Kaaka Muttai: A rare crossover from the region

6
South Pole: A Deep Dive Into Politics, Society And Culture
Kaaka Muttai: A rare
crossover from the region
Little magazines
blossom online
Imaging: Shinod Akkaraparambil
Many Publications
Died Out In 1990s;
Some Have Found
New Lease Of Life
[email protected]
T
he fiery ‘little magazine’ movement that took off in the 1960s
has seen its best days and the
fire is dying out now, believes
Shanmugasundaram, editor of ‘Kavya’,
a little magazine. A younger Aravindan,
former editor of ‘Kalachuvadu’, however insists the fire will not die out until writers start believing it will. Azhagiyasingar, who launched his “Naveena
Vrutcham” in the mid-80s, weighs in by
saying the existence of these publications is not threatened by circulationoriented popular magazines but by
fellow writers.
The jury is still out on the little
magazines though it would seem that
given their rather unstable existence
there have always been doubts about
their future. Many have closed shop but
that has been the norm in their world.
Often, lack of funds forces closure, but
ego clashes continue to be a death-driver. The leading lights that faded away
in the 1990s include “Saraswathi”, “Ilakkiyavattam”, “Ezhuthu” and “Nayam”
but “Kanaiyazhi” sprang back to life
recently. Today, the writing quality in
blogs and some Facebook pages run by
literary celebrities can aspire to the little magazine tag.
The passion for literary expression
continues and is patronized by a small
group of influential thinkers, writers
and bureaucrats. “We write for the love
of writing, not to pander to ‘popular’
demand,” says Sahitya Akademi award
winner and one of the founders of the
well-known little magazine ‘Kasadathabara’ S Kanthasamy.
It would seem that the Tamil cognoscenti would love the unlimited
space given by internet. But many
veteran little magazine writers seem
unmindful of the booming new media
as another avenue to reach readers.
POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD
Tamil Nadu has always had a tradition of niche magazines, that is untouched by
market trends and popular demand, catering to a more high-brow readership
LITTLE MAGAZINES
SERIOUS CONTENT
LIMITS CIRCULATION TO
10,000
Writers strive for
stylistic perfection
Anti-establishment
Topics range from
critique of media,
culture and society to
self-introspection
Experimental writing
Modern poetry
(Puthu Kavithai) came
into being through
them
Popular for its quality
of writing, they run
without the patronage
of advertisers
MIDDLE MAGAZINES
NOTABLE LITTLE
MAGAZINES
Circulation 10,000 - 30,000
copies
Acts as a bridge between
little and popular magazines
Mixed content though
quality not as good
1960s: Manikodi |
Ezhuthu |
Kasadathapara |
Ilakkiyavattam |
Saraswathy | Pragnai
POPULAR MAGAZINES
CURRENT
Readership of more than
50,000
Market-driven
Sensitive to reader demands
PUBLICATIONS
Kuril
Kanaiyazhi
Kalachuvadu
ONLINE REVIVAL: Before 2000, the readership of little magazines was solely
dependent on word-of-mouth | Internet-boom has infused new energy | New readers
from other countries | Articles published as blogs | Archives available online
“Our subscribers reach us through
word-of-mouth and they tend to remain loyal readers,” says Dharmaraj
who runs the 15-year-old “Puthugai
Thendral”. Former marine engineer
and historian K R A Narasiah wrote
“Cambodia Kanavugal” (Cambodian
dreams) for Puthugai Thendral
which went on to be published and
won the state award for best book.
Dharmaraj points out, “Little magazines may not be generating revenue or
THE TIMES OF INDIA, CHENNAI
FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015
[email protected]
E
popularity, but the writers who contribute are of the highest quality.” Like
many other little magazines, the
‘monthly’ Puthugai Thendral, which
has a circulation of about 3,000 copies
publishes modern poetry, articles on
Sangam Tamil literature, and ancient
medicine and critiques of media, culture and society.
A reader of little magazines for over
three decades, Santhanam says that the
quality of writing has come down since
the late 1990s. It was around the same
time the internet became a force to
reckon with, which may have given the
little magazines the boost they needed.
“Most little magazines have their own
Facebook page so that readers can keep
track of the latest editions,” says Kavita, an avid reader of the little magazines. Many publications upload the
magazines which are accessible a week
or two after their print release. In addition, a wealth of older magazines has
been archived online, giving the reader
a peek into the editions that helped
shape the movement.
Not supported by advertising or
even an office to operate from, the little
magazines depend solely on writing
quality for patronage. Without newsstand support, they are couriered to
homes, offices and libraries. Too often,
the readers add their mite by writing
back and that takes up much print space
in any issue – a more closer readerwriter interaction than in bigger publications.
