To every Tamil movie fan, the name Kamalhaasan, is a name that evokes pride. Pride in the fact that there is a creator cum actor, who can take, if not already taken, Tamil film-making to heights never seen before. I too had this sense of pride, after having watched Kamal's movies for almost all my life. Then 'Netflix' happened to me. Never had I got a chance to watch world cinema as much as I have done in the last few years, thanks to the amazing concept of Netflix. Anyways, this article is not a promotion for the same. This article is about the authenticity (or the lack of) the 'Icon' of Indian cinema.
Kamal's career can be phased out into two distinct phases. The first phase was that of the "Actor"...his initial years were when his mentor (KB) and sometimes other directors had the most say in the works he did. Basically, Kamal was the actor in a director's movie, nothing more.
There has never been any doubts about his histrionic skills. He was and still is the most matured actors to have emerged out of Indian cinema. A person who isn't content with the work he does and the fame and fans that come with it. Needless to say, he came out of the shadows of film stars being just showpieces in a motion picture, that was a story told in the eyes of the director.
Then began the second phase...the "Creator"...The first step, any actor trying to get involved in the making of the movie, would do is writing. The story and screenplay department are the least populated areas of film-making. Scripts tailored to showcase an actor's histrionics, is every actor's dream.
Kamal too started his involvement in the making of a movie in a similar way. Eighties is when Kamal started to make head-way in the so-called journey of cinematic excellence. Raaja-Paarvai was his first screenplay...
"Striving to be independent, a blind but determined young man moves away from his overprotective family. The young man meets a kooky neighbor. His quick wit and good looks disarm the free-spirited neighbor, and before long they're more than just friends."
Did you think this was the gist of Raaja Paarvai? Wrong...this is the blurb of a Milton Katselas film based on a Leonard Gershe’s stage play. The film was "Butterflies Are Free".
Raaja Paarvai was not "inspired" from this New York tale. It requires great resourcefulness to adapt this film into the Indian context. Sai Paranjpe's 'Sparsh' was the movie that did this hard-work. 'Raaja-Paarvai' was re-inspired by Sparsh. The timeframes of both these movies re-inforces this fact. 'Sparsh' was released in 1980 while 'Raja Paarvai' came out in 1981.
There are more such 'co-incidences'...
Indiran Chandiran is another of Kamal's milestone movies. The movie was a first in the sense of experimentation with the look of the character. Disfiguring oneself to get under the skin of the character was something "new" to the Indian "intelligentia".
Indiran Chandiran (aka) Indrudu Chandrudu (aka) Mayor Saab is a down-right rip of the Richard Dreyfuss starrer "Moon Over Parador". This movie was the height of Richard Dreyfuss' dramatic skills. Richard Dreyfuss plays Jack Noah who is offered a role in the tiny Caribbean island of Parador; impersonating the nation's dictator, to whom he bears a resemblance. But he soon gets into trouble when he runs afoul of the Parador police chief, who wants to keep the dictator's demise a secret until he can takeover the country.
There are many more such "co-incidences"...
"Enakkul Oruvan" was inspired by "Reincarnation of Peter Proud(1975)" just as "Sathya" was inspired by "Marathon Man(1976)" starring Dustin Hoffman.
Kamal has a great admiration for Dustin Hoffman. It is evident in the roles/scripts he has adapted into the Indian context. Most of us know that "Chachi-420" (aka) "Avvai Shanmugi" was inspired from Robin Williams' "Mrs. Doubtfire". But the inspiration doesn't stop just there. The story line of "Avvai Shanmugi" is surely a rip from "Mrs. Doubtfire", but the character that Kamal portrayed, the body-language, the background of "Shanmugi Paati" itself is inspired from the character Dustin Hoffman plays in "Tootsie". Even the portion of the older Gemini Ganesan character falling for Shanmugi Paati, is taken out of "Tootsie".
The most interesting of adaptations out of Kamal's handi-works is "Anbe Sivam". The movie itself can be split into 2 portions. The first is the portion depicting the travel that Madhavan and Kamal make from Bhubaneshwar to Chennai. The second is the flashback portion involving the duel between the communist-Kamal and the industrialist-Nasser. The first portion is adapted from Steve Martin's "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". The second portion is inspired from Mel Gibson's "The Man without a Face".
The list of such "co-incidences" is endless...Here is a sampling...
