logo

It was October 2003 when audiences in Thamizhnadu (Tamil Nadu for uninitiated) were swept away by cinematic brilliance of Pithamagan. Personally it was one movie that made me realize that movies need not be all beginnings, middle and endings, not to say that this movie broke any rules of cinematic grammar. There is more to a movie than scripts and lightings. There is more to a movie than locations and sets. A movie can tell more than what its scripts and dialogues on paper. Pithamagan to me is one movie which manages to elevate itself overcoming its shortcomings and the reasons are not just the usual ‘reasons’ like great acting and fabulous cinematography. It is these reasons that I have always wanted to write about and ‘recount’ as a part of my cinema learning experience.

1. Character is the king:

The Story itself is just an excuse for the audience …

Sensationalism of topics apart - Thamizh film director Bala is one who is never tired of chronicling people whom we dont want to notice in our daily life. He takes his audiences into the fringes of our society showing us people who are literally on their fringes. His latest journey is taking him to Kasi and to people whom we never ever care to notice that they exist. He has creatively collaborated for the first time in his career with an author, an eminent thamizh writer Jeyamohan who has written extensively about characters who live in the same street as you and me, but are totally hidden from our ‘normal’ gaze. Sensational aspects of his next project ‘Naan Kadavul’ are detailed in this behindwoods article. Forgive me for the god awful title for this post!!!