Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan: Discussion.

A good many of us here are NT fans, and the rest, I am sure, are great admirers of NT. We can use this thread to discuss his films, may it be the films themselves or the music associated with his films (IR fans will surely discuss NT/IR films).

Also, we can be very open here. Criticism against some of NT's performance, or his wardrobe are pure professional observation, not a personal attack. Also, I feel we should avoid talking about his politics, unless there is a connection with his films' contents. Okay-Va.

This is not to compete with the NT threads at the other forum, by all means, please continue to visit them, those are gems in there.

I watched Thiruvilaiyadal yesterday. Yesterdayna day before.
Mainly, the aim was to p*** of my m-i-l, who, having grown up in gultland, is a fan of Devudu NTR, and has, in the past, made sharp comments on aNNan's looks viz-a-viz Devudu, and the latter's incomparability in Devudu roles.

However, as the movie unwinded, m-i-l was sucked into the drama, and ended up shocked, surprised, awed, and completelyt dumbfounded. Sivan in kailayam, Sivan as Nakeerar's nemesis, Viragu vetti, meenava nanban - as one after another unfolded, she was brought to her toes, knees and surrended in front of our own "Natana Devudu".

What ay man - if you are a sceptic, all I need to do is to introduce you to one of his performances. You'll surrender. Preethikku gnAn guarantee. ivan dhAn nadigan!

plum wrote:
Thiruvilaiyadal

"நான் அசைந்தால் அசையும் அகிலம் எல்லாமே"


"பாட்டும் நானே" ஒரு சீன் போதும், ஒப்பிட ஒன்றுமில்லை!

Deiva Magan

A tad disappointed, I must say. I have so far only ever seen the highlights of the movie - Blank cheque (both scenes), Temple with Pandari etc - and was looking forward to the movie. But looks like the highlights is all the movie has. Rather predictable sentiment masala - is it P Madhavan? - and needless songs, dances and fights. After setting up a phenomenal high with the conflict and drama, it all shatters to pieces from there with mundane unfolding.
Why did Vijay have to be so effeminate?

But even that caricature of a performance - The effeminate Vijay is still helping the stoves in Vivek's house burn. (Whenever Vivek does effeminate or feminine roles(:banghead:), he invokes this template.


Still, I have seen parts of the same movie in Telugu. Guess who did the remake*? Same highlight scenes I mentioned mattum dhAn pArthurukkEn. adhai ellAm vAila vevarikka mudiyAdhu. Youtube link kedaichA dhAn ungaLukku puriyum.

Clearly, a movie subsidised by Sivaji's performance power. Not much more. But then, ask Yusuf Saab or Rajkumar annavaru or Devudu* to replicate this and make a watchable movie out of this, eh?


* - Not, it wasnt Devudu. I was throwing a red herring. In a monumental moment of miscalculation, Padmashri Padmalaya Krishna - CBI officer whom Vikram reports to in Kandasamy, just in case you didnt understand the implication of the previous line - decided to remake this. God bless him. I have survived to tell the tale to you all.

plum wrote:Deiva Magan

A tad disappointed

I posted something similar in the "last movie" thread of mayyam (after the first-time-watch recently). Even commented that it was too lengthy.

Of course, the "highlights" are phenomenal without question!

In an interview Kamal complained that even though TMS was singing for Shiva, he is unbeatable to Balamuralikrishna (Palaiyya), and in that sense the movie was unfair.

Plum, I have no issues with the issues you have with Deiva Magan. In fact, enjoyed the climax shootout scene.

Is the Thiruvilaiyaadal re-release on??

Etho copyrights issue resolve pannikittirukAngganu antha pakkam pesikittirunthAngga, I didn't follow up.

Grouch - infact, I didnt have much problems either. Definitely, our man made sure that the movie was eminently watchable till the last vaNakkam. But classic-nu elevate paNdradhukkAna thagudhigaLai izhandhu vittA mAdhiri oru feeling. Is it P Madhavan?

