Bad is Good?

Good Bad Ugly (Tamil; 2025)

Story and Direction: Adhik Ravichandran

https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/chennai/good-bad-ugly/ET00431346

I remember watching a movie on TV back in the day, under the watchful eyes of Amma. I remember it was a MGR starring Tamil movie. In one of his stereotypical roles, he, the do-gooder who fought against the evil zamindar, goes to jail at the movie's end for killing the villain. In the last scene, he returns home just to be feted with praise, showers of flower petals, and salutations. Amma was quick to interject. "What rubbish! He went to jail, and people are celebrating!"

I thought, "… but Gandhi and Nehru also went to jail, and you have a statue of them in the house and tell us stories of how we should emulate them." Thanks to my better judgment, I decided to keep my opinions to myself. 

That was how most Tamil movies used to be. The protagonist was the epitome of goodness. He was usually the exemplary one-dimensional character expected to set the mould for how one should love their life. He would indirectly propagate the virtues of being a teetotaller, speaking the truth, being honest and respecting the elders. The resolution at the show's end would teach the audience that goodness always triumphs over evil. Of course, we know MGR went into a successful political career and remains in the Tamil Nadu psyche.

So that was the time when movies tried to teach good virtues. It was then. Around the late 1970s or early 1980s, circa the launch of Kamal Hassan-starred 'Nayagan' and later Rajnikanth's 'Thalapathy', it suddenly became hip to be bad. 

Now, by default, the movie that hit big time at the box office would preach all the antithesis of what their predecessors of the Golden Era of Tamil cinema advocated. Just look at the typical blockbuster these days. It is cool to be a gangster, jobless, showing disrespect to parents, loafing around, getting drunk, indulging in pre- and extramarital trysts and eloping with one's jobless partner against all odds. 

In 'Good Bad Ugly', an unashamed reference to Clint Eastwood's successful spaghetti western, we see a repentant big-time gangster who is behind bars, drawn into his old world of thuggery and violence when his teenage son is kidnapped.

The whole movie is indulgence for Ajith Kumar's ardent fans. The outing is especially heartwarming for his fans. Ajith, also called 'Thala' (Leader), was recently conferred 'Padma Bushan', the third highest civilian award the Government of India gave for his philanthropic work. This film also celebrates his 30-plus illustrious years in Tamil cinema. Hints of his previous roles and innuendos of dialogues from his last outings are glaring in the face for his ardent fans to identify and savour. In short, it is a feel-good movie for his fans and does not contribute in any way to the upliftment of society. 

Darkkey and AK

This is quite diametrical to what MGR was seen to be spreading. We know his messages were political, but at least he told children not to steal or be sleepy heads and reminded them that the truth will always prevail. 

Malaysia's input is also evident in this movie. Darkkey, a Malaysian Indian artist involved in the local Tamil music scene for the past 30 years, appears in a cameo role. He renders his brand of music called Sambarock in the high-decibel song, 'Puli Puli'.

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Doing the right thing by whose standards?

Jagame Thandhiram (ஜகமே தந்திரம், Tamil, The Universe is Cunning; 2021)
Written and Directed: Karthik Subbaraj

Do not expect any high brow stuff here. This is purely a masala movie with a 'feel good' element with little cerebral activity involved. Suruli, a gangster from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is summoned to London to be a consultant to a bigoted white gangster. The kingpin, Peter, is having a hard time with a rival Sri Lankan Tamil gang, and only Suruli seems capable enough to clip their activities.

Like a faithful dog and a coolie, showing gratitude to the alms strewn to him, Suruli hunts down Peter's nemesis, Sivadoss. After gunning down Sivadoss, Suruli realises that Sivadoss was actually a modern-day Robin Hood who had made it his life goal to help illegal immigrants who come into the UK from war-torn countries by getting them valid documents. His criminal activity helped to finance his noble intention. He contends that since the UK and its allies are responsible for all the world's population displacement, his nefarious activities are justified.

Suruli then changes allegiance and work for the rival faction. Through their language commonality, he gangs up with the remaining members to avenge Peter instead for his white supremacist stance. 

