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A complete movie - Hey Ram

Topic started by musicfan (@ 12.32.197.131) on Mon Nov 11 20:17:11 EST 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I discovered Hey Ram all over again a few days back. I believe it should rank as one of those rare "complete movies".It has brilliant music..I mean not the music that is churned out of electronic instruments these days by all MDs(all..includes YSR,VS,HJ and ARR)..Hey Ram is in its own league..with music that makes sense..each song has soo much significance and depth.The synthesis of mantras and carnatic classical with pure melody is a treat.And the background music for this movie is as good as it can really get..The movie has so much of depth(I am a vociferous critic of KamalHassan..and I have appreciated very few of his works- Nayagan, Devar Magan,Sathi Leelavathi..Michael--,Apoorva..are probably those I liked a lot)..but this movie..is a revelation.
If only more directors and music directors got together to create..not just movies..but sheer poetry for the viewer..
I thought Kannathil Muthamittal was an attempt in that direction..although it pales in comparison to Hey Ram..
Are there any others that rank up to Hey Ram ??

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Responses:

• From: musicfan (@ 12.32.197.131) on: Mon Nov 11 20:20:09 EST 2002
  
  I forgot to mention that..Vaaranam Ayiram is a brilliant synthesis of a pure romantic song with traditional chants interspersed to deliver a true gem..and "Nee Paarth Paarvai"..is a lesson in how two voices should be modulated and merged to produce a song that is as close to perfect as it can get..
  
  
• From: OISG (@ 193.188.97.152) on: Tue Nov 12 00:31:46 EST 2002
  
  When you talk of "Complete" Kamal s movies Devar Magan and Kurudhi Punal certainly come ahead of others.KP since being a remake has to take a II position.
  
  DM had it all, a good story line,a tight script,brilliant acting by the entire cast,very good music ,perfect nativity and above all the audience could directly relate to the movie.You see even its remake was decent and it too appealed to the audience and gained critical accalim as well.
  
  I think Hey Ram fails in many areas like story line ,script etc.(Though Atul K was brilliant in his portrayal ,a heavily made up Nasiruddin was a pale shadow of even Ben kinglsy ..leave alone the great soul)The story loosely borrowed from Ra.Su.Nallaperumal s epic "Kallukul eeram" remains a "Loose story line" till the end.The transformations were enacted well but since the incidents leading them weren t tight the whole effort went waste.
  
  Another point was the appaling use of Grphics in a period movie.It was really a surpise from Kamal since the whole "Time"factor went for a six.The graphics should have been used subtly like say ..Forrest Gump.(no colonial hangover this one is!)
  
  On the music DM was brilliant and effectively captured the nativity.The Techno-beats in "Ramar Ananalum" will remain unexplainable.The lyrics were another let down.A Waltz with WCM arrangement would have elevated atleast that song sequence.I would still feel the "Marathi/Lavani" feel was missing in the songs and scenes when you had both "Amchi" Gokhale and Kulkarni around.
  
  The steamy scenes with Rani and Vasundhara were actually weakening the script.
  
  Kamal till the end made the same mistake which he complains all the Hindi movies of.He never had the idea as to who would be the end audience.I watched this movie first in Hindi in East Africa.Except me rest of the audience were all Hindi speaking.To them you tell Hamsanadham,Reeti Gowlai etc is like digging a well in Saudi to explore Gingely oil.But the steamy sequences (Kamaal ka aadmi hai yaar tumara Kamal Hassan) and Hindu backlashes (Sahi bola!Marna chahiye un logon ko) ALONE were received well!
  
  
• From: Vj (@ 61.11.80.32) on: Tue Nov 12 01:16:09 EST 2002
  
  OISG.. good review that.
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 156.153.255.134) on: Tue Nov 12 03:04:00 EST 2002
  
  "The Techno-beats in Ramar Ananalum will remain unexplainable."
  -Couldn't agree any more with you. Yeah! why the techno beats?
  
  
  "The lyrics were another let down."
  -Could be due to lyrics for lip movement(thamizh to thamizh dubbing, interestingly).
  
  
  
• From: Aalavandhan (@ 203.106.188.50) on: Tue Nov 12 05:00:25 EST 2002
  
  ".It has brilliant music..I mean not the music that is churned out of electronic instruments these days by all MDs(all..includes YSR,VS,HJ and ARR)..
  
  Strange to use HeyRam as an example AGAINST electronic instruments - what with its Ramaraanaalum and Raam Raam songs! :)
  IR was at his royal best in the 80s. The 90s are simply an excuse for his music. Hey Ram is nowhere as good as the wonderful music he churned out in his glorious past. The technical brilliance of HeyRam and the music wizardry of IR of the 80s could have made a strong contention for THE movie.
  
  As for Hey Raam the movie, it did have its shortcomings. Mostly it appeared like a vehicle for Kamal with almost every scene in the movie dominated by him.
  Anyway, Kamal is striving to improve in each movie. Technically Aalavandhan was superior to Hey Ram.
  
