Dawn of a new age in Tamil Cinema: 5 reasons why Thani Oruvan is a kickass film!

                     

As a film fanatic, I love to observe and appreciate how films are made from their deliverance of message, tempo, screenplay, camera angles, acting etc. Not that I have anything against Tamil films, but recent Tamil films generally has always been very predictable with many unwanted scenes that has nothing to do with the overall plot and being guilty of focusing solely on the mass appeal of the actors involved. Some of my favorite Tamil films with real quality has been few and far between like 'Vettaiyadu Vilayadu ', 'Unnai Pol Oruvan', 'Neram', Soodhu Kovvum' and a few more the very least. Last weekend I had the opportunity to watch 'Thani Oruvan' and I kept my expectations really low because of the past few films that I've watched left me leaving the cinema really disappointed with 'Maari' being the last film I watched and it was pffftt! Let's not go into that as I was overwhelmed and really satisfied after watching 'Thani Oruvan' and this is why:

*Spoiler Alert*


1) The Protagonist realism influence on the film

How many times we've seen the lead role no matter he's a farmer, fisherman, gangster, police etc having limitless knowledge and superhuman strength to deal with anything that comes his way. It is as if he's totally invincible and often looks like he ain't from this planet. I understand that this is done in such way because of the mass appeal and demand of the fans especially in India and most probably that is never going to change. In 'Thanni Oruvan', the protagonist is a policeman acted by Jayam Ravi and unlike other police films his role in the film is based on realism like a real life policeman faces. There was a scene where the protagonist undergoes desperate measures until the brink of vulnerability trying to figure out how the antagonist knows his every plan and move. It is a powerful scene where a situation like that draws the audience attention to be on the side of the protagonist. The film also showed that the hero has spent days doing research on crimes and trying to figure a connection between them which he made notes off all in a secret room of his. Realism is the key here as there is also no scenes where the lead role takes on 20-30 people all on his own in a bare knuckle brawl. Thankfully.

2) Less distraction on the film plot

'Thanni Oruvan' has a very strong plot and screenplay with the Director Mohan Raja (hard to believe he is the same director for Velayudham), giving enough screen-time for each role to enhance their character development. This is something that often lacks in Tamil films where the supporting characters are not given attention or are just in the film for the mere humor side of it and not participating the film's plot. Hence, 'Thanni Oruvan' does not have any scenes where it diverts from the plot. Besides that, the lesser number of songs in this film kept the audience engaged to this film throughout. It's not wrong having songs in films but it is very important to have it at the right and proper moments. The background music was stunning though.

Director Mohan Raja showed his class

   

3) Proper background study of profession

The lead role and his friends are policemen in this film. Their training, development, dedication and posting were shown brilliantly in this film. It shows the writers took time and effort to study the life of a police from being a rookie to the actual deal. On the other hand, the underground world was nicely projected showing how dealings work, the plans, organisation, and that it all leads to one big mafia at the top of the tree. It exposes the dangers of falling into this path and all that matters is just about making business.

Realistic fight scenes

                             

4) The Antagonist's mind games approach

Unlike other Tamil films, this film was great due to the villain's part in the film. The introduction of the villain's was superb and the fact that he only appears somewhere near the halfway of the film made it intriguing. The villain played by carried himself brilliantly and he showed that there is no need of alcohol, drugs, or violence to show how bad-ass you can be. Credit goes once again to the director for this. It is a rarity to see a villain in Tamil films trying to outfox the hero by using his smartness. This gave a resemblance of the Joker's role in the Dark Knight film. NO JOKE ! ....and for once....for once... the punch dialogues were given for the antagonist to deliver which was absolutely amazing to watch! Plus there is no typical 10-15 minutes film ending fight scene between the hero and villain like other films has.

Best Villain of 2015 hands down: Arvind Swamy

5) The Acting

Every role was played well in this film. The supporting cast of the protagonist did their part as well as the heroin of the film, Nayanthara. She is proving herself more and more that she can really act. Jayam Ravi gave one of his best performances which I hope will resurrect his career to compete with the elite but we all have to agree that in this film Arvind Swamy stole the show with and absolute peach of an acting performance. Personally, I did not recognize him at first as the only other film of his that I saw was 'Thalapathi'. I never thought he could pull off such a performance in a villain's role. If there is an award for the best villain's role in the Tamil film industry in which I think there is, they can comfortable give it to Arvind Swamy already for the best villain of the year 2015!

p.s : The only downfall of this film is that Nayanthara was not sexy as she usually is in her other films. :P :P :P

If your're a fan of films in general do check this movie out, you'll not regret!


by Ivan Vincent

LGBT: The Good, Bad & Ugly side of it

The recent outburst of this Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) legalization in the United States  has sparked various views and opinions from people all around the world. There has even been countless of rallies to showcase their demonstration of protest. It is not fair to anyone to point a finger whether this issue is right or wrong as we all know that everyone is entitled to their opinion.  However every action has its pros and cons and it is no different in this case.  The United States of America definitely would have weighed and played all scenarios possible before making same sex marriage legal throughout the country. It was big decision made by them sending a huge message around the world that they mean business and don’t need the opinions of others to make a this sort of a huge statement.

