Vulgarity vs Glamour

Contemporary Tamil cinema and the direction in which it seems to be heading has prompted me to put forth this post. It is a known theory that in Bollywood only 'sex and SRK sell'. But the former has taken precedence over the latter in recent times and there is no dearth of skin shows in Bollywood today.

Even as I state this, the fact to accept is that Bollywood has managed a smooth transition from movies that had only eye-contact between lovers to movies where there is contact between every other physical part! The same cannot be said about Tamil movies (I won't be arguing about other regional movies coz my domain is limited to Hindi and Tamil).

The weightage given to vulagarity is much higher in Tamil movies. Yes, we see heroines in sexy langerie and bikinis in Hindi movies. But the situations that demand those costumes seem to be justified in Bollywood. In addition to this, the heroine is portrayed as a glamorous woman and carries herself in accordance with this role. But exactly the opposite happens in Tamil movies. Since there is no heroine who can boast of a slim waist and shapely legs, the director is reduced to shooting 'apparently' sexy songs with vulgarly dressed item girls who have the air of a prostitute about them. How this is supposed to be a 'hot' sequence is lost on me. In the last few years this seems to have become a rule rather than an exception in Tamil movies.

Add to this a plethora of sleazy innuendos disguised in every dialogue and it becomes the recipe for a dish that can never be had at a 'family' restaurant. I recently happened to see a movie by SJ Surya. I think the Tamil audience would know which movie I am talking about. The way the hero and heroine acted brought tears in my eyes. I think the word 'actor' is being used too liberally nowadays. It should strictly be restricted to people who can 'act'. The dialogues and certain sequences in the movie have taken vulagarity to new levels. It seems as if every director who lacks originality (a quality that SJ Surya claims with this movie) eventually falls back on vulgar scenes and double-meaning dialogues to carry his film on the box office. New heroines desperate for popularity are forced to take up demeaning roles.

Tamil cinema has earned name through the works of exceptional directors and actors. But if the current scenario prevails, the concept of originality and production of family entertainers would become extinct from the face of Tamil cinema. What we would be left with would be third grade porn-like movies with a storyline..or if it gets worse, even without one!