Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Iruvar (1997) - Six Events that shouldn't have been skipped

Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997) remains the only movie in Tamil Cinema that offers a panoramic glimpse into the glorious Dravidian Movement of Tamilnadu.The biopic presents a chronological view into the lives of two of the greatest personalities of Tamil cinema and Tamilnadu's politics, Mu.Karunanidhi and M.G.Ramachandran.


You can only laugh at this disclaimer...

There has been a general consideration that movies are the mirrors of the social, economical and political conditions of a country during a period, but this has never been true in India, I feel. Even during periods of political turmoil like wars, Emergency, Anti-Hindi agitations etc, Our cinema has never chose to speak about them.

Hence, Iruvar being the only torch-bearer that tries to pass the history or legacy of this political and social churning to the next generation of young viewers, We (or rather, I) expect it to be factually exact. Iruvar is a cinematic wonder, no doubt .. The movie's period touch, excellent art direction, lyrical dialogues, brilliant acting, wonderful direction - No flaws, absolutely. It is one movie, I would always like to boast and discuss about when it comes to cinematic quality. But, Factual flaws - ?. There's a huge list of them ... The movie, of course takes care of tiny aspects like Veluthambi's Dhoti wearing style (Annadurai used to tie his dhoti improperly), Anandan's dance movements in songs (A very good replication of MGR's movements), Senthaamarai's bindi etc. But, there is a huge list of misrepresentation of political events and I chose to list only a few of them. I understand that this is a feature film and not a documentary and hence the director owns every right to manipulate around with the screenplay but still ... !!!. I wish he creates a documentary on this by making use of the already-done-extensive-research on the topic.

Please click on the images for a magnified view.

1) The Split in the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and the Birth of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) (1949)


There were many instances in the movie where Veluthambi (Read C.N.Annadurai) is addressed  as "Ayya" but E.V.Ramasamy (called Periyaar) has always been the "Ayya" and C.N.Annadurai was fondly called as "Anna" (meaning Elder brother) by his followers and the public. This way Mani Ratnam probably wants to convey that Veluthambi is both the "Ayya" and "Anna" and thus he creates some comfort for him, for the non-inclusion of Periyaar's character in the DMK's saga. Thus, the movie quite misleadingly refers to the birth of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) without any reference to Periyaar and the parent party - Dravidar Kazhagam (DK).

2) Anti-Hindi Agitations (1965)



The most important political and social event in the post-independent Tamilnadu's history should be the Anti-Hindi Agitations of 1965. And, it was a grave injustice that there is absolutely no reference to this radical movement that shook the country during the 60s. The Secessionist politics of the DMK and the original demand for a separate "Draavida Naadu" were also carefully overlooked or ignored.


The only related event that featured in the movie is Karunanidhi's "Kallakkudi Struggle" which in original was organised for the renaming of Dalmiyapuram Railway station as Kallakkudi. But, the movie presented a revolutionary Tamilselvam (Prakash Raj) conducting the demonstrations for the sake of Reservations. And, the punch of the protest was further mitigated by the romantic encounter between Tamilselvam and Senthaamarai (Tabu), in the midst of the turbulent agitations.

3) C.N.Annadurai - The Chief Minister of Tamilnadu (1967)


C.N.Annadurai taking Oath of office after DMK's stupendous success in the 1967 Assembly Elections.



DMK rode the wave with an overwhelming electoral victory in the 1967 Assembly elections capitalising the Anti-Hindi agitations of 1965 and MGR's near-death encounter as he was shot in the throat by M.R.Radha. And, C.N.Annadurai - the then General secretary of the DMK became the first non-congress Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. In the movie, Veluthambi (Nasser) expresses disinterest on heading the state and Tamilselvam becomes the CM with Anandan's (Mohanlal) support. This way, the events that actually took place after Annadurai's death in 1969 - Mu.Karunanidhi becoming the CM with the support of MGR, were pushed ahead by approximately two years.

4) The Birth of Anna-DMK (1972) & The Dindigul by-election (1973)



The cinema entry of Mu.Ka.Muthu (Karunanidhi's son) as a competitor to an ageing MGR, created well-pronounced rifts in an already diminishing MGR-Karunanidhi relationship. Though the magnitude looks small, Mu.Ka.Muthu's "Pillayo Pillai" is still considered an immediate impetus that gave birth to the MGR's Anna-DMK. Thus, Maniammai (Periyaar's mistress) and Mu.Ka.Muthu hold a very important place in the state's political history - the former leading to the birth of DMK from DK and the latter leading to the birth of ADMK from DMK. Both find no mentions in Iruvar.

The Dindigul by-election (1973) - MGR floated his political party ADMK in 1972 and was on a eager wait to prove his political mettle. The first oppurtunity came to him in the form of Dindigul by-election and ADMK's candidate Maayathevar defeated both the DMK and the Congress by a comfortable margin. The victory marked a decisive shift in the politics of Tamilnadu and more importantly, heralded the arrival of MGR in the political scenario of the state. Interestingly, MGR's "Ulagam Sutrum Vaalibhan (USV)" faced a lot of troubles from the ruling DMK at the censors for its release and MGR emerged successful with both actually ... May 12,1973 - Release of USV and May 20, 1973 - Dindigul elections.