"Magalir Mattum" from "Nine to Five" (1980, Jane fonda, Dolly Parton)
"Thenali" from "What About Bob" (1991, Richard Dreyfuss & Bill Murray)
"Virumandi" - The jail interviewing part and the abolition of Death Penalty is from "The Life of David Gale"(2003, Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney)
"Panchathanthiram" from "Very Bad Things"(1998)
"Naala Damayanthi" from "Green Card"(1990, Andie MacDowell, Gerard Depardieu)
"Sathi Leelavathi" from "She-Devil"(1989, Meryl Streep, Roseanne)
"Nammavar" from "To Sir With Love"(1967, Sidney Poitier)
"Guna" is based on "Tie me up Tie me down"(1990)
So much for "co-incidences"...
Inspiration is an instinct. It is the essence of one's imagination. At the same time it is a license that needs to be utilised like treading a tight rope.
Every great creator has always credited the source of his/her creations. Failing to do so, no matter what justice has been done to the inspired product, is a murder of the creator's essence.
Creators are inspired, true, agreed. What I dont understand is how come one creator alone is inspired from contemporary hollywood movies for every film he is involved creatively. Kamal is not inspired by the Mahabharatha or any epic, he is not inspired by a true life incident, he is not inspired by a book he reads. He is invariably inspired by a Hollywood movie made in the last 20-30 years. How else would one judge this kind of a selective inspiration?
To further my point, the Mexican director Alejjandro Gonzalez Inarittu's movie, '21 Grams' was inspired by a psalm in the bible, which talks about the weight of the soul. His movie starts with the credits line reading:- "Inspired by Psalm xx:yy". The inspiration is minimal, but the director stuck upon the idea of it when reading the psalm. But he still credits his inpiration. That is creative ethics at its zenith.
It is a general assumption that there is no-one better in the Indian film scape who has thought and acted differently when it comes to creativity and film-making than Kamal Haasan. Indian cinema has many creators who have been inspired from the west for most of their creations but have later faced ignominy when their plagiarism has been exposed. Deva is a shining example. For people who argue Kamal has adapted western scripts to Indian palettes, Deva has done an equally great job of adapting Western tunes to the Indian scape. Would anyone dare to weigh Kamal and Deva at the same level of genuineness in their respective fields?
Ignorance is bliss. In this case, the people's ignorance is Kamal's bliss.
Comments and brickbats welcome!!!
25 comments:
Agreed, credit must be given to the source of inspiration. So what is your take on what Kamal has done in the past. Has he given enough credit? Or has he behaved irresponsibly?
Well... Nice bLog to read..
So, finally what r u trying to reveal from yur Blog abtthis greatest ACTOR of INDIA???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Hey vetti!..Very informative..nicely written piece..one comment though..i agree most of those movies have been inspired or in other words picked right out of some other movies..but still adapting it to cater to the Indian palette is an entirely different ball-game and Kamal has done a reasonably good job of it..would have liked it if you had added that note at the end.Really liked the blog though.
Well Kamal's genius is not as a Creator- he will be heralded to exacting a high level of Standard from an largely mediocre industry. His Acting ability is what passes through without Question- and his ability as a Director comes in execution of a masterpiece such as Virumandi. Remember a remake has also to be REMADE - maybe u cant give him marks for being an Orginal Screenplay / Story Writer - he never claimed to be tht!
cheers
Karthik Kumar
Hi All,
Thanks for all your comments. I have been very slow in moderating all your comments. I have posted a re-post through which I have tried to answer all your valid points. Do read it and post your comments on the same. Once again, thaks for all your brilliant comments.
DOESNT MATTER ABOUT THE COINCIDENCES
HE IS A GREAT ACTOR!!!!!
good posts .. but keep in my that these movies are great adaptations of their original ideas.. the only mistake with kamal is that, he is not crediting those inspirations.. otherwise, there is nothing must to blame...
Hi,Interesting blog - I am reading this for the first time.
About this post, well-researched, well-written, but I would say over-emphasised, and driven over the limit of logical extension.
Two points...
Coincidences always happen. Newton and Leibnitz came up with calculus together. Similarly 'discoveries' have been made separated by eons in time. Kepler's laws of planetary movement were known in Aztec times Just because something looks like another movie, doesnt mean it is ripped off. It might mean that the time is right for someone in the society to get this idea independently. Mauna Raagam and Paesum Padam are examples (albeit not by Kamal) of a 'norm' of thinking being reflected in the creative work of a society.
