Subramaniapuram – Devastating Cinema
Print“The crime rate for TN ranks it sixth on a national table of cognizable crime, but Chennai’s rate ensures that the metro is ranked a creditable 24th among 35 major cities in the country. Coimbatore stands at the 22nd position and Madurai at the 30th.â€
“MADURAI: A suspected case of ‘honour killing’ has been reported in the death of a caste Hindu girl near Nilakottai in Dindigul district.â€
“For Tamil films, from the days of MGR and Sivaji, Madurai has always been their biggest and most prestigious market.
The collections in this rural bastion for big hero films are amazing. Later, the son-of-the-soil, Bharathiraaja, made his rural dramas (Remember “16 Vayathinile”? ) in interior Madurai villages, which created a new niche market for Tamil films.â€
Madurai Veeran was a film my father had shown me during the VCR days. Nadodi Mannan and this were one of his favorite MGR films. I saw it only for the sword fights. They were a treat then.
Later Kamal Hassan and Sivaji Ganesan came together in a film which was an unforgettable experience. The sight of Kamal walking….howling…crying that the animal in him had woken up after he had beheaded the one who was responsible for waking that animal in him. Thevar Magan…..
Then a relatively unknown actor for me….Napoleon…gave a surprisingly stellar performance in a film called Seevalaperipandi.
Something was common here. Something all these films screamed out loud. Blood boils in Madurai……where the sword is the pen and blood is ink. The twirl of the mustache and the razor sharp gaze in the eyes defined the veeran or the brave heart of the land.
The past few years since the advent of Bala we witnessed a spate of these bloody stories splattered on celluloid. Sethu, Nanda (set in Rameshwaram), Pithamagan, Paruthiveeran, Virumandi and Subramaniapuram. The Madurai Veeran had grown bigger, stronger, more ruthless than the biggest of cine Gods……MGR. The Madurai Veeran I remember as a kid who smiled and did some harmless sword maneuvers had now resorted to chopping heads and digging the gut out.
Just out of a screening of Subramaniapuram with the shy and unassuming Sasikumar the writer, producer and director and his DOP Kathiir.
What is common to the other films mentioned above is the stunned silence and the orderly fashion in which the audience comes out as the end credits roll. Devastating is the word that comes to mind after a few lumps in the throat and sweat on the brow.
A period film set in the 80s on a shoestring budget with newcomers. A group of ruffians who only lived to drink and brawl. Neither they cared about their lives nor of others. A very very simple dictate they followed “Have a knife…will stab….â€
Subramaniapuram take us thru the lives of these veerans in 1980. Where they swore of friendship, love and loyalty. Loved each other enough to shed blood….their own and each others.
A montage of sorts welcomes you into their lives. A banter here and there…..a couple of brawls…a few visits to the police station….a budding romance….where one just looked at each other walking or cycling thru the narrow lanes…..a shy glance……a coy smile….great music.
Bus Stops and Tea shops were the spots where love bloomed. Unspoken yet endearing.
A political rivalry and a manipulative mind catapults their life into a bloody mess which leads to mutilated bodies spewed all around and vengeance in their heart. What follows is a gritty……unabashedly violent ballet which leaves you with what I started describing the film as….devastated.
Detailed art work, authentic locations, solid performances and some deft camerawork….This episode in Madurai Veeran’s life is a must watch for all those who still have not and for those who have just started reading PFC and the articles on Subramaniapuram have vanished somewhere in the archives.
Maybe here I have rekindled the same topic for the nth time…..but what the hell….am still reeling under the aftermath of having seen it for the first time on the big screen.
BRAVO SASIKUMAR!!!!!!! Take a bow…….
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Varma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Hats off VB! What a post! Sasikumar would have been proud.
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Fantastic post buddy..but can we have a post on what made this movie tick really
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Go Vasan Go! We are with you! “Subramaniapuram” and “Auto M” rulez!
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Brilliant post Vasan,makes me want to see the movie once again.
Indraneel- will elaborate on what made the movie tick, in case Vasan doesnt do it.
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vasan : just out of a screening ?? u saw it now?
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Vijay – have seen it on DVD…..first time on the big screen…..happy to see it with the director
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good post. according to me tamil new wave cinema was kickstarted by Barathi raaja through “16 Vayathinilae”. There has been a lot of talent coming from Madurai-Theni-Dindigul districts over the years,
illayaraaja
bharathiraaja
Baala
Aamir
Sasikumar
Balaji Sakthivel
Cheran……and a slew of raw actors…………. all have taken forward the unpublisiced new wave movement.
When Paruthiveeran released the new wave reached a cresendo.
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good post VB!
Subramaniapuram was the first movie for me with no protagonists – just folks who willingly participated in a violent ballet of bloodbath and met their ends.
While we laud Subramaniapuram, we should also note and congrat the audience of thamizh nadu – who despite their not so good manners in the movie halls, have made this one and some totally way off beat movies grand successes.
