Kamal loyalty to IR

Plum Niyappa @nom_d_plum

22nd June 2013 from

Coming to Kamal's loyalty to IR - although this whole thing has lost steam both on the timeline and my mind - there are a few points to understand 1. The way film industry works - there is no 1-1 comparison between a Pazha Karuppiah choosing IR and Kamal doing the same Again, to illustrate, let's take a stupid argument by anti-IRs. When Dhanush gave an interview that Raja was his favourite recently when interviewing for Raanjhana promotion in North India, the usual suspects(anti-IRs) spun it as just polite talk - because if IR is really is his favourite, why doesnt he choose IR for his movies. This reflects the simplistic materialistic plane in which these people operate - and let's be clear, that whole gang is so superficial that that's the plane at which they can operate - and in asking the same for Kamal, we do the same mistake I have mentioned this many times before, Kamal-IR isnt friendship in the same plane as we normally feel and recognise. In the dispiritingly commercial film world - with which both have made compromises at different levels - there is an unspoken nod between them that there is atleast a little similarity to their predicaments. Beyond this, their relationship has been primarily professional - for instance, I would wager Kamal-IR friendship isnt even as much as, say, a Mohanbabu-IR friendship. Mohanbabu (atleast he claimed so) calls IR often just like that - without any professional or spiritual agenda, which is how you would expect Mohanbabu to be :) - just general kusalam visarichufy and suga-dukka parimARRam. I bet Kamal doesnt talk to IR at this level at all. What Kamal provides IR is a high-intellect mind to bounce thoughts off with, now we would argue that Kamal's mind is not of the same calibre as IR, but that doesn't stop it from being the closest IR can get in the film world. And this relationship is not really dependent on each being loyal to each other in material terms. Only if you have had a friendship at that level can you understand this. I have, and therefore find no difficulty in presuming, speculating and understanding this. The friend's function in this case just being himself. Any professional relationship between us is a bonus but him just being there to discuss is a genuine gift, which doesn't change if he chooses to commit his professional needs with anyone else when I can provide the same. 3. Let's come to this Rajini honourably went to Rahman thingy - if your evaluation is that Rahman is better than any other non-IR MD, that's just your opinion. Clearly, it doesnt seem to be Kamal's opinion. Why should Kamal imitate Rajini there? It is not an indisputable fact that Rahman would have done a better job for a VV or a MA or a VR or D. It's just an opinion - albeit a majority one. (one which I share, just to be clear) 4. To me, what is important is that Kamal clearly is looking for a continuity to Raja's methods and philosophy of music - although with clearly poor success rate with others. If he was commercially minded in moving away from Raja, the easiest thing to do - as Rajini did - is to proclaim Rahman as Raja's equivalent, and go to him. Ask yourself why he hasnt done that. Why would he convolutedly go to possibly weaker commercial entities than Raja to boost his film's commercial interests. In this lies the answer to the conundrum. The answer is Kamal has consistently not accepted Rahman's methods, and even while working with him, was said to have had differences. This itself comes from the same plane as us Raja fans who have the same reservation w.r.t Rahman. It is important to recognise this - this is more improtant than mere commercial opportunities, a film chance and money transactions between Raja and Kamal. He has clearly never accepted Rahman as Raja's equivalent - and this caused and still causes a lot of angst to some Rahman fans who do respect him. While doing all this, he is battling a distributor network and financier network that has viewed him with suspicion ever since the 90s - and while they do want to deal with him for the commercial value he still provides, they are constantly afraid if their film is going to be Kamal's experiment. He is selling his idea - which is difficult to sell in the first place, say a Manmadhan Ambu which itself may not have been his first choice story to Udhayanidhi - he is trying to first of all get acceptance for what he wants to make, and with non-Raja-believing Producers and financiers, how easy it is to sell both his idea and Raja? Now you might say is Dasavatharam that difficult to sell? That was a sureshot. You are talking in retrospect. If I were a money bag, through the making of the film, I would have been suspicious of how the product will turn out - I would have constantly badgered him w.r.t his choices. And face it, Raja is not a hot potato in the market. As a money bag, I would not only be wary of the lack of market influence of Raja these days, but also I would be wary of the anti-Raja sentiment among the youth - oh andha vEtti kattina kizhavanA sentiment that I clearly see in youth, and that is also fuelled by anti-Raja folks in TN. A lot of these distributor-producer-financier network is also anti-Raja itself, having probably faced Raja's 'arrogance' during his peak. This also explains why a non-Raja non-Rahman MD is a better compromise for me as a money bag. Atleast, that MD wouldnt have the negative sentiment associated with Raja. We all know Rahman fans who would simply boycott if Raja is involved. And youth who will, too. We must remember how Menon was harassed for celebrating Raja. If Menon faced that for one film, at least understand what Kamal must have gone through. And like any thing, if you pick just one line or one cause out of the above and pick it apart, you would be missing the point. Which is that the choices Raja or Kamal make today - or indeed any choice any human being makes anyday - is a result of such multifarious reasons, especially when we are discussing people who inexplicably are making these decisions. A Bharathiraja's decisions w.r.t Raja are clearly motivated by jealousy and personal enmity. Those decisions are simple. It is too simplistic to reduce Kamal-IR equation when there is so much of mutual respect. I know this is not going to change the opinion of any principal involved today in this argument but then, too much of badmouthing of even proper Raja fans and Raja allies is being made by us these days - heck, even the horse is doing the same(remember what happened to Anil Srinivasan). If you reject people who genuinely try the best for Raja but end up failing in it, what do you expect from the world? http://tl.gd/n_1rkvdjc