A LAUGH RIOT ON SCREEN
Lack Of Scripts Featuring Humorous Roles Give Upcoming Actors No Opportunity To Hone Talent
Neeraja Ramesh & Srimathi S TNN 01.05.2018
The 1968 blockbuster ‘Thillana Mohanambal’, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini in the lead roles, was a love story with a battle of egos, but thousands of film buffs also remember it for warm-hearted Jil Jil Ramamani who lifted the cloud of seriousness every time she appeared on screen. It is etched in the minds of cinemagoers as one of actor Manorama’s best performances. But comic flavour in films, a hallmark of the black and white and Eastman-colour era, seems to be slowly fading away.
Word play, comic timing and intonation in dialogue delivery, ingredients that would pepper scripts and lighten up screens, have dwindled especially for women, since the time of Manorama and Sowcar Janaki. Laughter today seems to be limited to caricatures, rib-tickling humour replaced by stereotypical slapstick and witty repartees by women characters with vulgar demeaning jokes.
With hardly any screenplay venturing beyond the main plot to infuse perceptive levity, the absence of comic brilliance in women characters may be felt for a long time. “To break the monotony of watching the main characters, writers earlier would have 15 to 16 scenes just for comedians,” points out actor-director and playwright T S B K Moulee.
Over the years, the demands of commercial cinema and shorter run time have resulted in such scenes being chopped off. Today, comedy is about body shaming women and putting down their intelligence, feels Moulee. “The hero’s friend(usually a comedian) and the hero tease the heroine and this is what we are told is comedy.” While male comedians are still popular as the hero’s confidante, a heroine no longer has such companions. “A male comedian has created a strong image in the market that in comedy a woman should only be teased for her appearance. Charlie Chaplin made me laugh by showing his sufferings, but in Tamil cinema, the actor makes the audience laugh by making fun of the women with misogynistic jokes,” says actor Maya Krishnan, who feels very few scripts are written with woman comedians in mind.
Ruing that cinema per se has denigrated women, Sowcar Janaki feels intelligent comedy is out these days and cinema no longer has space for women comedians. “Comedy now is all about body shaming and delivering vulgar dialogues. There can’t be another Manorama,” says the actor who began her career as a tragedy queen. She later realised the comic streak in her and made the transition that made such gems as ‘Bhama Vijayam’, ‘Thillu Mullu’ and ‘Ethir Neechal’ sparkle.
Apart from her inherent talent, she credits the change to directors like K Balachander, who helped her reach her potential. “What can I say? I was there at the right place and with the right people. My theatre background helped a lot in shaping my comic streak,” says Janaki, who feels actors today are no longer given the space to explore comedy.
While the industry has made way for the Santhanams, Karunas, and Viveks, it seems to have lost the plot midway with regard to women comedians. This absence is further felt when upcoming actors limit themselves to the typical heroine’s role. Today, if women cannot make it as heroines, they fade away since they do not have the opportunity to hone their talent in comic roles. A change should happen and veterans must take the lead by urging actors to explore offbeat roles, say experts.
In the 1980s, actors like Sripriya, Radikaa and Revathi were not only popular for portraying the love interest in blockbusters but were also known for their bubbly heartwarming characters with great comic timing.
The torchbearer among women comedians, in recent times, is probably actor Kovai Sarala. Having acted in more than 750 films, she has been able to portray different characters in movies like ‘Cheena Veedu’, ‘Karagattakaran’, and ‘Kaalam Maari Pochu’, and is an example of how an actor, harbouring dreams to play the heroine, could still become a star by cashing in on her comic timing.
But does this mean the end of quirky comebacks by women? Actor andplaywright ‘Crazy’ Mohan is positive that the tide will change. “The popularity of comic roles comes in cycles. The requirement for female comedians will come again. The industry needs more women writers and that can bring about a change,” he says.
Lack Of Scripts Featuring Humorous Roles Give Upcoming Actors No Opportunity To Hone Talent
Neeraja Ramesh & Srimathi S TNN 01.05.2018
The 1968 blockbuster ‘Thillana Mohanambal’, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini in the lead roles, was a love story with a battle of egos, but thousands of film buffs also remember it for warm-hearted Jil Jil Ramamani who lifted the cloud of seriousness every time she appeared on screen. It is etched in the minds of cinemagoers as one of actor Manorama’s best performances. But comic flavour in films, a hallmark of the black and white and Eastman-colour era, seems to be slowly fading away.
Word play, comic timing and intonation in dialogue delivery, ingredients that would pepper scripts and lighten up screens, have dwindled especially for women, since the time of Manorama and Sowcar Janaki. Laughter today seems to be limited to caricatures, rib-tickling humour replaced by stereotypical slapstick and witty repartees by women characters with vulgar demeaning jokes.
With hardly any screenplay venturing beyond the main plot to infuse perceptive levity, the absence of comic brilliance in women characters may be felt for a long time. “To break the monotony of watching the main characters, writers earlier would have 15 to 16 scenes just for comedians,” points out actor-director and playwright T S B K Moulee.
Over the years, the demands of commercial cinema and shorter run time have resulted in such scenes being chopped off. Today, comedy is about body shaming women and putting down their intelligence, feels Moulee. “The hero’s friend(usually a comedian) and the hero tease the heroine and this is what we are told is comedy.” While male comedians are still popular as the hero’s confidante, a heroine no longer has such companions. “A male comedian has created a strong image in the market that in comedy a woman should only be teased for her appearance. Charlie Chaplin made me laugh by showing his sufferings, but in Tamil cinema, the actor makes the audience laugh by making fun of the women with misogynistic jokes,” says actor Maya Krishnan, who feels very few scripts are written with woman comedians in mind.
Ruing that cinema per se has denigrated women, Sowcar Janaki feels intelligent comedy is out these days and cinema no longer has space for women comedians. “Comedy now is all about body shaming and delivering vulgar dialogues. There can’t be another Manorama,” says the actor who began her career as a tragedy queen. She later realised the comic streak in her and made the transition that made such gems as ‘Bhama Vijayam’, ‘Thillu Mullu’ and ‘Ethir Neechal’ sparkle.
Apart from her inherent talent, she credits the change to directors like K Balachander, who helped her reach her potential. “What can I say? I was there at the right place and with the right people. My theatre background helped a lot in shaping my comic streak,” says Janaki, who feels actors today are no longer given the space to explore comedy.
While the industry has made way for the Santhanams, Karunas, and Viveks, it seems to have lost the plot midway with regard to women comedians. This absence is further felt when upcoming actors limit themselves to the typical heroine’s role. Today, if women cannot make it as heroines, they fade away since they do not have the opportunity to hone their talent in comic roles. A change should happen and veterans must take the lead by urging actors to explore offbeat roles, say experts.
In the 1980s, actors like Sripriya, Radikaa and Revathi were not only popular for portraying the love interest in blockbusters but were also known for their bubbly heartwarming characters with great comic timing.
The torchbearer among women comedians, in recent times, is probably actor Kovai Sarala. Having acted in more than 750 films, she has been able to portray different characters in movies like ‘Cheena Veedu’, ‘Karagattakaran’, and ‘Kaalam Maari Pochu’, and is an example of how an actor, harbouring dreams to play the heroine, could still become a star by cashing in on her comic timing.
But does this mean the end of quirky comebacks by women? Actor andplaywright ‘Crazy’ Mohan is positive that the tide will change. “The popularity of comic roles comes in cycles. The requirement for female comedians will come again. The industry needs more women writers and that can bring about a change,” he says.
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