Home   Forum   Wiki   Notes   Register   FAQ   Sitemap   About Us   Contact Us  

Tamil film industry is more of HYPE than substance

Topic started by Khandekar (@ 203.197.129.33) on Mon Jun 21 17:10:09 EDT 1999.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Tamil film industry is more of hype than substance.Sivaji is touted as a great actor when he is more of overacting than of any real acting.
Rajinikanth is regarded as a superstar.What he does is a few gimmicks!and Illayaraja is considered a genius!when he is nowhere compared to SD and RD Burman.Tamil film industry has to get away with hype and look for some substance.

---

Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Raja Fan (@ spider-wc032.proxy.aol.com) on: Tue Jun 22 23:39:07 EDT 1999
  
  Balaji, your response is modest and appropriate. However i don't find anything wrong with hero worship. It is the most charming quality about Indian film industry and that is the reason we have eternally creative film people like IR, MGR, Sivaji, Amitabh, RDBand so on. Without Hero worship many of our great talents would have become just nine day wonders and lost in the remotest layers of the people's memories. Only this hero worship is going to get us permament fixtures in the horizon of creative arts and sustain people's interest in the arts. This is a point that Khandekar was opposed to but should find it acceptable given the social fabric of India. We need high standards and Indian people are able to sustain the supply with their support and hero worship. Look at ARR, not really a consistent guy, yet the people are giving him the support since he is young and he has got vast potential to be a part of the people' lives.
  
  
• From: pg (@ hqinbh2.ms.com) on: Wed Jun 23 09:31:17 EDT 1999
  
  A person who composes music such as HTNI and NBW and India 24 Hours and his carnatic classical compositions (not classical sounding film compositions) (we shall not discuss the you-know-what here) is not a mere MD - as all HFM MDs were.
  
  Actually this is one reason that IR for all his achievements in FM will always be an underachiever.
  
  
• From: chandy (@ 209.125.83.228) on: Wed Jun 23 10:36:43 EDT 1999
  
  Balaji,
  
  I liked your rebuttal to Khadekhar, and the comparisons your drew between IR and HFM MDs.
  
  I have always felt that TFM personalities never got theie due recoginition at a national level unlike HFM people. When France could recognise Shivaji's talent and honor him with a title, our own people at Delhi recognised it much later. PS, SJ and SPB (to name a few)are as good as Lata, but their recgonition have not been on par. One could cite regional appeal and geography as some reasons, but it is a fact that the recognition has not been on par. IR's case is very similar. It took years for kamalhaasan to get appreciated in North. I'm glad that people like MR and ARR have been able to break this jinx and have taken TF and TFM to a national level. It wont be too late before IR, SJ, SPB and others get their due-recognition in the range of vindhyas.
  chandy
  
  
• From: Raj (@ master.hyd.deshaw.com) on: Wed Jun 23 12:06:50 EDT 1999
  
  Chandy:
  While it is right to say that MR, ARR have had national recognition, I feel that Tamil Music or Tamil culture has not gained recognition through theM. What theyhave done is to play percentages...cater to their wants.
  
  I wouldnt say that what MR or ARR have taken to the northies is representative of Tamil F or Tamil FM. They lack the 'man vasam' of tamilnadu ...I wouldnt read too much into ARR's or MR's national, or for that matter , international recognition.
  
  
• From: kiru (@ surf0004.sybase.com) on: Wed Jun 23 15:17:48 EDT 1999
  
  Raj,
  Absolutely agree with you re: MR and ARR. These people are more commercial than creative (note, I am not saying they are not).
  IR will be an international figure if only the whole Tamil community were little bit more rich and powerful. It all depends whose culture/economy dominates the world. That means we as Tamils should strive to be successful and rich while continuing to support our arts/culture/music.
  Sorry, I am digressing a bit here ...
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ kcecfp02.sprint.com) on: Wed Jun 23 15:55:13 EDT 1999
  
  Raj, Kiru,
  
  Hindi Film Industry, because it caters to a larger segment of the nation, thrives on mediocrity. Even ARR became a hit, NOT through Roja or Thiruda Thiruda, but the stupid Mukkala Mukkabla and ordinary Kuchchi Kuchchi Raakkamma (a bigger hit than the better Kehna hi kyaa). I do not have any respect for any HFM produced after 1980 (after the epoch making entry of Bappi Lahiri - Bengal's kalank). Khandekar's comparison of actors - well the hype about Shammi Kapoor in Hindi Film; Shammi is just veLLai VadivEl, that's all.
  
  Hindi Film world will accept and recognize a talent only if one 'stoops down' to their level in talent and conduct. ARR would, IR will not.
  
  
• From: Raj (@ master.hyd.deshaw.com) on: Wed Jun 23 16:09:11 EDT 1999
  
  Hi uncle!!!Long time no see????
  Uncle hit the nail as usual;-))
  
  
• From: Muralidharan (@ host035.databahnsoft.com) on: Wed Jun 23 16:56:05 EDT 1999
  
  Kiru:
  
  Unga vaaikku sakkarai dhaan podanum. Noothukku nooru unmai!
  
  - Murali
  
  
• From: eden (@ 202.54.71.141) on: Wed Jun 23 23:50:36 EDT 1999
  
  The same RDB (who is elevated above IR by Khandekar here) has reportedly told IR after hearing his Kozhi Koovuthu: `You are 10 years ahead of us'! And it's reported that he has asked IR, why he uses so many tunes (pallavi, saranam, different prelude, ILs, postlude etc) in just one song and wondered people will be running short of tunes shortly!! (probably that has already happened for other MDs now )
  
  And what about the recognition of an international wizard like PM? IR is a genius, no question about that!
  