Although the storyline is nothing much to shout about, it did manage to bring out a few common questions that plagued the Indian psyche. It is a commonplace to compare Indians' behaviour to that of crabs. In a bucket of crabs, each crab would pull on the other, preventing the other from climbing out. 

It is also said that the Indian diaspora been has been subjugated so long under the colonial powers that they tend to seek validation from their former colonial master, even now. Macaulay's vision of wanting Indians to turn their backs on their glorious past has reached its intended target. Now, the former colonial masters have sepoys and baboos running around bending backwards doing their dirty job. The masters, through their years of warring, have mastered the art of instigating brothers to fight each other. They not only sit back and watch the melee, but they also fan the fire!

Kattabomman to Jackson
"How dare you!"

History buffs can remember a particular time in Indian history when the British were making inroads into India, then the country with almost a quarter of all world's GDP. The European traders tried to play the role of peacemakers and deal brokers by instigating wars between chieftains. A scene where a local leader, Ettappa Naiyanar, acting cahoots with the British Collector, Jackson Thurai, to win over Kottabomman comes to mind.

Everyone claims to be fighting for the truth, that the truth will prevail after all. Then the question is, what is that thing called truth; truth as decided by whom? In the case of this film, the protagonist thinks he is siding the party that is doing the right thing. The other feels that Suruli is a sell-out as he derails the Sri Lankans' efforts to give their brother-in-arms a chance at survival. 

Money changes everything. It gives status, recognition and takes care of generations to come. Once an obscene amount of wealth is usurped (and the usurper goes scot-free), everything is sanitised.

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A time for redemption?

 Capone (2020)

Many movies about 'Scarface' has been made about his nefarious activities. This one, however, deals with its aftermath. All the evil deeds that you did at the heights of youth will definitely come haunting you back, all within your lifetime. You need not have re-birth as one is oblivious of past evil karma. You would not have the urge to repent in your next birth as you would be clueless of your previous misdeeds anyway. The 'learning'  and 'punishment' are directed at the consciousness, not to the seeds of life or cells as they get replaced many times over in a lifetime. And cells keep on doing their own specialised work without changing anything, I think.

After about eight years of serving time for tax evasion, Al Capone, the man who probably coined the word 'money laundering' was freed for medical reasons. He had been diagnosed to have neurological complications due to tertiary syphilis.

The term 'money laundering' is said to have originated when the Italian Mafias like Al Capone run laundromats to sanitise their ill-gotten spoils from bootlegged liquor and prostitution. They commingled their illegal profits with that of the laundromat to 'launder' the cash. 

Capone's last years were spent in a luxury mansion in Florida. We do not if it is true or not, but, due to his organic brain condition, he allegedly spent his time in a dazed state with constant hallucinations and vivid dreams. He reportedly had abandoned his illegitimate person. The memory of this young boy kept hunting him. There was apparently a big stash of money that was hidden from the knowledge of the authorities, his family members or subordinates. The trouble is that even Capone's mind is too muddled to make out what is reality and what is not, what more to think other bigger things like plunder. To make things more complicated, the FBI is spying into his compound and tapping his telephone line; making people around him think that Capone is turning into a raving lunatic. And putting a Thompson submachine gun in his hands is just lethal.

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One who lives by the sword, dies by one!

Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (Tamil, 2018)

This film is supposed to have elements of Akira Kurosawa's 'Ran' in its storyline. And Kurosawa's 'Ran' is supposed to have similarities to King Lear. Unfortunately, the similarities end at the level of a man of power and the power struggle between his three sons over his ruling empire. Here, the struggle is for the position of 'Don' between three sons. Each suspects each other of sabotage and try to outdo each other with wit and the might of gunpowder. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, after much killing, the sufferings of their loved ones, the death of the few and the double-crossing of their most trusted ones, the thugs realise that one who lives by the gun dies by one. 

Not much of a film. Just another movie that depicts India as a land of lawlessness with a corrupt police force where everything and everyone has a price. Sadly, they try to sell the idea that even the immigration is under the thumb of thugs! 

Not worth spending your precious Sunday afternoon watching this. Spend it in something more worthwhile; forget trying to promote Tamil culture to the diaspora. There are other ways of doing this.

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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