Thalapathy... a Mani Ratnam Masterpiece

By Visitor S.Mahesh

The views expressed in this column is that of the visitor. We don't hold responsible for its content.

Though I have seen Thalapathy a number of times I failed to realize its amazing technical brilliance hidden under its shell. All these years I have just enjoyed the movie as an entertainer without much stressing on its technical details. But I was totally blown away when I watched it in a DVD few months back. In technical aspects I would say Thalapathy is Mani’s masterstroke among all his films and is very special, thanks to Santhosh Sivan’s breathtaking cinematography, Ilayaraja’s scintillating BGM and songs and above all Mani’s execution of scenes and characterization makes it one of the best in the industry. Since Thalapathy has its adaptation from the epic Mahabharata, both the scenes and characters have shades of Mahabharata.

To start with

Titles: Mani’s movies never had titles in maroon color (they are usually in white fonts in black background) but in Thalapathy titles come in maroon or brick red color since Rajini’s character is compared to Karna in Mahabharata who is the son of Sun, which is maroon or brick red color. Needless to say Rajini’s name in Thalapathy is Surya. This is the reason, you would find Rajini in maroon colored shirts in most scenes. Also, you will find Sun’s rays joining Rajini in many scenes. When Srividya and Rajini unite you can see the Sun rising. Also the whole movie would have a maroonish tone.

Characterization: See how beautifully Mani portrays Shobana’s character. She would always start from ‘Yamunai aatrile eera kaatrile kannanodu thaan aada’ but once her love is broken she starts from ‘Aayarpaadiyil kannan illayo’. Also during the break-up scene of Shobana–Rajini you can see the Sun trying to set.

Songs: Now we shall look into Mani’s magic in the songs. Picturizing songs is an art which does not come to all directors easily. But for Mani just a room is enough, he will do wonders, (eg.Ninnukori Varnam). Since Rajini’s characterization is similar to a warrior who goes for frequent fights, Mani had picturised the song in the same fashion. Another important factor he had considered is war coming to a close around six in the evening basically to nurse the injured soldiers. Here, Shobana lights the lamps and Rajini will be seen with his horses resting.

Ilayaraja aka BGM: I can’t even imagine any other music director for this classic. Whenever Srividya thinks of Rajini, BGM would be train’s siren. Amazing, isn’t it? In ‘Sundari kannal oru sedi’, when Rajini goes for war you can hear the police march fast BGM. Some other amazing BGM portions in Thalapathy are the Rajini–Shobana break up scene, Rajini–Mammootty first meeting and uniting scene and when Rajini stands in a small hill just before Amrish Puri enters the frame.

These are just few examples but each and every frame's execution speaks Mani's caliber and why he is the master. According to me, Thalapathy is truly an under rated classic.

Thanks,

S.Mahesh.
smahesh1980@gmail.com