Revenge of Kochhai-adiyaan

I watched Kochhai-adiyaan (as it is supposed to be spelt in Tam instead of the more fancier but incorrect Kochadaiyaan) and had a lot of impressions on the latest Rajni movie.

The title itself could mean anything from "saint with the shaggy/mangled hair" or "man with the shaggy/mangled truss of hair" depending on how one parses the Tam. In any case, it is a pointer to Shiva just like some of his previous movies have been (Arunachalam, Annamalai, the yet-to-come Lingaa) or to the son of Shiva (Padaiyappa as in Aarupadaiyappan, Muthu), etc. It is an open secret that Rajni has embraced the quintessential Tam god in Murugan as is seen from the character names in most of his movies that are based on Murugan's 108 names. As for the main character's name in this movie, Ranadheeran, if one parses the Tam right, it means "the braveheart who won over pain and suffering."

Semi-spoiler alert!

As someone who grew up with such fare as Mandhirikumari (Linky), Aayiram Thalai Vaangiya Abhoorva Sindhaamani (Linky), Marmayogi (Linky) and as someone who digs into the historical Tamland filmi fare in Black-and-white as well as the later Eastman color, as much as the sociological fun- and farce-fest of the 50s through the 90s, it has been a sad tale that this genre has been essentially wiped out by the lack of imagination, lack of plotlines, lack of enthusiasm for a four-hour potboiler of intrigue, drama, vengeance, and twists and turns from the T20 generation, mismatch in investment between art direction and the grandeur of current day cinematography, etc. And even if dished out in some form these days, Tamland historical fare is an utterly casteist tripe a la Ponnar Shankar. In this midst comes Kochhai-adiyaan, which though it cannot hold a candle to some of the late 40s and 50s fare, is still brilliant in terms of intrigue and suspense in the storyline.

The movie starts a complete dud by insulting a Tamlander's sense of pride in the diction of the language with a rambunctious tripe that will make folks such as SS Rajendran and RS Manohar turn the other side in their graves with immense angst at the state-of-affairs, even in supposedly historical fare. While Rajni himself has no awesome command over the language, it has been his impeccable timing, stylish dialogue delivery, comic sense, and the dialogue construction that has set him apart from his peers. With essentially no comedy in the movie, even with the recreation of a Nagesh character (who sadly is drunk all the time, much like in his younger years in real-life), and with plasticene abundance that denies the possibility of timing and flow, it all looks downhill and hopeless from the beginning.

The dud continues with an introductory scene and song (typically setting a high bar for the Rajni show that follows for the next three hours) that fails to capture a hardcore Rajni fan's cochlear imagination. The sad death of AR Rahman's musical flourish and depth is probably noticeable to many, but every good thing has to come to an end, I guess. As someone who still digs for the underappreciated in Rahman's fare from the early- to mid-90s (Linky 1 and Linky 2, for example), the last few years have been a blur and this movie continues the trend. The height of introductory agony is to watch an abominable plastic Rajni's plastic horse leap over a plastic cliff that is unbelievable even for a Rajni fan who is willing to suspend reality for the sake of Rajni.

Slowly but steadily, the intrigues catch up and we are revealed the tale within a tale within a tale (as much as I could count). And then comes the father-Rajni, walking like we all wished a real Rajni would have done on the stage (and shaming the son-Rajni in the process who walks like an oaf, with no insult meant to to oafs), and setting the floor alight with his unabashed Shivathaandavam dance moves that would have put a Prabhudeva at his prime to shame. If only that plastic Rajni was substituted for a fraction of what we saw in Thillaana-Thillaana (Linky) with a beat like in Kuluvaallille (Linky), both from Muthu, we would have got our 20$ worth for the 3-D picturization that seemed short (two hours), needlessly extravagant and useless to tell the tale that it was.

