Are we ready for 'Vellithira'?

When a film is launched, my feelings about it are usually easy to describe - I either look forward to it or I have a bad feeling about it. But reading about the next Prakashraj production Vellithira invoked in me what you could call ‘mixed emotions’. It is a remake of the Malayalam superhit Udayanaanu Thaaram with Mohanlal, Meena and Srinivasan and I’m not sure what I think about this film.

There’s absolutely nothing to complain about the film’s crew ofcourse. Prakashraj, as producer, has so far given us little gems like Azhagiya Theeye, Kanda Naal Mudhal and Mozhi (we’ll overlook Poi since that was more a kind of gurudhakshinai!). The film stars Prithviraj, Prakashraj and Gopika and is going to be directed by Viji, who wrote the dialogs for Mozhi (the article mentions that he has worked on other movies too. Anybody know which other movies?).

It’s the film’s story that raises doubts about its viability in Tamil. I saw Udayanaanu Thaaram a while back. Mohanlal stars as an assistant director/writer trying to sell his first script, which he feels is a masterpiece. Srinivasan, his friend and an aspiring actor, cheats him off his script and by casting himself in a film based on the script, becomes a big star. He then tries his best to keep Mohanlal from getting his foot in the door. It was a wonderful film with a very witty script and a wonderful screenplay. Though sober for the most part, it had a hilarious, crowd-pleasing climax that was enjoyable inspite of being inspired by a Hollywood film.

The film’s most noticeable aspect was that it took several swipes and digs at the Malayalam film industry and its heroes. Srinivasan’s character, without really going over-the-top, was used to spoof the stars and their habits. For instance, Mammooty’s lack of dancing skills and his penchant for flashy clothes and sunglasses were pointed out, as was Mohanlal’s own tendency to endorse food products that are then sold with his face prominently displayed on the packages. Other heroes like Suresh Gopi and Dileep weren’t spared either.

Would these kind of jokes, however good-natured they may be, work in Tamil cinema? Tamil cinema fans aren’t known for their sense of humor when it comes to their heroes. Vijay TV’s apology to Vijay’s fans for their spoof on Pokkiri is the latest example of what comes out of fans’ intolerance but there have been a number of instances in the past too. With fans like them, can any of our heroes made fun of in a film? Would a film that makes fun of Rajni, Kamal, Vijay or Ajith manage to have a single run without the screen being torn and attacks being mounted on the director?

The story of Udayanaanu Thaaram is good by itself and can definitely be made into a nice, feel-good entertainer. But it was the satire that elevated the film from just a good film to a real classic. With our fans’ lack of tolerance making the satire impossible, we might have to satisfied with just a good film.