Metaphysis

If a ship was repaired, plank-by-plank, to the point where no material from the original remained in the restored craft, does it stay the same? If the discarded planks are used to create another ship, is it a different one or remains the same?

A Blind photographer who creates art based on her tranquil instinct and feed from the external world is ridiculously fixated that: "What inner skill does really one need to have a great moment around you and the clicking of her camera coming together", which further inspires her on embarking journey to the Himalayas, immersing herself into the serenity and silence of the picturesque.

Maitreya, who plays a Jain Monk is my most interesting personality. A self-sustained saint who battles the pharmaceutical companies against the physical abuse of animals in the name of scientific research. With his fundamentalist thought: He believes in no celestial beings, no eternal judge, there is only law of causality through which he takes responsibility for his actions and their consequences. Diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, how does he balance the bridge between his ideals and necessity forms the rest of the plot. Navin, a stock trader hits the organ trafficking network when he realizes that his kidney has been illegally procured, goes to Stockholm to meet his non-consensual donor. In a stunning, emotionally profound climax, there is a screening of a documentary filmed inside an ancient cave of shimmering rock, relating to Plato's thought experiment- The role of a philosopher is to find his way out of the cave and then try to enlighten the other prisoners. 

Is it a art-house film where one can doze off in the first few minutes? No.If not then a mainstream unconventional (just for the sake of being so) film? No. Ship of Thesus is a thought provoking film which seeks answers to the most imperative questions of life through the representation of three characters in entirely different settings. With stunning visuals, the literary cinematographer has turned his lens into sheer poetry. Hypnotizing one into deep introspection, the movie watching experience is a personal pilgrimage in it self. It further tunnels into this philosophical aspect that the true self should be separated from the cycle of life & death and "the physical thy shall perish, one's deeds should be worth leaving the soul behind".

Prosperous 2020

In the wildest of fiction: when a tiny organism cost lives of people, reckoned global markets, made oil barrel prices fall negative,
confined people to the doors of their homes you know that the world has changed forever. Just to recall this horrendous times for the future generations, I thought it's better to document my personal thoughts and let them also walk down the memory lane and reflecting on uncertainty in life as such.

As they say the clouds are calm before the storm arrives, the early signs weren't life threatening as it became over the next fortnight. The elite in gated communities as usual were obliging and dancing to the tunes of WhatsApp's Devil's workshop on forward messages
and doing ridiculous irresponsible activities.The considerable section of people at the bottom of the pyramid had lost their livelihoods in a whisker, starving for food. As the media normalizes the Islamophobia attributing the source of the virus with a Delhi event, FYI blood plasma knows no religion.(Quanrantine -Quran'nintime). With all butchery and roadside eatery shops shut down: no lyf for carnivorous- coz coronavirus, once this unprecedented crisis reverts back to normalcy, I can get back to worshiping the holy trinity of Amma/Kumar Mess & Konar Kadai back in my hometown- Madurai.  

One thing I have learnt during this pandemic is that life is not about you/me. It is about us and how we treat each other. It is about how we treat the environment and our day-to-day lives. So, believe it or not, life has changed for all of us now and for ever. So, treat your 
colleague, friend, family, and any other human, like they are your own and help everyone get through this hard time the best way possible. If staying home is what helps the humanity, do that with all of your heart. Quarantine can be easily defined as the best 
use of bad bargain. This lock down period is useful for many people to utilize their time to strength their inner power to achieve
extraordinary things in their future life. Even as I finish writing this, I hope this comes to an end, can see the invisible COVID-19 saying:" Hold my beer!! I don't wish to spoil your suspense and keep playing the guessing game"

My Iconic 8'

Clockwise from Top,

TamilSelvan, Iruvar:

Prakash Raj's finesse performance in a political drama revolving around the dravidian politics of the state. The character graph maneuvers from how he befriends a fellow cinema actor Anandhan, what creates a rift among them and how they reunite spiritually at Anandhan's death through the emotional poetry he delivers about the depth of their friendship.

Parasakthi Gunasekaran: 

Penned by the prolific fire band writer Muthuvel Karnunanidhi, the impact this legendary persona at that point of time was immeasurable. Encapsulating the fight against superstitious, irrational beliefs in the society, Gunasekaran a victim of fate dealing him a disgusting hand finally bursts out in the court scene where he reprimands the entire societal structure and it's venomous caste-oriented mental illness. This overnight propelled Sivaji Ganesan into the magnetic star status which he held for the next few decades to come.  