Second, it sometimes makes sense to follow a pioneer. When we think of a battle in space, we imagine colorful plasma and lasers and buzzing ships, because Star Wars pioneered it, and all the other movies followed its wake, because that was the way it was ingrained into the public's mind, no reason to invest time into changing how they think if it is not critical to the movie's theme. Any horror movie with its oblique camera angles and blood showers rips off on Alfred Hitchcock-esque techniques. Kamal may just be borrowing Dustin Hoffman's techniques, because he feels it is suited to that role. Charlie Chaplin in Punnagai Mannan is another example.
sorry for the long comment
@argumentativesingaporean...thanx for the comment...the use of the word 'co-incidence' is in a sarcastic sense, just in case u didn't get that...if u even watch a single movie from that list, u'll know wat i am talking about...its not co-incidence, it is an outright 'copy'!!!! and wat is the chance of calculus getting invented twice...1 in a million inventions...but the ratio is too much to apply such an explanation in kamal's case...
Nice blog. Plagiarism in Indian film industry is at its best now. I have used some of your info here in my blog and a credit to you. Thanks for that. :)
கமல் கதையை மட்டுமல்ல, சில சமயங்களில், வசனங்களை கூட 'ஈ' அடிச்சு இருக்காரு. ex.
"every one has a breaking point"
This post is really a nice one. keep it up, i will try see all the original versions LOL
Good reasearch, nicely written, valid questions raised. And you have been too polite by using the word 'inspired'....where 'copied' would have been more apt.
But the same would be true for many writers and music directors in India. Even if this is made known to every movie fan in India, it wouldn't have a significant effect. People like you and me who 'appreciate' cinema might change our opinion about the 'greatness' of Kamal...but majority of people (who just need entertainment) wont care about this....as long as they are entertained. And that's what Kamal has mastered.
Try doing a similar research on Yuvan Shankar Raja or even the great Rehman....findings will be similar.
PS: Ilayaraja has another son named Karthik Raja (Ullasam, Grahan). He got RD Burman award for best young music director. But we haven't seen him much after that because he is particular about not lifting tunes....and no director wants him because of that.
Nice findings !
Maybe this was the reason , Rajinikanth didn't opt for phase 2 :)
EXCUSE ME IF YOU ARE DARE ENOUGH POST MY COMMENTS (THE NEW LIST OF CO INCIDENTS)
OR ACCEPT THE FACT YOU CANNOT ANSWER.
WHY HAVE YOU DELETED MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS, ARE YOU A COWARD?
IT CLEARLY SHOWS THAT YOU ARE FAKE.
I ACCEPT THAT YOUR ENGLISH IS BETTER THAN MINE, BUT I HAVE BETTER KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MOVIES AND ACTORS THAN YOU.
SO THIS WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON FROM WRITING STUPID BLOGS ON PEOPLE WITH GREAT TALENT.
START WRITING BLOGS ON SOMETHING WHICH MAKES SENSE OR WRITE A BLOG ON SOME FAMOUS CELEBRITIES WHO DO NOT DESERVE THE RECOGNITION.
Samy,
Mind your frickin' language. I don't delete comments. I have better things to do. What was the comment you mention that I deleted. Dare to post it again.
I did hear from one of my other friends that he was erroring out when posting a comment, but his comment was later published after a couple of attempts. But take it from a man who stands by his word, that I did not delete any comments. I write blogs on things I like to write about. I don't need some third person telling me what I need to write about.
If you think my blog was senseless, sitting and reading it and writing comments on it makes you the most senseless person!!!!
A new list of co incidents
If you think kamal movies are inspired by Hollywood
1.
An interesting fact the when the movie Alavandhaan which was released 2001
People who watched the movie said,
Alavandhaan is inspired by Silence of the Lambs. Silence of lambs was released in 1991.
But actually the story of alavandhaan is from a novel Dayam which was written by kamal Hassan 1983.
2.
The movie vetri vizha was released in 1987.
With the same story line
The movie the Bourne identity was released in 2002.
But actually the story Bourne identity was from a spy fiction thriller novel by Robert Ludlum Bourne Identity is a 1980.
Now we do not know who was inspired by whom.
Dude,
1.An interesting fact the when the movie Alavandhaan which was released 2001
People who watched the movie said, Alavandhaan is inspired by Silence of the Lambs. Silence of lambs was released in 1991.
But actually the story of alavandhaan is from a novel Dayam which was written by kamal Hassan 1983.
>> I know about the novel "Dhaayam" by Kamal. But if anyone in this world though Aalavandaan was inspired by "Silence of The Lambs", I have no words for them but only pity them. I have literally breathed the book "The Silence of The Lambs" by Thomas Harris and subsequently the extraordinary film version which swept the Academy awards in all major categories. One can only be dumbfounded by Anthony Hopkins' performance. "Clarice, do you still hear the lambs in your dreams...BTW I am having a GUEST FOR DINNER!!!". OMG you get a chill down your spine evrytime you think of this dialogue. I have even watched the sequel, "Hannibal" and the prequel "The Red Dragon". There is not a single semblance of Aalavandhan in any of the movies. But Aalavandhan is a debacle of humongous proportions. The people who said it was inspired by "Silence..", please tell them they are A** Holes.
