“Why
are you acting like Kamal in Guna?’
is something you often hear characters saying
in contemporary Tamil movies. By that they
mean: why are you so obsessed with the object
of your devotion? Kamal’s performance
here became iconic. From this movie on,
all movie characters fatally in love with
a woman would become Gunas, and the women
would be Abhiramis. The movie itself was
not much appreciated or understood when
it first came out. But since then has gathered
a fan following on DVD. Kamal himself admits
that Guna is his personal favorite and that
his performance here was something he thought
highly of. Though it is steeped in madness,
obsession and tragedy, there is one fascinating
aspect to the love story here: the Guna
character imagining that there is something
divine or mystical about his love for Abhirami.
His love is close to worship, as though
she were a goddess. |
