Taboo is something socially offensive, shocking and embarrassing and hence fit for disapproval. Stigma is a kind of negative, unfair feelings and behaviour that some people reflect in public, about the illness or personal flaw/plight of others. Gossip is nothing but loose talk quite often boisterous, and at times socially condemnable, because it could hurt people who are the targets of gossip, All these negative trends keep on travelling as undesirable baggage of human daily routine and have also been themes and instances of narration in Tamil films for a long time.
Until the mid-nineteen nineties, most parts of India did not have mobile communication. Interpersonal contacts and communications were almost direct and absolutely necessary. Whenever people met, they talked not only about themselves but also about others. When they talked about others, it included quite a few negative observations too. That is why there goes the saying "When all people knew what each one said of the other, there would not be two friends in the world". Taboo, stigma and gossip all came under the scanner and Tamil cinema took up the responsibility in presenting the implications and intricacies of these factors, relentlessly featuring the frame of mind of a vast section of humanity.
Unlike today with more and more transparency being displayed on matters of sex, such as puberty, man-woman relationship and menopause, the last century was choked in silence on these issues, due to long cherished social and ethical values,stuck to traditional moorings.Dedicated film makers like A.Bhimsingh, Krishnan Panju, K.S.Gopalakrishnan and K.Balachander played a pivotal role, in unfolding the perils of such harmful human attitudes and behaviour.
How delicately K.S. Gopalakrishnan in his film 'Selvam', handled the nuptials event, that had to be postponed due an astrological conspiracy, orchestrated by a relative of the hero. Most films of A.Bhimsingh and Krishnan Panju, handled matters related to man woman physical relationship, with utmost caution and decency. Even a liberal film maker like K. Balachander made many of his early films without crossing the Taboo markers.
Taboo elements were hardly transgressed even by the lyricists of the last century. For instance, in a well-known song sung by P.Susila for the film 'Kanimuthu Pappa' starting with the lines "Kanne Paappa Kanimuthu Pappa" Kannadasan very delicately referred to man woman physical relationship, with metaphors like 'snow drop' and 'pearl' as indirect markers of sex and child birth.
Now the lights are on. Interestingly, in the Hindu Magazine supplement dated 4th May 2025, there were a few columns assigned to the issue of menopause with its psychological ramifications, drawing the attention of medical field, involved in specific psychiatry, related to the physical and emotional throbs, experienced by women facing menopause. The new generation is going more and more transparent on matters relating to women's various psychosomatic problems. These changes are inevitable and welcome also, unless and until they create unanticipated fresh problems for women who are struggling for their real empowerment.
Stigma is a worse evil than taboo, because it hurts others with irretrievable negative pulls. Widows and childless women were once social targets as symptoms of ill-omen and were prevented from participating in auspicious family and social events. This is how Padmini's role was stigmatized in films like Mangaiyar Thilagam and Kulama Gunama. Society did not bother if the woman was childless on her own accord/condition, or if her position was due to her husband's physical predicament.
This trend continued even in the new millennium film Anandam {2001} in which the role of Devayani was socially targeted in an auspicious family function, by preventing her from participating in a baby shower event, chiefly for being childless. Again here, those who stigmatized and victimized the woman, did not bother about the actualities of her childless position. K. S. Gopalakrishnan subtly carried on this issue in his film Saradha, by scrupulously and deftly dealing with the impotency of the hero, caused by his physical fall from a top.
Stigma as a personal and social evil, permeates everywhere, stigmatizing elopement, dating, adultery, same sex relationships, live-in relationships and children's emotional status stained by corrupt parents,and parents as wrongly tainted army personnel and so on.When it comes to elopement,we could see a whole village running after the eloping couple in films like Alaigal Oivadhillai.Similarly scenes of people abusing noble women as immoral creatures were witnessed in films like Muthu Chippi. These two films are just samples of the many films stigmatizing elopement and women's position on mere suspicion.
Adultery became a stigma for the hero in the film Kavariman, because of his wife having an extra marital affair. The character of the hero Chinnadhurai in Vasantha Maaligai,was stigmatized for his being a drunkard, but a redeeming dialogue "Chinnadhurai has only gone astray but he is not a bad man" uttered by one of the male servants of the palace, nullified the stigma narration. K.Balachander with his modern mindset later on made films like Arangetram, Aboorva Ragangal and Thappu Thaalangal, bypassing the stigma perceptions of the Tamil soil.
The wings of stigma are mostly flying towards destinations of privacy and personal preferences. The most vulnerable stigma zones deal with defence personnel's established or misconstrued betrayal of their army and nation, as seen in films like Andha Naal in which the hero was really a traitor, and other films like Kuruvi,Thaai Naadu and Thandavam, in which the protagonists were falsely implicated in cases of treason and were relieved of the blame game later, either posthumously or during their lifetime. Corrupt forces {as seen in Jeyam Ravi's film Nimirndhu Nil made by Samuthirakani} were brought under the rings of stigma in cinema, though in real life corrupt elements everywhere move on scot-free,and escape the onslaught of stigma.
Life would certainly be insipid without the banter of gossip. How much of joy K.Balachander's films like Iru Kodugal and Bhama Vijayam created on account of gossip. The gossip of Nagesh carrying his child in a basket to the collector's office everyday, was a real treat in Iru Kodukal.The women's gossip in Bhama Vijayam about actress Bhama, was full of gusto and a lot of competitive energy transpired among the sisters-in-law {called co-sisters in Indian English} in manipulating and spreading the gossip.
Contrarily, the gossip of ill-mannered women [vibrantly delivered by actresses like P.S.Gnanam, Sundar Bhai,and Angamuthu in several films} created unmanageable emotional tension for their victims in several films. Ace director K.Bharathiraja deftly showcased the element of gossip prevailing in the rural soil. Starting from his first film Padhinaaru Vayadhinile, quite a number of his films included the vital tonic of loose talk, most often held under the trees in villages, or at the elevated sit outs in village houses.
The best of gossip in this regard, was that of Janagaraj as the rope spinner in Mudhal Mariyaadhai yarning tales about the interpersonal intimacy between the aged hero and a young woman of the village. He also played the role of a loose mouthed person in Vedham Pudhidhu, as Krishna Iyer.
Taboo, stigma and gossip seem to have taken a brief holiday from Tamil cinema which is now dominated by crude and butcherly violence. Weapons have taken over the power of words focused on Taboo, stigma and gossip. But still, social media platforms create fresh avenues for these timeless negative attributes of humanity.
Trolling is being seen as a troublesome tool trampling down the reputation of people, participating in social media interactions. Naughty and nasty words said about others could have gone unnoticed in the past. But in the electronic age what has not been said, could be made to have been said, until proof is established against it. Gossip today can very well transform the internet world into Inferno!
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