Super Deluxe, Shilpa:

From his manhood, Manickam undergoes hormonal transformation to a transgender named Shilpa and revisits his family after years of estrangement. The story goes about how society treats a third gender with the interesting part kicking in with this magical relationship blossoming between Shilpa and her son, Rasukutty who inherently accepts his father for the way he is("Nee Aambala yaa iru, pombalaya iru...But enga kooda iru"). Yet another attestation on Vijay Sethupathi's versatality as an actor, who has never shyed away feasting on the heavy meat served on his platter.

Aadukalam, Pettakaaren

The undisputed reigning champion of the rooster fight tournaments in Madurai, trainer Pettakaaren enacted by a non ethnic Jayapalan
(his voice too dubbed) slowly gets intimidated by the rise of one of his mentees- Karuppu played by a rustic Dhanush. The conflict in drama is created how someone who stood tall as a guardian of his associates goes on to bad-mouthing, inciting face offs among them, hurt by ego and jealousy. Winning the Special mention National Award for this, it will go down as one of the most memorable characters in tamil cinema.

Kokki Kumaaru, Pudhupettai:

This exemplary personality of a gangster who rises up all the way from the rags until to find himself embroiled in the vicious political jungle. The Darwinist tagline-" Survival of the fittest" in a sense captured the essence of kumaaru: Hunger, power, Sex and Survival and he seems to bolden the signal for all modern day politicians that "crime does pay off" in the end. Ultimately it was the magical wand of Selvaraghavan which gave life to this cult classic.


Edawrd Anna, Onayum Aatukuttiyum:

Loosely based on the "crime and punishment" by Fyodor Destoevesky, film-maker Myskkin himself dons the cap of the Protagonist Edward to explore life's most imperative questions and what he deems as moral act. Building a surreal world with larger than life characterization yet retaining the rawness of human condition, The animal metaphorism is spelt out to the audience 
however rather than subtle references. Result: A dark cynical fable which unfolds to a child in one of the best ever monologues told on redemption. 

Assault Sethu, Jigarthanda:

An eccentric thug meets an aspiring filmmaker which eventually draws us into a world of musical Indie. With stylized narrative, it allows the audience for engagement throughout it's run time with the prima-centric Sethu who lives in the high of fear of others for him. What initially takes off as a serious plot turns into a baffling comedy in the second half with Sethu re-christened Aa.Kumaaru. The one liner defintion of him is in that one well written dialogue: (" Namma Vaalanum, Semmaya Vaalndhaan da nu Vaalanum...adhuku enna venaalum seiyalaam"). What makes this character so unique is it's anomaly and psychotic mood swings, brilliantly done by Bobby Simha, who unfortunately failed to make a mark after this iconic role


Rathakaneer, Mohan:

M R Radha: The Poster boy of filling the air in the theatre with rationalism, satirical take on societal establishments played the lead in this feature film.(adapted from one of his infamous stage play). Revolving around a westernized foreign return Mohansundaram who is arrogant to people below his social standards and averse towards anything that is a part of Indian Culture and how this philanderer starts realizing the true righteousness and values of life in the final scene.

Renaissance of TN (1967-77')

It's yet another regular day in our ancestral home in Madurai and my grandfather was hooked on to the TV with his wrinkled eyes. For us the kids in the house, meh it was some sort of boring news stuff which elders are always obsessed with. Meanwhile I figured it out to be a public meeting of a politician of whom I have a stereotypical image.(Credits to Manivannan cinematic universe), my tiny tod brother is battling with my gramps to get hold of the remote to switch to Jetix. The old guard won finally with his acute stubbornness stating- "I will not yield till Kalaignar finishes his speech". I was taken aback and finally burst out saying- "What has he even done to impact your life that you put him above your grandson?". He instead flashed a wry smile and continued watching. 

It was from then I started exploring about this man with resources in hand to find out how someone has managed to not only stay relevant in a dynamic environment like politics but also creep into hearts of the people with his sly stochiometric mix of oratory skills and brandishing Tamil pride. In-spite of having my reservations for his stand on institutionalizing corruption with his infamous
honeycomb analogy and filling his party's coffers reflective of typical corporate operatives, I am constraining myself only to the primitive years of his governance.

