‘Kanthara’ and ‘Ponniyin Selva’ are two films that have gained widespread attention in India and the West. There are heated discussions on social media. At least some of them are focused on the production and turnover of these films. ‘Kanthara’ and ‘Ponniyin Selva’ continue to rake in the money after they managed to create confusion among the audience that how can they not watch a movie that has made such a huge amount of money? Thus, when the estimates that huge investments will bring big financial gains are credible, are the expectations of cinema to bring the obligations of small lives to the audience with a small investment fade away!
Although the matter deserves serious attention, I do not want to proceed further down the same path. I consider the comparison between ‘Kanthara’ and ‘Ponniyin Selva’ more important than that. So much so that these films are influencing all language films. They have written new success stories in the annals of Indian cinema. Statistics are also available in new media. The desire to be a part of such massive film ventures in the realization that it is not a model that can be easily imitated, does any filmmaker wait for Thalir! Audiences also fall prey to the temptations raised by such movies that implement the ‘win win’ theory of guaranteeing some kind of profit for everyone. They are also unable to read the cryptic messages given by the blindfolded visions. This much should be kept in mind when we approach ‘Kantara’ and ‘Ponniyin Selva’ with discernment.
As claimed by Rishabha Shetty, the lead actor and director of ‘Kantara’, the root of ‘Kantara’ is a mythology that carries the scent of yesteryear. The film deals with the traditional belief, resistance, struggle and victory of the tribal groups of Karnataka and also turns into a story of migration and displacement. That is the significance of ‘Kantara’. Because even today it is the same tribal group that is subjected to the most exploitations but raises the least protests and is subjected to the most heinous violations of human rights! Their whole faith is enslaved before the stone of Varahamurti. Have we not long been familiar with the mentality of the helpless, who naturally seek refuge in stones when faith in mankind is lost! ‘Kantara’ touches this wound tenderly.
There have been short films in Indian languages dealing with the hardships and crises of tribal communities. Rishabha Shetty showed the courage to present it on a large canvas. Varahamurthy’s concept of helping people who are immersed in absolute faith to show them the reality of life, told how myths can be reconstructed. At the end of the story, Varahamurthy, who flees into the dense forest after sharing the happiness that comes from the unity of all, including the authorities and the common people, also points out the way to solve the problems faced by the tribal community at large. In this way, ‘Kantara’ helps to establish a heart-to-heart connection with the insecurities that swell within those who, anywhere in the world, have been forcibly expelled from the soil of their birth.
No one will question the fact that ‘Kantara’ is a film made with commercial interests in mind. From the beginning to the end, the masalakoots of commercial films have been used in this film. I also do not take lightly the criticism that the film is pushing modern society into superstition. But if we can keep these thoughts aside for a while, we can find some good in ‘Kantara’. The camera eyes of ‘Kantara’ reaches a small section that is constantly subjected to the exploitation of the big ones with wealth, power and caste, and shows the struggles they have to face to protect their meager lives, culture and creeds. Some are trying to link the popularity of ‘Kantara’ to ‘KGFs’. But they don’t have even the remotest records of meeting other than films from the same country! ‘KGF’, which is based on the miseries of the destitute who lead a life of slavery in the depths of mines where light does not reach, but the bloody victories of the coated rockies are celebrated on the silver screen! Reports are coming in that ‘Kantara’ has surpassed the huge financial success that scared the audience by shooting, cutting, beating and exploding bombs.
After ‘Kanthara’, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, which came out on a horse, openly challenges Bollywood’s monopoly on Indian films. Bollywood is once again reeling when ‘Ponniyin Selva’ gets the international accolades that South Indian films have been receiving in recent times. Ponniyin Selva is helping ‘Ponniyin Selva’ to fly the flag of success even in those days when the khantry that dominates Bollywood is becoming a myth and the arrival of talented directors who are capable of creating a new kind of story. In fact, it is not unusual to think of this movie as a Bollywood movie made in Tamil! No significant differences occurred in their formulas either. Mani Ratnam has adopted action, dance, song and eye-catching sets in the same way in ‘Ponniyin Selva’.
