Thevar Magan (1992) (aka The Chieftain’s Son)
Bharathan
Tamil
“Go on, go educate your kids”
The slew of movies in Tamil cinema based on villages stopped with the late eighties as cities became the prime audience of the filmmakers. Though infinitely many stories still lie in the villages waiting to be told, not many movies from the nineties and the new century have tapped it. One film that has indeed done it, Kamal Haasan’s Thevar Magan (1992), stands out as a vital milestone in the history of Tamil Cinema.
Coming as a revamped adaptation of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Thevar magan chronicles the life of Sakthi (Kamal), the son of the village head Periya Thevar (Shivaji Ganeshan) who has just returned from his life in the city for a few days. He experiences a totally different and even savage life in the rural area and is disgusted by it. Just when he decides that he has had enough of it, things take an awry turn and Sakthi is forced to relinquish his career to take up the helm of the village administration. Past rivalries are dug up, cries of scores to be settled once and for all echo and hatred and violence reign. Sakthi decides that the village needs to be saved and the villager’s pride for caste and race needs to be eradicated.
More than anything, the film is a powerhouse of high wattage performances with the central conversation between the two veterans remaining one of the best scenes of recent times. One can easily condemn the film as glorifying violence but on second thoughts, it is indeed the violence of the film that supports its cause. At the end of the film, one does realize that nobody has won and violence does not pay.
September 1, 2008 at 12:43 pm
High voltage is indeed the word to describe the scenes involving Kamal and Sivaji. Each one a legend in his own right, together they lifted the acting to a level not seen much, before or after this movie.
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September 1, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Yes, it is still potent as ever….
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September 1, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Saw the Hindi remake and enjoyed it.
Then I saw parts of the Tamil original and enjoyed it even more.
I am sometimes wary of films that glorify violence or exaggerate it. However the performances of the actors lends it a natural touch.
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September 1, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Yes, Violence has become a commonplace in Indian cinema and just a few films actually try to ponder over it…
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September 2, 2008 at 1:51 am
Huh!!! At last something I can comment on!! :)
Brilliant movie-thats it. Perhaps a movie in which just about everything is perfect. To use a cliche-a landmark film in Indian Cinema.
A request to Srik : Please spare sometime and place to write about things other than Cinema. Curious to know your views on other things too!!
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September 2, 2008 at 7:27 am
Yes, a scintillating experience every time you watch…
As for the request: http://justanotherwordpressweblog.wordpress.com/
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September 3, 2008 at 10:50 am
the screenplay was awesome.. the nativity associated with the story..Raaja sir’s amazing background score.. Above all, outstanding performance from 2 veterans!!! These movies set a benchmark for other movies..
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September 3, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Yes, One of IR’s best scores…
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February 14, 2009 at 2:45 pm
[…] idea of good winning over its rival but the definition of good and bad itself. Films as graphic as Thevar Magan (1992) to ones as mellow as Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (2008) have firmly set their foot on this […]
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