Egos, personal attacks and splits
have always been a part of the little
magazine world that are often just
meeting grounds for intellectuals.
The veteran Kanthasamy, from his
experience of over 50 years, says little
has changed on that front. “A little
magazine only tends to survive for
about 4-5 years,” he says. And the internet has only widened the space for
flame throwers, he adds.
Nevertheless, little magazines
continue to be training grounds for
writers who get picked up by popular
and middle magazines. “Little magazines will continue to train great
writers or they will perish,” says
Kanthasamy. With a limited appeal
and shelf-time, the little magazine is
a fire that needs to be sparked every
now and then to keep it alive.
very once in a while a film comes that tugs
at the heart and speaks a language that
transcends regional and geographical
barriers; ‘Kaaka Muttai’ is one such work. A
story of innocence, of desire unblemished by
greed, where characters don’t grovel in sentimentality and poverty is no barrier to finding
moments of happiness.
‘Kaaka Muttai’ is more an exception rather
than the rule. Except for the occasional Mani
Ratnam film that targets a pan-Indian audience
or when subtitles have helped some movies
reach out beyond Tamil audiences, Kollywood
flicks rarely cross over. Observers say that what
has worked for ‘Kaaka Muttai’ is that its theme
is not culture-specific but contemporary and
universal.
At its core, the film is about the adventures
of two slum boys in a world that is taking on a
swanky avatar backed by moneyed entrepreneurs, shrewd politicians and loafing opportunists. The two brothers, both dropouts, wear
their heart on their sleeves and don’t mind the
squalor around them. The pizza is a metaphor
for desire. They reach out to it, and just when
we think they have attained it, the boys refuse
to succumb to the lure of consumerism. They
realize that the glitz on television has no value
and they go back to life wiser but not weighed
down by the experience.
“Kaaka Muttai shows the effects of globalization in a metropolitan city. It critiques politics,
media and reverses the quest for a pizza into a
symbol of consumerism which is shunned at
the end. The ending leaves an indelible impact
and finds resonance with the middle class movie-going audience irrespective of their cultural
background,” says Subagunarajan VMS, editor
of the magazine ‘Kaatchi Pizhai’.
The film walks a tight-rope and shows extreme restraint while handling the subject of
class divide, the use of non-actors makes it
closer to reality. It draws comparisons to the
Iranian film ‘Children of Heaven’ but in Indian
cinema it is probably closer to the Satyajit Ray
classic ‘Pather Panchali’ which too used nonactors to capture the simplicity and purity of
the characters.
Observers note that while adapting other
language films to a south Indian setting has
been common and has worked since Balachander’s ‘Manmatha Leelai’, Tamil films making
a mark beyond the south has been comparatively less in number. “In the history of Tamil
industry, which has seen adaptations of several English and foreign language movies,
crossover films are still comparatively new,”
says Subagunarajan.
Mani Ratnam’s ‘Bombay’ and ‘Roja’ did
consciously attempt to be pan-Indian. In Bombay, the setting was intended to appeal to the
mainstream Hindi film audience though the
characters were of Tamil origin. In ‘Roja’, too,
the characters were Tamil but the film dealt
with the Kashmir problem and how an innocent Indian family was caught up in it. But
BEYOND BORDERS: ‘Kaaka Muttai’ (top) and Mani
Ratnam's ‘Roja’ are a few of the Tamil films
that have appealed to pan-Indian audiences
Mani Ratnam lost the plot with ‘Dil Se’ which
was too formulaic.
So what is it that makes a film attain universal appeal? While Mani Ratnam may have
helped to bring in exposure at international film
festivals, Tamil filmmakers have been largely
unable to leverage that exposure by coming up
with content that other audiences can relate to.
Tamil films may boast of the latest in film making technique, production values, star cast and
big budgets, such as in Shankar’s ‘Endhiran’,
but those ar`e not enough always. “Only subjects that can be related to universally and are
not restricted by regional traditions can work
across borders,” says G Dhananjayan, founder
of BOFTA Film Academy.
Dhananjayan acknowledges that Mani Ratnam was the pioneer of cross-cultural themes.
But Subagunarajan points out that ‘Raavan’
showed how he misjudged the northern audiences. In the south, because of its political
education and Dravidian ideology, Raavan
could be palatable as a hero with shades of grey
but not in the north.
“Hindi films have a wide reach and can
never be consigned to a cultural setting. It is
important that the story’s nuances are not
culture-specific,” says Subagunarajan.
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