Unnaipol Oruvan going great guns in Chennai city; collects over 20 lakhs at a single Cineplex within four days of its release. These are really handsome figures, though not record breaking by any standards. There have been many movies over the past that have shown far better collections in their initial days at theaters. For example, Unnaipol Oruvan might not able to match the figures netted by Dasavatharam. But what makes these 20 lakhs special are that they have been earned by Unnaipol Oruvan, which was hardly considered a candidate for great success. Of course, we all had great expectations from the movie because it came from the stables of Rajkamal and had Ulaga Nayagan Kamal Haasan in the lead with Mohanlal for company. We knew that it would be a class offering with a deep impact, because many of us were aware of and had seen ‘A Wednesday’. But, like many other class offerings of the past, there was the fear that box office success might just elude this thoroughly deserving product.
This fear is not without reason. There have been many Kamal masterpieces that have been quite universally acknowledged as high quality cinema but failed to leave any impression at the box office. Think about Hey Ram, Anbe Sivam or any others that belong to this category. The thing about such films was that they seemed to make it to theaters only because they featured Kamal Haasan. In his absence, such stories and films would never have been made, leave alone finding theaters to release. It was as if
good cinema had its place in the hearts of Tamil audiences but not on the big screen for any long period. The big screen always belonged to true commercial entertainers which had all elements to regale our minds in around 3 hours.
Now, Unnaipol Oruvan perhaps marks the crescendo of change that has begun in the reception of films that are of the ‘other’ kind, driven by elements that are non-commercial. There has been the odd film over the years that has kept breaking predictions to achieve box office success, like Cheran or Bala products. But, they were far and few in between and could be counted only as exceptions rather than as the rule. 2008 seems to have changed things from that position. Now, a film that chooses to stick to an honest and story driven form of narration is far more likely to find acceptance a few years ago. Counting Subramaniapuram, Pasanga, Naadodigal, Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, all in the span of 12 months, we have to accept that a wave of change in audience’s taste has occurred.
But, many might not be happy with the examples cited above. Though these movies did eliminate a lot of commercialism like punch dialogues, item numbers and the like, they still definitely contained a lot that was conventionally commercial. For instance, the comedy track, violence that could often border on the brutality and songs. In that respect, they could never be called ‘pure’ cinema. That is why Unnaipol Oruvan is important. It hopefully completes the transition of the average Tamil audience to the discerning who can pick out the genuinely good products from the rest and give it the recognition when it is still in theaters, not long after.
Unnaipol Oruvan has neither a comedy track, nor any song, nor violence, no heroine, no romance. Its dialogues might pack a punch but they are not what we would call punch dialogues. The maker has been confident enough to not include a song even in the opening or closing credits. Perhaps the only commercial present in the entire movie is the presence of a huge star, Kamal Haasan, but he is also a synonym for quality cinema in our times. In spite of being so starkly unconventional and non-commercial, if Unnaipol Oruvan is doing a smashing round at the box office, it does mean that audiences have begun to broaden their horizons beyond just time pass entertainment. For the success of Unnaipol Oruvan, congrats to the makers and to the ‘new look Tamil audience’.
