Aping Bollywood not advisable for South, says 'Ore Kadal' direct

By Staff
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New Delhi, Nov 12 (UNI) The stylistic opulence of Bollywood cinema has distracted and confused regional filmmakers, says Shyamaprasad Rajgoplalan, director of Malyalam Film 'Ore Kadal' which is the opening film of the Indian Panorama in the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), starting in Goa from November 23.

''The Bollywood invasion has taken away not only our audience, but also led our directors to ape the dynamics of a Bollywood movie, but since financial might of a regional film was in no way comparable to their production, this results in a futile venture,'' said Rajgoplalan talking to UNI over phone from Thiruvananthapuram.

He said on the national scene definitely there was a young bunch of filmmakers who have been able to push the technical and aesthetic boundaries of the medium.

''I am referring to filmmakers like Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap etc. Owing also to the changed environment of exhibition, with multiplexes, lucrative TV premiers, enlarged foreign market and so on, the change was possible. But the phenomenon is very much Hindi centric. So when south Indian film makers attempt the kind of films Bollywood was making they are not such a success,'' he said.

There was one more thing, he said South India cinema could not be put altogether into one basket. Each regional cinema Industry has its own peculiarities and challenges. Malayalam cinema was very story oriented and a realistic production, whereas Telugu cinema was generally hyperbolic and entertainment oriented, the director said.

About Ore Kadal (The Sea Within) he says it is his fourth film in which he continues to explore the intricacies of human relationships.

Deepti, a middle class housewife, becomes emotionally involved with a radical intellectual, economist Nathan, Who comes to know that her husband is unemployed and she has a sick child with no money for treatment.

Soon Nathan develops fascination for her which ends in bed. It is a routine experience for a womaniser like Nathan but it opens a whole new world for Deepti.

The tussle within her mind and heart leaves her mentally shattered.

Her husband and children are caught unawares in her emotional conflict. She returns to sanity only to find herself in a more intense state of inner torment.

The film is based on a classical Bengali novel and is set in contemporary times when India is fast on its way to globalisation.

It is a society now where socio-cultural changes are overturning age-old value systems of the middle class with such a pace that the boundaries between morality and immorality, right and wrong, loyalty and betrayal grow increasingly blurred.

Rajgopalan says Mammootty and Meera Jasmine had given outstanding performances in the film. It is his first film with Mammootty who plays the noted economist in the film.

Narain and Meera Jasmine play husband and wife who gets involved with the economist. Ramya Krishnan is also in the cast.

''I always weigh the suitability of the actor to the roles more than anything else about the actors while casting. Mammooty and Meera jasmine are two outstanding actors of the country. National awards winners they are, their popular appeal as well as their acting talent finds a harmonious blend in their interpretation of the complex characters of this film. I am sure their performances would be notable ones this year on a national level,'' he said.

About the music of the film, he says it is something very special. Composed by the veteran Ouseppachan, the music is a unique interpretation of one particular raaga.

All the four songs are composed in raaga 'Subha panthuvaraali' with different tonal interpretations. Thus the songs and the background score amplifies the theme of the film. The songs builds an emotional cohesion with the use of music, he said.

Other notable films of Shyama Prasad are Agnisakshi (1998) and Akale (2004). Agnisakshi deals with the strained marital relationship of a Brahmin couple against the charged background of social reform and the Independence struggle and Akale depicts an Anglo-Indian family whose members keep failing communicate with one another.

UNI

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