"Kaadhal", Warning !

2005 started for few of us with the much hyped movie "Kaadhal". We were all really frustrated having started the year with such a tragic movie. Initially, I didn't want to write about it, but now feel I should, perhaps. What's driving me ? nothing, actually I am so freaking bored and don't feel like picking some book and reading. Also, at the back of my mind I was wondering why movies like "Kaadhal" have been doing good in the market. This movie can be categorized in the same lines as "autograph", "pithamagan", "sethu" etc., in the sense they kind of depict the reality or have been filmed in a realistic manner. Though these movies do not heavily depend on the regular masala/formula of the hero pulverizing the badies, spewing out punch lines every 10 minutes and ahve gyrating dance sequences running around trees, they do have some element of masala in them, though.

The movie starts with the scene where the boy and the girl are the main characters in the movie are executing their plan to elope. The movie is wound with flash back sequences and current ones. The flash back sequences are placed at correct places and try talk about how the boy and the girl fall in love. The boy is a motorcycle mechanic who is very seroius about his job and does his work religiously. The girl is a high school student. The girl attains puberty and to her gravest embarassment her parents and relatives celebrate the occasion with great fanfare. I am not sure if they have over done this part a bit but, I heard from some my friends who hail from "Madurai" that even now the occassion is celebrated in much the same way like it is shown in the movie. The rational faculty in everyone wants to question why do we need such a celebration also makes me think why there is no equivalent for the men, call it partiality, oppression, discrimination; whatever :-) did you know "whatever" is supposedly the most coolest word now :-)? don't know where english language is getting... whatever, I don't care. (no pun intended)

Apparently after attaining puberty, there are a lot of harmonal changes happening to her body and the director pretty obviously suggests that the girl gets more vulnerable to falling in love during this period. As expected she falls in love with this mechanic guy who apprently confronts her is couple of occassion caused over some petty quarels. Later the girl tries to captivate the boy by teasing him and eventually proposing to the boy. The boy is a little aprehensive in the begining but he too falls prey ;-) They elope and face the real world without much defence. They understand the difficulties in surving in this world being a minor and not married. Eventually one of the boy's friend in help them to get married. All these sequences have been depicted very realistically. Meanwhile the girl's parents are hunting for the two, her cool and composed uncle somehow manages to trace the two and take them back to madurai, her uncle turns hostile on their way back and starts questioning about the boy's caste, religion etc. The girl's parents threaten to kill the boy if she does not let her "Thaali" go :-) the movie from this point becomes really tragic, the boy is beaten balck and blue while the girl is being restrained by her parents. We personally couldn't stand all the melodrama, eventually she lets go her "Thaali" and is married to someone else, after few years she happens to meet this boy only after he has lost his senses and the guilt makes her cry, shout, jump and down. The last scene the girl's husband takes control of both the girl and her estranged love.

Phew! quite a story for me to type, the point though is that the initial part of the movie was pretty ok, the later part became really surreal. Particularly, the crying sequences were a little too much for us to handle that too on New Year's eve, the reason why we decided to watch the movie was because of "anandha vikatan's" review that gave the movie a 50+ which were given to movies like "Thaneer Thaneer" etc.,

Now, coming to the question why such movies are able to make it big at box office. I would say the realism and to a great extent the melodrama.The "thamizh thirai ulaga rasigargal" are so pissed with the regular masala that they are now looking more emotionally moving story that they can associate to their own lives. Personally I would say that the movie is not as good as it's being rated. After all, surrealism is not my piece of cake, also no one would want to start a year with such a movie. I wish movies are given rating based of such aspects. Well, the problem is that tamil movies cannot be really categorised as comedy, serious, thriller, action etc., for most of them are a combination of all; "Masala".

New year resolution: "Thou shall not trust movie ratings by Anandha Vikatan" :-)