No justice for Traffic Ramasamy
Udhav Naig
June 23, 2018 00:00 IST
The film is only a ‘loose’ biopic
Popular activist Traffic Ramasamy holds a special place in popular culture of Tamil Nadu. The octogenarian’s relentless activism has had such an influence that he is mentioned casually in conversations revolving around civic issues or transgression of traffic laws.
With social activism and protests at their peak in Tamil Nadu, the makers of ‘Traffic Ramasamy’, featuring actor and director S.A. Chandrasekar in the lead role and directed by Vicky, thought that this was the right time to make this film. Be warned: the film is only a ‘loose’ biopic based on his life, which focuses on how he was instrumental in getting a ban on motorised ‘fish cart’ vehicles.
The problem with this film is that the legal and extra-legal battles (involving politicians and their goons) fought by the activist not only appears to be mostly fictional, but also absurd in how it portrays these legal battles.
It is mostly conventional Tamil cinema, particularly, SAC brand of cinema, popular in the 80s: politicians are shown as the scum of the earth; the police officials are brazenly corrupt and sleazy (there is a scene where a female cop is forcing herself on her driver) and the court house is actually portrayed as a clown house. If a biopic – even a loosely based biopic – is supposed to give a fair idea about his life as an activist, the film fails on that account. The practical problems that an activist faces while straddling the three worlds of world of politics, law enforcers and judiciary are largely ignored in favour of the cinematic and clichéd representation of issues.
In fact, the judge, played by actor Ambika, who is hearing the ‘fish cart’ case, is represented as some sort of a clown, dancing into the court for a Vijay film duet. No, this is not a comment on the functioning of the court. This is not that kind of a film.
It gets weird: there is an attempt to kill the judge and her security officer with an automatic rifle, shoots into the crowd and kills the shooter. The proceedings continue as if nothing has happened.
The film, however, does well to raise a few chuckles by alluding to certain real life characters – there is a politician named ‘Kungfu’ Govindan, there is a businessman named ‘Reddy’ and others. Rohini, who plays SAC’s wife, also does a good job.
There is also another important issue with the film: it doesn’t even hint at the fact that the protagonist has faced criticism from many and has his own set of naysayers. It is a film that portrays him in the most favourable light. But, then, of course, we live in a time wherein activists are heroes by default. Despite the few surprising cameos by Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj, Vijay Antony and others, the film is mostly absurd and doesn’t do justice to the life and work of Traffic Ramasamy.
Udhav Naig
June 23, 2018 00:00 IST
The film is only a ‘loose’ biopic
Popular activist Traffic Ramasamy holds a special place in popular culture of Tamil Nadu. The octogenarian’s relentless activism has had such an influence that he is mentioned casually in conversations revolving around civic issues or transgression of traffic laws.
With social activism and protests at their peak in Tamil Nadu, the makers of ‘Traffic Ramasamy’, featuring actor and director S.A. Chandrasekar in the lead role and directed by Vicky, thought that this was the right time to make this film. Be warned: the film is only a ‘loose’ biopic based on his life, which focuses on how he was instrumental in getting a ban on motorised ‘fish cart’ vehicles.
The problem with this film is that the legal and extra-legal battles (involving politicians and their goons) fought by the activist not only appears to be mostly fictional, but also absurd in how it portrays these legal battles.
It is mostly conventional Tamil cinema, particularly, SAC brand of cinema, popular in the 80s: politicians are shown as the scum of the earth; the police officials are brazenly corrupt and sleazy (there is a scene where a female cop is forcing herself on her driver) and the court house is actually portrayed as a clown house. If a biopic – even a loosely based biopic – is supposed to give a fair idea about his life as an activist, the film fails on that account. The practical problems that an activist faces while straddling the three worlds of world of politics, law enforcers and judiciary are largely ignored in favour of the cinematic and clichéd representation of issues.
In fact, the judge, played by actor Ambika, who is hearing the ‘fish cart’ case, is represented as some sort of a clown, dancing into the court for a Vijay film duet. No, this is not a comment on the functioning of the court. This is not that kind of a film.
It gets weird: there is an attempt to kill the judge and her security officer with an automatic rifle, shoots into the crowd and kills the shooter. The proceedings continue as if nothing has happened.
The film, however, does well to raise a few chuckles by alluding to certain real life characters – there is a politician named ‘Kungfu’ Govindan, there is a businessman named ‘Reddy’ and others. Rohini, who plays SAC’s wife, also does a good job.
There is also another important issue with the film: it doesn’t even hint at the fact that the protagonist has faced criticism from many and has his own set of naysayers. It is a film that portrays him in the most favourable light. But, then, of course, we live in a time wherein activists are heroes by default. Despite the few surprising cameos by Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj, Vijay Antony and others, the film is mostly absurd and doesn’t do justice to the life and work of Traffic Ramasamy.
