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It definitely appears not possible to scroll via Instagram with out seeing a reel video carrying the ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ observe from the Tamil movie Gunaa. Until you have been residing underneath the large rocks of Guna Caves, you’re more likely to know that the position of the observe within the sensational Malayalam hit Manjummel Boys. — which is a couple of tragedy that befalls a bunch of buddies visiting the Guna Caves — has introduced again the 1991 Kamal Haasan starrer to the centre of consideration. However ask the cinephiles and they’re going to vouch for the way Gunaa, which was criminally under-appreciated throughout its launch, has all the time been a cult basic set in stone.
The story of how Gunaa got here to fruition requires a movie by itself. When Kamal was 19, he was not glad with the monotonous work he was getting in Tamil movies and that’s when his mentor determine Ananthu (bear in mind this title) requested him to present Malayalam cinema a shot, an endeavour that garnered him enormous success other than rejuvenating his thirst for the craft. His final movie because the lead in Malayalam was Chanakyan (1989) helmed by Nationwide Award-winning filmmaker TK Rajeev Kumar in his directorial debut. It additionally marked the debut of author Sab John and his first collaboration with Kamal.
The next 12 months, the duo, together with director Sibi Malayil and cinematographer Venu, determined to group up for a movie on insurgency in Sri Lanka, an concept that was shot down by veteran Cho Ramaswamy citing the feathers it would ruffle. Sab John discovered one other plot from his childhood, which was about this man who could be seen steadily in his neighbourhood and was known as by everybody ‘Pottan’ (a derogatory time period for an individual intellectually sluggish to study and comply with). Kamal, intrigued by the thought, gave his nod. Malayil was not out there by the point the movie took form and Kamal’s longtime pal and filmmaker Santhana Bharathi (who in 1987 made the Sathyaraj-starrer Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu which Kamal produced) took over the course reins. When the group began with recce works close to the Berijam Lake, Kodaikanal, they noticed a milestone for the nationwide park named Mathikettan Solai (the forest of the misplaced minds) and Sab John really useful that because the title. However due to the adverse connotation, the makers went with the title of its major lead; and thus, Gunaa was born!
Gunaa, condensed right into a one-liner, is the story of a newly launched psychiatric affected person who kidnaps a heiress, believing it’s their future to get married. The plot may sound just like the Spanish movie Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by auteur Pedro Almodóvar that got here out only a 12 months earlier than,however John had earlier clarified Gunaa had nothing to do with it; the layers John, Kamal and Bharathi add to Gunaa would show that. For starters, the preliminary parts of Gunaa are set in Andhra Pradesh and the very first shot introduces us to Gunaa standing atop a constructing within the pose of Nataraja because the digital camera strikes alongside exhibiting how he’s the one man in a brothel managed by his god-fearing mom. Because the story progresses, we study that his uncle, unaware of his psychological well being points, used to tie him as much as a Gunaseelan temple from which he escaped, sought medical care and was recognized with Obsessional psychoneurosis.
In a incredible 150-second arc shot that has grow to be synonymous with the movie, Gunaa explains how he’s ready for his ‘Abirami’ with whom he desires to flee from this god-forsaken world. His abandoning father grew to become a villain he by no means knew and the repercussions that led his mom to take up intercourse work are all “impurities” for him. He desires to quiet down with Abirami atop a chilly “Pentothal hill,” removed from this ugly world that’s chilly sufficient to lie that his mom has died to get him out of hospital.
Instantly, we minimize to a montage music during which the movie’s composer Ilaiyaraaja lends his voice to the ‘Appan Endrum’ observe and Vaali pushes residence the purpose of Gunaa’s must purification with traces like ‘kuppai aga vandha udambu’ and ‘endha Gangai aatril indha azhukku pogum’. The ‘Unnai Naan’ observe deserves a particular point out for the way, visually, we get to see each Gunaa’s mom and Rosy, the one two souls that take care of our titular hero, take turns pacifying him. Identical to Chanakyan, John’s Gunaa can also be a couple of love story that doesn’t finish on a constructive word, and Rosy’s unrequited love in the direction of Gunaa can also be an underlying motif that’s carried all through the movie.