‘Kantara’ is matched only by the hype of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ on social media and the financial progress of over four hundred million dollars. Nowhere else is the similarity between these two films evident. There are many more differences. A group brings up the myth. The other side goes back to historical times. While the theme of ‘Kantara’ is based on the myth of Varahamurti, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ draws on Chola-Pandya history. ‘Kanthara’ is set in the jungles of Kunthapuram and the characters are just ordinary people. Even those who present them have very few familiar names. Even Rishabha Shetty, who has donned the lead role, is a new sight for foreigners! In contrast, the massive ramparts and ramparts are richly embellished with ornamental work and the flamboyance of ornaments, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. ‘Ponniyan Selva’ manages to mesmerize the audience with its colorful visual feast of heroic princes, beautiful princesses, fierce kings and nobles, well-dressed soldiers and elephants and horses.
There is a similar difference between the directors of both the films. Mani Ratnam is Himalayan before Rishabha Shetty, an inexperienced actor and director of limited films, a highly influential brand in South Indian cinema. Can be sold anyway, always has a good market value. With big names like Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, Jayaram, Prabhu, Sarath Kumar, Prakash Raj and AR Rahman joining him, the investment of crores is nothing to be shocked about! All of them have played their part in Ponniyin Selvan with excellence. That is why ‘Selvakavyam’ does not make the audience sad. However, this cosmic film is not limited to ‘watch, enjoy and forget’! Does ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ give any relevance to social thoughts beyond that? I hope that the second part of the film, which celebrates the Chola-Pandya dynasty’s cuppaka, hut tactics and wars, the valor and love of the princes in defeating their opponents, will give more thought to this issue.
‘Ponniyin Selva’ is riddled with many subplots. Kalki Krishnamurti’s five-volume Mahakhyayika should be read frequently to understand the plot behind the chaos. More than that, Ponniyin Selvan and his companions are in a sense reliving the Shivaji Ganesan-MGR era as they ride through the past. There are not few viewers who think that Mani Ratnam is returning the film to the era of ‘Veerapandyakattabomman’ by copying the general characteristics of the old mythological films. While watching ‘Ponniyin Selva’ like this, I also forget some facts. Chief among them is the freedom enjoyed by all filmmakers. The director’s choice includes what story to tell, whose story to tell and how to tell the story. If the film is made on the model of ‘Baahubali’ to entertain the audience, we will not be able to raise serious criticisms on ‘Ponniyin Selva’. However, in this age of science, I am also in the mood of those who are eager to understand what is the film thinking and motivation behind choosing such an old myth.
I, like anyone, have no difficulty identifying mainstream cinema as a profit-driven industry. But I understand that no other visual medium can reflect the social consciousness of art as well as films. Mani Ratnam is the director who has utilized this potential. There is evidence. Isn’t Mani Ratnam the filmmaker who showed the courage to make ‘Bombay’ long before the sense of religious extremism where people are divided on the basis of religion is growing as scary as it is today! There is nothing wrong, and nothing objectionable, for such a committed director to go after the kings of yesteryear and their heroics and revenge. I don’t think of this as a film review, except that it exposes some of the uneasiness I felt when I saw ‘Kanthara’ with ‘Ponniyin Selva’, which reminds me of the truth that there is still some room left in commercial films to maintain the social responsibility of cinema. Even these brief observations come to light only after the two films have left the theater!
The old experience shared by the senior director who proudly introduced Malayalam cinema to the world, comes to mind when I write this down. A foreign director who had the opportunity to watch many Indian films in various sessions at the film festival even asked him – ‘Which Indian film do you prefer?’ This very vexed question may be raised in many other forums. Then directors including Mani Ratnam and Rishabha Shetty should be able to give an accurate answer. ‘Kanthara’ and ‘Ponniyin Selva’ are the prelude to that.
(The author is a film lyricist and professor at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam).