Class films: The new ‘mass’ element of Kollywood is here

Stories rooted in our culture works well: Whether it was Baahubali,Baahubali 2 or Asuran, stories rooted in our culture works well with the audience as they can easily connect with the theme and relate with the characters. If Mahabharat was the base for the Baahubali series, Vikramathithan tales was base for Vikram Vedha and Vekkai novel was the base for Asuran. Filmmakers need not search anywhere for story ideas and instead research our rich culture and literature and there are enough to find.

Literature-based films can also become mass hits: Until now, literature-based films were critically appreciated but commercially did not receive much response. Asuran set the trend and has shown that even a novel-based film can become a huge hit if it is adapted well and has a saleable star in it.

Class is the new mass: Superstar Rajinikanth after watching Asuran said, “It is a mass film like Baasha made with so much class.” A mass film no longer needs to be a masala entertainer with senseless fights, song sequences, comedy scenes and unbelievable heroism. A mass film made with class touch can also work is proved through films like Asuran.

Neo-noir genre need not be niche films: Until now, neo-noir genre films were considered to be niche and class films (Examples: Aaranya Kaandam, Moodar Koodam, Vaa Quarter Cutting, Vidiyum Munn, Jigarthanda, Maanagaram), with limited appeal among the audience. Vikram Vedha broke that myth and established that it can appeal to all segments of the audience if the presentation is interesting and appealing.

Audiences are intelligent: Many filmmakers believe that audiences are not intelligent enough and need to be spoon fed through scenes and dialogues butNerkonda Paarvai and Otha Seruppu’s success tells that audiences are rather intelligent to understand the nuances of storytelling even without dialogues in a few scenes and that they can connect well with the story. The need is clarity of thought and presentation.

Repeat audience makes thedifference: One-time watchable films cannot achieve the kind of successAsuran or Vikram Vedha has achieved. Like a riddle, a film should offer enough excitement and an enriching experience to bring in repeat audience.

Technical aspects play a big role: Along with fantastic performances from the lead cast, the screenplay, dialogues and direction, the technical aspects of successful films were also much spoken about, such as cinematography, sound design and background music that havebecome a character in those films and added tremendous strength to narration. Only when all the departments blend into a single consciousness does a classic emerge.

Follow the screenplay structure and then break it: Vikram Vedha and Otha Seruppu were intelligent in screenplay writing, which followed a proper screenplay structure in its presentation and at the same time broke certain clichés in them. In the process, it brought out a new structure, which was unexplored hitherto, which is when one story ends, another story begins and opens up a new twist to the main story. All the riddles were finally resolved in the end.

Open-ended stories are cool: Despite Vikram Vedha beginning with the goal of eliminating the antagonist (Vedha), the protagonist (Vikram) is unable to do it as Vedha wants some mysteries to be solved. In the process, Vikram finds out the real antagonists and is unable to decide whether to kill Vedha or not in the end. Though open-ended, the film appealed to all audiences mainly because they are able to accept the indecision of the writers on whether Vedha deserves to be killed or not. With such an intelligent story, open-ended screenplay is cool and will not disappoint the audience.

Class films were considered as niche with limited box office potential so far in Tamil cinema. Thanks to the success of films like Vikram Vedha, Pariyerum Perumal, Nerkonda Paarvai, Otha Seruppu and Asuran, this myth is getting broken and has paved the way for more such films to be made. The key is making such films with saleable artistes and popular directors so that the audience come to theatres to watch them. Class films may become niche when they have no popular names attached to them, unfortunately.