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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- In this episode of #AskBR, Baradwaj Rangan discusses about one of the greatest Indian filmmaker #KBalachander.
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Avargal has aged like fine wine. This was a great film from the legend and hope the people of this generation understand his vision and philosophies.
‘Iraivi’ for me is the most KB’esque non-KB film off-late.
Yeah maybe , but for me the kb esque movie ends when vjs know about Bobby and kill him.. even killing , it won't be like that.. it's Tarantino meets KB/Balumahendra kind movie..
chithambaram v k yes, agreed
Yes .. More than 96, Iraivi suits KB type movie ..
I agree but one major difference. We wouldn't call SJ Suriya or VJS as protagonist in his movie rather it would be Kamalini and Anjali!
Sameera Dhavala I dunno if it is really a KB thing to leave women sad always. Kalki, one of my other favorite KB movies left the lead lady happy yet liberated and getting back to her love Paranjothi. On the other hand even in Iraivi, it is not that both the ladies were liberated and happy. While Anjali though kind of still sad is shown to finally enjoy the rain with her kid, Kamalini still listens to her dad and reaches out to the groom seen by him, showing she is still dependent. Kamalini even still says to her kid “vendam ma, nananjudivom” - still not liberated. Both don’t get the same kind of ending. This alone does not decide whether it is KB’esq, Karthik had his other inspirations including Tarantino and much more importantly his own style and treatment.
I am 24. I have seen Avargal movie a number of times but every time I see it, I cannot get over Sujatha's character. I wonder how he could write such a character back then. It never feels like a movie shot in 70s. It is a movie that really stood the test of time :) One my of fav KB sir's movie :)
I watch older movies these days. There are few that stands the test of time.
I'm 22 and I'm gonna watch avargal just for you man.
Watch avargal,nizhal nijamagiradhu,aval appadithan...Mind blowing movies of those time..
Avargal- class movie. You are so right and so many movies have taken this one as an inspiration.. she doesn’t need any shoulders to lean on and she is an independent woman. Women don’t get a happy ending which I feel will undermine the woman character and they won’t last in our minds. Class Example is also thaneer thaneer and achamillai
"Nizhal Nizamagiradhu" is my favourite K.Balachandar film and Kamal's role as "Sanjeevi" is my favourite from KB and Kamal combo..I just keep visiting this film again and again for the story,Sumithra-Kamal conflict,Mouli at his best,2 Mind blowing songs "Kamban yemandhaan" and "Ilakanam Maarudho" and Kamal was free flowing.
I am 25, watched avargal a few years back and wondered how relevant the movie is ..and my grand parents are huge kb fans and they were really happy when i told them that i loved avargal. I was glad that a subject like this resonated with every generation in my family:)
Avargal was really an awestruck experience for me.. I just watched it after you specifying it in one of your videos. Like the way Anu's character is written, the journey of the character that starts from the train journey and ends in a train journey. For me the best thing about the character was Anu never cries throughout..she just moves on with smile, but in the climax when she cried I found tears on my eyes too. Despite this hard-hitting climax the speciality about KB sir is he managed to give the viewers hope. And that's y I loved Avargal this much
I really liked the ending of the movie "Avargal" that sujatha turned into an independent woman. The movie starts with sujatha in a train with a view of living independent and ends with the sujatha taking the same decision..I like the table tennis playing scenes.
I watched Avargal after this video and I really liked it. It didn't seem outdated at all. It is amazing that the plot lines are never there just to make a statement about anything. It just captures the lives of people that lived. UA-cam also recommended Kalki, which I watched and it is crazy to see how things transformed through the decades and yet the core remained the same, his principles remained the same - at the same time there wasn't anything preachy.
And it is so fresh! Man people these days don't have any creativity, they have been making the same movies the last two decades I have been alive. :P
The other thing that resonated with me is that, I may not agree with some of the plot lines or dialogues, but I don't hate the movie or the idea that it might be true in someone else's world, which I believe is so hard to achieve. We see time and again how things become so polarizing these days. It would be interesting to know how people reacted to these movies when they came out.