These events were absolutely absent in Iruvar, though there has been a small mention about this before "Kannai katti kolladhe" song but Tamilselvam lets the movie through with a criticism of his rule of the state.

5) MGR at Brooklyn and AIADMK's Third Electoral Victory

Operation Bluestar, Indira's Assasination, Anti-Sikh riots (Yeah, in that order), Bhopal gas tragedy - 1984 was arguably the worst year in India's history after independence.



Dialysis, Apollo, Brooklyn - the most discussed words in Tamilnadu in 1984. The entire state was in a prayer mode conducting group-prayer sessions for the good health of their beloved Chief Minister, MGR. MGR was sick and was admitted in the Brooklyn hospital, United States and Jayalalitha Jayaram, R.M.Veerappan and Panruti Ramachandran were on the election campaigns. Apparently, people only required some proof that MGR was still alive and AIADMK used MGR's videos and photographs extensively during the campaign and the party comfortably packed another punch with a decisive third consecutive victory in the assembly elections. MGR came back in 1985 and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state, the third time.

Again - No reference.

6) Jayalalitha Jeyaram - MGR's Political Heir



There was a lot of drama in the AIADMK after the death of MGR in 1987, regarding the party premiership - MGR's widow Janaki Ramachandran on one side and his favourite lead lady in the cinemas, Jayalalitha on the other side. But Jayalalitha, with her charismatic personality and iron will was able to win the support of the party and has held the party intact since then. Jayalalitha is by far the most controversial political figure of the state and Iruvar chooses to erase this off the history books - Aarghh !!

Hope you enjoyed the history ride !!!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Total Pageviews