  As for the BGM, I thought it was brilliant although certain people (especially those influenced by Holywood movies) didn't think so.
  Well, each to his own. :)
  
  
• From: Are Yaar (@ 203.197.141.186) on: Tue Nov 12 05:27:11 EST 2002
  
  Songs were let down in Hey Ram. But it had one of the Best BGMs ever in Indian Film Industry.
  
  I saw the movie in Devi threatre which one 1/4th full.
  
  
• From: Ponniyinselvan (@ 203.200.30.4) on: Tue Nov 12 06:57:30 EST 2002
  
  I feel Hey Ram is not that good as people say it is. Most of the final scenes are from 'Freedom at Midnight' by Dominiquue Lapierre. The only scenes kamal added are the ones concerning Rani & Vasundra, which we all know were very much unneccessary to the story.
  
  
• From: OISG (@ 193.188.97.152) on: Tue Nov 12 07:08:52 EST 2002
  
  Aalavandhan
  
  Yes,I missed the incongruity.You got it right!
  
  Hey Ram would fall in the category of films like Raja parvai,Guna,Nayagan.These movies were showcases of Kamal s efforts as an actor and his strained perfections.But Thevar Magan was much beyond a movie.The homework was immaculate.From PC Sriram,IR to Kanthimathi and Kallapart Natarajan the understanding of the depth of the script was perfect.In Hey Ram Rani ,Hema and even Kallu mama s comprehension of the script was short of requirement.
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 156.153.255.134) on: Tue Nov 12 07:55:34 EST 2002
  
  OISG a small correction
  
  i guess u r talking about the paralytic attacked kamal's uncle. if so, its 'kaakka' raadhakrishnan not 'kaLLappart' natrajan.
  
  
• From: Speaker (@ 202.156.2.219) on: Tue Nov 12 07:58:42 EST 2002
  
  Songs in Hey Ram is good. I pick is Nee paartha. Also remember IR was constrained by already shot songs with constrained lips and timing for interludes. With all constrained IR has done wonders. I do not call it a complete movie just because of Kamal. IMO.
  
  
• From: Vel (@ 202.88.152.159) on: Tue Nov 12 08:13:01 EST 2002
  
  OISG,
  
  The steamy scenes with Rani & Vasundhra were not placed for "masala" as most people thought. It was a subtle directorial technique to tell people that the personality in the film "SAKETH RAM" had undergone a transition in psyche. If you had watched, when he is with RANI MUKHERJEE, he begs for a kiss, while with VASUNDHRA, he is dominant.
  
  The movie infact draws parallel to epic RAMAYANA stunningly. Thats probably why kamal's character was named "RAM". [And thats why he also lies to delhi Ganesh that SHAHRUKH KHAN is actually his brother, and names him BHARATH, drawing parallel to RAMAYAN]
  
  The hero SAKETH RAM has two distinct parts. First, the soft spoken romantic youth (drawing parallel with soft LORD RAM pairing with SITA in Ramayan).
  
  The second one is the MILITANT SAKETH RAM, his "animal side" fully awakened. This is why, the director KAMAL places the "KILLING OF RAVANA" (RAVAN VADH CELEBRATIONS)scene before he carries away vasundhara to their first post-nupital fling. He has turned militant & forceful, a completely new person who he himself does not recognize & fully identifies with(Remember the scene wherein he goes to his old home, and tells the tenant there," Saketh Ram enakku oru nalla friend. Ippo kaanom. Enge irukkarnnu theriyale..").
  
  Its a far better product than ALAVANDHAAN. Its just that subtle way of narrating a story has probably become a lost art in TFM. I saw glimpses of that talent in THANGAR BACHAAN'S AZHAGI.
  
  The movie HEY RAM is a study material in IOWA UNIVERSITY. In fact, ilaiyaraaja said," Kamal's HEYRAM had impeccable screenplay. Whatever he had written in the script that was shown to me, was perfectly shot in the film, making my BGM job easier. There was not single addition or deletion in what was written down earlier while preparing the script. Only a few directors reach that perfection."
  
  
• From: Karthik (@ 192.147.58.6) on: Tue Nov 12 09:23:36 EST 2002
  
  Good analysis Vel.
  
  I personally feel, the songs are extraordinary with good lyrics. IR has never changed and composes same like in 80's or 90's. But people like Are Yaar after listening to ARR like composition, expect the same style of music from IR...which is idiotic.
  
  
• From: Karthik (@ 192.147.58.6) on: Tue Nov 12 09:26:52 EST 2002
  
  same applies to Aalavandhan too...hmm
  
  
• From: s0 (@ 163.181.250.2) on: Tue Nov 12 09:28:52 EST 2002
  
  Are Yaar & Aalavandhaan: I am surprised to hear that you think the songs were a let down. each to his own, but I definitely thought Hey Ram was too blatantly good not to reach a consensus.
  