Despite being simplistic, the Hobson's choice faced by the father-Rajni character is something that I have (surprisingly!) not seen in my as-many-years of watching pot-boiler historical fare. There are two not-so-smooth changes without much explanation in the son-Rajni's character in the movie: from one of a loyal soldier to a loyal soldier of the other party, and a loyal soldier to a man with a burning pain that can only be set right by providing a rightful ending for the villainous character(s). Having seen enough reruns of Murattukk Kaalai and Paayum Puli, I know the difference between the acceptable from the indigestable. When Rajni (the epitome of Tamland values that he has shaped over the last three decades) is made to dance to such abrupt dichotomies like ripping the jugular vein of certain characters and doing a Thevar Magan (even if only as revenge), it becomes too jarring to watch, appreciate, love and remember Rajni by. Any amount of wise Rajni-isms that come out as supposed punch dialogues cannot compensate for that loss in confidence and trust in the supposedly sensible hero who is anything but that. And the punch dialogues fail because they are neither punchy nor dialogue-y.

Many of the characters are hopelessly shoddy with it being difficult to recognize beyond a select few. If there was a Sarath Kumar and a Jackie Shroff, I did nt miss them a beat! A Yamunai aatrile eerakk kaatrile Shobana and her stickler father Chaaruhassan would have rotfl-ed at this current Dasavatharam version!! And a Nayanthara would have saved her blushes for it was Deepika who has to carry the ignominy of plastic degeneracy!!! The basic plotline for this story by KS Ravikumar would have seen far greater justice in his hands than in Rajni's daughter's hands. The KSR-Rajni combo came up with Muthu and Padaiyappa before this, both earth-shattering (at that point in time) revenge tales that had a certain political undertone after the excesses of the 1991-96 JJ regime that came to power in the sympathy wave after RG's assassination. Come 2014, and this movie's TV advertisement rights are with the incumbent party in power, ADMK -- a reflection of why Vishwaroopam went through such turmoil before its release.

Tamland is not yet ready for motion capture nor is the state-of-the-art in motion capture a substitute for real action with real people. As the movie progresses, one gets to understand much of the revenge talk in the movie. The movie's central theme is revenge: revenge of Kottaippattanam on Kalingapuri for its deceit instead of a straight and ethical battle, revenge of the son-Rajni against the father-Rajni's unseemly suffering at the hands of the Kottaippattanam king, unquenched revenge of the friend who pits statecraft over friendship, revenge of the friend who pits friendship over statecraft but only after taking what his due was (unfriendly though it was), revenge of the kings who care pretty much about their own reputation and sustenance over what is right, and so on.

When Sivaji was released in 2007, the heartland of IL was flooded with Rajni fans who all enjoyed themselves to what then was an epic! And not everyone was a Tam!! Fast forward seven years, I have seen a nearly empty Kuselan (again in IL), a nearly empty Robot/Enthiran (in the middle of a raucous Sri Lankan Tam community in Melbourne), and now a nearly empty Kochhai-adiyaan. This story is also a story of revenge that has been served raw and cold: revenge of time where even Rajni ages and cannot dish out his usual fare (dance, fights, style and all things that make Rajni Rajni), revenge of the other daughter (with supposedly good intentions) who ends up hurting the brand and fan-base more than helping it, and revenge of the gods who cannot allow for a Sivaji to be bested for after all, Rajni is Sivaji, Sivaji is MGR and MGR is Sivaji.

Even if I have to wait a la Vishwaroopam II for what the next two hours are supposed to fill in vis-a-vis the knots that have been left untied, it is a sad commentary that I am looking forward more to Vishwaroopam II than to Kochhai-adiyaan II. On to Lingaa, and just like with the hockey team that disappoints me over the years, I shall lose no hope.

To death with hope!
For man can die, but hope cannot,
For Rajni can blunder, but his legacy cannot,
For kamal can wonder, Rajni he is not!

Sense of Tamland

There is really nothing new one can say about the massive Modi win except sounding a monotonous bore grinding the same old half-truisms. In any case, I will stick (for the time being) to opinionating on Tamland only because I feel that I have not read any sensible analysis and parsing of the numbers so far. 

1) General trends: The BJP and its partners took part in 38 constituencies (barring the Nilgiris mishap) of which 14 contested on a DMDK ticket, 8 on PMK, 7 on MDMK and 9 on BJP (including the KMDK and IJK candidates). Of these, there were two first place finishes (Kanni and Dharmapuri), six second place finishes, 29 third place finishes, and one fourth place finish. 

