Kadhal- Kalaindha kanavugal, Kadharum ullangal, Oru kaneer kaviyam....
Why do we make fully conscious efforts to subject ourselves to depression, sorrow and tragedy? Why do we seek sadness and grief? Why do we of our own accord, watch movies like Sethu,Devdas, Moondram Pirai and Kadhal and end up liking them? What is it about pathos that draws us to it? Movies were meant to be entertainment. Movies like other art forms became a vehicle for thoughts, ideas, and opinions; became a tool to highlight social issues; became intellectual stimulants; became thought provoking. But I can’t see what is entertaining or thought provoking about unrequited love, unfulfilled love, death, separation, madness. And that is precisely why I can’t explain why we see and like movies about all of these…
Kadhal is about love, the enduring theme of all arts which lends itself to infinite perspectives and interpretations. Kadhal is about the highs and lows of love, its intense strength, its capacity to scar lives, its submission to the overpowering trivialities of life, and yet its resilience in being not merely lyrically, but truly eternal. Kadhal is the story of a small town mechanic falling in love with the daughter of a rich, powerful, influential and violent(adjectives that always go together, at least in the movies) man. An impending arranged marriage for the girl forces the young lovers to elope to the city to get married with the help of a friend in the hope that, that sacred bond would protect them from all worldly forces. They are found on the very day they get married and brought back to their small town with reassurances of acceptance and forgiveness only for their world to be shattered cruelly.
There is nothing refreshing or novel about Kadhal- an oft repeated theme of love beyond financial, social and caste barriers, a too good to be true uncle who according to expectations, reveals his darker side at the opportune moment and friends and strangers who would do anything for love. What makes it different is that it explores the innocence of first love, the doubts, the hesitations, the vacillations, the impulsive decisions, the tendency to think with the heart and not with the mind. There is not a single discordant note or an incongruent piece in the portrayal of this love- a love that is simple and true, a love that has such trivial beginnings and transforms into a deep rooted and overwhelming feeling between two souls. Kadhal is just one among millions of untold, unknown lost tales, tales that are set in towns far removed from the city, tales of old fashioned love, love that is so very different from the coffee pub wooing, sms coochy cooing city love. The characters barring the young lovers in Kadhal are loud and violent, but definitely not unnatural. There is heartwarming intensity in the freshness of young love and there is heart wrenching agony in the way the movie ends.
Balaji Sakthivel makes a giant leap forward from his amateurish Samurai with a sensitive and realistic handling of this theme. And the songs are seamlessly inserted into the flow, enhancing the movie every bit. Joshua Sridhar makes a spectacular debut- Unakenna and Thottu Thottu are masterpieces. The background score also shows flashes of brilliance-the vocals in the scenes where Murugan follows Aiswarya, and the fading theme at the moment of the lover’s separation stand out. Bharath impresses with a splendid performance. The Bharaths and Dhanushes are an indication of the attitude of the tamil film watching public, who have traditionally gauged an actor more by his talents than by his looks.
Kadhal is a grim reminder to the fact that religion and the caste system have become so ingrained in our society that they continue to exert a major influence on people’s thoughts and opinions. “What society will think or say?” is a question that affects everyday decisions, especially those that involve love. Though segments of society have moved ahead and become more receptive to change, a considerable majority continues to stagnate in an obsolete, antiquated attitude. It is a pity that the very devices we created, control us to such a great extent. How much ever we attempt to deny facts by saying that we need not care about what other people think, it becomes extremely difficult to put that into practice. Man is not merely a social animal, but partially a social slave, moulding his thoughts and actions according to how they will be accepted by society.
That brings me back to my original question. What is it about pathos that draws us to it? Do we sympathise, or to be more precise, empathise with the characters on screen? Do we put ourselves in their shoes, relive our scarred memories, find solace in learning that others have been through what we have been through? Or do we find ourselves unburdened of our troubles and worries, in seeing them as insignificant, when compared to those portrayed on screen? Or maybe it is because amidst all the misery, sadness and despair, all that we see is the power of the love that caused it all, the love that lives on........
Kadhal is about love, the enduring theme of all arts which lends itself to infinite perspectives and interpretations. Kadhal is about the highs and lows of love, its intense strength, its capacity to scar lives, its submission to the overpowering trivialities of life, and yet its resilience in being not merely lyrically, but truly eternal. Kadhal is the story of a small town mechanic falling in love with the daughter of a rich, powerful, influential and violent(adjectives that always go together, at least in the movies) man. An impending arranged marriage for the girl forces the young lovers to elope to the city to get married with the help of a friend in the hope that, that sacred bond would protect them from all worldly forces. They are found on the very day they get married and brought back to their small town with reassurances of acceptance and forgiveness only for their world to be shattered cruelly.
There is nothing refreshing or novel about Kadhal- an oft repeated theme of love beyond financial, social and caste barriers, a too good to be true uncle who according to expectations, reveals his darker side at the opportune moment and friends and strangers who would do anything for love. What makes it different is that it explores the innocence of first love, the doubts, the hesitations, the vacillations, the impulsive decisions, the tendency to think with the heart and not with the mind. There is not a single discordant note or an incongruent piece in the portrayal of this love- a love that is simple and true, a love that has such trivial beginnings and transforms into a deep rooted and overwhelming feeling between two souls. Kadhal is just one among millions of untold, unknown lost tales, tales that are set in towns far removed from the city, tales of old fashioned love, love that is so very different from the coffee pub wooing, sms coochy cooing city love. The characters barring the young lovers in Kadhal are loud and violent, but definitely not unnatural. There is heartwarming intensity in the freshness of young love and there is heart wrenching agony in the way the movie ends.
Balaji Sakthivel makes a giant leap forward from his amateurish Samurai with a sensitive and realistic handling of this theme. And the songs are seamlessly inserted into the flow, enhancing the movie every bit. Joshua Sridhar makes a spectacular debut- Unakenna and Thottu Thottu are masterpieces. The background score also shows flashes of brilliance-the vocals in the scenes where Murugan follows Aiswarya, and the fading theme at the moment of the lover’s separation stand out. Bharath impresses with a splendid performance. The Bharaths and Dhanushes are an indication of the attitude of the tamil film watching public, who have traditionally gauged an actor more by his talents than by his looks.
Kadhal is a grim reminder to the fact that religion and the caste system have become so ingrained in our society that they continue to exert a major influence on people’s thoughts and opinions. “What society will think or say?” is a question that affects everyday decisions, especially those that involve love. Though segments of society have moved ahead and become more receptive to change, a considerable majority continues to stagnate in an obsolete, antiquated attitude. It is a pity that the very devices we created, control us to such a great extent. How much ever we attempt to deny facts by saying that we need not care about what other people think, it becomes extremely difficult to put that into practice. Man is not merely a social animal, but partially a social slave, moulding his thoughts and actions according to how they will be accepted by society.
That brings me back to my original question. What is it about pathos that draws us to it? Do we sympathise, or to be more precise, empathise with the characters on screen? Do we put ourselves in their shoes, relive our scarred memories, find solace in learning that others have been through what we have been through? Or do we find ourselves unburdened of our troubles and worries, in seeing them as insignificant, when compared to those portrayed on screen? Or maybe it is because amidst all the misery, sadness and despair, all that we see is the power of the love that caused it all, the love that lives on........
posted by Dreamer at 11:42 AM
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