Bhagyaraj - The Magician

 

Hey folks! Today, I want to discuss with you about one of the most brilliant screenwriters and directors of Tamil cinema, K. Bhagyaraj. To begin with, have any of you ever heard about him or seen any of his films? If not, please do check them out. They are simply amazing. Don't know where this man picked such amazing out-of-the-box tales. He was one of the prominent directors of the 1980s. He was a junior to P. Bharathirajaa, another ace filmmaker that Tamil cinema was blessed to have during the 80s. While Bharathirajaa focused on portraying simple rural lives with an intense approach, Bhagyaraj approached it in an entertaining way. His speciality is, he would pick very serious backdrops and present them in an entertaining way. 

For example, his film Mundhanai Mudichu (1983) was based on a young girl trying to win the affections of a teacher, who is a widower and single parent. This is an exciting storyline and has very much scope for dramatic storytelling. But how can one sparkle humour in it? Well, that was what Bhagyaraj did. It was possible mainly due to the characterisations. On one hand, the young girl Parimala, played adorably by Urvashi, was a very playful girl. On the other hand, the Vaathiyaar (Teacher) with a child is actually a very expressible person. I know, the character may appear simple. But imagine how, in those times, why even now, a man who raises a child alone is portrayed. Such characters are always portrayed with a certain grimness, as if they had understood the philosophy behind what life is.

Even the latest film, Dada, portrayed such a character with a certain grimness. The hero had to get drunk, lose his normal self and then only take part in the celebration. But in 1983, Bhagyaraj broke the barriers and gave space for the character to express himself. He would crack jokes, get in trouble, take part in fun and everything. At the same time, the director never failed to mirror the responsibilities and sentiments that a widower would possess.  And does the story ever turn serious? Yes, it does. During the interval point, Parimala accuses Vaathiyaar of having misbehaved with her and succeeds in making the villagers believe her, causing the unwilling Vaathiyaar to tie the knot with her. What a classic turn of events! Now, what would happen? The Vaathiyaar and Parimala have to live together. What is the conflict of emotions we are yet to witness? Wait, wait, wait, people! It's Bhagyaraj and how could you expect a serious tone😎 He makes way for humour here too, and you would enjoy the mixture of humour and drama during the second half.

His other interesting films which I got to watch are, Dhavani Kanavugal (1984) and Idhu Namma Aalu (1988). While Dhavani Kanavugal had a relatively more serious tone in it, dealing with the problem of unemployment then, it still had its Bhagyaraj  moments. There was a particular episode where Subramani, the hero, moves to city and jots down certain jobs to earn money viz.,  smuggling, becoming an actor like Rajinikanth, etc. Those sequences were humorous and thoughtful at the same time, portraying the situation of the youth then and how they were mislead. Also, in another scene, Subramani indulges in selling plastic out of desperation, and while walking on the street calling out to people to buy plastic, there are the unemployed youth rallying parallel to him to bring the government's attention to their plight. The Bhagyaraj moment of the scene is when Bhagyaraj counters the slogans of the rallying youth. 

Idhu Namma Aalu (1988) would have dealt with a more serious issue, caste discrimination, again, in a funnier tone. I don't know if the film would have been released had it been made in recent times. Just hear out the one-line: what happens when a person from the depressed caste disguises himself as a person from the dominant caste? These films are not even a handful of his films. I strongly recommend people to go check out his films which could be ranked among the films teaching one about what compelling storytelling is. So that was what I wanted to share with you today. Thank you for visiting this blog and do follow my blogs everyday. 

                                    Byee👋