The fourth place finish of PMK in Naagai was one of wrong candidate selection -- a non-existent PMK fighting in a reasonably deep South seat which is somewhere close to religious polarization than to caste polarization. The two first place finishes were ones where strategic alignment worked successfully, Pon. Radhakrishnan in Kanni and Anbumani in Dharmapuri. If the Congress and the DMK had aligned, there is a good likelihood that Pon. Radhakrishnan would have finished second (just as in 2004 and 09). Dharmapuri (in North Tamland) presents a more confusing picture. While the caste violence between the numerically vastly dominating Vanniyars and Adi-draavidars (a Dalit sub-caste) and the subsequent action against the PMK partymen and leaders by the ADMK regime had meant that the Dalits were in favor of a ADMK candidate, the ADMK bent down to demographic destiny in picking a Vanniyar candidate. Also, picking a Vanniyar candidate was DMK. With the waters murky, some BJP-MDMK-DMDK vote bank alignment helped Anbumani cross the post by around 75000 votes -- a performance that is not much to crow about given the Vanniyar dominance in the seat. 

The six second place finishes were in Coimbatore, Erode, Pollachi, Tiruppur, Vellore and Virudhunagar. Of these, the first four are in the Kongunaadu-Gounder belt, Vellore in the Vanniyar belt and Virudhunagar in the Naicker/Naidu belt. That said, none of these were close finishes with the ADMK walking a winner comfortably in all the six seats, which just goes to show how caste consolidation behind a rainbow coalition was an ephemeral idea from the very beginning. Of the 29 third place finishes, there were close contests (defined as approx. 10K votes) with the second place candidate only in Aarani (PMK candidate) and Perambalur (IJK). Five seats were complete washouts (defined as < 1 lakh votes): North Madras, Dindigul, Karur, Thanjai, Tiruchi. Of these, four were contested by the DMDK (the other by BJP in Thanjai) showing how much DMDK punched over its weight in the coalition. Of the eight seats contested by the PMK, their candidates got over 2 lakh votes in 5 constituencies. On the other hand, DMDK could get over 2 lakh votes in just 4 of the 14 contested whereas for MDMK, this number was 3 in 7. 

Almost all the constituencies had the classic Chandu Lal Sahu episode in some form or the other. In some seats, it was a clear case of a prop candidate with the same or similar name (Chandrakasi vs. Chandragasan, etc.), in some seats, it was a creative way to introduce confusion (K. Nandagopalakrishnan vs. K. R. Radhakrishnan). Clearly, Tamlanders have some weird unique names that cannot be easily copied and there is the oft-mentioned statement: "vote for the [xyz] symbol." Those two probably explain the nonchalance of the mainstream parties to this menace. 

2) Modi wave: There most definitely was a Modi wave in Bihar and UP (and much of north and west India for that matter), but whether there was one in Tamland requires some serious statistical introspection. In the last elections, none of the BJP candidates except Pon. Radhakrishnan from Kanni and the eternal-party-hopper Su. Thirunaavukkarasar from Ramnad could get anything over 50K votes. Ela Ganesan could get no more than 43K votes in South Madras. In 2014, this scene has changed dramatically with 6 in 9 of BJP contestants securing over 2 lakh votes. Ela Ganesan in fact could win over 2.5 lakh votes, a no mean feat even in South Madras given that it has most likely no more than a few 1000s of upper castes (aka Brahmins). If Ganesan could sew up so many votes, it must have come from the educated, aspiring and climbing middle-class, of which there is plenty in South Madras. Only the total BJP washout in Thanjai is surprising given the temple town's vibes. So yes, there was a Modi wave, but not as big as in UP and Bihar. But big enough to be noticed and recognized. However, whether this is a sustaining wave is a 108$ question.

3) Deep south and religious faultlines: I define the deep south as the four semi-religiously polarized constituencies of Thirunelveli, Thoothukkudi, Kanni and Ramnad. It is remarkably surprising that the BJP contested only Kanni and Ramnad of these four. May be the fact that BJP could not secure anything more than 50K votes in the last elections had something to do with this calculation. But in any case, the story of Kanni has been told before. In addition to the lack of DMK-INC coalition, too many Christian candidates indeed mucked up the broth in a case of reverse polarization chronicled well here: Linky. The same can be said for Ramnad except that Muslims replace the role (to a certain level) of Christians in Kanni.