Also, any idea why Vijay had to be effeminate? There has to be a reason - NT was in-character throughout even during the shootout scene, for this character. That surely means there was some thought behind the characterisation? Any real-life inspiration?

Regarding, TMS vs BMK, yes, this has been a bone of contention previously as well. I guess Raavanan vs Agaththiyar in the movie agaththiyar had to end in Agatthiyar(Seerkazhi)'s favour and TMS for Raavanan was unhappy with it or something.

Heck, ivLo En, even that thespian Karathe Mani was unhappy that his character had to bow to Rajini in Karate hence opted out of Paayum PuliyAmAm

Seems like per lawyers' advice, Thiruvilaiyadal was re-released in a small way to throw a fait accompli. Was released in Woodlands for a small period in Chennai. Dont know if tht helped them overcome the legal tangles.

I personally am looking forward to Thillana Moganambal. But my gut feel is that Thiruvilaiyadal might not achieve the success o Karnan and scuttle any further releases. It doesn't have the integrated feel...and is far more often screened in television.

The effeminate issue, I think Murali-sir have mentioned that if Kannan is very dad-like, Vijay should be as beautiful and feminine like his mother, the lovely Pandaribai. A very simple division of characterisation, and the olden days audience are not too clear on subtlety. While we had a more child-at-heart, but brutish Kannan, there must have been a conscious decision to show the other guy more scheming, devious, but whaddyaknow, that's who the dad NT is. If you ask me, he's pure evil. I mean, he didn't even want to dirty his own hand by asking the doctor to kill the infant. He is being vengeful. Having had taken abuses all his life, he now wants his own blood and flesh to pay for it. What kind of man would he be, to have rejetted the scarfaced son, and wait for a beautiful baby boy.

And if they had thought deeper, I feel the reason Vijay is like that is that the dad took particular care that this one at least does not become like him. So, Vijay ended up in different upbringing, totally mother's boy.

That's my feeling (influenced by Murali-sir's post). Sad thing is, the wrong guy gets the bullet. The evil dad lives on

Oh, it's directed by ACT.

plum wrote:I personally am looking forward to Thillana Moganambal. But my gut feel is that Thiruvilaiyadal might not achieve the success o Karnan and scuttle any further releases. It doesn't have the integrated feel...and is far more often screened in television.

TM always get that "eppovEnumnAlum pArkalam" label. It should be the best option. It has good drama, humour, not to mention, great music. And a good narrative to keep you hooked.

Joe's post in the other forum. We could have been an twin brothers (judging also from most of his other opinions):

My 2 cents..


*அற்புதமான நடிகர் நடித்ததால் ஒரு படம் அற்புதமான படம் என்றிருக்க வேண்டிய அவசியமில்லை ..அற்புதமான படங்களில் நடித்தவர்கள் அற்புதமான நடிகர்களாக இருக்க வேண்டிய அவசியமில்லை.


* நடிகர் திலகத்தின் பெரும்பான்மையான படங்கள் அந்தந்த காலகட்டத்தில் தமிழ் மக்களின் ரசனையை வைத்தும் சிவாஜி என்னும் சிங்கத்தை மனதில் வைத்தும் உருவாக்கப்பட்டவை .


* யதார்த்த திரைப்படங்கள் என்னும் கோணத்தில் எடுக்கப்படும் படங்களுக்கு குறைந்தபட்ச திறமை கொண்டு சொன்னதை செய்யும் நடிகர்கள் இருந்தாலே போதும் .ஆனால் காவியத்தன்மை கொண்ட பொழுதுபோக்கு படங்கள் உருவாக்கும் போது நடிகர் திலகம் போன்ற பெரும் கலைஞர்கள் தேவை.


* என்னைப் பொறுத்தவரை நடிகர் திலகத்தின் படங்களை நான் நடிகர் திலகத்துக்காகத் தான் பார்க்கிறேன் .நடிகர் திலகம் தன் முத்திரையை பதிப்பதற்கு வாய்ப்புள்ள படங்கள் அதில் தனித்தன்மையுடன் திகழ்கின்றன .அதோடு கதை , இசை , பாடல்கள் போன்ற மற்ற அம்சங்களும் கூடி வரும் போது அவை மறக்க முடியாத படங்களாக இருக்கின்றன.