2. The movie vetri vizha was released in 1987. With the same story line, The movie the Bourne identity was released in 2002.
But actually the story Bourne identity was from a spy fiction thriller novel by Robert Ludlum Bourne Identity is a 1980.
>> No one can even think of saying Vetri Vizha was inspired by the movie simply because of the timelines. Nor can anyone say "The Bourne Identity" was re-inspired by "Vetri Vizha", reason being that Robert Ludlum himself co-wrote the screenplay for all the Bourne trilogy movies. One thing that is possible is that "Vetri Vizha" was inspired by the book, which is a welcoming thing.
My list does not include these 2 movies. But it contains a lot of other movies. Believe me when I say that I watched every movie on the list and did a whole lot of research before I compiled this article.
Now lets say that we take away the movies on my list and add it to Kamal's film-career as a creator with an asterisk (meaning questionable), will Kamal's glorious career be 'glorious' any more. Note: I am saying Kamal's career as a creator and not saying as an Actor.
Again, my point is simple, people can get away with anything. If any of these movies had been released in any country where the big studios (Universal, Paramount, etc.) have their wings spread out, Kamal will be in a deep copyright violation shit hole.
FYI, Satyajit Ray sued Spielberg for plagiarising his story of ET. Sir Richard Attenborough had to settle the issue with both of them out of court. Imagine, an indian director (Ray) making a movie like E.T. Indian cinema will be completely different today. Ray was in discussion with Universal studio heads in London for making the movie. But feuds broke out and the project was shelved. years later Spielber, Universal's golden boy wanted to make the movie. Rest is history. But the history could have been ours. Sad.
Simple explanation of differnece between a 'copy' and an 'inspiration' was given by a copyright lawyer in a recent interview. If a piece of art simply reminds the consumer of another one that they already have seen, listened or enjoyed, it is considered copying, period. I was definitely reminded of 'What About Bob', when I saw 'Tenali'. So was the case with all the movies in that list.
Now I will give you an example of inspiration. The song 'Chittukku Chella Chittukku' from Nallavanukku Nallavan was inspired by Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov's, a 19th century Russian composer, 'The Tale Of The Kalendar Prince' from 1888. Now google these 2 songs and listen to them, there is no resemblance of each other in them. But still they are inspired in the arrangement portion. Only a music connosieur can find this, not an average consumer.
I hope you understood the differnece between copy and inspiration. Kamal should be very blessed that the exposure of the consumers he caters to, is far less and he can continue with his handi-works with hardly any one noticing.
PS: Remember I used to be a die hard fan, but things changed, the more I started to watch a wider section of movies.
I AGREE THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE SEEN, The Silence of The Lambs" sequel, "Hannibal" and the prequel "The Red Dragon". IF YOU NOT SEEN A semblance THEN I AM SURE YOU HAVE NOT WATCH Aalavandhan, COZ I WATCHED SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, AND HAVE SEEN A SEMBLANCE. NOT THE WHOLE STORY BUT IDEA AND FEW SCENES AFTER HE ESCAPES.
HOWEVER WHAT kept me LAUGHING was when you said one can only be dumbfounded by Anthony Hopkins' performance. "Clarice, do you still hear the lambs in your dreams...BTW I am having a GUEST FOR DINNER!!!". OMG you get a chill down your spine every time you think of this dialogue.
No ways, Mr. Inner voice want ask you something Are you an NRI?
I certainly think that you are, because the way you understand things in the same way.
And I also can’t believe when you say that you are a die hard fan of kamal Hassan. You have not watched him closing (his acting)
Antony Hopkins has done good job and silence of the lambs is very good but it not because of Antony Hopkins.