  IMO, the songs (other than Raamar Aanaalum), the orchestration.. were AWESOME and that would be an understatement. also considering that IR was just a replacement MD, Hey Ram was an amazing effort and a testimony to his genius.
  
  Songs like Isaiyil Thodangudhamma, the haunting Nee Paartha & its mesmerising prelude, the fusion of different styles soaked with twist & turns in emotions in Polladha Madhana Baanam and its grand mini-symphonic ending, the adrenalin charged title song...
  I wouldn't call it a let down if I hadn't been expecting more.
  Vel: nice analysis. HR did have a lot of symbolism in it. unfortunately, the mainstream audience didn't grasp it and created a needless controversy.
  I feel Salangai Oli is the best work of Kamal yet.
  
  
• From: Mumbai Ramki (@ 203.197.24.195) on: Tue Nov 12 10:01:48 EST 2002
  
  First of all the beats used in RAMRANAULM were not synthetic ,they are simple ..Similar kind of betas were used in " hello mister " in IRUVAR .....We have a mental block that Period Movies should have soft songs with no beats ..I don't think so ....!!!!!
  
  ANother thing is that the songs perfectly fitted into the movie exactly .......This is very very important for a movie ....EVry song was used to expres some idea
  
  BGM was great in that movie ,right from Western classical music to carnatic ,it had a great bandwidth !!!!
  
  WHich song can be greater than Nee Partha while trying to describe nostaglia!!!!
  
  I will definetly say HEYRAM Musical is perfect ..However i doubt if the same can be said of the Movie ...
  1.The Movie showed excellently how a mind changes based on the events that happens in one's life ,but i feel miserably when it tries to explain Saket Ram's conversion to ghandhism ......
  2.The tamil spoken by Sharukh khan is miserable ..They should have opted for dubbing .Whats the use in live recording in this case when some one cannot speak tamil well??This was a major let down !!!!!But Live Recording has helped in many other scenes .
  3.the absence of sub titles is another one .It may be natural to have a marathi speaking marathi ,but how can a tamilain understand it ..???
  
  
• From: musicfan (@ 12.32.197.131) on: Tue Nov 12 10:24:55 EST 2002
  
  WEll, the thread I had started has generated quite a lot of interesting things ..
  Well, I guess I should make my position clear here. For one, Hey Ram has its share of flaws..and by calling it a complete movie..I do not say its a perfect movie. Movie, as a medium needs to have its flaws so that there is always scope for improvement and correction.
  While the graphics segments in Hey Ram, could be termed as excessive at times, what needs to be the focus here is that, it was an attempt. And a new one at that. Using symbolism is a way of expressing complex issues in a simpler manner.
  I still remember the scene in Sindhu Bhairavi where KB shows a shawl/saree sliding off a veena to symbolise, the consummation of Suhasini and Sivakumar. Hey Ram uses a latest technique to do effectively the same. Symbolize the fact that, Saketh Ram has transformed and his transformation is complete with him imagining his wife not as a means of pleasure, but as a tool to bring out the till-now dormant animal in him..
  Also, I personally feel, that the use of many languages, though not clear at times, serves the greater good..namely trying to make a more authentic movie that does not succumb to trivial pressures like most movies do..every cop in Delhi/Bombay or anywhere somehow speaks tamil. Every politician in tami lmovie, ptresident or PM speaks tamil. But Hey Ram doesnt pander to that thought..which is why even though it tends to jar the continuity of the dialogue, the originality and authenticity is not compromised.
  I do nto claim at any point that Hey Ram is a completely original venture.It does borrow heavily from a few sources, but not to the extent of the viewer getting a sense of deja 'vu that he has seen it all before.
  The whole idea of tying together a completely fictitious story of Saketh Ram to the various stages of India's freedom struggle and beyond..is different. Its like seeing Forrest Gump. You see India's evolution through the eyes of the protagonist.
  It takes a great deal of courage and effort to make any movie that has history as a part of it and if its the independence era..ur in very sticky ground.One in 100 manage to capture the true spirit of the era without compromising on the director's ideologies.Hey Ram..was an attempt to change the course of tamil cinema..it flopped..and we are left to making movies like Gemini and Youth..the hits of the year..Think about it..
  With Alavandhan, Kamal crosses the thin line between class and "voyeurism and an egoistic ride".It blew on the face. Hey Ram was a drive down India's past..Alavandhan was more of a sex romp. Devar Magan..does serve a lot of food for thought..with the idea of one's family coming to haunt his beliefs and..there too the music by IRR was very apt for the rural milieu.
  I think, Kamal Hassan did a big mistake by ending his collaboration with IR. The recent works of Kamal have not managed to generate the kind of classy appeal in terms of music as older ones did. Panchatantiram, Thenali,Alavandhaan, and Pammal were extremely disappointing music wise..
  Salangai Oli was again..brilliant..sadly, I could not appreciate the movie completely due to my discomfort with the dubbing. The songs were as good as it could get..and I think the Geetha-Kamal dance song for the movie producer(Vaan Pole Vannam)..stands a testimony to where we are today..
  
  

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