I just watched Apoorva Ragangal. What a movie man... In 1975, such a movie is unbelievable. Actually all new gen movies today were taken by KB in 1960s and 70s
"Thapputhaalangal" is 100 times raw n harsher than a Bala movie👍
KB was ruthless. Instantly fell for his movies as soon I turned 5 or 6. Yet to get that with any other filmmaker.
Just finished watching Avargal for the first time Sir, now it has become my favorite K Balachender movie!
Mild Spoiler Alert -
I watched it in UA-cam, which has the ending scene between Sujatha and her Mother in Law cut( I googled and found about the ending). Truly the story stands the test of time and though tragic, the ending is so realistic!
The movie made my day...Thank you Sir!🙂
Actually he did have a story aboutv lgbt..which he was waiting to make...he narrated it to me....and we almost decided to do a play first...because he felt we could test the waters ,so to say,.. but...that is destined to be unmade....sad that...he still had at least five to six films in him....he was always unsatisfied...always felt that his next film would be his best...he always regretted that he had never won a national award for direction..that trophy was missing from his shelf....kb.was work in progress...he kept on thinking ..looking for subjects out of the box...yes.. OTT would have been a perfect platform for his quality of cinema...he had a different creative courage and would have certainly scorched the tracks there......
I watched film companion only for bardwaj rangan explanation
i m 15 and i gonna watch avargal for baradwaj sir
I'm 30 and I liked Avarhal a lot when I watched it for the first time, in last 5 years BR!! Such a great feel it gave! Portraying strength gave strength and inspired! (:
Avargal is a superb movie with a brilliant filmmaking. Especially the mother in law character is awesome and it's someone who one longs for having in one's life.
Hey BR, my cousin introduced me to your reviews (with the one you did for Viswaroopam). I have enjoyed the depth of your reviews as well as continue to be impressed by the sheer expanse of your movie knowledge. Hats off.
I loved this entire review but for the one word you used, “resent”, when you spoke about women characters in KB’s movies. I’m not sure I understand the intent of the word or maybe “resent” isn’t the right word. Either ways, I thought I’ll add my 2 cents in here - just in the off chance you end up reading this comment.
The opinion that there’s a dichotomy that KB reserved for his women lead characters is what I wish to start with. So using the same shrink lens ...
1. Shrink lens on the women characters. You addressed it in part when you spoke about women in both Avargal and Arangetram. That these are women have faced years of inequality, injustice, neglect and thereby a sort of abuse for their entire life. Especially in the 70’s, 80’s, very few people in society (men and women) saw women as free thinkers but all of KB’s lead women were exactly that. So it was a sort of thought-slavery they lived under and finally the only way they could be free or find peace of mind, was to walk away from society/men itself. It’s like they hit a tipping point after years of oppression that they just don’t care about the outcome. Cause all along, they have been taking decisions keeping outcomes in mind and it’s not given them true happiness.
2. Shrink lens again on the women characters. I think the fact that we don't comprehend the reasoning or causality of these free thinking, lead women’s decisions towards the end of Act 3 is because we're trying to understand them rationally. And that is in fact a win for KB’s direction because society never understood them and it won’t because the rationality is derived from systematic learning from society itself. Everyone’s met people in their lives who take some decisions without rhyme or reason. Doesn’t mean they are dumb or impulsive, but it’s their strong conviction that it’s what’s right for them for that situation. Combine the oppressed mindset of women from (1) and a free spirit/visionary, nobody can predict or understand their decisions. So the fact that we see it as sad endings, in my opinion, is intended because we’re gauging the women based on what we think leads to a complete life.
