Directors I grew with - Part 1 - Selvaraghavan

            Cinema is one of the most potent deception the earth has ever witnessed. As you enter the theatre in its pristine dark environment, your mind slowly starts radiating any stress you were carrying. Some would have entered the hall for their favorite hero/heroine, some for their director or some to step out of stress and some for reviewing (Latest crop of audience). I would like to touch upon the director as a fan favorite, nothing more !! I am not here to glorify anybody like he is one of the best the cinema has ever seen or he has put lots of hard work to come up or he is like that etc etc. Because cinema is already over glorified mainly because of too much promotions and marketing more than necessary. That always gives us a feeling of whether cinema is only one field where there are real achievers. Cinema's deception potency has no bounds.

              Great Directors across the world showcase uniqueness in every aspect of their film making. Nolan signified question-answer dialogue making. Tarantino go with extensive vintage music-o elaboration of scenes, unexpected unusual gun shots, short off-the-scene narrative conversations. I apologize for no Indian examples as I am slowly exposed to Non-tamil unique genre movies. I cant take Tamil examples either as I am planning for a continuation of this series. 

                Selvaraghavan also portray some unique directional elements in his movies so far. Some elements may look similar to other greats but a combination of these elements will never appear anywhere. These elements are so strong it will pull you to that dark paradise each time his movie releases (For those of you who dont know about Selvaraghavan, here is the wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selvaraghavan).

Selvaraghavan, The Director

             I dont know whether Selva was so involved emotionally with his father or his minuscule observations of an young Son-Father relationship. Portrayal of this element in Selvaraghavan movies is one of the best in Kollywood. Of course, every other director has framed such scenes. Wats so special here by Selva ? If we go by the intensity of Selva's scene like in 7G or in Yaaradi Nee Mohini (Tamil Version), you would feel the pain of your father in your nerves. Its so easy to get into your brain by visually enriching scenes. But to make you feel throat-struck, I would watch that a hundred times !!! No Philosophical dialogues dominate the scene. But a simple child-like expressional dialogue revealing inner soul without much make-up is all that Selva uses to breeze your guts.

             Indian Movies are an abode of emotion nowhere seen in any World cinema. Comedy is one such emotion usually performed by specialist comedians. Selva's movies too has that comedy element but without a comedian. Maybe he wants comedy as an emotion within his original screen imagination rather than an artificial addition mostly done for commercial purpose. Pudhupettai, his most celebrated black comedy has one such dialogue (in Chennai slang), 'Akka vu konjam rough ah na party tha'. 

             Indian cinema has long strangled back in its portrayal of heroines. Debates apart, its finally nowhere near heroes which is not new for our society. Cinema has went through such a poor exhibition of heroines. But thats not all as it is always. Honestly, all directors have not been like that. Yes, Selva falls in that second category. He portrays heroines who are bold, intelligent and of all, driving the entire movie along with hero or even more than a hero. I think that qualifies to be one of the most striking feature despite the fact that he often portrays triangular love. A movie gets beautiful and enthralling only when each and every lead character really leads the screen space. Think of a movie like Aayirathil Oruvan that largely falls within the adventure genre yet the female lead Reema sen leading the movie significantly.
             Music is another element largely limited to songs in Indian cinema. But Selva has other plans for it. When you are watching a scene, you would easily blend the music and emotion portrayed. He dont utilize signature musical instruments in each movie. Music has to be continuously revealing the genre of the movie, its emotion right through the screen space. Thats the most important part that grips his audience with the movie all through the entire running time. In Dance, yes, he has developed a signature. All the people in any public space would dance along with the lead. As a dance enthusiast, I would love that. 

             Selva is not a director who writes on a grandeur story. He is one who makes a small storyline a grandeur one by his writing. Very few directors have been filming expression of soul so raw and I like Selva's style very much among them. I mean, the blend of all above factors into one. I just love that !! He is also sadly among the one less understood in contemporary times like Kamal Sir, Maniratnam Sir. Their movies are so lately celebrated and of no use to anybody. Often, his movies are also deemed psychotic. I think such a tag arises out of that rawness. Versatility is one factor driving cinema and Selvaraghavan will always be part of that Tamil cinema's 'All time XI'. We are waiting for your next Sir.