Comedy in Tamil Movies - Prelude
4 Comments Published by Prasad Venkat on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 2:06 PM.
I've been thinking about comedy tracks in future Tamil cinemas. We are going through a rough patch and there is a dearth for intelligent comedians. We get our share on one-time laughs - which are instantly forgettable and may grow on one's nerves when viewed repeatedly. Recursive comedic patterns - where we laugh on the first viewing, and then realize there's much more to it on the subsequent viewings (like in 'Micheal Madana Kama Rajan'), are dwindling and that's a sign of declining creativity.
Comedy tracks that hang away from the main story is a distraction because the screenplay wavers off the plot and at the same time essential because of the humourless heroes and the much needed funny break to make the movie commercially viable. The current crop of young stars are either the sons of producers or heroes of yesteryears or one-hit wonder boys, just waiting for a miracle to work through their way. Take Sibiraj, son of Sathyaraj for example: he stubbornly refuses to act believably or dance gracefully and insists on speaking in a monotone voice. It's better for the industry that he doesn't deliver any funny lines. Surya is a budding actor and suits for serious roles. Jeyam Ravi has to come a long way, but has an innocence flavoured humour to his credit which nobody but me enjoys. Bharath needs to mature a lot. Simbu thinks he's next to Kamal when it comes to versatility and is floating on his jumbo-ego. Vijay is utterly unfunny to me. Ajith doesn't have it in him to make others laugh. Vikram occasionally tickles the funny bone.
Talking of proper comedians, Vadivelu springs to my mind. Of course, a few sketches of his are enjoyable mostly for his facial expressions and dialogue delivery with little help from the situation. When the screenplay doesn't help, the comedy idea ranges from bearable to painful. The inimitable Goundar Mani is already an archived actor. Vivek is out of form and is expected to bounce back. Kamal Haasan seems to be the only intelligent comedian in business today (in spite of Mumbai Xpress) and he's already ageing. A funny scene in a future Tamil cinema may not be funny at all. I'll post a detailed commentary sometime this week on how funny Tamil movies were/are, contributors to the comedy genre and the directionless in the movement of current comedy sketches in Tamil movies.
Update 1: Click here to read the first part of the series.
Update 2: Click here to read the second part of the series.
Comedy tracks that hang away from the main story is a distraction because the screenplay wavers off the plot and at the same time essential because of the humourless heroes and the much needed funny break to make the movie commercially viable. The current crop of young stars are either the sons of producers or heroes of yesteryears or one-hit wonder boys, just waiting for a miracle to work through their way. Take Sibiraj, son of Sathyaraj for example: he stubbornly refuses to act believably or dance gracefully and insists on speaking in a monotone voice. It's better for the industry that he doesn't deliver any funny lines. Surya is a budding actor and suits for serious roles. Jeyam Ravi has to come a long way, but has an innocence flavoured humour to his credit which nobody but me enjoys. Bharath needs to mature a lot. Simbu thinks he's next to Kamal when it comes to versatility and is floating on his jumbo-ego. Vijay is utterly unfunny to me. Ajith doesn't have it in him to make others laugh. Vikram occasionally tickles the funny bone.
Talking of proper comedians, Vadivelu springs to my mind. Of course, a few sketches of his are enjoyable mostly for his facial expressions and dialogue delivery with little help from the situation. When the screenplay doesn't help, the comedy idea ranges from bearable to painful. The inimitable Goundar Mani is already an archived actor. Vivek is out of form and is expected to bounce back. Kamal Haasan seems to be the only intelligent comedian in business today (in spite of Mumbai Xpress) and he's already ageing. A funny scene in a future Tamil cinema may not be funny at all. I'll post a detailed commentary sometime this week on how funny Tamil movies were/are, contributors to the comedy genre and the directionless in the movement of current comedy sketches in Tamil movies.
Update 1: Click here to read the first part of the series.
Update 2: Click here to read the second part of the series.
I think that there is less humor because people in the industry (especially directors) do not have sense of humour or the ability to take themselves light.
Cheers
Varahasimhan.
I agree with you Varaha. If you look at their interviews, you'll wonder if these guys will ever appreciate a good joke.
It really takes intelligent people to come up with great humor, that's something lacking in hollywood today.
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Happy double oooh seven to you, and all your visitors.
Nice post on Tamil Movie Comedy.
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