People impose their politics on my films
Director Ram tellsudhav naigthat Taramani is a commentary on changing gender dynamics
Udhav Naig
Hours after the teaser ofTaramaniwas released, many went on a tirade on social media saying that you are back to doing what you do best: taunting software engineers. What isTaramaniabout?
It is the last part of the trilogy — after Kattradhu Thamizh and Thanga Meengal . It is a film about how globalisation has affected the male-female relationship in society. Now, don’t get me wrong: globalisation has indeed given women confidence, self-respect and self-esteem. It has given them so much hope and enabled travel and opportunities across the seas. Even the fathers of girls have changed. However, do male colleagues understand and accept these women? How does this affect relationships? Taramani deals with that complex dynamics.
Can you explain howTaramanifits into your larger critique of globalisation?
Kattradhu Thamizh was misread by a lot of people, as though it were a film against those in the software industry. The arts and humanities departments are being sidelined all over the world, not just in India. Kattradhu Thamizh is about what would happen if arts and humanities are neglected in favour of the service industry, creating severe economic inequality. The result is the creation of sociopaths.
Thanga Meengal stemmed from this basic question: how does privatisation affect our education system? Today, we live in a society where politicians promise to pay back educational loans. Why aren’t they investing in public schools? How does this affect the family? How quickly does the system label a child? What choices do parents have? I wanted to explore these questions through a father-daughter relationship; otherwise, it would have become a documentary.
On the other hand, Taramani is a universal story about how male-female relationships are transformed in the age of globalisation and the complexities that come with it. That’s how it becomes the last instalment of the trilogy.
What do you make of the criticism that your films in the past have given an unfair moral assessment on those working in the software industry and of globalisation in general?
First of all, let me clarify that I am not against those who are working in the IT sector. I have reiterated this enough. In fact, they are one of the most vulnerable sections of the labour force. They don’t have a union; they can’t organise and ask for their rights. So, I empathise with them.
Much of the criticism has come from a scene in Kattradhu Thamizh , where the hero molests a girl wearing the T-shirt with the words, ‘Touch me if you dare’. Now, I don’t have a problem with women wearing such a T-shirt. But Prabhakar is a character suffering from extreme sexual poverty. He is 24 years old and hasn’t kissed a girl. How will Prabhakar see it? Those who applauded the scene did it saying that I underlined the importance of ‘traditional culture’, while progressive people who severely criticised it did so thinking that I agreed with the view of the character. Hopefully, Taramani will change how Kattradhu Thamizh was understood by the audience.
You have always been accused of pushing a kind of reactionary pro-Tamil narrative into your films.
Even I am confused by the criticism. I have been called parochial and a Tamil chauvinist, but to be honest, I don’t even believe in the idea of nation and states. Do I love Tamil? Yes. But it is not political. As a literature student, I understand the value of appreciating literature in other languages too. I love Orhan Pamuk but I read his books in Tamil because I am comfortable with it.
Critics and the audience interpret every discussion on the Tamil language or society through the prism of Tamil politics. This happens because of our political history. They think that I have a strong Tamil-centric view because I made a film called Kattradhu Thamizh and I studied Tamil literature in college. All I am saying is that please watch a bunch of my films before contextualising what my political views are and what my films are about. Not many know that Kattradhu Thamizh was originally supposed to be made in Hindi. I would have perhaps been labelled as an RSS activist or a Hindi chauvinist for speaking about the plight of a Hindi graduate ( laughs ).
When it comes to your films, critics and the audience find it hard to accept the argument that your characters are not an embodiment of your politics.
I would like to make a distinction here between those who just spew opinions about about my film, and critics, who critically analyse the film’s form and content. What I have noticed is that many usually go outside of my text and impose their politics on me and my work. They view the film through their own politics. I don’t agree with it. They seldom stay within the text and critique it. I believe that there is enough material in the film’s text that makes the film coherent. I say this fully acknowledging my own political point of view. I take good critics very seriously. I learn how audiences have interpreted my work. Any creative work will and should create a debate. It should disturb you in an emotional way. Criticism needs to be scientific and its analysis coherent.
Also, when I say something in my film, I say it very strongly. I believe in a set of particular truths, which could be right or wrong. I think I need to make some more films for people to actually understand the ideology of my films and my politics.
Can you explain how you zero in on the theme of your films?
I ask the simple question: Whom do you stand for? It is an important question to raise while writing a script. Are you speaking about those who stand in the long queues outside private schools in Chennai, or those parents who admit their children in government schools? Can money buy good teachers? Those were the questions I asked myself when I wrote Thanga Meengal .
In Taramani , I have spoken about these issues from a different plane altogether. So, after people see Taramani , I hope they will be able to look at Kattradhu Thamizh in new light. Today, even the film’s teaser has become a point of debate. It was meant to tease, not introduce the movie. It is not even a trailer. They have gone beyond the text, assumed my political leanings and tried to fix the film in a particular way.
What are your political leanings anyway?
Tamil society is still waiting for a leader. We had Periyar and Annadurai. In the last several decades, we haven’t had great leaders. I agree with Periyar on many issues, especially with his views on God. But, when it is practised in a personal space, I don’t mind, as my own mother believes in religion too.
I also think we all must strive to be on the Left of the political space — we have to be on the side of the labouring classes and speak against farmer suicides. Who wouldn’t, right? That doesn’t mean I agree with the Communist idea of ‘Dictatorship of the Proletariat’, which stamps out personal ambition.
Why do your films take a lot of time?
It is purely due to economic reasons. My first film had a hero, but I couldn’t cast a hero in my second film.
As for this role, well, no other hero would have done it.