The Dravidian party's meteoric win in the Assembly elections in 1967 riding on the height of self-respect movement championed by the deadly ghost of the savarnas- Mr. Periyar passed on the baton to his proteges- Anna and a then young Karunandhi who both were instrumental in transforming the social justice war cry of the bearded man into legislative reforms. Implementing 49% reservation in government jobs and admissions to higher education was a milestone affirmative action which aimed at ensuring equal access to opportunities for the historically disadvantaged/oppressed communities. This gave the state a broad based workforce for IT sector when the economy was opening it's doors for liberalization in the 90's. As opposed to the earlier times, wherein the medical profession was dominated by the upper caste this scheme also gave the necessary human capital for setting up a robust rural health infrastructure, ensuring fair treatment for all.

When India was still sticking to the Vedic Texts of treating the female gender as secondary human beings in the Hindu social order, it was during this regime that a law was passed advocating for equal property rights for women. Meanwhile Self respect(devoid of an religious rituals) and inter-caste marriages were given legal status: crusade for a casteless society. The literal banning of hand-pulled rickshaws was a loud and daring message to the hegemonic forces that "No Man is above another".The entire state was covered by the public distribution system within a span of 10 years, eminent economists like Amartya Sen credit this to the upliftment of people out of poverty in Tamil Nadu. Fixing the land ceiling by amending the land reforms bill, the surplus land was distributed to the landless peasants, putting an end to their woes.

The era was an attempt at rationalism in culture, democracy in politics and secular ethos in religion and inclusivity in development. Despite aplenty criticisms, recent years have seen resurgence of interest among the youth about the legacy of this period filled with egalitarian initiatives in establishing the welfare state it is today with unaddressed challenges.

'Anbu': A four lettered consience

Names attached to a person is too less for a judgement to be passed upon their personality.Four good traits as described in my mother toungue to live as a good human being are Anbu, Aram, Arivu, Arul. (Plagarised by the house names in my high school). Here I have chosen four films whose one of the leads is named Anbu to explore what they represent in different premises
   

Pudhupettai: Bala Singh here as Anbu is raw and stunning. A interesting catch and misnomer here is that his misogynistic attitude physically abusing the sex workers under him barely does justice to his name but when it comes to other side of the wall he extends a sense of endearment to the henchmen under him- raving hard in the peppy number 'Variyaa' earning their goodwilll for his operatives. In a latter scene where the Azhagam Perumal character laments abt his death( "Anbu poitaan da") accomplices the loss.

 Vadachennai: Anbu here stood for the love of his soil protecting it's intrusion from outsiders. If protecting our land is rowdyism, let's do it. A befitting caption for the sequel in the end- "The Rise of Anbu"-is how his fondness for his root grows multifold taking charge along  with the nexus of his safeguarding  mechanism.

Madras: A Jovial companion of the protoganist bitten by the betrayal bug from his mentor is a unique proposition in this whole list. Agitating against the hitehrto establisments to advocate for the rights of people in his colony, he stands tall as the true embodiement of Anbu. Instead of preaching utopian thoughts of Humanity above all( Anbe Sivam lmafo) the filmmaker sends a strong signal that equality is not something which is to be asked for, it's one birthright to be fought for, in which the character Anbu is the most powerful weapon he unleashes.

Kaidhi on the last of the list: With not much light to shed upon here, Arjun Daas who seems to be igniting RX100 in his voice is deadly, sending shivers down the spine ironical to his physique and his character's name. The choice here could have been intentional
as a necessary paradox for someone who totally represents brutality and mercilessness to the core.

In a world where social stratification is dancing across a spectrum of factors, there is a vaccum for anbu and people drunk in their own ideologies become devoid of love for their fellow human beings. While I finish writing this piece, my feelings are exactly the same as the verses below, taking a leaf from Gaana Bala's book.

          "  Iranthidava Nee Piranthaai Anbe Nee Oorukullae
         Un Nanbargalai Pirinthu Šendraai Neeyo Mannukullae "

A Countryman's Farcry: Uzhavar Santhai

"To thy who feeds , the entire society ought to be grateful and bow down to him", this is something I personally believe in. One can seek a comfortable way of life in plush corporate jobs but there is a greater novelty in toiling hard in the fields and treating the entire world as it's baby to provide the basic living essential- 'FOOD' and making a living out of it.(If at all I romanticized in the first half) 