3. We should also turn that shrink's lens from the story to the storyteller KB himself. KB was also a man who wanted to escape societal boundaries/chains. And that's evident by (3a) how most of his central positive characters were free thinkers of independent thought and rebels (men and women) (3b) how he liked to rebel with his story always breaking taboo subjects like widow remarriage, etc (3c) how he portrayed tam brahms, etc. He almost had the same urge like Christopher McCandless where he just wanted to get away from society. The man was not going to be bound by social norms and neither were his characters, even if it meant outlandish and unpredictable endings, he wasn't going to give a "rational", "understandable" ending no matter what. Not to mention, as a storyteller he knew that “sad” endings would ensure that those characters become immortal in our memory. When most of the industry was giving feel-good endings, his movie climaxes just shook people by their shoulders and made them think.
Truly I agree with what you say and I feel these points are relevant even today. Any woman or for it matters any person who wants to be free - spirited and live out of this societal concerns choose to move apart from people and society. Even I have thought so, but that requires ample courage to move on. The best part of KB sir's characters is that they possessed this courage, after all the struggles and mishaps they finally choose to move on, which usually gives me hope.
Very true. In other words, through his women characters, KB injected the required reforms in to the society, silently or by bold dialogues.
I am so pleased to note that my personal taste matches that of a great critic like BR. My favorite KB was always Avargal, favorite Mani movie was Iruvar and I rate Andavan KattaLai (2016) as one of the best recent movies. I have always wondered if I had a good taste in movies but I feel I have validation now ! Thank you Bharadwaj !
"this is not a gossip show" - br what a cutie!
About pudhu pudhu arthangal score, the score was completed by KB himself by reusing old music. KB locked the release of PPA for deepavali. For the same deepavali Ilaiyaraja was having Kamals VetriVizha, Rajinis Mapillai, PVasu's vaathiyar veetu pillai, two ramarajan movies thangamana rasa and anbu kattalai, and there were other non ilaiyaraja movies also lined up. Raja was doing the score parallel for all movies and since the score was getting delayed KB skeptical of missing the festive date went ahead completing the score himself by reusing old tracks. This irked raja as this was done without his consent and he felt it as an insult. He didnt do music for kavithalaya productions also after this. Even vasanth after a superb keladi kanmai had to go for mmkeeravani since it was produced by kavithalaya and IR & KB had a rift. This is also the reason why manirathnam went for new music director in Roja since it was kavithalaya productions. Though they buried their difference in late 90's but never worked together again.
Hello. I’m a time-pass writer and I wrote the below piece about KB sir
K.B turns 90
Kailasam Balachander was the ‘Pithama’ (Forefather) for Tamil Cinema. I have always been joked as an ultra-feminist by many people - looking back I think it was this man’s dramas and movies that influenced my personality. He is recognized usually as the person who introduced many stalwarts like Thalaivar, Ulaganayagan or Sridevi. However, for a girl like me who grew up in conservative society, he was my women’s liberation icon. Through his dramas and movies, he showed how women can take strong decisions and lead families. ‘Kalki’, ‘Aval Oru Thodargathai’ and ‘Premi’ - all these were taken in times of extreme patriarchal eras. His movies depicted how women wanted to live their lives during periods where they was complete dependence on their men. When these days we have movies where the actress is mere a show-piece or worse just shown as people who are not faithful in their relationships, KB sir’s women were ‘Bharathi kanda pudumai pen.’ He probably was the pioneers for women also being called as actors as most of his lead characters were women. His UPS was also about breaking stereotypes - whether it was Sindhu giving away her child out of wedlock for Sulakshana or Kalki going through surrogacy for Chellama. Another uniqueness about his movies is the language - exquisite and highly intellectual - I had to google certain English words in 2015 for a drama taken in 1997. He has achieved perfection in various genres: be it Comedy through “Thillu Millu”, Romance through “Punnagai Mannan” or message type movies like “Unal Mudiyum Thambi.” One such dialogues from his movies goes as such, “What is this? She is talking without any respect. Before marriage, she is talking arrogantly. As a retort, she says, “Before marriage a girl can be arrogant, but not pregnant.” If I ever achieve 1% of the writing art like Sujatha alias Rangarajan or KB Sir, my soul will rest in peace. To the man who told us that the world will see that the hands that cook can make history, wishing you a posthumous Happy 90th Birthday!