As a citizen of Malaysia, I have witness many people saying not to get carried away and simply ignore this issue. Some have also cried out for others not to support this equality and stop acting like you’re from the States. My advice for those saying this is to wake up and stop living in your comfortable shell that you’ve built. People who are lesbians, gay and bisexual are everywhere around us and they are in desperate need of help. If we are not to help them, who will? Hence, here are my thoughts on this issue which I strongly believe there are good, bad and the ugly in it.

The Good

1)      The LGBT community generally hide their true identity because they feel they will let their parents and friends down by exposing the truth. In the end, they will be married to the opposite gender through an arrangement and will surely not satisfy the needs of their partner. Imagine what the partner goes through when they find out. To avoid this, lesbians and gays need to step out of their shadow and find a sense of belonging in the society. However, they will not be daring enough to do it and this is where making legal sex marriages comes into play. This helps them to find themselves and understand that it is fine to be the way they are.

                    

2)      The number of suicides will decrease drastically. Put yourself in their shoes and the struggles they go through each day trying to hide their true personality from the public. Often they take the route of taking away their own life to put the misery off them. By doing this, a soul, a life, a possible talent, is wasted just like that. 

                           

                                    

       For example, after watching the film 'The Imitation Game' I knew about this English mathematician called Alan Turing who successfully decoded the Nazi enigma which ended the war 2 years earlier and saved about millions of lives. Despite this, Turing was prosecuted for being a homosexual in 1952 when such acts was still illegal at that time in the UK. Since his service was kept highly confidential, they were not aware of his contribution towards the nation and Turing opted for oestrogen injections as an alternative to prison. In 1954, Alan Turing committed suicide to just end his misery.It is such a pity to end your life for such a reason. Something has to be done to eliminate this act. Those who don’t suicide however, generally lead themselves to drugs, prostitution and running away from home to earn a living.

Benedict Cumberbatch acted as Alan Turing in 'The Imitation Game'

3)      Another good thing of same sex marriage is the hope and life given to an orphan. Instead of living their lives in the orphan’s home unexposed to the world, being adopted gives them an opportunity to taste life in the right way. Adoption rate will definitely rise and at the same time miscarriages can be avoided. Who knows how talented the child may be and how well they might contribute for the nation. The same gender couples are more than capable enough to give the child they’re adopting the sufficient amount of love, shelter, food, education and other necessities.

The Bad

1)      The only negative I can see from my point of view is that if a child is adopted at a very young age or during infant understands the truth that their foster parents are the same gender. They will definitely be the guinea pig as the victim of tease among the circle of friends or at school. There is also a great concern if the child is raised by two men or women that they will lack the adequate Father’s love and Mother’s love. ‘Half bread is better than none’. This phrase has to be used to keep the adopted children going as they’ll need to realize what would’ve been if they were not given to key to escape from their orphan’s home.

2)      The other probable deleterious issue I can think of same gender marriage is the disappointment of their parents. Raising their child from birth, parents go through a lot to raise their child in the right way. When knowing their child is gay or lesbian, there will always be a guilty feeling amongst them that if they have not raise their child in the proper manner. This mindset however needs proper addressing. Parents at first most need to realize that it is not their fault in any way if their child ends up being a lesbian or gay. It is the fault of no one anyway. 

The Ugly

      It leaves me totally absurd when I see news of people totally against LGBT and coming to an extend of almost starting a riot. Don't get me wrong, it's their choice to feel disgruntled about this but where has simple human nature gone? Aren't we all thought to understand people's feelings and never judge them before stepping into their shoes? People tend to regard this act is against the faith and religion teachings. In my eyes, this has nothing got to do with lack of faith. The feelings of the person comes from withing and it's not the individual who asked to be in such way. In simple words, you cannot ask 10 boys to agree if a certain girl is attractive to them. Not everyone will have the same opinion. Like how genes and chromosomes have developed over the years by generating people of various talents and capabilities these days, the same can be said for feelings as well. Because of this, certain rules or laws that are placed all those years ago may not be applicable at this current time to handle such circumstances. Time has change, people has changed whether you like it or not. Hence, it is really sad to see the ill treatment given to the LGBT community. It is nothing short but just plain ugly human nature by not showing care and willingness to lend a helping hand. There is absolutely nothing ugly or to be ashamed of for the LGBT community in my opinion.

             

       In conclusion, I don't see LGBT community as a problem and it can never be said that my faith in religion is poor just by me supporting it. I just don't buy it as I don't see any relevance of this issue being related to my religion or any religion in that matter. Just remember that the LGBT community, like others only has one life the live to their fullest and they deserve the same level of happiness and peace that they can find. Once again, my sincere apologies if I have offended anyone in anyway, it is just my opinion. #lovewins