|
|
TAMIL CINEMA 2000
Well, whom would you choose as the most lucky, successful hero of last year
Kamal… Tenali is okay. But what about Hey Ram?
Ajith… He has a big scar due to the defeat of 'Unnaikkodu Ennaiththaruven'.
Vijay… Has not his 'Kannukul Nilavu' turned out to be a New moon?
Prashanth.. Where are they? 'Good Luck' and 'Appu'?….. No sooner they were
released in theatres, than they disappeared too.
Madhavan… 'Ennavale' was just moderate success.
Vikram…. 'Kandaen Seethaiyai' had jerked tears in the eyes.
….And then who? It is Vijayakanth who towers over all of them on the basis of
box-office collections. Out of his three pictures released, 'Vanaththaippola'
and 'Vallarasu' were super-duper hits. Kollywood gives the following comment.
"Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth stands on his side. Hence the abundant
revenue!"
Tamil movie-goers had a reason to feel sorry for no Rajini film was released
during last year. The rest of our actors need at least one successful film per
year to keep their image intact.
As we praise Vijayakanth, we must mention the names of two more actors also.
They are Sathyaraj and Madhavan. Both of them may have given twenty interviews
at least during the course of last year; most of the interviews took place
during the second half of the year. Last year, the lives of both have undergone
a major change, for the better. 'Alai Paayuthe' took Madhavan to the pinnacle of
glory. 'Ennamma Kannu' became the break through of life-time, for Sathyaraj.
The center piece of Tamil Cinema is its hero. Their salary itself is a shining
example. How many directors have received more remuneration than a lead actor?
The actors try to justify the prominence given to them with one argument. A film
runs most successfully for the first three weeks only because of the credentials
of the hero of that film, they claim. We have to accept their explanation as
partly true. Yuhi Sethu gives us food for thought as he defines the role of an
actor with regard to the success or failure of a film. According to him, "'Sethu'
attained success because of a new face. Kamal ought to have made 'Guna', 'Mahanadhi'
and 'Heyram' in the model of 'Sethu' only".
What he says is quite right. As it was Vikram who acted in 'Sethu', none could
guess about the climax. Similarly, the grace of Madhavan contributed greatly to
the magnificent success of 'Alai Paayuthe'. Women thronged the theatres in great
numbers to view Madhavan to their heart's content. Sometimes, new faces add to
the strength of the stories. They make the coffers also full, as evidenced by
Sethu and Alai Paayuthe.
The
biggest expectation of last year was reserved for 'Heyram', for the film was
produced and directed by Kamal. Spot dubbing was done on the sets itself,
simultaneously for its Tamil and Hindi versions. No one expected the movie to
bomb at the box-office, despite the fact that it was another milestone in the
acting career of Kamal. But Kamal did not fall flat grief-stricken. The endless
trier has jumped once again into the fore-font. At the moment, he has three
films in his hands. He has once again proved in 'Tenali' that he can shine as a
loadstar in his capacity as an actor in a full-length comedy too.
To win a national award, an actor has to choose a film that has a serious,
weighty subject as its base. This is an unwritten law and a tradition by itself.
The film industry has an anxiety, as no actor who acts in a comic film is able
to bag the prestigious national award. People concerned may break a new ground
and thereby set a new trend by giving a national award to Kamal in recognition
of his excellent performance in 'Tenali'. Who ever can forget the long dialogue
delivered by him at the end of which he would break into uncontrollable tears?
Oh, it was a matchless performance. An unparalleled scene indeed!
Turning towards young artistes, one should say that Vijay had a sorrowful start.
But the successes of 'Kushi' and 'Priyamaanavale' have seated him on a throne of
honour. With the success of 'Mugavari', Ajith was masquerading award,
majestically. But 'Unnaikkodu Ennaith tharuvaen' had toppled him down. The
thumping success of 'Paarthaen Rasiththaen' catapulted Prashanth to great
heights of fame, enabling him to seize seven more films to deal with.
Once it was the principle and practice of Sathyaraj to act in only one film at a
point of time. But things have changed after the stupendous success of 'Ennamma
Kannu'. Now he has five movies to concentrate upon. It was 'Maayi' for Sarat
Kumar and Budget Padmanabhan' for Prabhu. Both were hits, but single successes.
When all the actors of Tamil filmdom were about to finish the year on a happy
note by writing down at least one hit against their names, they had to confront
a sudden challenge from the side of the producers. The producers objected to
give exorbitant remuneration to all the actors except the top five of them. They
wanted to have their say on the salary to be disbursed to the actors other than
the selected five. A cleft erupted within the acting fraternity. A standstill
followed in the Tamil film industry. But there was light at the end of the
tunnel. Things changed for the good. Wisdom prevailed soon. Persons of both
camps shook each other's hand. And the year saw a pleasant end.