  
• From: e.hari (@ hud04a01.ml.com) on: Thu Jun 24 09:08:45 EDT 1999
  
  BIG DIGRESSION:
  I think, khandekar was looking for a b
  ait, and as expected, everyone jumped for it. Still, one thing I dont understand is, why RDB is so rated highly?. I have spoken with many northie friends, and they do so, despite accepting his so called inspirations from other sources.
  How many good films did he have?, and how many of them are original, not flicked from western or from his dad's bengali songs?. Though I hate to say that, in what way RDB is different from say bappi lahari or our own deva?. Whenever I hear RDB great songs, only few films are mentioned always. aandhi, caravan, amar prem, khubshurat. More I try to explore his songs, more I am getting disappointed.
  END DIGRESSION
  
  e.hari
  
  
• From: rajaG (@ daecfp01.sprint.com) on: Thu Jun 24 13:00:23 EDT 1999
  
  e.hari,
  
  RDB did start off with a bang, especially with mega hits AND different style through Teesri Manzil, Choote Nawaab, Booth Banglaa, to name a few. He was himself a percussion player and his handling of beats/patterns/congas were innovative to HFM (eventhough he may have used inspired sounds from existing western pop). True - he leveraged a lot out of his father. In fact, I would say that RDB was the pioneer to bring the "formula" percussion heavy songs which were "easy hits" for the Hindi audience. Later, KA (more congas) and LP (Dholok) exploited this 'formula' further. Bappi copied to the level of overkill - this is because, bappi had absolutely no imagination whatsoever in the melody/orchestration department. The curse of formula music is that, it is so easy to compose that anybody and their brother (literally) can do it. Hence the degeneration of HFM into the hands of hoodlums. Don't get me wrong. Individually, some of these MDs may be good musicians (as in performers). But they either do not know how to compose different types of melodies or do not wish to put in any effort to change the formula.
  
  Bottom line, neither RDB nor any MDs after him in HFM can hold a candle to IR, MSV or ARR (in no particular order).
  
  
• From: paalkudi Jayaraman (@ ws-209-201-91-35.icon.com) on: Thu Jun 24 14:48:15 EDT 1999
  
  
  RD Burman has done much more than what DFers are trying to portray. He was extremely creative during the 70s and left a permanent effect on IFM (not specific to HFM).
  
  If RDB asked IR to provide the background music for Red Rose - based on IR's background score for Sivappu Rojakkal- that shows his acknowledgement of IRs' work. I too read about his mentioning IR being years ahead of his time.
  
  I am with Khandekar on his analysis of Sivaji's overacting. Tamil Movies also have the same level of junk output in terms of numbers when compared with other languages. There is no need to get upset if someone says hey you have junk in your backyard, admit it, Just mention that the same amount of junk is distributed in his backyard too.
  
  
  
• From: hari (@ hud04a01.ml.com) on: Thu Jun 24 15:26:10 EDT 1999
  
  jayaraman,
  I agree that people went overboard in defending people eheir favorite heors here, but that is true for any other forum. Have you ever visited RMIM?, there too people go overboard in depending RDBS, KKs and other people ( FYI, there most of the time any discussions about south FM will be interrupted by some stupid post saying like this forum only for hindi music ), Here no one defended sivaji or all other thashy things, unique to our TFM. They are merely questioning the validity of comparing HFM Mds with IR and others.
  
  e.hari
  
  
• From: Sriram Lakshman (@ snfcb702-33.splitrock.net) on: Fri Jun 25 02:06:05 EDT 1999
  
  I agree with Raj and RajaG. MR's quality declined after he started catering to a nation-wide audience. After all, when you get concerned with how a gun-touting Bihari is going to accept your creative pursuits, that is the end of it all.
  
  I am happy that the TFM quality was high till the early nineties and is good now sporadically atleast.HFM beyond '75-'76 (after LP took over from RDB, and later BL took over from LP), can be depressing. The latest brat-pack, NS,A-M,AM,JL are mere pretenders.
  Your comment on actors (after dismissing the sacrilegeous comment on Sivaji) , I have not seen greater stone-faced human beings than Pradeep Kumar, Rajendra Kumar etc.
  
  I guess now, this thread deserves to be relegated to the archives.
  
  
  
• From: Daniel (@ sagramolapc.cc.bellcore.com) on: Fri Jun 25 09:36:15 EDT 1999
  
  BTW, Who is MR ?
  
  
• From: pg (@ hqinbh2.ms.com) on: Fri Jun 25 09:46:04 EDT 1999
  
  "I have not seen greater stone-faced human beings than Pradeep Kumar, Rajendra Kumar etc. "
  
  How about Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol and so on ...
  
  
  
• From: Amit (@ cache1.sntc01.pacbell.net) on: Fri Jun 25 10:45:29 EDT 1999
  
  MR is Mani Ratnam....and how can one say ARR is more commercial than creative...everything he produces is consistently creative...How long can you go on pleasing only to the tamil crowd...to be a good music director, it is vital that you are flexible..
  
  
• From: Raj (@ master.hyd.deshaw.com) on: Fri Jun 25 11:08:07 EDT 1999
  
  flexible, malleable...empaa...indha physics chemistryllam pidikama thaane naane computer paakam odhungiirukkaen.Ippadi adhellam gnabaga paduthi paduthareengalae? Aala vudungappa...indha forum velaiyathavargalin saranalayama maarindirukku;-))
  
  

---

List all pages of this thread

Post comments