Kollywood’s Old Generation Heroism VS New Generation Heroism

August 11, 2008

Transitions have always been there, particularly in cinema, where there have constantly been changes influencing all genres. The movie’s male lead, for instance, has progressed from being just a protagonist to a superior and celebrated hero. To observe the change, let us see the typical actions and onscreen philosophy of films’ lead players one generation ago.

Yesteryear lead players upheld the movies’ central themes and they strived to present their characters in a positive way. The hero was the fulcrum around whom the plot was built. Today also, films are built around the hero’s personality. But the difference is that today’s heroes are bolder in that they also accept negative roles with less reservations. To bring an air of authority in their roles, their intro scenes are elaborate, have special background music and almost always appear to alleviate a knot of crisis (such as a judgmental Nattamai in a village Panchayat scene, a gallant rescuer of the heroine who is caught by a gang of villains, etc.). The hero predictably lands there, clad in a state-of-the-art costume with matching footwear. His entry shot commences from his legs and the camera inches upwards, revealing his persona centimetre by centimetre. A pounding shower with roaring thunder and lightning or a strong gush of wind adds extra drama to the scene.

Yesteryear protagonists did have such elaborate action scenes. (Possibly because the special effects were not so well-developed and the film-makers also had the constraint of black and white only.) Instead, long preachy monologues were the highlight of their roles. Starting from Kalaivanar N.S. Krishnan to the charismatic MGR, all were particular about propagating their valuable thoughts in a subtle(?) yet emphatic manner. Their screen portrayals and advice carried worth because the actors were sticklers for those principles off-screen too. When MGR sang ‘Yemaatraadhe Yemaaraadhe’, people accepted his message by heart and spirit. When Sivaji sang, ‘Andha Naal Gnyabagam’, each one in the audience got transported to their glorious past. Fights were included, but in smaller doses as required in the script.

In contrast, today’s heroism is magnified with an extra dosage of power and valour. Thanks to today’s SFX, heroes perform air-kicks, do multiple somersaults in space and punch more than a dozen rowdies at a time with ease, then emerge from the scene without acquiring a single scratch or bump. But how many of these heroes will actually come to help an unknown damsel in distress? In short, today’s heroism is no longer related to reality; regrettably, violence is considered just an unavoidable tool to establish heroism. There is also an impenetrable barrier between heroes in movies and in real life. So Sathyaraj, who has played villain in many films, is reported to be a gem of a person without a trace of villainy in his real life, while some onscreen idols are said to have feet of clay. Today, actors take the pains to transform themselves suitably for their roles, adding or losing weight, growing their hair or shaving their locks, and thereby garner public attention and adulation. But do they imbibe the good points of their onscreen characters? That is a moot question.

It is true that cinema has to keep up with changing industry trends and audience expectations. But peering into the future, will this approach and presentation become baroque and boring in due course of time? Or will some future film historian praise these manouvres with nostalgia, just as today, we adore the conventional protagonists of the last generation?

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