Shyamalan and K.S.Ravikumar

Inspite of some underlying similarities, Wide Awake was a very different kind of movie compared to Shyamalan's later movies(i.e. beginning with and after Sixth Sense). While Wide Awake was more heartfelt, emotional and overall, a feel-good movie, Shyamalan's later movies have been dark, atmospheric and sprinkled with Boo! moments. This shift in moviemaking style may hint at Shyamalan confining himself to the kind of movies he thinks the public expects from him. If he is putting a lid on his creativity and filtering the ideas that don't seem to fit in with the expectations from his movies, that would eventually be a loss to us viewers. It is in this aspect that I see something similar between Shyamalam and our own master of masala, K.S.Ravikumar.

It is hard to believe now but KSR's first film was the superlative thriller Puriyaadha Pudhir. That film still stands up to the best in the genre. It is a whodunnit where it is really difficult to guess whodunnit? and the suspense and twists are of such a high order that even the unmasking of a secondary player three quarters of the way into the movie comes as a complete surprise. It is fast-paced, with only a single, unnecessary scene of comedy and boasts of many twists and turns. KSR holds a tight rein on the screenplay and moves it along with a confidence that belies his inexperience(both behind the camera itself and in this difficult genre). He has even tried a couple of fancy techniques with the camera.

But KSR then shifted to the village milieu and tasted success with Cheran Pandiyan and since then, those kind of movies have become his trademark. He has never revisited the thriller genre and instead confined himself to lightweight comedies(Minsaara Kannaa) or sentimental movies revolving around some kind of familial relations(Naattaamai). Ofcourse these films have served him well. Apart from earning him the tag of a successful director, they have paved the way for him to work multiple times with top actors like Rajnikanth(Muthu, Padaiyappa) and Kamalhassan(Avvai Shanmughi, Tenali).

But looking back at Puriyaadha Pudhir and KSR's recent movies, its hard not to feel a twinge of regret at the thought that we might have lost a talented director at the altar of commercialism.