Aval oru thdarkathai movie my favourite in kb sir movie many punnagai ,bama vijayam
agree, 90s tv serials were better than what is on now
Varumayin niram sivapu ,,,,is my fav
Baddy you should have interviewed KB!!!!
You could have mentioned parthale paravasam. A film which tells the couple can maintain their friendship even after divorce which was way more advanced in 2000
I'm gonna watch nizhal nijamaagirathu... And thank you for making me watch avargal...
SPOILERS OF AVARGAL AND IRAIVI ahead
Hey Baddy, watched Avargal and thought it was amazing. The ending was very impactful, and I think what KB was trying to convey was that a woman doesn't neccessarily require a man to survive. As mainstream viewers we want her to unite with Kamal who seems to be her most sincere lover from the 3 male characters, but KB doesn't give us this "happy" ending in a traditional way. Her arc goes from being dependent on men to being independent of them, which I personally don't think is bleak and is in fact empowering. Reminded me a little of iraivi, though iraivi had a much more tragic vibe to a similar themed ending.
In my childhood days, I don't like KB movies and serials .. I used to think why this guy is taking movies of this kind of relationship.. But when I become adult, I realized his legacy and understood his movies. This man is really a gem of Tamil cinema. I watched most KB movies (missed 5 to 6 movies) and he is a best example of perfect story teller and director. I feel he is very much underrated. My 25 favorite KB movies in no order are:
1. Avargal
2. Aval Oru Thodarkathai
3. Varumaiyin Niram Sigappu
4. Arangetram
5. Thaneer Thaneer
6. 47 Natkal
7. Thappu Thalangal
8. Nool Veli
9. Nizhal Nijamagiradhu
10. Ek Duuje Ke Liye
11. Achamillai Achamillai
12. Thillu Mullu
13. Punnagai
14. Iru Kodugal
15. Oru Veedu Iru Vasal
16. Kalyana Agathigal
17. Velli Vizha
18. Ethir Neechal
19. Apoorva Raagangal
20. Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal
21. Punnagai Mannan
22. Pattina Pravesham
23. Nootrukku Nooru
24. Sollathaan Ninaikkiren
25. Kalki.
Thanks for the list going to watch them
Watched Avargal a couple of weeks back and I totally agree with you on his women characters always having a not so happy ending. But, this is how I see it. His women characters are strong, independent, forward thinking. They carry their families' burden on their shoulders and are not broken by relationship failures. At the end, finding solace in uniting with a man isn't something that he wanted his characters to be remembered as. Like in Balu Mahendra's Marupadiyum movie climax, when Arvind proposes, Revathy would say, I want to be Thulasi, just Thulasi without any xyz. Punnagai mannan is an exception though :)
19, watched avargal last month , simply Whoa , KB is a legend .. Every climax in KBs film mind blowing .. aval oru thodarkathai , Apoorva rangal 🔥 Thappu thalangal vera level
My favourite ones are apporva ragangal, ek duje ke liye, punnagai mannan, sindhu Bhairavi
Ask baradwaj sir it is my kind request to you !! Please make video about cinematographers and trending setting cinematographers it is my kind request to you !!!
About msv and KB combo, he actually worked parallel with MSV, V.Kumar and Vijayabhaskar . Many would mistake V.Kumar and Vijayabhaskar songs as MSV since KB did more films with MSV among the 3..
BR you can do a video on varumaiyn niram sigappu. I love the mute character in the movie
Yay! Finally FIUBS question has been picked! Tq @filmcompanion and @baradwajrangan sir ❤
Hello BR! I watched Avargal today. It has definitely stood the test of time and is going to for the next few decades without a doubt. About your take on how KB doesn't give happily ever after endings to his women, he certainly has given the best fairy tale ending to Anu with Leelavathy's companionship for life. Who better than her to start a new life with in a new land?! :)
Thanks for answering my questions. But did 'Madipadi Madhu' influence the cupboard under the steps for Harry Potter.