Given a chance kamal Hassan also could have done a better job, unfortunately kamal do not have the kind of source ( I mean directors, producers, technician etc) as Hollywood. If you would have compared kamal to the caliber of tom hanks I might agree but Antony Hopkins no way, kamal can always do a Antony Hopkins, but antony hokins can,t even dream of what kamal Hassan has done in the past, VIRMANDI or HEY RAM, Avatar Singh, Krishnaveni Grandma, Vincent Poovaraghavan just to name a few and learning diff languages. Accent, is not as easy as how come an deliver things the way it is
Yu should ask antony Hopkins to wactch alavandhan iam sure he imseld agree the fact (not the movie the acting talent)
Kamal Hassan played 2 roles in alavadhan one role he had physically build up more than 100 kilos, another less than 100kilos
I think Antony Hopkins will be dumbfounded if he had seen alavandhan, he can only do roles which suits his personality, and age,
But kamal can do no matter it suits his personality he changes himself into the role. Big or small fat or thin, balck or white
i WOULD DEFENIFTLY AGREE THAT INDIANS ARE INSPIRED BY HOLLYWOOD MOVIES..
KAMAL IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTORS, AND NOT THEEEE BEST...
but EVERYONE WILL AGREE THAT KAMA HASSAN IS DEFINITELY THE MOST TALENTED ACTOR AND DIFFERENT FROM OTHER IN WORLD CINEMA
SIMPLY BECAUSE APART FROM DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY AND ETC, HE CAN ACT IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGE AND DIFFERENT STYLE, AND WAS ACTING HE DOES NOT WORK WITH BIG BANNERS, AND BIG DIRECTORS TO PLAY SAFE LIKE ANOTHER ACTOR.
Even if you take off the movies from your list as a creator kamal Hassan delivered
Movies like
HEY RAM
APOORVA SAGODHARARGAL
MICHAEL MADAN KAM RAJAN.just a few
Kamal has won a total of 175 awards this includes as creator and actor.
Expect virmandi none other movies won awards among the list you have mentioned.
For your information kamal Hassan has been involved as a creator in almost 80 % of his movies ( more than 200 films) he has made so far but has not lent his name.
"...If you would have compared kamal to the caliber of tom hanks I might agree but Antony Hopkins no way, kamal can always do a Antony Hopkins, but antony hokins can,t even dream of what kamal Hassan has done in the past,..."
ROTFL...I dont think I can have any arguments with you, case closed, you are right, I am wrong...I am still laughing...
BTW, I was explaining why Silence of the Lambs is not Aalavandhan, never intended to compare their acting though, I seriously can't have an argument with someone who doesn't even seem to understand what I was trying to say...The entire blog was about Kamal's lack of genuineness...anyways good luck to you!!(still laughing)
As you say
The entire blog was about Kamal's lack of genuineness,
i THINK YOU GOT UR REPLY.
I think you I have also explained that you have not watched alalvadhAann that is why you say silence OF THE LAMBS is not alavadahaan, and you have not read the comment completely; I have mentioned (NOT THE WHOLE STORY BUT IDEA AND FEW SCENES AFTER HE ESCAPES.)
NOW THIS MAKES ME LAUGHING because you come into ur own conclusion with out even reading the whole comment.
if you Kamal's lack of genuineness,
Even after you read that, some thing is wrong.
And this also makes me laugh that when ever I write a strong point you try to ignore it writing you did not understand, you are moron,
Why don’t you be straight, tell you do not have an answer.
To be frank iam not a die hard fan of kamal Hassan as you are. but certainly realized that he is extremely talented among the others.
"And this also makes me laugh that when ever I write a strong point you try to ignore it writing you did not understand, you are moron,
Why don’t you be straight, tell you do not have an answer."
What is the so-called strong point? The Aalavandhaan point? I never took the credit of Aalavandaan away from Kamal. It is his novel, it is his movie. Happy? But its a movie that I never mentioned nor do I want to mention(ask Kalaipli Dhanu, you might be killed for talking about it. Poor guy, he lost everything in it).
You havent seem to have read beyond the Aalavandaan comment in my reply. Since your "strong" point has been given to you and Kamal, answer my other comments.
The whole point of the blog was whether Kamal is copying or is getting inspired. You seem to answer how great an actor he is. That is not my point. Is Kamal copying or is he getting inspired. This is what I tried to explain in the answer about the difference between a 'copy' and an 'inspiration'. If you have an answer to that, then please do answer it. if you have a question about it, ask it. Dont divulge from topics and start a new argument in some other direction.
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Excuse me you were the one who started it
you said
(One can only be dumbfounded by Anthony Hopkins' performance. "Clarice, do you still hear the lambs in your dreams)
that is why i had to make you realise that great an actor he is.
you said (Now lets say that we take away the movies on my list and add it to Kamal's film-career as a creator with an asterisk (meaning questionable), will Kamal's glorious career be 'glorious' any more. Note: I am saying Kamal's career as a creator and not saying as an Actor.)
i have also justified as a creator.
IGNORE THIS COMMENT
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