12/21, #Lockdownenrichmentforthesoul, Tamil Movie Recommendation

Iruvar, 1997, Mani Ratnam, Streaming on Prime

Till date, the greatest regret, I have is being unable to show, my ailing father, iruvar. He would have loved it. Between Jan 1997, since Iruvar released and his passing away in Jan 2002, I was always looking out for Iruvar to play in some channel or lay my hands or on any digital medium. Alas, that remains an unfulfilled wish.

What would Tamil Cinema be without Mani Ratnam. He not only vaulted the Technical attributes of Tamil cinema way ahead of anyone in India but also made it world class. If today, the technical competence of Indian cinema is as good, as anywhere in the world, the first steps were sown by Mani Ratnam. The look and feel of Indian Cinema and the sheen that it has assumed over the years truly belongs to Mani Ratnam.

Having said that, Mani, has also been one director who has never lived up to his potential.

While he remains the master especially in narrating the love stories which seemed to be getting fresher, with every outing( i hear a lot of boos, Katru Veliyidai , fresh in everybody's memory; yours truly loved it to the hilt!!!!), many of Mani's work have always been a cup which has been half full.

While Kannathil muthamittal, to me was the most satisfying, Iruvar remains the most important film he has ever made.

The Dravidian movement, is the most important piece of modern history that is relevant to Tamils. Producing and releasing it, during the lives and times of its leaders, not only requires, prudence, sensitivity and courage.

The aesthetics and the Tamil of Iruvar is breathtaking. In a way, I feel it is a crime to narrate the Dravidian politics with so much of subtlety and class, far removed from the reality of Dravidian politics.

If you could be disappointed with Mani, then it is his conscious decision to even keep the conflict,in Iruvar, subtle!!!!

We all know while there was an undercurrent of poetry, 25 years into the Dravidian rule, when the movie was produced, the explicit intentions of our rulers had come to the fore.

As a producer, one can understand Mani's plight.

As an ardent admirer of Mani, we are waiting for "Ponniyin Selvan" and hope it will be his magnum opus. I guess the legions of fans of "ponniyin Selvan" will also be praying for the same.