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Movies
about movies are box office taboo in Indian
cinema: the word out there is that plots
set in the movie industry seldom work. Is
this because the world of cinema feels too
esoteric, self-reflexive, and unreal for
the audience? Or is going behind the scenes
too much like finding out how a magic trick
is done, and being disappointed from it?
But the critical and commercial success
of Udayananu Tharam and Om Shanti Om hint
at unexplored box office jackpot. Movies
about movies usually tend to be satires,
spoofs, and parodies - and this is fatal
for an audience wanting to be more emotionally
involved with the plot. (Though it seems
to have worked nicely for Sathyaraj in Maha
Nadigan). Udayananu Tharam is superb for
the way it makes you care for its characters
even as it smartly goes about making (good
natured) fun of the industry.
We had to think hard to come up with examples
of Tamil movies about movies. Though we
haven’t featured the classics here,
we’d like to, for the record, list
them: Sripriya in Natchathiram (with cameos
by Kamal and Rajini), Baghyaraj’s
Thavani Kanavugal, and Bhrathiraja’s
Kallukkul Eeram. There seem to be more movies
with passing references to the film world
(the star next door in Bama Vijayam, the
junior artists in Oru Veedu Iru Vaasal,
Nagesh as aspiring actor in Server Sunderam,
Ajit as aspiring director in Kandukondain,
Kandukondain, etc) than movies set entirely
in or about the industry.
Few as they are, we thought it important
to pay tribute to them because they took
(and continue to take) risks: it must be
a challenge for these filmmakers and actors
to hold a mirror to themselves and honestly
portray/ examine themselves on screen. Even
if movies about movies don’t always
work for a large audience, movie buffs savour
them. We feature six movies about movies
– four well known, and two yet to
be released!
Click
here to go Movies about movies >>>
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