* நல்ல படம் , சுமாரான படம் என்பதையெல்லாம் தாண்டியவர் நடிகர் திலகம் . சிவாஜி படம் தோற்கலாம் ..சிவாஜி தோற்பதில்லை.


கோபால்,
சாய் , அன்பன் போன்றவர்கள் மிக இளம் வயதுடையவர்கள் ..இவர்களை போன்றவர்களை நடிகர் திலகம் திரியில் காணும் போது மிகவும் மகிழ்ச்சியாகவும் உற்சாகமாகவும் இருக்கும் . அவர்கள் அரவணைத்து செல்வோம்.

Driving to work today, I was thinking about intial plan by MS to remake The Godfather with NT and Kamal. And my imagination went wild, imagine this:

the Don: NT
reluctant heir Michael: Kamal
hot-headed Sonny: Rajini
naive Freddo: Prabhu.

ada-ada-ada, how it would have turned out. Wasted opportunity...

dig

செவாலியே ஐஸ்

அடிக்க வராதீங்க

end-dig

App - I saw that and wanted to bring it to Groucher's attention. inimE Sivajiya Chevaliernu solluvInga?
Anyway, this weekend's fix of NT for me was so-so with Muktha's "masterpiece" (no hawala transactions were required for this one I suppose) keezhvaanam sivakkum and the other one was..well..ahem..How do I put this - Sandhippu!!!

Keezhvaanam Sivakkum was a huge favourite of Family audience then(and now as well - my pa-in-law commented that he can watch it any number of times and never gets bored. My pa-in-law is a suppressed NT fan who has been subject to the tyranny of Devudu movies and unseemly comments on NT at home for much of his married life. I am so enjoying libeating him from this tyranny). Saritha was claimed to have equalled NT in performance and a brilliant duel between them supposedly was the USP of the movie. YOu know how our Kumudams and Vikatans tend to overstate things. Ofcourse, much of this Stage Drama of a movie revolves around amateurish schemes and counter-schemes between NT and Saritha in trying protect and expose Sarath Babu respectively. Probably adapted from some Ding stage drama of 70s.

The highlight of the movie, for me, was the totally unexpected - and totally out of my memory - sequences between Sarath and CID Sakuntala, who indulge in terrible, intolerable "romance" calling each other "Aththai" and "Marumagane" respectively. Never knew Muktha had this subversive streak in him. I mean, it was ok to depict an extra-marital affair, even which I would have put it beyond Muktha but this....was totally unexpected from Muktha. And so crude in execution. 100% more vulgar and tasteless than the violence that he is supposed ot have culled out from Nayagan using his years of experience in Cinema.

Anyway, obviously, I could even sit through this thanks to the man's magic. There are a lot of disablers for performance in the movie but The Man walks you comfortably through even this stench of a movie I still shed a tear for him when he laments Saritha's death in the climax. And some of the scenes where he has to hide Saritha's terminal illness to her and her husband - he salvages these with the sheer power of his performance.

MSV tuned in a couple of lovely melodies - and managed to spoil them thoroughly with his orchestration and the "dishkyoon-tishkyaan" sounds that I have alluded to before as his 80s orchestration. That the tunes still endure is a mark of his genius - depsite the trashy interludes, I'd hear these over and over again (Kan Kanda Deivame and Kadavul Ninaiththan).

I also realised that Muktha's makeup men, based on whose skill Muktha confidently challegned Kamal recently on his failure to use them for Nayagan, were among the multitidue of that tribe in the 80s who contributed to make NT un-appealing. Much of the movie is spent with the pinkish coating on his face which really distracts from his performance. Terrible School Drama level makeup. idhai vechukittu dhairyama "en kitta world class makeup team irundhudhu adhai kamal use paNNikkala"-nu sollikittirukkApla Mukthar. Too much!

Essential NT DVD collection compilation is in order. Time dhaan prachanai (not dissance). I'm going to propose some NT movie watching time-slots to Joe.

