Home   Forum   Wiki   Notes   Register   FAQ   Sitemap   About Us   Contact Us  

Death of Tamil identity in Tamil cinema

Topic started by Ramakrishna (@ 209.179.214.237) on Thu Jan 3 22:23:11 EST 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

In the 80's and before, Tamil movies and songs had a flavor that made them unique. But in the 90's, there has been a slow but sure trend in Tamil movies where they have become more and more North-Indianized or even MTVised (if there is such a term).

Songs don't feature south Indian instruments like Nadhaswaram or the mridangham any more. Even the days of rich violin orchestrations of Illayaraja or Viswanathan Ramamurthy are over. Instead, the music has become more techno/pop and were it not for the lyrics, one cannot even recognize a lot of songs as being Indian, let alone Tamil.

Speaking of lyrics, the less said the better. Apart from being nonsensical, the heavy use of English phrases makes one wonder if these lyricists have secret desire to start a career with Motown.

Also why do most dance seqences feature Punjabi attire? Hello, these are supposed to be TAMIL movie about TAMILIANs.

How many times these days does a lead actress wear a saree and has a pottu? I mean, other than in Vijayakanth films.

Even other things insignificant ranging from background score to rolling credits at the end are blindly copied from Hollywood.

For me in my youth, a major portion of my cultural exposure to south Indian culture was through Tamil movies. I am afraid the current and future generations may not have that opportunity. Instead they would be stuck with watching dubbed Hindi movies because that is what Tamil movies these days essentially are.

I am not a Hindi basher but it is sad that regional language films are losing their identities to this relentless MTVisation.

---

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.131) on: Sat Jan 5 00:56:25 EST 2002
  
  >>Do the lyrics haunt you long after the song has passed into another era (which is like 4 weeks these days)?<<
  
  How wud u know Naaz, if u don't even listen to the songs these days? (in ur own words)
  
  
• From: Mr. Observer (@ 64.105.35.163) on: Sat Jan 5 01:03:27 EST 2002
  
  Kupps, I do agree with you. IMO, technology should be used to reduce the clerical work that accompanies getting a song recorded. Our MDs should use the multitrack system to come up with the kind of orchestration never experienced before. The existing "punch in" system for singers certainly can produce quality output and one can only hope that the singers do not tend to depend on it.
  Yes, cinema music being what it is, accomodates everything, some to your liking and some not. Being a medium that can generate loads of money, the natural tendency for a producer/distributor is to gain as much audience coverage as possible. That is, getting as many people to atleast hum the song as possible. This musically degenerating trait has its origin in the production costs soaring and hence the need to play it safe. There is no point in flogging our happless MDs, the problem lies elsewhere.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 156.153.255.126) on: Sat Jan 5 02:06:21 EST 2002
  
  WhyNot,
  
  I think the words Whereas that technology has to be avoided which impedes in personal creativity by giving its own creativity paved the way for assuming them literally. I too understand that Technology doesn't think of its own. In those statements the phrase "Creativity of Technology" should be taken as, the input(ofcourse a programmed output using the stored data collected from elsewhere and everywhere) from the technology that makes an artist(e) to depend on it in his/her creative output(Please note that here im not question the ability, im questioning the showing of the ability).
  
  Let me explain my point with an example.
  Assume that I know how and what to do to change a punctured car tyres. Now that:
  
  1) I have jockey, spanners to replace car tyres.
  2) I also have the ability to do everything by my bare hands and legs.
  3) I also I also have a machine that could automatically change a punctured tyre.
  
  Now given such a situation.
  
  If I swiftly change a punctured tyre of my car by using only those jockey, spanners etc then im a skilled worker who showed my skill on that situation.
  
  If I did the same thing in same switfy manner just with my bare hands(to skrew and unskrew nuts and bolts) and legs (using legs as jockey just like "chiththappa" did in "sooryan"), then I am a GREAT skilled worker, call me a Macho or Genius if you want ;-)
  
  On the other hand, if I just pulled in the machine from the dikkie(misspelt?) and placed it before the punctured tyre switching on appropriate levers and feeding appropriate angles etc so that the machine lifts the car; then appropriately feeding data like the diameter of skrews to be unskrewed and enabling the machine to unskrew them; then bringing in the stepney(missplet?) and placing it on appropriate holder of the machine and switching the machine to change the tyre by giving values for the necessary parameters like torque, force etc and re-doing it till the perfect fit for my car's anatomy, doesn't show that I'm a skilled labourer, even if I completed the task in swifty manner as I did in earlier ways. However it does show that I'm a trained person; I might have known a lot more information than my earlier incarnations. But still I have not displayed my ability of being a skilled labourer.
  
  Now the question is - do we want a person to be a skilled labourer and show that ability? If so then the statement "using of automatic machine in changing tyre doesn't show one's skill" has some valid point in it.
  