Labels

18 Wheels of Steel 2010 Fifa World Cup Wallpaper 2011 3D Wallpapers Aamani Abhinaya Sree Abitha Achala Sachdev Actress Profile Actress Barthings Actress Details Actress Riyasen Hot N Sexy Photos adah sharma Address of Bollywood Celebrities Akshita All Time Best Fashion Alphonsa Amala Amazing and Interesting Pictures of Cute Baby Middle Finger amazing heavy bike wallpaper Ambika american football Amrita Singha Angelina Jolie wallpapers Anita Raaj Anju Aravind Anna Kournikova Anna Kournikova in magazine Ansu Jheel Ansu Lake Anu Agrawal Anuradha Patel Archana arnold schwarzenegger http://unseensport.blogspot.com/ Asha Pareikh Asha Parekh Ashwini Bhave Ayesha Jhulka Ayesha Juka Babilona Babita Kapoor Baby Baby Wallpapers Banumathi Beach Wallpapers Beautiful Fashion Beautiful Girls Wallpaper Beautiful horse beautifull Aishwarya Rai Best Wallpapers Bhagyashree Bhagyashree Patwardhan Bhuvani Bindu Bipasha Basu Birthdays of Bollywood Actors and Actress Black N While Susmita Blue Lake Wallpapers Bold Tanushri Datta Bollywood actress Filmography Bollywood Actress Gallery Bollywood Movie Posters Bollywood New Queen Bollywood Queen Brinda Parekh Camel Race Car Wallpapers Cars Caspian Sea Wallpapers Chocolate Hills Wallpapres Cinema history Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo Beautiful and Hot Pictures Cristiano Ronaldo In Black And White Pictures http://unseensport.blogspot.com cristiano ronaldo latest pictures and Wallpaper Cute Ayesha Takia Cute Baby Dam David Beckham Wallpapers Deepa Unnimary Deepika Padukone Deepti Naval Devika Rani Devyani Dimple Image Gallery Dimple Kapadia Dimple Kapadia Image Gallery Disco Shanthi Divya bharathi Divya Unni Diya Mirza Downloads Under 15Mb Dravidian movement Durga Khote Electronics Experiences Farah Naaz Faraha Khan Farhat Ezekiel Nadira Farida Jalal Fashion Fashion Fashion Fashion Fatima Begum Femina Miss India Aushima Sawhney Red Hot Ferrari fxx Wallpapers Film review Filmography of Actress Finger football Ronaldinho wallpaper footballer fernando torres Former Miss Uiversel Lara Dutta Free Online Money Earnings funny Pictures futbol de futbol de argentina Games Wallpapers Ganga Gautami Gauthami Gayatri Raghuram Geeta Bali Geeta Basra Geeta Dutt Geethu Mohandaas genelia d'souza Gouthami Tadimalla Helen Hema Malini Hills Wallpapers Holly wood actress Angelina Jolie wallpapers Honda Honda Accord 2011 Wallpaper horse wallpaper hot ans spicy bollywood actress Hot Bala Sameera Reddy Hot Bollywood actresses Pics Hot Boly Girls Hot Bomb In India Hot Kaitrina Kaif Hot Mallika Shake Hot Mugdha Godse Hot N Cool Bipasha Hot New Commer Jiya Khan hsv club sport (Clubsport) Ice Ice Hotel Wallpaper Indian Actor John Abraham Wallpapers Indian Actress Wallpapers Indian Cinema Indian Parallel Cinema Indraja Inocent Amrita Rao Inocent Riya Sen Interview Experiences Jaya Bachana Jayabarathi Jayalalitha Jayamala Jayamalani Jayapradha Jayapradha Details Jayasuda Jayshree T Jheel Saif Ul Malook Jiah Khan Junior Silk Kajol Devgan Kalpana Iyer Kanaka Kansri Kasthuri katrina kaif Katrina Kaif Wallpapers Kaushalya Kaveri Kavya Madhavan Khan Pur Dam Spillway Wallpapers Kim Kimi Katkar Kitu Gidwani KR Vijaya Kushboo Laila Lake Saif Ul Malook lake Wallpapers Lakshmi Latest Fashion Latest Style Latha Leela Chitnis Llao Rock ( Crater Lake ) Madhavi Madhuri Dixit Madubala Maheshwari Malasree Malavika Mallika Sherawat at Cannes Mamta Kulkarni Mandakini Manichandana Manichandra Manisha Koirala Mantra MARIA SHARAPOVA (RUS) Maria Sharapova as childhood maria sharapova in magazine Maria Sharapova with her US Open trophy in New York City Mariya Media Meena (Tamil) Meena Kumari Meenakshi Sheshadri middle finger Minissha Lamba Mohini Moon Moon Sen Mount Gambier Wallpapers Mount Pilatus wallpaper Moushmi Moushumi Chatterjee Mt.Gambier Music Must Must Tanushri Mukharji Nadia (Mary Evans) Nagma Namaratha Nanda Nandita Das Nargis National Award Nature Best Wallpapers Nature Wallpapers Neelam Kotahari Neeta Bkhayani Neetu Singh New Actress Sonal New Comer Sonal Chauhan New Style Niagara Falls wallpapers Nirosha Nitya das Nutan Oorvasi Ostrich Race Padma Khanna Padmapriya Padmini Padmini Kholoapuri Patience Cooper Personal pics Pictures pictures of amir khan Polo Game and Beautiful horses Pooja Batra Pooja Bhat Poonam Dhillon Pratibha Sinha Praveen Babi Priya Rajvansh Priya Raman priynka chopra Puzzles Raakhee Gulzaar Radha Radhika Rafae Nadal wallpapers Ragini Raja Kokila Rajshree Rakee Ramba Ramya Krishna Rani Padmini Ranjeeta Kaur Ranjitha Rasika Rati Agnihotri Ravali Raveena Tandon Ravina Tandon Real Names of Bollywood Reavathi Reena Roy Rekha Pictures Renjitha Revathi Rohani Rohini Hattangadi Roja Roshni ROYAL WEDDING Sadhana Sadhana Shivdasani Sahila chadda Saira Banu Salma Agha Salman Khan Wallpapers Samyuktha Varma Sangavi Sangeeta Bijlani saoundarya Sarada Sarala Sarika Kader Khan Sasikala Satya Pauls Fashions Sexy Item In Bollywood Shabana Azmi Shahrukh Khan Wallpapers Sharmila Tagore Sherlyn Chopra Sherlyn Realy Bomb Shilpa Shetty Shilpa Shirodkar Shoma Anand Silk Smitha Pictures Simi Garewal Simple Kapadia Simran Bagga Smita Patel Smita Patil Snow Wallpaper Sobana Somi Ali Sonika Pictures Sonu Walia Soundarya South Hot Actress Speed Boat Wallpapers Spillway Sree Vidya Sridevi Details Sridevi Images Subashini Suchitra Sen Suhasini Sukanya Sulochana (Ruby Myers) Sumalatha Sunset Wallpapers Suraiya Jamaal Sheikh Suzuki Liana Suzuki Liana Pictures Suzuki Liana Wallpapers Suzuki SX4 Wallpapers Swarna Swaroop Sampat Tabu Tamil Acteress Tamil Cinema Tamil Posts Tanuja Telephone Numbers of Bollywood Celebrities the great khali and salman khan the super star bollywood actress Tina Tina Munim Twinkel Kahnna Urmila Matondkar Urvasi Vaani Vishwanath Vani Vishwanath Vanitha Varsha Usfaonkar Vasundhara Das Very Beauty Kajol Very Inocent Zara Sheikh Vetty post Vichitra Vidya Sinha Vijayanthi Mala Vijayashanti.Actress Details Vijeata Pandit Vijeta Viji Vindhya(Tamil) Vineetha volvo truck wallpaper Vortex HD Wallpaper Vyjanthimala Waheeda Rehman Wallpaper wallpapers Wallpapers Amir Khan Water Water Falls Wonders of the world wallpapers World Cinema Zarina Zarine Khan Zeba Bakhtiar Zeenat Amman Zubeida