June 15, 2007
If you are wondering why I’m writing a review on this movie almost two months after it was released, well, this isn’t really a review on the movie. Being a person who watches movies at the rate of one per month, I know my blog doesn’t qualify for movie reviews
This post is just my thoughts on the concept that the movie is based on. Anytime I have a serious discussion on the movie with any guy, it almost often starts a He-She argument between us. The reason for the argument: the claim from the guy that all women are fighter-cocks (or should I say fighter-hens?) like the character Jhansi in the movie and this overly generalized claim gets on my nerves.
The movie starts off - the exact sequence of events, I don’t remember - with the female lead character, Jhansi, getting mad at her boyfriend for living his life the way he wants - flirting with other women. The guy, Kathick is westernized (I say western here cos someone recently told me that in the west you are allowed to kiss a bride in front of your girl, while the bridegroom is standing right there looking like an idiot..and you are also allowed to eat pizzas like a pig disgustingly) while Jhansi is traditional and old-fashioned in her views (the same someone told me this too).
Jhansi strongly disapproves her guy’s playboy attitude and says so to him, which is interpreted by the guy (and the guys* watching the movie) as fighting over silly things. So, what does she do? She thinks over the matter seriously, realizes the relationship is not working because of their differences in opinions and takes a decision that she feels is best for both of them (all the while, remember, the guy is having the time of his life with other women) and breaks up with him. This is interpreted by the guy (and the guys watching the movie) as being ditched by her.
Later in the movie, Jhansi meets Karthik in Australia coincidently and tries to act aloof just to avoid further trouble between the two. This is interpreted by the guy (and, again, by the guys watching the movie) as being rude. After a series of expected and unexpected turn of events, songs, whatever…Jhansi finally gives her guy up to the gorgeous girl who comes out of nowhere and supposedly understands him perfectly well. This is interpreted by the guy (but NOT by the guys watching the movie) as a sane decision; he grabs the opportunity and marries the pretty girl. End of story!
Now, while the guy in the movie, right from the beginning to the end, is incapable of coming to any decent conclusion on the relationship, the guys watching the movie come to a conclusion that all women are arrogant, stubborn and rude just cos the role was projected that way in the movie and was enacted by an actress (Sadha) who was, incidentally, born with smug look on her face that even plastic surgeons couldn’t erase. So, for you guys who watched the movie and came to the same conclusion, let me tell you, you got the concept of the movie entirely wrong.
I actually liked the movie a lot (except for those scenes lifted straight from hindi movies…and the hero, Vinay, who sports a permanent ginger-eating-monkey** expression!) for the very reason that I liked the book “Men are from mars, women are from venus”. What the movie tries to bring out is that men and women are basically wired differently and that is something one has to keep in mind when trying to work out relationships issues. Instead, if you’re gonna keep cribbing all the time about your partner not understanding you and keep trying to shift the blame of every friction in the relationship over to the other side…well, what can I say, you are better off living with someone from your own planet.
The movie also sends another message to the women, a very required one: never take men seriously!
* When I say ‘guys’ I mean ‘most guys’, ’some guys’ or ‘few guys’ depending on how strongly you disagree with me
** If you are from Tamil Nadu, you must be familiar with the phrase, ginger-eating-monkey. If you aren’t, next time you see a monkey, try feeding it a piece of ginger, watch it’s expression and then, see the movie and let me know if you found a match!
June 15, 2007 at 4:13 pm
A very good post..Same happened to me..I was snubbed by my friend that I talk like UU sadha when I asked him casually why he couldnt call me. (Some/few/most) Guys clearly misunderstood that flirting and not respecting the relationship is “cool” . I really felt pity for Sadha in that movie and felt happy for her finally when she ran away from him .And the movie is a crap.
June 15, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Thanks KP!
I didn’t really think the movie was crap (atleast compared to many other tamil movies) but it’s the way it was taken by most guys and much worse, the way it gets referred to in casual conversations like the one you just mentioned, is what infuriates me.
You are very right about the much misunderstood definition of “cool”! :(
June 23, 2007 at 12:11 am
Its about the compatibility & the couple’s intent of being together. If one says just to flirt & if other says for love. There you see a divide.
Every relationship btw a boy & a girl starts with flirt. The change from flirt to something else happens with time. In case it is favorable, this change happens pretty fast with a girl & not with a boy.
As far as I have seen, guys stick to a single girl to flirt with or love with but not the girls. :) A Guy’s heart is clean & tidy but not his skin. This is at a perfect
And you know what, its the Guy whos hurt for a long time. In case with a Girl, she gets hurt severely but gets to forget as time passby.
Good Luck.
June 23, 2007 at 1:39 pm
@Ranjhith
“Its about the compatibility & the couple’s intent of being together”
I agree with you here
“this change happens pretty fast with a girl & not with a boy”
I don’t understand your point on the change from flirting to something else and why you think this change is faster with a girl
“As far as I have seen, guys stick to a single girl to flirt with”
We’re talking about the movie here and not about what you’ve seen. In the movie, it’s the guy’s inability to stick with one girl (even after they start going steady) is what causes trouble in the first place. Did you actually see the movie?
“its the Guy whos hurt for a long time”
Now, who’s hurt and who stays hurt for a longer time depends on the individual and not on the person’s gender. Just ‘cos a girl doesn’t roam around the streets at midnight, drunk and wailing loudly that she was betrayed (read on Devadas here) does NOT mean that she’s not hurt or that she gets over her hurt at lightening speed. Why a girl doesn’t do that to express her hurt has to do with sanity and NOT with getting over the hurt!
Phew! that’s the longest comment reply I’ve ever written :)
June 24, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I don’t know why you dislike Vinay so much,that too as ginger eating monkey, he has just acted waht Jeeva has said :)
June 24, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Thanks for the comment Karthik,
Considering the way Shyam and Arya acted in Ullam Ketkume (also from the same director), I doubt this guy Vinay would’ve listened to a word of what the director said. Either that or he just couldn’t do better than this.
Anyways, it’s just my opinion and my own. May be, I have a bad taste :)
June 26, 2007 at 7:55 am
May be its an attitude of the girls to embrace change faster than the guys do. They try to own things as soon as they get to know that they are eligible to own.
Hav seen the movie. Remembering scenes is tough for me. Anyways, the guy didn’t do anything significant for the girl to snap the relationship.
All I wanted to say is, the rate of decrease of grief out of a broken relationship is far higher in girls than that of boys.
Thanks for the longest comment. Do you want to beat it? :)
June 27, 2007 at 10:24 pm
“the guy didn’t do anything significant for the girl to snap the relationship”
oh yeah! like a guy would enjoy his girl flirting around with other men right in front of him and NOT giving a damn consideration to the relationship
“Thanks for the longest comment. Do you want to beat it”
May be, but some other time :) This post was the result of my frustration on the never ending he-she arguments on the movie. I don’t want one in my blog now.