  I considered(yeah!IMHO only), being a MD is similar to showing ones ability of being a skilled worker. You may use your bare hands; you may even use spanners (spanners don't automatically skrew or unskrew nuts and they don't automatically "apply" then necessary torques/forces); sometime you may use others help also, but not very frequently or always.
  
  Hope I have complicated my point, more.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Jan 5 02:09:20 EST 2002
  
  WhyNot -
  
  Maybe, you should try to address the other things I tried to highlight in the above posting. Why deliberately take things out of context? If that single phrase (which I am sure is close to the truth - Who talks about the "Indian" tunes in 2002?
  Isn't that a case in point?)is all you could distill from my posting then maybe, just maybe, I am barking up the wrong tree.
  
  
  (Although I did say that I stopped listening to TFM after "Indian" - I also said I don't listen to "much" TFM i.e. everything that is hyped/released these days - so there was a qualifier to that previous statement...So if you really want use my words against me, use "all" my words - in their entirety - not just those which are convenient to your spurious purposes.)
  
  Now,if you'll excuse me, I have to go throw my clothes into the dryer. Ah! Technology!
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ 64.126.84.100) on: Sat Jan 5 02:25:46 EST 2002
  
  Kupps: In all the 3 examples of tire replacements, you have still managed to show some amount of skill and expertise (on the part of the MD). But today's MDs (at least a few of them) restrict their skills to merely calling a towing service and get their tires replaced by the Goodyear/NTB/Firestones of the world. There is no skill or creativity involved in that :-)
  
  
• From: Kupps (@ 156.153.255.126) on: Sat Jan 5 03:16:39 EST 2002
  
  :-)))
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Jan 5 03:25:21 EST 2002
  
  rajaG, that's a clever way of saying most current music falls "flat" and that quickfix mechanics/gadgets are the equivalent of quickfix musicians (or the musictowingservice). Good one!
  :-))
  
  
• From: Mr. Observer (@ 64.105.35.163) on: Sat Jan 5 03:59:55 EST 2002
  
  rajaG, iththana nAL engE pOyirunthEL ?
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.137) on: Sat Jan 5 04:04:38 EST 2002
  
  >>But today's MDs (at least a few of them) restrict their skills to merely calling a towing service<<
  Hmmm...i was pondering over that statement to relate it with today's mds.
  
  The way I see it, a towing service means getting someone else (who has the skills) to do the job. The towing service is going to fix the problem with the same number of options as kupps laid out..hence, the towing service can't be related with the quickfix mechanics/gadgets. The towing service is a fourth option, which in itself may use any of the first 3 options described. Which means, the mds must have access to another qualified md around to fix up the problems for them and let them take the credit still.
  
  rajaG, naughty naughty you... u r not implying that the 'raja' brothers turn to Big Daddy for quickfix help whenever they r stuck, r U? ;-)))
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.137) on: Sat Jan 5 04:17:07 EST 2002
  
  >>Maybe, you should try to address the other things I tried to highlight in the above posting. Why deliberately take things out of context?<<
  Dear Naaz,
  I addressed the thing in ur posting that caught my attention, and i believe i'm entitled to address anything i'm interested in, rn't I? (i'm sorry, if that wasn't ur fave issue, but it was still within ur post)
  There's no qn of me taking anything out of context, as it is pretty straightforward. U said point blank u stopped listening to tfm after Indian (and it's been more than half a decade since its release) and went on to criticise today's music...which obviously made me wonder...pardon my curious brain.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Jan 5 11:17:34 EST 2002
  
  Yes, you are entitled to address anything you choose. Your choice was quite revealing is all I can say - particularly, when you consider all the other relevant (IMO, of course) criteria I listed in that two-para long posting. I tried to do justice to the original question - and yes, my involvement in current music is scanty - but not non-existent. I still possess a good understanding of the TFM industry to talk about it "informedly."
  
  I appreciate your curious brain. But curiosity, just on its own, does not necessarily translate into intelligence. I am sure you are well aware of that too.
  
  
• From: WhyNot (@ 203.24.100.137) on: Sat Jan 5 11:33:24 EST 2002
  
  >>I appreciate your curious brain. But curiosity, just on its own, does not necessarily translate into intelligence. I am sure you are well aware of that too.<<
  
  Ah Naaz, u don't have to appreciate my brain or any other aspect of me (don't feel so obliged).
  Intelligence? Did I make any pretences of being intelligent or informed? I'm just an ordinary gal with very ordinary thoughts (not exactly scholar material ;-)) And I do not expect u to make any pronouncements on my intelligence (and i'm sure u won't like it if i did that to u either), as I am already well aware of where i stand in that domain.
  
  >>Your choice was quite revealing is all I can say<<
  Your intense dislike of my choice is also pretty revealing, I shud say.
  
  
• From: Naaz (@ 24.76.127.63) on: Sat Jan 5 11:40:00 EST 2002
  
  I applaud your self-awareness. Bravo!
  
  

---

List all pages of this thread

Post comments