There is this one book. I've heard about it right from when I was a kid. Both my grannies have read it, my aunt has read it, I'm pretty sure my dad's read a part of it, my mom's definitely read a part of it (how could they do that- a part of a book?), a lot of my friends have read it- but, I've never read it. It's just the sheer size of the book that stopped me. After my Tenth Boards, I decided to read a Big Book, and had two choices- this and LOTR. I chose the latter, because it was in English; and I'd still be reading the former if I had tried to start reading it then. The book is in Tamil, and is considered the best novel ever written in Tamil.
Ponniyin Selvan.
There are certain things you take for granted, because you're too stupid/ignorant to really understand them. This novel is one such thing for me. I never even tried to learn the plot of the novel (until recently), but I knew that the book is worth being called "Legendary".
A few weeks ago, I started seeing news-bits saying that Mani Ratnam was going to make a movie out of it. See, this book has been a dream project for so many film-greats: MGR and Kamal- the ones I can confidently mention. I'm pretty sure everyone who has ever made a "decent" Tamil movie has always toyed with the idea of making a Ponniyin Selvan movie. But just like the first 200 ODI, the best of them got to do it- Mani.
I like and admire Mani at many levels- his keen sense of Art, his integrity as a Film-maker, the attention he pays to every scene in a movie, his foresight as a story-teller, his self-respect, his restraint from media, etc. I've watched most of his movies, loved most of them, criticised all of them, but never hated any of them. Play his movies chronologically, and you'll notice his growth as a film-maker with each of them.
I never got to watch Raavan(an), but I heard that movie's most admirable quality was its cinematography. I learned that Mani had tried some stunningly unique camerawork in it. After reading about his Ponniyin Selvan project, I "knew" that Raavan(an) was just a prelude to the epic movie that was to come. It is sometimes what certain film-makers do- they do a "learning movie" to understand and master a technique.
For example, Shankar's use of CGI in his movies follows an almost textbook learning-curve. Not to forget the years James Cameron spent filming underwater, capturing exotic flora and fauna on film- preparing the groundwork for his future projects. Christopher Nolan once stated in an interview that he had wanted to make Inception for a long time now, but wanted to gain some experience at "handling" big projects before he made his "dream movie"- and thus rolled out the two Batman movies.
I was happy. At last, we are going to have our fair share of a decent "epic" movie- the splendour of ancient palaces and courtyards, some realistic Old Tamil, the awesome battle scenes (I was sick of watching Brad Pitt's awesome sword-neck-drive in Troy being made a travesty of in numerous Tamil movies), the haunting tunes of Old, etc. You know the works. I could actually picture the first scene as Mani would make it- well, many variations of it.
Anyway, as I was saying- I was so HAPPY. And then, I saw the fatal post on Facebook (I'm tagging him in this post). Rumours have been going around in the tinselworld that Vijay has bagged a lead role in the movie.
Apocalpse Now. Please.
I chanted the traditional sixteen-No's to myself, before I sadly/grudgingly started looking for news items about the said rumours. Here's what I don't get- why do the good movie-makers like Mani, Gautham and Shankar approach Vijay? At all? He is a talentless actor, a "film-star" who survived many years in the industry only because of his dancing skills, and a shameless "Masala" moron. Why give him a chance to revive his market?
Okay. Everyone needs a second chance. But why this line-up of awesome movies? Agreed, 3 Idiots is just a feel-good movie with a message- but it has Aamir Khan in it. Aamir is probably the one actor in his age-group in "Bollywood", who cares about the Art anymore- and that's why I (and I'm pretty sure a lot of people) respect him a lot. Why should this total jackass get Aamir's role, when there are more deserving candidates?
And, why Ponniyin Selvan? I hope it's just a rumour and Mani didn't really do (or agree to do) anything that stupid. Stuart Townsend was initially set to play Aragorn in LOTR, but Peter Jackson realised that he was just not the guy. There's no basis really to say that, had Townsend gone on to play Aragorn, the movie wouldn't have been any good. But, you've to agree- no one could've played the part better than Viggo Mortensen. See, some actors are born to play certain legendary roles. I don't see Vijay being "born" to play a legendary character. The character (I've read) is a "charming" person, and I don't see why it has to be Vijay. He's not the only one who's got charm (God, this makes me sick). I can produce a list of actors who're "charming", and so could anyone who has watched at least a couple of Tamil movies. It doesn't have to be Vijay!
Last argument. Leonardo DiCaprio, who has proven his worth as an actor and not just a pretty face, was an initial choice for Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. Fearing mass-outrage from fans, the role was handed to Hayden Christenson. I only hope something similar happens, and the Producers would kill the news while it is still a rumour. I've done my part.
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