[Hullo! Don't worry that we have not covered the matters regarding the comedians
and the character artistes. Do they not deserve a separate article on them? You
will be knowing about them in the weeks to follow.]
Prashanth's Sixer
From "Vaikasi Porandhachchu" to "Parthaen Rasiththaen",
Prashanth had acted in 175 films. Many of films had a successful run of more
than 100 days. But no celebrations had been held in the bygone years, either by
him or by the producers or by the theatre owners. No commemorations No
felicitations on a grand scale. Therefore, Prashanth Fans Associations have come
forward now to conduct a big celebration in order to hail the numerous successes
attained by their hero over the years. They are very busy at the moment with the
preparatory works regarding that grandiose function.
They have proposed to commemorate the successes earned by the six films,
'Jeans', 'Kannethire Thondrinal', 'Kadhal Kavithai', 'Jodi', 'Poomagal Oorvalam'
and 'Parthein Rasiththaen'. It would be a six-in-one function at a single venue
on a single day. For obvious reasons, the venue would be Chennai. The
celebration is aptly named as 'Prashanth Sixer'. On that occasion, Prashanth's
fans have planned to honour the producers, directors, actors, actresses and
various kind of technicians who have worked all along with their idol; each of
them would be receiving a suitable gift. There would be a display of performing
arts also in that gala function. Many artistes would participate in that
artistic programme. Many of his foreign fans also are expected to grace the
occasion Sun T.V. would give a coverage of the proceedings for the benefit of
the Tamilians residing all over the globe and especially for the countless fans
of Prashanth.
Prashanth learns music and Sanskrit
Prashanth is a master of all trades. He is an all-rounder of merits. He wakes up
as early as 4 a.m. in the morning and undergoes training in music. He studies
Sanskrit. He learns with avid interest to pronounce the mantras properly. He
pays obeisance to God on daily basis, does pujas and offers prayers to the lord.
Verily, he is a man of parts. He has mastered the martial art of Karate and has
acquainted himself very well with the computer. Desirous of knowing all the
things on the earth, he leaves no stones unturned in equipping himself with all
the branches of knowledge. He has a vampire thirst for knowledge. He has learnt
the nuances of Carnatic music and the greatnesses of the Cherished language of
Sanskrit from Shri Parthasarathy. Shri Parthasarathy is deeply religious. By the
by, he is Prashanth's auditor too.
The rain of greetings
On the eve of the last Deepavali, Prashanth's fans who live in various parts of
the world, had sent more than 50,000 greeting cards. This has been an annual
phenomenon with them. Wonder of wonders, 30,000 cards among them had the
pictures of Prashanth himself striking different poses the costly greetings have
come from America, Malaysia, London and Singapore. His fans had never bothered
about the expenses incurred by them in doing so. Prashanth had duly computerized
all those greeting cards. He had sent return greetings to all of his fans.
'Jodi' in Myanmar (Burma)
The movie, 'Jodi', in which Prashanth and Simran
have acted as a pair under the direction of Pravin Gandhi, was released on the
last Deepavali day, in the theatres at all the Burmese towns in including the
capital Yangon (Rangoon). The picture has proved a blockbuster everywhere there.
It is success all the way!
Prashanth won the hearts of many in Myanmar. Many have become his ardent fans.
They have sent him letters his ardent fans. They have sent him letters of
appreciation along with the notices printed by the theatre people there. 'Jodi'
has enthralled many young people of Myanmar, it seems. Prashanth is very
jubilant in receiving rave reviews about a film of his from his fans living in a
foreign country. For obvious reasons, he is in high spirits. He is completely
drenched in the torrential showers of greeting from his fond fans of the alien
soil.
Prashanth in S.A. Rajkannu's film
S.A. Rajkannu, the successful producer of the films such as 'Pathinaaru
Vayathinile', 'Kizhakke Pohum Rail', 'Kannip Paruvaththile', 'Enga Chinna Rasa',
and 'Maha Nadhi' is going to have one more stint in Tamil filmdom. Shortly, he
would be producing a film at a total cost of Rupees seven crores. It would be a
mammoth movie by all standards. And Prashanth, the 'Prince of love' would act as
the lead actor.
The heroine would be chosen from the trio of Simran,
Jothika and Devayani. The movie is yet to be titled. A director belonging to the
front rank would direct it. The tempest of music, A.R. Rahman would provide the
music for the film. The selection of the rest of the cast and the technicians is
on.
