Comments on: Between Reviews: Performance Appraisal

By: Tambi Dude

Tambi Dude — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:30:24 +0000

I do think Kamal is overrated. I am watching his movies since 1970s and I feel that post 70s he started acting like a star. Recently I got a chance to watch his 1970s movie like Avargal, Nizhal Nejamayigardu and found him very good. Somehow the Kamal of 1980s started looking affected and playing to the gallery.

By: Shankar

Shankar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:35:29 +0000

Deepauk, excellent post. I just wish to add a point. I do love both actors. That said, Mohanlal does have the ability to be just one of the characters of the movie (at least before the masala era began).

This is a guest post one of my close friends wrote in rediff a few years ago…I pretty much agree with what he says. Deepauk, your comments also pretty much sum that up.

http://in.rediff.com/movies/2004/feb/14south.htm

By: Anand

Anand — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:04:09 +0000

Yes Manuverma: It was superlative hamming – in case you missed Ram Jaane, try and catch it up – it is even better.

By: manuverma

manuverma — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:26:28 +0000

lol… I’ve never taken a Rangan review seriously.. but with Drona he just took the cake. I do admit that he’s a very good writer, but a very poor appraiser of films and performances. And boy does he have the guts to attack SrK’s superlative performance in Kabhi Haa Kabhi Naa.. lol.. Had he talked of a K3G or DTPH in that manner I would have bought it.. but KHKN?? come on…

By: raj

raj — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:29:45 +0000

Deepak, Excellent comment, as usual.
Oh erkanavae adhai sollittangala. Parava illai nanum solraen

By: Anton Ego

Anton Ego — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:57:37 +0000

“Any thoughts/suggestions on where to take these columns in the future?” — Surprise me!

By: FR

FR — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:03:03 +0000

Tamizha,
You’re ignorant dude. Disregarding Lal is a sin, better wash your sins by watching classics like Kireedom, Bharatham, Vanaprastham, Thoovanathumbigal, Iruvar, Nadodikkattu, Chithram, Manichitrathazhu.. And even his “masala” performances are a treat to behold. Truly versatile actor.

Deepauk,

Great post. Quite agree..

By: brangan

brangan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:34:47 +0000

Deepauk: I was going with “segue” first, and then then I felt that that denoted a smoother (wholesale)shift than “concatenation,” which suggests an accretion of little details. Thanks for noticing man

By: Anand

Anand — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:17:17 +0000

DeepaukM: Excellent comment, as always!!

By: Deepauk M

Deepauk M — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:34:57 +0000

Brangan: Excellent piece! And kudos for using concatenates in a non-Programming 101 context. .

I just wanted to address the comparison OF Kamal with Lal. I could just do the apples and oranges thing and go quietly into the woodwork but I’d like to elaborate. From what I’ve heard Lal is a fan of the M.R.Radha school of acting, transcending the role and such. Lal earned his stripes playing an immensely likeable every man with a sense of humor but the tilted gait, sheepish smile and the sombre scowl with the slightly downward turned lips were/are all standard issue. You will see them in Balagopalan (T.P.Balagopalan M.A), Sethumadhavan (Kireedom/Chengol), Muralidharan (Varavelppu), Gopinathan (Bharatham), Abdullah (His Highness Abdullah) and Sunny Joseph (Manichithrathazhu). His interest and affinity for music allowed him to sync/sink in pefectly with all those musical masterpieces Sibi Malayil and Raveendran put together. He was at best awkward in the action sequences I remember (Abhimanyu and such). But then MangaLassery Neelakandan (Devasuram) came along and pretty much changed his career path. He got to play a very gray feudal landlord and discovered people enjoyed him twirling his moustache and being over the top in general. So a whole slew of those kind of movies followed. He would have the odd gem in between like Kanmadam/Iruvar but I think the artificiality, started creeping into his everyman roles. Blessy reigned him very well in the latter stages of Thanmathra, but of late even in the Sathyan AnthikkAd movies I dont get to see the Lal of old. It just seems like there is baggage there.

This is not the case with Kamal. I think he starts pretty much clean slate on a new project. How they turn out is an entirely different discussion. Kamal shows very little carryover from previous performances. Obviously it is still him doing the role so the “ticks”, as you put it, are the same. But I have a feeling that the ability to get rid of the baggage is the reason the same “ticks” seem new or at least to have different origins.

This is not to say that one is/was better than the other. The Lal that I knew and loved is far different than the Kamal I knew and loved. I would’ve loved to see them play off each other in some sort of bi-lingual epic that Bharathan/Padmarajan directed.