Monday, June 18, 2007

AVM's Grudge against Cinema Viewers

Wouldn't know what is AVM's grudge against Tamil Cinema viewers...
Whenever tamil movie industry sees a healthy transition from routine, run in the mill masala movies to meaningful/soulful movies, AVM comes out with from the back door with a ‘mega movie’ with heavy dose of masala thrown in.
In the 80’s, just when tamil audiences were being elevated from the boredom of typical masala to meaningful, world-class movies like Mullum Malarum (Mahendran), 16 Vayathinilayae (Bharathi Raaja) etc., AVM with a vengeance launched not one but two masala movies:- Murrattu Kaalai and Sagalakala vallavan and simultaneously released them, making all the good movies released during that festive season (don’t remember whether its diwali or pongal) suffer. The trend changed and once again, tamil movies were more and more masala filled with pseudo-village subjects like the two getting recreated.
In the 90’s, when there was a healthy change with Bharathi Kannama (Cheran) and Mugavari (Durai) becoming successful hits and when it looked like the tide would change for better, AVM launched Gemini, the mother of all masala movies paving way to cheap gangster movies.
Now, when Bala, Ameer, Vishnuvaradhan, Radhamohan and a galaxy of other thinking directors are churning out excellent, timely, world class movies that are showcased across the globe (Example: Veyil at the Cannes), AVM launches Shivaji changing the trend back to masala and mega budget movies.
Why this fight back with a vengeance on changing the trend, I sincerely dunno.

P.S: I have nothing against AVM and they had produced beautiful, patriotic movies like Naam Iruvar during A.V.Meyyapa Chettiyar’s time. But this unhealthy trend seems to be set in the ‘80s.

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