The strong showing in Aaduthurai of a MMK candidate is most likely because of the DMK vote bank which got transferred to MMK instead of Mani Shankar Aiyar of INC. The only other faultline that is seen is in Vellore with a strong third place finish by the IUML candidate. Again, the DMK vote bank that could have been transferred to the IUML candidate is suspect behind this strong finish.

4) Caste faultlines: The Vanniyar-Dalit fistfight in Dharmapuri spilled over into killing the bonhomie between Ramadoss and Thol. Thirumaavalavan of VCK. It was no wonder that PMK jumped at the opportunity presented by the INC's bumbling (Linky). Even some new-found bonhomie could nt help Thirumaa pull a fast one over the ADMK candidate. To rub salt into the wounds, the PMK candidate finished 30K votes behind Thirumaa, a sharp drop from the 1 lakh margin in the previous election.

The case of PT's K. Krishnasamy in Thenkasi is similar. The Pallar/Devendrakula Vellalar-Thevar faultline is seen even if the constituency is SC-reserved. The MDMK candidate finishes a strong third to rub salt into the wounds festered open by the ADMK whipping.

5) Three idiots: Three members of Idinthakarai/PMANE (Linky) that took part in the protests over the Kudankulam nuclear plant took part in elections as AAP candidates: SP Udhayakumar from Kanni, Pushparayan from Thoothukkudi, and Jesuraj from Thirunelveli. The net votes received by these rabble-rousers were 15K, 26K and 18K, so much for their credibility. More power from the power plant, please.

6) Azhagiri: With DMK suspending MK Azhagiri from the party, he was on a one-man mission to scupper DMK and Stalin's chances anywhere and everywhere. That he saw the complete decimation of DMK is no surprise given Tamland's bipolar disorder in terms of love affair with one party/coalition. Whether Azhagiri was indeed responsible for the decimation is a bit questionable though. In Madurai, he vowed to push the DMK candidate Velusamy to the third or even fourth position. However, Velusamy finished a strong second. Ditto for Theni where the DMK candidate came a strong second. Given that even a swing of a few votes in each ward could push a winner to a losing position, Azhagiri did get away with what he wanted despite their being limits on what Anjaanenjan can do (aka Anjaanenjan can fly, but not do a rope trick!).

7) Happy to see 'em get whipped: Mani Shankar Aiyar from Aaduthurai (my home town of sorts, courtesy my paternal side). Suffice it to say that, Modi's win is important because it takes upward mobility (in politics) in India from the realm of the improbable to the possible, provided one aspires for it unabashedly and with unapologetic determination -- a lesson reinforced in the vaporware circles of academe. Anyone who pisses on the climbers deserves to lose and badly so. MSA ended up fourth with < 60K votes, which just goes to show how much he badly depended on the DMK coalition to win 3.2 lakh votes last time around. Glass house, stones, anyone?! 

The bequest of Sivagangai from papa-jaan ex-Home/Finance minister was not enough to help the one-man destroyer of Indian tennis (Linky), Karti Chidambaram, get a win from there despite Sivagangai being a Nattukottai Chettiyaar bastion of sorts. Despite the Chettiyaars' philanthropy all over Madras and in Chettinaadu in particular, the deference people have for the Azhagappas, the Muthaiahs and the Annamalaiars does not easily translate to the Chidambarams, go figure! Given the high impact that the Kaanaadukathan Annamalaiar had on people in the vicinity, it is indeed a remarkable surprise to see a one-man demolition army three generations ahead. As for me, I am just happy to see that PC at least bowed down without too much mud on his face. Now if only he would have closed shop on his lectures to Modi over the last few days and let his son roil in the muck, it would have been even better. 

The other progeny to bite the dust again was EVKS Elangovan, the grand-relative of Periyar. Swapping Erode from where he finished runner-up last time to Thiruppur only got him the wooden spoon with less than 50K votes. In a land where the catcalls of "Anna naamam vaazhga, Periyaar naamam vaazhga" have been hijacked by a semi-theist outfit, it is indeed a no-brainer that there are so many DKs, let alone *MKs. 