Empowerment to such a Farming community, is a stride on the path of social development !! The 'Uzhavar Santhai' conceptualized in 1999 by the erstwhile Chief Minister Mr. Kalaignar was one such significant leap for TN. Implemented first in my hometown Madurai, I distinctly remember my father taking me there while I was in 4th grade (which almost then became a standard Sunday Ritual) who pointed to me the flocking footfall and the smallest of the impact a deserving revenue can have for the working class and their families. Drawing inspiration from an pre-existing model in Chandigarh, it spawned the dawn for agricultural economy in the state. Simple in it's framework: Farmers can sell the commodities which they grow directly to the common man with no intermediate 
interfaces. The benefits reaped by these village folks are :

• No commissions need to be paid to the middlemen\traders in the value chain 
• Rental Space for business activity is provided by the government
• Saving on Transport and Logistics costs
•  Regularized Price slabs

Close to where I Live

Meantime an average person is able to take back home vegetables and fruits at an affordable price. Having said all this,there are issues still which plague such as inadequate toilet facilities, power cuts which if addressed will make this a benchmark for socio-economic schemes. On the whole it as an important public policy case where a win-win situation arises for both the producer and the consumer, which can a guiding objective to implement such groundbreaking civic proposals in various sectors for the future.

PS: Ela Ulaven Kezhaven ivunga rendu perum mattum dhaan le uyiroda irukaporanga.

'The more spoken Sandiyar and Less Spoken Cult'

The statement -"Grew up watching Mr.Hassan's films" is a cliche', nevertheless it is the undeniable truth. Now time travelling back to high school days, surfing up on Kamal's filmography I came across this catchy, vernacular title-" Virumaandi". Just as the name, the movie has it's own due course of riveting and enigmatic touch. Before Virumaandi had released, a whole bunch of movies were made based on the Madurai-backdrop, but this was all together a mind-blowing narrative. I was in awww of the entire arc, to break it down here were my best picks.

Andha Kandamani Song : 'Cold Shivers everytime'

Power-housed with excellent performances by the leads- Kamal, Pasupathy, Napolean .(Quoting UlagaNayagan from an 2003 interview excerpt: " More than the story, Virumaandi is a Nadippu Thiruvizha"). The plot experimented the non-linear structure with the account being narrated from two persepectives by Viruman and Kothala Thevar respectively. The way the premises were bulit from the very beginning on how the feudal clash between two villages (Chinnakolarpatti Vs Nallamanayakanur) goes on to impact a lot of lifes. The rural aura (Not to forget this iconic Panchayathu scene below ) and the rustic aesthetics gave the rawness a new dimension, a delight to watch !!   

Virumaandi embodied a lot of values based on humanity. It was one of the first movies to openly talk about why death sentences was inhumane in nature and needed to be abolished (infact the opening documentary clippings). In the sub-context, to cite examples there are two peculiar scenes- The one where a drunken Kamal refuses to part away with his late Appatha's land and equates the soil as his "mother's blood" and swears at those who come with an offer to buy it. It was a hard slap on those affluent pocket-filled class who think agricultural land can bought off with might of money and stresses how important is agriculture for our country. The other one is where Naicker walks out of the court after losing in a illicit manner says- "Manusu dhaan da courtu aprom dhaan da idhellam" ( One might escape the loopholes in the judicial system but eventually will fall prey to the karma ). Finally, special mention
the end credits dialogue: Manippu keka therinjaven Manusen, Mannikka therinjaven periyamanusen.

Steered by strong-woman characters, be it Ms. Anjela Mathew (who comes to interview the imprisoned inmates) or Annalakshmi- playing the love interest of Viruman as opposed to the streotypical heriones was a progressive step forward. Ilayaraaja's heart-stabbing eerie background score is nothing short of staying truthful and paying respect to this piece of art. It was unarguably his best album of the decade. Still hooked on to 'Unna Vida' and it's lyrics on my playlist. The Maestro-Nayagan duology always have been promising but this was one notch above imo.

Many current-gen filmakers like Pa. Ranjith, Karthik Naren have spoken about how Virumaandi has been a great source of inspiration for screenplay and the craft as a whole in the landscape of tamil cinema. Ultimately the movie has it's own deep flaws like Caste Glorification but it will forever remain as my favourite Kamal Hassan venture in my world of pop culture. Those of you who haven't watched it has one been of the regulars airing on KTV and hope it makes your eyes stay glued like it did for me.

PS: Forgive me if at all I was an ignorant Casteist Bigot.