Please can you give some places where we can watch k balachender movies with subtitles
Varumaiyin Niram Sivapu and Bharathiyar is best.. infact like bharathiyar poems placements in that movie is best than the bharathiyar biography movies made in tamil..
Vannakam aaiya
This is w.r.t BR's curiosity about what must've been running in KB Sir's mind as he consistently gave bizarre, sacrificial type of endings to his women characters after elevating them throughout the movie. I think Balachander was so way ahead of his times in portraying his female leads , making them extremely progressive and unconventional as they faced life - they were all strong characters in search of an identity in times when women were just beginning to get educated in colleges & getting financially independent - his characters were strong decision makers - that towards the end of the movie two factors seem to have influenced him - his own curb based on practical age - related wisdom that a happy ending may have its own realistic complications and perhaps his primary stage background that catered to a dramatic climax. Perhaps that's where he & someone like Mani Ratnam would differ - the latter would rather not give a message & leave it as it is allowing the various segments of the audience to make their own interpretations.
All said and done, KB Sir's female characters were bold and super-strong and absolutely fascinating. Back then as growing up kids , me and my siblings would accompany my mother and her friend to Aurora theatre in Mumbai ( then Bombay) to watch KB Sir's movies during afternoons. I realize now as I recall that it was in only KB Sir's movies unlike the other Tamil movies of the period that they would discuss about the female characters and dialogues in depth long after the movie ended. His movies gave them food for thought. They were conventional housewives getting exposed to interesting and new ways of thinking . They absolutely adored his movies as did us back then and now when on revisiting them as we discover puthu puthu arththangal in all his classics.
You should have noticed that most of his stories are taken from movies abroad
Vaali, SindhuSamaveli kind of movies were somewhat KB'isque.
Mr BR - I’m very much on the same plane as you on KBs peak years , your likes and dislikes . I remember watchin ‘Pudhu pudhu & Vaaname Ellai’ in the theaters and came out thinking they were cringe worthy . ‘Iru kodugal’ before Avargal was brilliant for its times as well . ‘Varumiyan Niram sivappu’ , ‘Marocharitra’ . ‘Sindhu Bhairavi’ were classics for sure. I loved ‘Unnal Mudiyum Thambi’ expect for its sloppy masala sequence towards the end , Kamal , Seetha & Gemini Ganesan were brilliant & ofcourse the magical score & BGM of Raja , haven’t seen Rudraveena so cant comment. I do agree MSV was his best musical accompaniment and his offbeat movies with Saritha were gems. By far his magical male leads were Kamal & Rajini and he bought out the best in Sujatha, Srividya & Saritha . Tributes to a great filmmaker.
Please do flashback on ‘Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu’ & ‘Sindhu Bhairavi’
THANK YOU..! # KB, #BR , # FILM COMPANION! #90!!!
I am 23 I watched Avargal way before this video ,I liked the movie very much especially the climax where sujatha character shows us as a purely independent women who never break down in any situation and Rajini character also mentioned in a scene like "ne kathari kannner vidratha na pakanum indha nerthula kuda kanner vida matiya" but she finally breaks down when she saw her mother in law in the train with movie ended like "thunbathai kandu Anu enaikume aluthuthila" she cried because of the true affecttion which she not got from her lover nor the husband and also the movie which tells that woman can stand on their own in any obstacles
And my fav KB sir's movies are Punnagai, achamillai achamillai,Sindhu Bhairavi, Punnagai mannan and Thillu mullu
I find no one talks abt azhagan movie bcoz it's one movie in the history of tamil cinema which talks about ppl in the upper class and emotional drama of dose ppl..instead of stereotypically portraying dem in a bad light....
If I remember right the rich man in the film comes from a poor background and becomes rich through his hard work and enterprise.
I m just saying about de essence of de movie...nothing abt de backstory which is not related to de movie.....
