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| "Kamal’s
Viewpoint of Terrorism" |
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| By
Behindwoods Visitor Ramachandran
Pranavan |
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| The
views expressed in this column is that of
the visitor. Behindwoods.com doesn't hold
responsible for its content. |
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| Very
rarely does a Tamil movie make
me sit up straight and gaze
in awe at the big screen. When
the actors live the characters
and the technical aspects do
not stand out, but, rather support
the screenplay which moves with
such an incredible pace as it
happened in UPO, I knew I had
witnessed a milestone in Tamil
Cinema. And, if we, the Tamil
Cinema audience (who appreciate
quality movies) have mainly
one man to thank for, it is
none other than the one who
celebrates his golden year in
the film industry, Mr. Kamal
Haasan.
This is neither a movie review
nor an appreciatory message
on Mr. Haasan, but my thoughts
on the movie and a few issues
that seem to crop up in some
of the reviews for UPO.
Kamal as a “Common
Man”
Some people find it
hard to differentiate Kamal
Haasan the movie star and Kamal
Haasan the versatile actor.
If you understand Kamal Haasan
as an actor, you should be prepared
to get whatever he throws at
you. There have been so many
characters from “Kalyana
Raman” to “Dasavatharam”,
where he has portrayed a range
of characters in all walks of
life. If you had taken that
in mind into the movie theatre,
you may not have been imbued
with his “star value”.
I deliberately wrote that within
quotes, because I believe (my
opinion) the great characters
we have witnessed on-screen
were rather common men (in movie
terms, character actors) than
leading men. One of the greatest
Hollywood examples would be
“Travis Bickle”
played by Robert De Niro in
the “Taxi Driver (1976)”.
Travis as Kamal Haasan’s
character in UPO has his own
sense of justice. He metes out
justice as he sees fit. |
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Kamal’s Viewpoint of Terrorism
It is best that we do not assume that the
“Common Man’s” viewpoint
of terrorism in UPO is that of Kamal Haasan.
Would we as the good people of this earth,
want “instant justice” like
“2-minute-noodles”? It would
not be surprising to see many people divided
over this issue. We have seen many movies
where the protagonists fight the evil almost
single-handedly and save the damsel in distress
at the end of the day and ride into the
sunset. Is the “Common Man”
in UPO a protagonist? Has he triumphed over
evil at the end of the day? I believe the
answer to both questions to be a firm “NO”.
The common man walks the fine line between
the good and the bad (as we the good people
like to call the “necessary evil”).
As a common man he has seen the governments
play games with each other (clue: the TV
program “Mush & Bush”) and
red tapes all over when the situation could
have been solved instantly. So, the “Common
Man” of UPO proceeds to decide the
fate of the terrorists.
Kamal & Secularism
Why was one of the terrorists a Hindu? Is
this Kamal again forcing his secularist
issues on the audience? Was Kamal trying
to play it safe? I believe not. When Naseeruddin
Shah played the “Common Man”
in “A Wednesday”, the audience
watched the movie theatres with an instilled
sense of justice as Naseeruddin Shah is
by nature, a Muslim. Unfortunately there
are people, who would see Kamal Haasan (by
birth a Hindu and now an atheist who orchestrates
to kill Muslim terrorists), and will call
him politically incorrect and burn his effigy.
Unnaipol Oruvan works as an “engrossing
thriller” a clichéd review
would say, but as far as I am concerned,
Kamal Haasan has yet again lashed out against
the mundane and ignorant existence of the
common men. Especially his monologue scene
as tears flow from his eyes, we watch like
most people who are unable to do anything
lest we speak out. How much more of evil
must we face before we are pushed over the
edge?
Regards,
Ramachandran Pranavan,
ram_pranavan@hotmail.com
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