It is indeed a pleasure to see the flopshow of VaiKo in Virudhunagar. Only a glutton for punishment would like to see one more LTTE fanboi shackle India's hands in normalizing relations with Sri Lanka with a carrot and stick approach, a much needed Modi-JJ bandwagon that could set things reasonably ok on the ground in Sri Lanka over the next few years. 

8) Corruption: If the BJP candidate had indeed filed his nomination papers right, Andimuthu Raja of the 2G infamy could have actually won the Neelagiri seat given that the BJP candidate would have split the ADMK votes happily. That around 3.6 lakh voters did not see a problem in electing Raja again shows how corruption is not so much of an issue with which one could whip up sentiments in Tamland anymore. Gone are those Rajnikanth's 1996 avatar days, may be people are just that numb of the sordid reality that is political India. If so, more power to them! Harping endlessly on corruption never got any society cleaner than a completely agnostic one. One point failure models like AAP and their fanbois can keep harping endlessly on how corruption-mukt-India is ah-so-great, but what is needed is not a mukt for corruption, but a mukt for unreasonable corruption. 

9) DMDK and BJP: The no-name brother-in-law of Narasimha aka "Tamland's original transformer-buster" came in third at Salem (and ditto for the DMDK candidate in Madurai) -- a far cry from the days when DMDK was touted as the replacement for DMK and ADMK. That should bring a sobering calm to those who tout the BJP to be a replacement to the *MK parties in Tamland. That reality seems more wishful than real, more fantastically fictituous than fanatically factual, especially given that BJP has repeatedly shown no interest or keenness or alacrity in understanding what drives Tamils. That accusation in the light of a super-strong performance might seem orthogonal, but someone needs to drive home the point that winning one polarized seat, a dynasty does not make. 

Giving a speech in Hindi in Madras may buy a few curious looks and a polite "hmmm", but that does not translate to wins that matter. For that matter, an outfit that goes with the name "aam aadmi" can hardly make any inroads in Tamland, even if Tamland is not necessarily completely agnostic to corruption matters. As far as BJP goes, aligning with casteist outfits like PMK, DMDK and MDMK might have helped an eternal runner up in Ponnar into a first place, but that does nt sync with holding a nationalist chip on the shoulder often enough. But if that was the norm, there could never have been an alliance with an LTTE-ambivalent (at best) DMK or for that matter a Khalistani-ambivalent SAD in the first place. 

The DMK's numbers are not exactly numbered in Tamland. The DMK is a resilient family-first unit that will be around in some form or the other for at least the next decade and more. While Mu Ka and Stalin draw an eerie parallel with Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, there is already a next generation in the form of Udhayanidhi who is all that Mu Ka Muthu could never be. What DMK lacks, just like what the ADMK lacks in a more serious form, is a strong rank and file that is deep in terms of intellect or strategic thinking. DMK leading men such as Naavalar Nedunchezhiyan, NVN Somu, Veerapandi Aarumugam are no more and it is not far from the day when more will pass away. That the idealistic enterprise has transformed into a family business with a hand in every profitable pie is no surprise. Yet, the business-first mentality will make the unit survive in some form. 

Less can be said about ADMK given the absolutely asymmetrical power structure of the organization. Nevertheless, the ADMK's steady vote bank today (the Thevars) is not necessarily available for poaching by the BJP. One look at the ADMK candidate list shows how JJ has been cultivating pockets of deep influence in the Vanniyar and Gounder belts, in addition to the traditional Thevar belt. Some post-Congress feelings in the Naadar community is also seen to lead to some bonhomie with BJP and to a certain extent with ADMK. The broad point being, the lack of a second rung leadership hierarchy NOW does not in any case disabuse or suspend the (magical) formation of such as and when the need arises. The eternal truth is that nature abhors vacuum! 

10) Net winners and losers from the hustings:

Winners: JJ, BJP/Modi, Pon. Radhakrishnan, Anbumani Ramadoss 

Hon. mention: Azhagiri 

Losers: Stalin, the Maarans, A. Raja, Vijayakanth, Vai Ko, Dalit parties 

Hon. mention: Today's Chaanakya with a 7 plus or minus 3 seat prediction which was always laughable in the first place for anyone who has a grasp of what drives Tamland