Another
heroine from the North
Frictions are common to erupt between a producer and a star before the
completion of a film together. But there is oneness of opinion prevailing
between C.T.V. Doctor Murali Manohar and Prashanth. There in no rivalry at all
between them. The doctor-cum-producer has already made three hit pictures,
namely, 'Jeans', 'Kadhal Kavithai' and 'Jodi' with Prashanth as his official
hero. He has now launched his fourth film with Prashanth under the title, 'Majnu'.
The film is going to be directed by Ravichandran who was the director for 'Kannethire
Thondrinal'. The heroine is Rinky Khanna. She is no less a person than the
younger daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, the famous Hindi stars.
Across the seas and in the midst of pretty
damsels
Prashanth is knowledgeable. He is aware that he should act in different kind of
stories to ensure a permanent place in film world. He is used to note down the
one-line stories he has already done in his diary. When now directors seek his
appointment to tell their stories, he insists them to tell them in a single
line. In case the story is an impressive one, he would accost them to come in
person for further talks.
One should not hide love. Love must be expressed open-mindedly - Kannedhire
Thondrinal.
Love is no taboo. But it is a crime to desire to elope a person - Jodi.
A small lie can spoil the life of a girl - Hello.
These are some of the one - line stories that have found place in Prashanth's
diary.
He flies away to foreign countries, once in a while, to conduct and participates
in programmes of fine arts. This is his way of relaxing.
Prashanth shows have taken place twice in Malaysia, London and Singapore.
Thereby he has reserved a permanent seat for him in the minds of the Tamilians
who reside in those places. He would be visiting Australia during this month.
Thiyagarajan, father of Prashanth would take his son to the land of Kangaroos.
Knowing the extent of parental care he exercises over his son, one is tempted to
equate Thiagarajan himself to a Kangaroo that fondles it's offspring.
People of Australia are going to envy him, as he would be embracing several
dream girls such as Jothika, Devayani, Ramya Krishnan, Suvalakshmi, Kausalya,
Maheswari and Manthra as he dances along with them at a single stage.
The programme would bear the name, Prashanth Live - in Concept'. As usual, the
programme would have forty dances of Prashanth at a stretch.
When he had been to London last, an aged female fan of his has wondered:
"You are capable of giving so many dance numbers continually on a single
evening! It is simply incredible. I am afraid some people may cast their evil
eyes on you." In addition to saying so, she had the traditional act to
offset the effect of evil eyes also, performed on the stage itself. Prashanth
was moved a lot by this gesture of sentiment by that lady.
The
Social Welfare Department of the Government of India has produced a film called,
'Iniya Udhayam', with Banupriya and 'Thalaivaasal' Vijay as
its lead artistes. K. Rangaraj, whose banner was flying high during the eighties
of last century, has directed the film that would run for two hours.
Formerly, one could locate the notebooks containing the addresses of artistes
and technicians on the tables at the Cinema Companies. But one would see
Parthiban's book of poems, 'Kirukkalgal' embellishing those tables today.
The starting trouble of the picture, 'Ninaikkatha Naalillai' is over now.
There were differences of opinion, initially, between Producer K. Rajan and the
hero, Parthiban. But they have reconciled with each other.
A
segment of Tamil film fans have a reason to worry about. It is long since they
have seen Ajit in a comic role. In case they wait until the next
Deepavali day, their dream would come true. The picture 'New', scheduled to hit
the screens on that day will fulfill the long cherished desire of Ajit fans.
A
song-dance album is being made ready with the title,'Kadhalism', under Meena's
own production and the direction of Pushpavasagan. Vikram would pair with
Meena.
At
last, Roja has heaved a long sign of relief. Maybe, she would be on cloud nine
at this point.
"Hai
Shanthi! How did you spent your Pongal holidays?"
"Don't bother much. It won't be a major, risky surgery this time. Ajit
worked hard restlessly for 'Deena' and 'Citizen'. After finishing Deena he
involved himself seriously with the shoots of 'Poovellan Un Vaasam' directed by
Ezhil. He developed an ache in the back of his neck when he acted along with
Vasundara Dass in a song sequence.
"Quite right, Shanthi! Kalaignar was simply elated as Rajini also stood by
his side when he away the awards. Rajini pinpointed during the course of his
speech who should rule the people in the years to come. His praise seems to have
melted the heart of Kalaignar. As Rajini has made an indirect suggestion in a
government function itself, as to who should rule the state after the coming
elections, the picture has become clear for the Rajini camp as well as the D.M.K
party cadres. Naturally both groups are satisfactory. By the by do you know what
happened when a friend of mine went to see 'Deena'".