All of 2016 I’ve been afflicted by the refrain of ‘what-if-this-movie-were-to-be-made-in-Tamil’. Whenever a new film in Hindi or Malayalam touches superlative heights I turn around and see what ‘dreams may get fulfilled’ and what new stories will get unraveled in my Tamil filmdom. Watching an in-form Aamir Khan in Dangal, I wished I could see Kamal Haasan in this role too! Hassan is possibly the only actor here who has given us the most and the best in terms of ‘variety’ so far for a hero who’s stood his ground three decades and more. He did play a relentless albeit tender-er ‘guru’ in Salangai Oli (1983), where in his mid-30s he took on a middle-aged role way back in 1983.
But Aamir today has triumphed our every other actor’s trajectory with his Mahavir Singh Phogat which is not just a physical or emotional challenge for him as an actor, but also a risqué adventure for his star-status (the simpler word for that being ‘image’). Unmindful of that risk to his ‘market’ but mindful of not letting such a solid script go away from him, Aamir Khan has set standards, which if I’m an actor who is a peer, I would be supremely eager to match.
So what stops actors in Tamil to take on scripts which may not eulogise them and which are purely content driven? While box-office is a factor, what happens to the craft? Dangal is as mainstream as it can get, and with Sultan for Salman and Raees for Shah Rukh, Hindi cinema seems to be in no rush to pander to image-expectations, instead the heroes there defy norms and are setting newer benchmarks.
Is it us fans who want to see only whistle-worthy hero entries and mindless been-there-done-that scenes? Will a Pink, Dear Zindagi, Udta Punjab and Dangal be ‘lost’ on us? Do we always have to concede and look in the direction of just one Bala, one Vetrimaran, one Mani Ratnam, one Karthik Subburaj and now one Manikandan to change the game for actors other than Vijay Sethupathi, who has been consistent in selecting scripts of his choice rather than cater to an ‘image’? All films are meant for commercial release and to divide it as A, B and C is a mere ‘division of categories’ so it becomes easier to slot directors and actors and thus decide business numbers.
Numbers apart, hasn’t good content proven to be king many times? So why do our film talents hesitate to progress beyond just an ‘attempt at making different films?’ Why not go all the way? Lucid writing, realistic portrayals and rising above the temptation to merely glorify the central character makes Dangal a milestone in Aamir Khan’s career. Other than Kamal Haasan, actors from whom I expect to see solid films with bolder themes in the new year, include Vikram, Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi and Dhanush.
On second thoughts, don’t you think Ajith can also take on a Dangal-like script where he can carry the whole film on his able shoulders without duets in foreign locations and sending six guys flying in one punch? I loved Vijay in Nanban (2012), Thuppakki (2012), Kaththi (2014) — so how about watching him next year in a film where he plays a hard-to-nail underworld don without having to resort to his usual vilayaadalaama lines?
Why are these mere thoughts in a column and not stories in a script which can get a bold producer, bolder director and a ‘willing-to-shed-his-image-for-good-content’ hero? Add executive producer, distributor and satellite channels with overseas agents to this list so we can complete the ‘chain’ which decides what goes into our films. But mainly as film fans, we also need to applaud more when our favourite heroes reach beyond their comfort zone. Are we willing to do that? The louder our applause, the more courage our directors and heroes will have to give us films which can compete in content and therefore in collection too.
Wish this happens to my beloved Tamil Cinema in 2017.