Comments on: Digging the grave http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/ A Blog on Cinema Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:26:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: Some stupid Nair http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-202545 Some stupid Nair Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:05:02 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-202545 I agree Malayalam movies are oscar worthy. We should encourage people to go out and watch Malayalam movies. Tamil movies ought to be banned from Kerala. The government should subsidize ticket prizes for Malayalam movies. I agree Malayalam movies are oscar worthy. We should encourage people to go out and watch Malayalam movies. Tamil movies ought to be banned from Kerala. The government should subsidize ticket prizes for Malayalam movies.

]]> By: SimplyMalayalees.com http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-71128 SimplyMalayalees.com Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:52:25 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-71128 Can Malayalam movies compete with other languages? http://www.simplymalayalees.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=314&PN=1 Can Malayalam movies compete with other languages?

http://www.simplymalayalees.co.....&PN=1

]]> By: Ranjit http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-16903 Ranjit Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:23:07 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-16903 I do agree that 2006 has been a good year for Mal cinema, compared to the last 4 years or so. But comparing a Palunku with a Pokkiri is hardly fair; its like comparing apples and oranges. A Palunku, which I haven't seen yet, should be compared to something like Anbae Sivam, while a Pokkiri should be compared to a Narasimham or a Rajamanickyam. The advantage with Tamil cinema is that they seem to have grown with the times - not just technically, but content-wise and treatment-wise too. You see a lot of new, exciting cinema like Kaathal, Veyyil from newcomers coexist along with veterans such as Kamal and Mani Ratnam. It is the lack of this - new talent behind the camera - that's stifling Mal cinema today. I do agree that 2006 has been a good year for Mal cinema, compared to the last 4 years or so. But comparing a Palunku with a Pokkiri is hardly fair; its like comparing apples and oranges. A Palunku, which I haven’t seen yet, should be compared to something like Anbae Sivam, while a Pokkiri should be compared to a Narasimham or a Rajamanickyam.

The advantage with Tamil cinema is that they seem to have grown with the times – not just technically, but content-wise and treatment-wise too. You see a lot of new, exciting cinema like Kaathal, Veyyil from newcomers coexist along with veterans such as Kamal and Mani Ratnam. It is the lack of this – new talent behind the camera – that’s stifling Mal cinema today.

]]> By: saj http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-16671 saj Sun, 18 Feb 2007 02:53:18 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-16671 I am from Palakkad (Tamil mother toungue)and my house is so close to TN border.I can read and write both Malayalam and Tamil.When I was young I used to watch a lot of Tamil movies.Most of the theatres in my town (Kozhinjambara) shows Tamil movies .Once I started my college days-Trichur-I start watching more and more Malayalam moveies.There was a big learning curve to change my mindset to enjoy some of the Malayalam movies which is so different from the Typical formula Tamil movies.But after watching these movies for 2-3 years,it became so hard for me to digest Tamil movies.Most of the Tamil movies have very low quality compared to a standard Malayalam movie .Except a few-Anbe Sivam or Azhagi or Kannathil muthamittal- most of the movies are so senseless and based on the same formula.Except the Malayalam magazines,noone can say Tamil movies are better than Malayalam movies.If you can give 50/100 for Palunku,Pokkiri deserves just 25.But I think Malayalam cinema lacks publicity ,marketing and of course freshness.The same faces-Mammootty and Lal are extremely talented- and similar presentation takes freshness from Malayalam movies.And ofcourse people changed.75% of the theatre going people are between age 13-30 (Male) and many of them want double meaning dialogues and colourful dance scenes.They don't have any attraction towards our culture.I still rate Malayalam movie industry is much above Tamil industry . I am from Palakkad (Tamil mother toungue)and my house is so close to TN border.I can read and write both Malayalam and Tamil.When I was young I used to watch a lot of Tamil movies.Most of the theatres in my town (Kozhinjambara) shows Tamil movies .Once I started my college days-Trichur-I start watching more and more Malayalam moveies.There was a big learning curve to change my mindset to enjoy some of the Malayalam movies which is so different from the Typical formula Tamil movies.But after watching these movies for 2-3 years,it became so hard for me to digest Tamil movies.Most of the Tamil movies have very low quality compared to a standard Malayalam movie .Except a few-Anbe Sivam or Azhagi or Kannathil muthamittal- most of the movies are so senseless and based on the same formula.Except the Malayalam magazines,noone can say Tamil movies are better than Malayalam movies.If you can give 50/100 for Palunku,Pokkiri deserves just 25.But I think Malayalam cinema lacks publicity ,marketing and of course freshness.The same faces-Mammootty and Lal are extremely talented- and similar presentation takes freshness from Malayalam movies.And ofcourse people changed.75% of the theatre going people are between age 13-30 (Male) and many of them want double meaning dialogues and colourful dance scenes.They don’t have any attraction towards our culture.I still rate Malayalam movie industry is much above Tamil industry .

