaadi Theru has done a good business, while Sura is still struggling to make ends meet is a proof that the public is expecting more from the industry than run-of-the-mills kinda films. 

Things are definitely changing for good but whatever said and done, if Tamil films are said to be the mother of all sufferings faced by the Tamilians- well, I for one would highly object to it for sure. Sorry K, your point has failed to leave a mark in me!