Love, Sex and The Maniratnam Code*....

"The year was 1986- the decade of the romantics. They were prude and dogmatic, harping on the divinity and purity of love, absolving it of its obvious carnal and physical influences, being scandalised when love and lust were spoken of in the same breath, drawing lines to keep love away from any sexual connotation, when in reality there could be no such lines. Along came a young filmmaker, a man who espoused the very ideology that the romantics stood against, and who had it in him to call a spade a spade. The year was 1986, when Maniratnam made Mouna Ragam, and as the lines of the famous song went " Mandram vandha thendralukku manjam vara nenjam illayo..."(Breeze that blew into my living room, do you not have the heart to share my bed..."), it was to set the trend for many more such songs, songs that would be candid enough to see love as it truly is. Starting that year, in every movie he has made till date, hidden amidst the drama, action, melodrama and the "romance", if you look and hear hard enough, you will be able to seek out The Maniratnam Code, a subtle yet strong strong statement that love is as much physical as it is emotional....."

Now that I have made such a seemingly outrageous observation, let me back it with irrefutable evidence...

1988-Agni Nakshatram-Ninnukori
"Mottuththaan mellaththaan pooppoal pookka;
Thottuppaar kattippaar dhaegam vaerkka;
Poojaikkaaga vaadudhu, dhaegam unnaith thaedudhu ;"
(The bud blossoms ever so slowly into a flower;
Touch it, Embrace it, Let your body sweat it;
The flower withers yearning to be accepted, the body seeks thee;)

1989-Idhayathai Thirudaadhe-Om Namaha
"Sevvidhazh saerumboadhu jeevangal silirththadhu;
Ovvoru aasaiyaaga ullaththil thulirththadhu; "
(As the red lips joined, the souls shivered;
Passion after passion sprouted in the heart;)

A song remembered for picturisation that was way ahead of its times- Moody, mellow lighting, a panning camera that goes around lip locked lovers, who remain lip locked for most of the song,and yet there was no sleaze, there was no squirmish discomfort, there was just the reality of love.

1995-Bombay-Humma Humma
"Sollikkoduththapinnum allikkoduththapinnum muththam meedhamirukku;
Dheebam maraindhapinnum boomi irundapinnum kannil velichchamirukku;
Vaanam pozhindhapinnum boomi nanaindhapinnum saaral sarasamirukku;
Kaamam kalaindhapinnum kangal kadandhapinnum kaadhal malarndhukidakku"
(I have taught, I have given liberally and still there are kisses left;
The lamp has been snuffed out, darkness has set in, and still there is light in the eyes;
The clouds have showered, the earth's wet, and still the drizzle remains;
The passion's disarrayed, the eyes have moved on, yet the blossomed love lingers;)

1997-Iruvar-Unnodu Naan
"Acham kalaindhen aasaiyinai nee anaithaay,
Aadai kalaindhen vetkathai nee anaithaay"
(I discarded my fears, You embraced passion;
I discarded my clothing, You embraced coyness;)

More of a recited verse and less of a song per se, placed strategically following a fervent lovemaking scene, line after line makes alluring references to what transpired before. To sum it all up, the refrain that goes "Unnodu naan irundha ovvoru mani thuliyum, Marana padukkayilum marakkadhu kanmaniye" (Darling, Every second of time I have spent with you, I will not be able to forget even on my deathbed)

2000-Alaipayuthey-Kadhal Sadugudu
"Pazhagumbozhudhu kumariyaagi ennai velvaay pennae;
Padukkai araiyil kuzhandhaiyaagi ennaik kolvaay kannae;"
(Girl, at all other times you win me over with your feminity;
But in the bedroom, why do you kill me by putting on this childish innocence)

2004-Aayidha Ezhuthu-Nenjam Ellam
"Nenjamellaam kaathal,
Dhaeghamellaam kaamam,
Unmay sonnaal ennai naesippaayaa?
Kaathal konjam kammi,
Kaamam konjam thookal,
Manjathin mael ennai mannipaayaa?"
(The heart is full of love, and yet the body is full of lust, Will you continue to love me even if you know this truth;
The love is a little less, The lust is a little more, Will you forgive me on the bed;)

As far as proving the existence of The Maniratnam Code goes, this song is the clincher. As the years have progressed, the songs have become more noticeable, and their intent become easily discernable. And this song probably lays out in black and white what is on many a lover's mind...There is an openness in the acceptance of the fact that lust can dominate love in any relationship, and there is an ironic audacity in asking for forgiveness for the lust, in bed!

An artist's work is said to be a reflection of his feelings, opinions, emotions, and probably his inner self. Tracing this thread that seems to run in commonality through Maniratnam's movies, might seem to be an execrsise in futility. But the aim is definitely not to highlight the works of this auteur. It is just a matter of pleasure that an artist sees things exactly the way I see them, exactly the way they should be seen. Love is pure, divine and all the nice things they say about it, but the fact remains that of the many horses that drive this emotion, the horse that rears his head a wee bit more pronounced than the others is the horse that represents the physical aspects of love. It is possible that, it is this primal driving factor, that makes love such an overpoweringly strong emotion. There is no shame in accepting this fact, there is just honesty.....


*after the best selling novel 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown, the theme of which concerns messages hidden in an artist's work.