By making this movie and the movies like Paruththiveeran, Sethu, Nandha, Pithamagan all successes, Thamizh film audiences have confused Trade analysts and pundits completely. With commercial capers that came with ‘Hit’ label written all over them like Villu, Aegan biting the dust and unconventional movies succeeding, is Thamizh Nadu slowly becoming kerala of the glorious 70s and 80s when it comes to making ‘offbeat’ as ‘mainstream’?
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Dear Vasan
Great Post…..really loved the movie. Was happy when I read director Sasi kumars favourite movie was THAZVARAM a great malayalam movie.
But feels sad when I see the kinds of Malyalam movies that releases oflate. Beleive me they are simply pathetic.
Malayalam industry needs directors like Sasi kumar.
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Needless to say, awesome post!
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Dear Vasan
I always wait for wish for some quality cinema from down south nnn and subraniapuram did not disappoint me ,,,,its awesome m basically from MUMBAI who was brought up in TAMILIAN LOCALITY!!1
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HS – am a matunga boy
which TAMILIAN LOCALITY are u from?????
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good post vasanjee.
the film was OUTSTANDING! Want to congratulate Sasikumar and Kathir on making such a wonderful film. I’m definately buying the dvd whenever it comes out.
And finally want to thank Anurag for having the screening and inviting me.
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loved the very much..
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Vasu Anna, a doubt. Were the violent sections pruned for Kerala audience? I read somewhere. Every review praised the kind of perfection in the screenplay. But, when I watched it in a big theatre nearly a month after its release, found the 2nd half unduly cut. The girl simply vanished after hero’s death.
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@Gattu,
It is not necessary to say what happens to each and every charecter of any film at the end… Sasi planned for a open end for Tulasi, which the audience could easily understand that nothing in her life hereafter will be a living experience, she is mentally dead though she is alive… and as for as Sasi as a script writter, he felt it is dummkaan, the handicapped guy is the hero of the film.
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@Gattu,
Also, it was the same film that was screened in Tamilnadu also, no any kerala version types…
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Thanks Kathir, I understand that some characters vanish from the story unexplained.
I just asked because I felt climax in a jiffy.
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@ Kathir – when is Sasi going to blog?
I have some questions on that ‘long walk’ scene and the characterisation of thulasi’s ‘periappa’ or the eldest of the three brothers who bring upon the havoc. his characterisation was very sophisticated, real and intelligent. Who is the actor who plays that role and convey him my regards for etching the most ‘non-descript’ yet powerful role – that almost goes unnoticed – much like the character he played – a sly character with noble image – but the big boss of the family.
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Coming in late..no access to internet..few words..devastating post and a devastating movie…
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seems like as tho the blood and gore is what is devastating…pretty voyeuristic it sounds then..wish you could have elaborated more…
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@Arthi,
There has been a post by DPac earlier
http://passionforcinema.com/reco-of-the-month-subramaniyapuram-2008/
You might want to check this one out for more details.
The blood and gore are there – but this movie tries to go in deeper into the psyche through the eyes of some characters. Have you seen the movie?
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@Arthi – I forgot – you have indeed read that post too.
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@jai,
i’ve asked sasi to blog, he is quite commited to his dubbing for “Naadodigal”, and also in his next films screenplay writting. Will get soon, i think. Back to Subramaniyapuram, the ‘periappa’ charecter was actually a non actor, and he is a professor working in dindigul, near madhurai. He doesnt know that his charecter will have a serious negative shade in the film till it got released, and after release only, many artists in the film realised what they are in the film, just because the way sasi got the work done with their scenes. No one in the film were been told the story, right from Jai, Swathy, Samuthirakani, Karuppu..all… Sasi used to explain only the scene to be shot on everyday… thats it… and make corrections according to how he wanted… and the scenes were shot almost on order of the film order…it was a different experience to work with Sasi!
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Arthi the post is about the Madurai Veeran. A figure who has been showcased in Tamil Cinema for over 5 decades…..From MGR to Vikram (Dhool)
Exploited both in the commercial and the artistic format….
“Kuruva Meesai Aruva Parvai…”
It’s with the advent of Bharathan with Thevar Magan and Dharani with Dhool that actually made it clear….. whatever version….Madurai Veeran is here to stay…..
The mythical action figure is still a big draw in tamil cinema…..
The post was just reflecting the changes in his potrayal….
and finally the way he is shown in Subramaniapuram…..its devastating…
And as I had mentioned….Subramaniapuram has been discussed several times….I was just bringing it back to the surface.
Dpac has written much more on the film….
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@vasanbala
Nice post.
I saw this movie in theatre and loved it a lot. But in climax, where sasi kills the villain in an auto…tat is really gory and d audience started to clap and whistle.. ooff.. I could not digest that reaction….
Contrastingly, In Anjathee, They mixed a soorow bgm even for the villain’s death… which I liked very much…..
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