On keezhvaanam sivakkum - I remember liking this movie when i watched it for the first time as a kid. Revisited some scenes, worked because of the nostalgia factor.

<Digression, kindly excuse>
@Muktha Srinivasan: What i don't get is how people think Mukta gave a 'fitting' reply to Kamal. As in, complete endorsement and support of the article (not just specific points). The respective intent of their articles is completely different. One is a tribute with anecdotal details not with an explicit intention of maligning anybody. The producer/pandithar complaint is a staple feature of Kamal interviews and articles. Here, he just happened to name the producer. And by virtue of naming him, he obviously sees he can do that. Whereas Muktha's article is a grudge-fest, completely anti-Kamal by intent.
I mean, you can say, "direct-a pera solli heart attack vandhudhu nu sonna pinna producer summa iruppaana?" That doesn't mean what Kamal did or said was wrong and he deserved to be paid back! As in, if you have a problem with that, then you should have rubbished whatever Kamal has been saying all these years about fighting against the industry - producers, distributors, pandidhargal. Appo enna mayithukku Kamal kitterndhu quality venum nu kekkareenga, aayirathettu nottu kandupidikkareenga?

See this tweet by Sidharth (actor), retweeted by Balaji Mogan (Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Eppadi):

I love that the main contributor to ‘Nayagan’ chooses to carry on with his work like he always did.Pretty sure he will not comment on this:)

https://twitter.com/Actor_Siddharth/status/262457645343076352

And here is Sidharth before that:
https://twitter.com/Actor_Siddharth/status/262456443482030080

I have never seen producers, directors and actors fight over who contributed the most on a flop film. Only successes demand such contest!

WTF!! Staggering misrepresentation of facts. Completely oblivious to what actually happened and how the views were put forward.
1. Is this a fight to get credit? Was that what Kamal's piece was about?
2. "Main contributor" is perfectly fine but as Plum pointed out, it doesn't tally when it comes from Sidharth or Balaji Mohan, given where they stand
3. The main contributor will not comment on this? Dei, he has already commented-da vennaingala? And the tone is as though there was already a fight, or a credit grabbing fest and Kamal's article was in RESPONSE to that. So, Kamal and Mukta will get into this dirty business but Mani will ignore. Mudila!!!!!!!!!!!

Bala -
Same old Ding Elite Muni-worshipping( I mean Munirathnam - Muni-Worshipping ppl will not be allowed by Ding Elite into their Gang, would they?) mentality. As I pointed yesterday, the poster boys of such mentality will think that "Space Odyssey padam edukka Space-la vAzhaNumA?" is a fitting retort to "Kadal padathula maNN vAsanai irukkumA given Muni's lack of nativity factor in his previous movies w.r.t South TN sensibility". Sid could well be the person who posted that retort. Except that we know he isnt and it is a different person of the same mentality.
I am sorry to use the Ding word myself, given that I rallied against the derogatory usage of this word in the previous forum, but namakkE ivLO kObam varudhE, centuries centuries-A suffer paNNavangaLukku evLo varum - I sort of can even understand why the Ding-haters have so much hate in their bosom now.

K Balakumar's SakalakalaVallavan parody of Kamal's article (Unfunny in the first place) is a symptom of our society's collective mental faculty. ivLO dhAn yOsikka mudiyum indha samoogathAla. indha samoogathula irundhukittu Hey Ram padam eduththavan evLO periya genius? yOsichu pArunga. Kamal and IR - poRumaiyin sigarangab. It is easy to be patient and nice when you are conformist and 90% of the society is in line with your thoughts(or vice versa) - think Munirathnam and Rahman, the conventional take-home boy-next-door "nerds" - but being the contrarian geniuses they are, the fact that IR and Kamal received so much of societal appreication and stand tall in the eyes of even this depraved society, while simultaneously holding their ideals aloft - that speaks volumes of their incomparable genius and temparament.