Gunaa finds his Abirami when one other incredible observe, ‘Paartha Vizhi,’ performs; the music is from Abhirami Pattar’s ‘Abhirami Anthadhi’, a Tamil assortment of poems sung on goddess Abirami, and within the movie’s context, the lyrics coincide with Gunaa discovering the almighty in Rohini (Roshini) who he believes to be Abirami. The music can also be when Gunaa goes right into a dream sequence that includes the lead pair dancing collectively dressed as gods. The truth is, Gunaa is laced with many such spiritual references from each Hinduism and Christianity — The heist sequence during which Gunaa inadvertently stabs a thief with a trident, the church sequence, and Abirami, wearing white, in comparison with that of an angel are some examples with a private favorite being the shot the place blood from Gunaa’s injured hand unwittingly lands on Rohini’s brow resembling smeared vermillion.
Most likely as an extension of Kamal’s beliefs, nature takes over because the almighty as soon as the movie shifts to the third act, that includes the intimate moments between Gunaa and Rohini the place the latter embodies the Abirami persona. It’s a complete new world the place the hills of Kodaikanal flip into their model of Mount Kailash; for us, it’s the place a schizophrenic individual and a Stockholm syndrome sufferer discover peace and love. The Satan’s Kitchen — that Subash and his buddies dreaded in Manjummel Boys — turns right into a comforting residence for the couple. The writing additionally makes positive there’s a breadcrumb path to showcase how Gunaa has been one with the character round him. In an earlier sequence, we see him speaking to a cow and when requested for the rationale by his uncle, he retorts with “manushangaluku en thukkam puriyathu” (people gained’t perceive my grief). There’s additionally a pair of sparrows nesting within the church which acts as a metaphor for the lead pair and one of many sparrows getting killed by a gunshot is a prophesy of how Rohini meets her finish.
Gunaa, unsurprisingly, began a sub-genre of movies that paved the way in which for titles like Kaadhal Kondein (2003) and Kadhalil Vizhunthen (2008). Aside from influencing an period of filmmakers who would usually cite it because the movie that obtained them into movie-making, Gunaa can also be a type of uncommon movies that made real-world variations; the Satan’s Kitchen changed into a touring spot, with its title modified to Guna Caves. Gunaa was additionally an addition to Kamal’s checklist of movies that handled psychological well being points, like Sigappu Rojakkal, Moondram Pirai and Aalavandhan. Kamal and Bharathi would even go on to group up for Mahanadhi, which, like Gunaa, additionally sheds mild on the plight of intercourse staff.
Gunaa won’t have gotten an astounding monetary success when it was launched. Nothing had ready the viewers for a movie prefer it; Bharathi’s earlier movies — as a solo director and as a co-director with P Vasu — have been principally romance dramas or cop flicks. An actor who didn’t stick with the norms of a standard “hero”, Gunaa was just like what he had beforehand accomplished in movies like 16 Vayathinile and Kalyanaraman, and the hard-hitting movie got here sandwiched between comedy capers like Michael Madana Kama Rajan and Singaravelan. The truth that the movie was launched alongside titles like Bramma, Rudhra and naturally, Rajinikanth-Mani Ratnam’s Thalapathy, didn’t assist it both.
However, Gunaa turned out to be a cult basic over time. The nifty touches, references, and coverings of its pretty songs make it among the best movies from the Tamil movie business. Talking of nifty touches, bear in mind Ananthu who I had earlier talked about about? He performs a cameo as Gunaa’s roommate on the hospital who inculcates the idea of Abirami inside Gunaa, similar to how Ananthu mentored Kamal Haasan.
The Malayalam movie business has referenced Gunaa and the ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ observe in lots of its movies like Premam however Manjummel Boys takes this a step forward and turns it right into a tribute to the movie. Even the plot of it, which’s obtained a bunch of buddies paying no heed to the warnings and indicators, looks like a reference to the that means of Mathikettan Solai which has its personal share of city legends. On the core, each the movies cope with the love and the attachment between the lead characters, although it’s love for Gunaa and friendship between the boys within the new movie. However, Manjummel Boysdefinitely looks like a love letter to Gunaa full with the ‘Kanmani anbodu kaadhalan naan ezhuthum kadithamae’ line. It’s undoubtedly an exquisite homage to Gunaa, an excellent movie made by a number of the finest abilities within the nation whose love for this craft of filmmaking had no bounds. May we fathom it? Most likely we’ll by no means get it. Most likely they meant it after they went “Manidhar unarndhu kolla idhu manitha kaadhal ala, adhayum thaandi punidhamanathu!”
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