Till noe Have'nt watched a single KB movie. I knw about him as the guru of both Rajni and kamal.. thanks BR for giving more info about KB for a 22yr old to understand about a legend..Will watch all the movies u specified.
Watch his movies, they are revelation!! He worked wonders with Kamal and Sridevi in many of them !
KB sir made me a compulsive feminist from 5 years of age. and to answer your question there is no happy ending for women even today. Every women journey then or now is one of trials and turbulence. Characters from other directors succumbed to the troubles where as KB sir characters overcame with it sheer grit. and his films were a reflection of what happens in the journey of a woman - there are no happy endings there
Hey man, may I plz do AskSB on my channel for Telugu cinema, plz??!!!!
I just paused this video at 9 : 06 and watched Avargal from Raj Video Vision channel.I was literally blown...
I love his telugu movie Rudraveena starring Chiranjeevi
My sister's name is after Sujata character name Kavitha from Aval oru thodarkadhai
Where can I watch all these movies you mention🤔 Dvds?
Thillumullu and sindhu bairavi my favourite KB Sir movies
Sir SUBTITLE on the last video please
You got nostalgic at the cost of being critical, at times.
You forget that he is a human. Why should he have to always strive to be only a critic and not for once just talk about a topic that he clearly he feels strongly about, freely?
Taramani is Kind of KB film
Great analysis. Reg kb not giving happy ending to strong ladies, may be he thought subconsciously they r more happy n independent without a man, which is right in a way. As a compensation for ppl like u, he let sindhu marry again in sahana.:-)
Where can I watch Avargal with English subtitles?
KB made more realistic movies than most of the directors , even if we continue to count him in today's generation. You kinda associate some story near you to his movies. Those leading woman screaming today that , there are no woman centric movies have no clue abt tamil cinema during 60s -80s .
Thanneer... Thanneer is my fav
NGL, I thought the Barsaat poster on the wall was the Bobby Deol one for a moment. 😂😂
Start a podcast ✌🏾
Manadhil urudhi vendum also done by ilayaraja
❤❤❤
best way to see his video play in speed 1.5
Antha naal is my favorite one. ❤❤
That is s.balachander but this is k.balachander.
Lol... that’s my favorite Balachander too... the weird eccentric one though.....not this one.
Rudraveena.
I agree parthalae paravasam was really those odd ones and I wondered why he made that crap!!! Even mani and RGV are like that!!! For the last 10 years they are making poor movies interms of content! Please do another interview with RGV and Mani before they disappear!
Thaneer Thaneer.
Avargal.
Is this Film Companion South or Film Companion Tamil ?
😁👏
Film south companion can You also invite Sundar c Sir, vikraman Sir & Ks Ravikumar sir or Agathiyaan sir(Kaadhal Kottai/Kaadhal Kavithai)? They are for me good director & it will be nice to hear to know about their experience please. Example kaadhal kottai won First time for tamil National award. Ks ravikumar done faboulus movies like muthu Or Padaiyappa Ramya krishnan madam acting that recognised also for Baahubali & super deluxe or pancha thanthiram. Vikraman what he understand about family subject movies or social issues. I liked his movies poove unakaage or suryavamsam. How is that possible that sundar c Sir make movie in 50 days & Editor work with him. Thats the fastest work ever
Can you maybe make a roundtable, where other critics like bosskey, blue stattai other one panda etc ....
what they think of criticism or whether their opinion differs from others etc.
Maro charitra
He was casteist, classist and misogynistic by todays standards, so move on.We have better directors today.
A Brahmin praising another Brahmin , nothing great!!
Much Ado about Nothing
we have to learn to see people as people and not as a caste, if you follow br you would know he has praised many directors- even balu mahendra who is a non-indian and non-Hindu. Balachander is disliked by many brahmins because he would depict their flaws, because regardless of caste all us humans have flaws.
தமிழ் ல பேசலாமே
The motive of this channel is to take regional cinema to the world. Tamil la pesuna Tamil audience mattum dha paapanga.. English la pesara naala dha namma padangalukku National reach irukku