Modern Tamil cinema is reputed for its unequivocal focus on the lower strata of society, the down- trodden sections struggling each day, for their identity and recognition, in terms of what they deserve,and what they are eligible for, and capable of. Films like Jai Bhim directed by T.J. Gnanavel, neatly portrayed the social and police atrocities committed against the tribals, purely in the name of caste prejudices. Film makers like Vetrimaran and Pa. Ranjith passionately incorporated the aspirations of the neglected lot, depicting their political dreams and their aesthetic involvement in various forms of art.
Street paintings with conflicting forces of political identities as witnessed in 'Madras' made by Ranjith, and the gangster landscape with cold-blooded rivalry, betrayal and vendetta created by Vetrimaran, are of special significance of the ever-growing creative grandeur of Tamil cinema. In this group will rightly fit in, the cinematic ventures of Mari Selvaraj, whose five films Pariyerum Perumal, Karnan,Maamannn,Vaazhai and Bison Kaalamadan, took us all to a fresh experience not only by watching, but also by becoming a part and parcel of the grievously toiling sections of humanity, with their hidden talents and skills not only not duly recognized,77but also suppressed by caste animosities.
What differentiates Mari Selvaraj from other film makers is his consistent use of symbols like horse, pig, dog, banana and bison. In Pariyerum Perumal, Kadhir was shown as a guy denied a chance to mount the horse as a prince or a king, because of humiliating casteism. Each experience of the hero was torn between the might of a galloping horse and the modesty of a suppressed underdog. It was a volatile role that G.Marimuthu played in pacifying the fury of Kadhir and in raging against him, as the father of the girl {Jothi played by Anandhi} with whom Kadhir was associated in close friendship.
Kadhir named as Pariyan aka Pariyerum Perumal, had the unyielding ambition of becoming a lawyer like Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, in order to protect the survival rights of the oppressed sections.He had to face several hurdles indirectly from Jothi's father and directly from his fellow student Sankara lingam played by Lijeesh who also loved Jothi .The film concludes with a note of dejection, over the impossibility of a changed mindset among the intermediary and upper caste people. This debut film of Mari Selvaraj produced by Ranjith, won several awards including the international film festival award, for the best Tamil film.
'Karnan' the second film of Mari Selvaraj starring Dhanush and Rejisha Vijayan, poignantly presented the endless struggles carried on by the oppressed people to realize their birthrights, job rights and the local facilities that they are in dire need of. The suppression of the underdogs by the brutal police force goaded by communal agenda, triggers further fury, leading to the undesirable event of the protagonist killing the communally egocentric S.P Kannabiran {fiercely played by Natty Subramaniam}. It was Santhosh Narayanan who composed music for both 'Pariyerum Perumal' and 'Karnan' and the song 'Kanda Vara Sollunga' in Karnan reached the ears, with an aggressive thrust of resistance and revolt.
The film became a mega hit at the box office recording the highest opening in the career of Dhanush.The names of characters like Karnan {Dhanush} Draupathi {Rejisha}Duriyodhanan {G.M.Kumar} and Abhimanyu {Shanmuga rajan }became the Gaurava symbols of the epic Mahabharatha. The endless tussle between the caste-oriented people of Melur and the suppressed tribals of Podiyangulam their homeland, symbolized the conflict between the Pandavaas and Gauravas. Karnan is one of the best films of Dhanush.
Pigs and dogs were the symbols of Mamannan, the third film of Mari Selvaraj with Udhayanadhi, Fahadh Faasil ,Vadivelu and Keerthi Suresh playing the key roles. The virulence and gruesome communal grudge crudely practiced by Faasil with his dogs as stooges, enlarges the scope of casteism to new detestable heights, and this nasty frame of mind is stiffly opposed by the so-called underdog, pictured symbolically in pig form. The best part of this metaphorical presentation is the chair becoming the unique symbol of communal supremacy.This 'supremacy illusion' is legitimately defeated by a right sense of anger and self-dignity, exhibited by the protagonist {Udhayanithi} by asking his father to occupy the chair.
Through carefully contrived scenic sequences the film establishes the hope of the depressed lot gaining its due place of self-respect in society. Frame to frame, Mamannan powerfully captured the imagination of the audience, with symbolic narration surpassing straight narration, which is the usual form of linking the main theme, with the relevant course of events, wherein characters relate their roles to the theme, through their active participation in the events.With A.R. Rehman's.music and a gripping song rendered by Vadivelu, Mamannan became a mighty symbol of the oppressed lot, reigning supreme as king of kings.
Vaazhai the tender plant whose every part is of adorable utility, becomes a symbol of exploitation both in its tree form and in the form of those who are related to its growth and sale. A banana tree with its stem, green banana, yellow banana, its flower and its leaves, support a vast section of the agricultural community. But the labour force that works for its production, maintenance and logistics, is broadly exploited with underpayment and overload of labour, on the heads of the workers.
The worst part of it is the employment of children in this field, which prevents them from pursuing their school education, as well as their aspirations in other areas of their life interest. With its heavy tragic undertones Vaazhai became an agonizing living experience, rather than watching a movie. The scene wherein a few people of the labor force are buried along with the bananas, subsequent upon the overturning of an overloaded lorry, speaks volumes of the Vaazhai becoming a symbol of mortality instead of dignity. Santhosh Narayanan again joined Maari Selvaraj, to lend right tunes to Vaazhai.
'Bison Kaalamaadan' the latest film of Mari Selvaraj dramatically depicted the Bison as the uncontrollable symbol of strength. Dhruv Vikram as 'Vanththi Kittan' with less dialogues but more daring bravery, compactly portrays the power and rage of the bison in hitting the target and hailing victory. Pasupathi as his frequently frustrated father, Rejisha Vijayan as his emboldening sister, and Anupama Parameswaran as his adamant love interest, contribute to the intricacy and complexity in narration.
The unending rivalry between two groups of gangsters, one headed by Ameer struggling for the rights of the fishermen community, and the other group led by Lal, representing the interests of the intermediary castes, causes group clashes and becomes a stumbling block to the dreams of the hero to become a state level Kabadi player. Interestingly, both the leaders of the rival groups have no objection in letting Bison acclaim his rights to represent his village as a Kabadi Player at the state level
Like Karnan, the movie speaks of the unquenchable thirst of the lowly laid sections of humanity, to do what the upper strata people consider as their birth right to do and excel them in the very same activities that the latter gloat over. Surmounting the enormous roadblocks that are imposed on him,and the authoritarian hurdles that come on the way, Dhruv,the Bison,finally clinches victory.
While slender threads of romance as mature love in Pariyerum Perumal, as calf love in Vaazhai,and as stubborn love in Bison, happen as breezy bytes, it is the rough and tumble events incorporating the kernel theme that conquer the imagination of the audience, in the films of Mari Selvarj. Though the lower strata of society fell victims to the suppressive designs of the caste empowered groups both in Pariyerum Perumal and Vaazhai, the oppressed proved their might and established their rights, in Karnan, Mamannan and Bison.
Even here, we can see the weight of the titles that prefix the pertinent point and purpose of empowerment of the selective group of people kept in cages and treated as inferior segments of humanity. Karnan, one of the strongest pillars of the Mahabharata epic, Mamannan as King of Kings and Bison as the cattle of courage, become the most cherished metaphors of Mari Selvaraj who through powerful medium of cinema, truly press for the due representation of the caste-wise cornered people, so as to make their voices heard for recognition and empowerment at all their deserving stages. Mari Selvaraj constantly lives in a world of symbols and metaphors, and capitalizes them for his creative experience, so as to catapult his lifetime goals.
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