Tamil
Cinema has seen its share of
remakes. We’ve had remakes
ranging from copying scenes
from Mission Impossible in En
Swaasa Kaatre, to an entire
movie being remade, like Villu
from Soldier, Aegan from Main
Hoon Na and Kanden Kadhalai
from Jab We Met. What is so
special about these remade movies?
Nothing! The remakes lost their
sheen, and the remakers lost
their touch. There was absolutely
no originality in the way the
screenplay unfolded. Most of
them were scene by scene remakes,
some had poor music. Some even
sloppy comedy. Then what was
that, that made the original
tick? What was the Midas touch
in the original? Unfortunately
that is one question, none of
us, except the original creator,
can answer. Maybe it’s
his/her passion. Maybe pure
luck. But either way, we have
to give them their due.
The other day, I saw this Filipino
movie starring Sarah Geronimo
and John Lloyd Cruz, and fell
in love with it. It is actually
a sequel to another 2008 movie,
starring the same artistes,
known as A Very Special Love.
In fact after watching the sequel,
I watched the prequel too. To
say that I was spell bound is
to say the least.
The story line for ‘You
Changed my Life’ is simple
and without any frills. It continues
from where it left in the prequel.
Miggy wants to marry Laida Magtalas,
and Laida has got a better post
in the same company as Miggy.
So she no longer is together
with Miggy as her assistant.
But they try to make up for
the lost time, as much as possible,
by meeting whenever they can
and talking to each other whenever
possible. Laida Magtalas meets
her old schoolmate, who is secretly
in love with her but never |
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expresses it. He tries every possible step
to get Laida, but realises that Laida is
madly and deeply in love with Miggy. Miggy
is under great pressure to perform, when
he is transferred from his Print Media division
to the Garments division of his brother.
He is ruthless on the employees and soon
they begin to hate him. The tension escalates
and all employees call for a strike. Work
stops and fingers point at Miggy. Laida
stands as Miggy’s support and is with
him in every step. Miggy starts afresh and
soon things are on track. In the final stages
of the story, Laida’s schoolmate,
makes the final sacrifice and takes her
back to Miggy and Miggy and Laida compromise.
Finally Miggy proposes to Laida.
After watching this movie, I was thinking,
what if this movie was remade in Tamil.
How good it would be? Trust me when I say
this. If this movie is remade as it is,
it will be a worse flop than Villu and Aegan
put together. It requires a number of changes
to be made to screenplay. First, let us
decide the cast.
As Laida Magtalas – As the cheerful,
bubbly girl, who is madly in love and as
the emotional, yet balanced executive, the
character of Laida Magtalas would suit Trisha
to a ‘T’. Moreover, the expressions
of Sarah Geronimo resemble Trisha’s
in many scenes. Only Trisha can carry this
off with élan. Hence my choice, without
a trace of doubt.
As Miggy Montenegro – We have plenty
of choices here. But we are looking for
a serious young man - who wants to prove
something in life, but is being bossed about
by his father and brother - who is madly
in love with Laida Magtalas but is unable
to express it to her succinctly –
who is actually slightly jealous of the
new friend that Laida has got, and is trying
to get rid of him. In my opinion, I would
hand this down to Navdeep/Rahman/Prasanna/Arya.
Though Arya/Trisha chemistry is great, if
a choice has to be made, I would go for
Navdeep. I feel, he has it in him to become
a great actor, if only he channelizes his
talents properly. I loved his freshness
in Arindhum Ariyaamalum. He would be the
ideal foil for Miggy, as the young guy who
wants to do something, but his bullied by
everybody, and he takes it all out on his
employees.
As Miggy’s friend, I would love to
choose a comedian to make the character
look funny and also to add some genuine
comedy in the movie,
(Note: - not like Senthil-Goundamani comedy.
I am not against it, but this movie doesn’t
warrant a loud comedy which is Goundamani’s
forte).
The person has to be good looking, so as
to show the audience that the pairing is
good, though we can also show it in a comical
sense. In this case, I would choose Karunas
or Ramesh Aravind. It is a tough choice.
I cannot take a decision on this. If I were
the director, I would cast them both and
pit them against each other (just to bring
out the best in both of them)!!
As Miggy’s father, Manivannan/Santhaana
Bharathi/Malaysia Vasudevan. If one were
to be chosen, then probably Malaysia Vasudevan.
As Miggy’s brother, the character
that requires a lot of stiffness, I would
like to choose Nasser or maybe Napoleon.
The character requires that he is at least
10-15 years older than Miggy, and hates
Miggy’s attitude towards life and
work. It’s a meaty role with good
potential and amazing dialogues.
Moving over to the heroine’s side,
as Laida’s father, there is only one
name that comes to my mind, Manobala. He
can really rock the show as Laida’s
dad. He, with his timing, and dialogue delivery,
can simply make the audience feel at ease.
As heroine’s mother, any middle aged
lady can do well, though I feel, Suhasini/Revathi/Shobhana
should do well. My apologies if I have hurt
anybody by casting these ladies as mothers.
But the potential in the character is good.
So, the final cast is
Laida Magtalas: - Trisha
Miggy Montenegro: - Navdeep
Papa Montenegro: - Malaysia Vasudevan
Bro Montenegro: - Nasser
Miggy’s Mom: - Revathi
Miggy’s Pop: - ManoBala
Miggy’s Friend: - Ramesh Aravind
Now coming to the music section, the original
was a super-hit, also because of the music.
Hence some really romantic songs are needed
in this movie. I would prefer Vidyasagar/Joshua
Sridhar. Maybe both. Both have this innate
ability to tune some really hummable music,
when they are in their groove.
Other details such as Camera, Editing, Stills,
and Location can be worked out. Though,
I would love to write the dialogues and
screenplay.
Changes that would have to made in the screenplay
would be quite serious, as the original
movie had shown dating and going out with
a girl as something that is quite common.
Though, we have developed a broader outlook
towards these things, it might go down well
with the multiplex audience, the non-city
centres might take a beating, hence some
modification has to be made. The changes
that we might be making, should, in no way,
alter the course of the story or deter it
from the main story line. Enough care should
be taken for this.
For direction, I would prefer, Balaji Sakthivel
or Rajiv Menon, both having proved that
genuine romantic movies can be made in Tamil.
The movie can be made on a very light budget,
and needs to be marketed well.
S Pictures should have a winner on their
hands, should they be willing to take it.
Thanks and Regards,
V.Haricharan,
vharicharan@gmail.com
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