As for the "main contributor" Munirathnam, he has already trash-talked about Nayagan producers in the Baradwaja gothram book I believe. padichavanga sollunga.
Also, Bala, if you see, Sid's tweet is a direct result of the "Mani Fan Dilemma" I posted as my first reaction to this issue(Remember? Endorsing Mukta means agreeing that Nayagan is fully Kamal's work and Mani had not much contribution, and endorsing Kamal's take means that Kamal had significant contribution and actually it was Kamal patronising Muni). Basically, the only way Muni fans can get out of this catch-22 is to trash both Kamal and Mukta - and elevate Muni by bringing in spurious concepts like "Dignified Silence"

I just *CAN't* understand any unconditional endorsement of Mukta's "fitting tribute". It trash talks Nayagan as a film, and as you said, is a blind attack. Whatever reasonable points he makes - attar for instance - is lost in this blind attack.

THe best comment was made by Charuhaasan - "I have so much experience in Cinema and I have advised both Muni and Kamal. If they had listened to me, they wouldnt have achieved the heights they did". As a parody, this was far more pithy and effective than Balakumar's laboured SakalakalaVallavan-flavoured twisting of Kamal's article on Nayagan.

Charuhasan - nice sense of humor!

Mukta isn't mentioned at all in Nayagan feature of the book (thanks W ) . Mayb once by name and thrice as 'producer', but nothing pertinent. The entire feature is about Kamal's nuances that enriches a film.

I think it's very clear that KH contributed significantly to nAyakan off screen. (No need to mention the on-screen part).

Also it's very clear that MR shared a much greater rapport with KH & has awe for him. One can sense that together they both definitely had cribs with the old-fashioned / budget-conscious producer who was obviously not as 'kalaichchEvai' oriented as these two.

However, KH could have avoided all those heart-attack etc remarks about the producer in an interview after 25 years diplomAttikkA vittirukkalAm, like MR. Or could have done some vAzhaippazha oosi stuff. The remarks were too blunt and sounded like deliberately intended to create controversy, IMHO, considering that the producer is still around (unlike director Rajashekar who is no more, who is taken for a ride as well in that article -in case of another movie, despite KH doing thiraikkadhai and production of vikrEm where central gov intelligence officer did dance for EnjOdi manjakkuruvi).

I still think it had some BRangan masAlA, may be deliberately inserting private booze talk into publicized article - like his Gautam blog post where he added irritating stuff about IR / IRFs / cult etc.

thEvai illAdha prachnai, IMHO.

Achchu, innoru chevalier?

http://www.inneram.com/news/cinema-news/nandita-das-sevalia-award-6684.html



தமிழ் இந்தி உட்பட பன்மொழிகளில் நடித்து புகழ் பெற்ற நடிகை நந்திதா தாஸ். இவருக்கு பிரான்ஸ் அரசு செவாலியே விருது அறிவித்து கௌரவித்துள்ளது.

இயக்குனர் தங்கர்பச்சான் இயக்கத்தில் வெளிவந்த ‘அழகி’ படத்தில் நடித்ததன் முலம் தமிழில் பிரபலமானார், தொடர்ந்து மணிரத்னத்தின் ‘கன்னத்தில் முத்தமிட்டால்’ படத்தில் நடித்தார்.

இவர் தற்போது சீனுராமசாமி இயக்கும் ‘நீர்ப்பறவை’ படத்தில் நடித்துள்ளார்.




This news clip says Nandita Das got chevalier...no other report on this yet.

Was reading Kamal's interview compilation (Nam kalattu Nayagan, which is a very labouring process, one am a bit slow in reading Tamizh, two, the man's complex responses), and then there was comments on NT. On how NT never made it on National level. He blamed it on language. He said many undeservedly enjoying fame and fortune these days simply by dubbing. He credited Rajini for mastering language and that is why he is where he is today. Am I reading correctly to say he implied that NT never took additional effort to master, say, Hindi or Benggali (S-Ray's language?) and he would have gone further?

app_engine wrote:This news clip says Nandita Das got chevalier...no other report on this yet.

Didn't bother about it. Stop respecting awards and all these kinda nansens.