]]> By: Unni http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-14061 Unni Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:57:06 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-14061 Ranjith - What you said is only partly true. Once upon a time the chances of a good movie becoming a sucess was high in Malayalam. Not any more. Otherwise Vargam/Vasthavam/Karutha Pakshikal/Notebook etc would not have flopped. Rasathantram was not a great movie but an average one considering that Sathyan/Lal combo have produced classics. Bottomline is our people are even shunning good movies too. Maybe our malayalam movies need to be released globally like Hindi/Tamil movies. Collections from outside India contribute to 30% of a Bollywood movies's revenue. If our producers could get more theatres in the gulf/areas in the US/UK where malayalis are populated, we may see movies making some money after all. I also have the experience of seeing a rank bad movie like Kilichundan Mambazham in a theatre in the UK and believe me, the theatre was more than 90% full. What i wanted to point out is that maybe our producers might want to tap the overseas market more. Incidentally Vasthavam is coming to a theatre near where I am now( a small non descript village in the US east coast). Ranjith – What you said is only partly true. Once upon a time the chances of a good movie becoming a sucess was high in Malayalam. Not any more. Otherwise Vargam/Vasthavam/Karutha Pakshikal/Notebook etc would not have flopped.
Rasathantram was not a great movie but an average one considering that Sathyan/Lal combo have produced classics. Bottomline is our people are even shunning good movies too.

Maybe our malayalam movies need to be released globally like Hindi/Tamil movies. Collections from outside India contribute to 30% of a Bollywood movies’s revenue.

If our producers could get more theatres in the gulf/areas in the US/UK where malayalis are populated, we may see movies making some money after all. I also have the experience of seeing a rank bad movie like Kilichundan Mambazham in a theatre in the UK and believe me, the theatre was more than 90% full. What i wanted to point out is that maybe our producers might want to tap the overseas market more.

Incidentally Vasthavam is coming to a theatre near where I am now( a small non descript village in the US east coast).

]]> By: Achu http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-14045 Achu Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:20:29 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-14045 Balram is a terrible movie with very shoddy production values. Most of the money would have gone in renting those Hummers and Katrina Kaif. Tamil movies are slickly produced though the story of them can be predicted even by a water melon. Balram is a terrible movie with very shoddy production values. Most of the money would have gone in renting those Hummers and Katrina Kaif. Tamil movies are slickly produced though the story of them can be predicted even by a water melon.

]]> By: Ranjit http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/comment-page-1/#comment-14014 Ranjit Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:26:54 +0000 http://varnachitram.com/2007/01/19/digging-the-grave/#comment-14014 @Unni: Its like I said - they have the money for better locales, better-looking heroines and often better technicians. If Malayalam cinema tries to compete on that front, we are bound to lose out. The single exception to this case has been Kamal's 'Swapnakoodu', and that too probably because it was a novelty in Malayalam cinema at that time. Big budget movies alone won't do the trick - 'Dubai' and 'Balram vs..' were atrocious movies, which is why they flopped - deservedly so. Asking why similar atrocious movies in other languages find success at our BO is counter-productive; Malayalm movies have never worked that way, nor do we want them to. I'd rather that a 'Rasathantram' (cliched though it was) or a 'Classmates' or a 'Thanmatra' succeed. @Unni: Its like I said – they have the money for better locales, better-looking heroines and often better technicians. If Malayalam cinema tries to compete on that front, we are bound to lose out. The single exception to this case has been Kamal’s ‘Swapnakoodu’, and that too probably because it was a novelty in Malayalam cinema at that time.

Big budget movies alone won’t do the trick – ‘Dubai’ and ‘Balram vs..’ were atrocious movies, which is why they flopped – deservedly so. Asking why similar atrocious movies in other languages find success at our BO is counter-productive; Malayalm movies have never worked that way, nor do we want them to. I’d rather that a ‘Rasathantram’ (cliched though it was) or a ‘Classmates’ or a ‘Thanmatra’ succeed.

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