Kaaka Muttai, Aruvi, Kavan, Sarvam Thaala Mayam: How media sensationalism drives diverse narratives in Tamil cinema

From the national award-winning Kaaka Muttai to the path-breaking Aruvi, and from the commercially successful Kavan to the acclaimed recent musical Sarvam Thaala Mayam, media sensationalism has been used as a recurrent theme and has driven diverse narratives in Tamil cinema. [caption id=“attachment_6230561” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Kaaka Muttai[/caption] All these films have seen the light of day only in the past three years or so, and young filmmakers in Kollywood are smartly taking liberties with media’s sensational reporting style in independent India to flex their story-telling muscle. Kaaka Muttai, directed by Manikandan and produced by Vetrimaaran, revolves around how a lip-smacking television commercial on a pizza drives two slum kids to yearn to taste a slice of pizza from the newly opened shop in their locality. When the store manager slaps one of the kids in the film, it creates a considerable debate and a terrific hullabaloo in the media. Manikandan’s portrayal of media sensationalism received a lot of praise and brought the roof down in theaters. “Why call them slum kids? Why not consider them as our own?” asks one of the speakers in the debate scene in the film. “Instead of sensationalising issues like these, we need to understand the effects of globalisation well. It is not about the rich-poor divide,” reasons another. There’s a scene in the film where a reporter, standing beside the slum, talks about the ‘assault’ of the kid and how such dreams are stuck in the five acres of land. Chinna Kaaka Muttai and Periya Kaaka Muttai (as the kids are called in the film) pass by the reporter as she sensationally presents their news to viewers, but she doesn’t recognise them at all. In fact, the significant portions of the second half of Kaaka Muttai, especially the pre-climax stretch, revolve around various forms of media sensationalism. [caption id=“attachment_6230551” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Aditi Balan in Aruvi[/caption] Cinematographer-turned-director KV Anand’s 2017 hit Kavan, which emerged as Vijay Sethupathi’s highest-grossing film upon release, demonstrated several facets of media reporting, although in a very stereotyped manner. Besides taking a jibe at corporation-owing media houses, the film also highlighted the ethics of journalism through its central character Thilak, played by Vijay Sethupathi. KV Anand’s over-the-top presentation of the media feeding frenzy on matters of interest drew applause from audiences. Kavan was the first full-fledged, modern Tamil film in recent times to encompass wide-ranging themes on sensationalism in media and emerge as a successful venture. One of 2017’s rapturously reviewed films, Aruvi, turned the spotlight on how reality shows are manipulating viewers with its hard-hitting premise. The film harshly mocked the reality show Solvathellam Unmai, which revolves around people expressing their real-life problems on air and finding solutions for a few, hosted by actor-director Lakshmi Ramakrishnan. Director Arun Prabhu Purushothaman portrayed the show as cold-hearted and hypocritical in Aruvi and earned the wrath of Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, who went on record then to express her displeasure about the film and state that she had never compromised her ethics to gain fame. [caption id=“attachment_6230591” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sarvam Thaala Mayam poster[/caption] In the recently-released musical drama Sarvam Thaala Mayam, director Rajiv Menon put on display how TRP-driven television channels are diminishing the art of music through scripted reality shows. Although Rajiv Menon came up with a balanced analysis, the sensationalism in media formed an integral part of the film’s screenplay. Nayanthara’s social drama Aramm and Sivakarthikeyan’s Velaikkaran, helmed by Mohan Raja, also touched upon the same theme. Thalapathy Vijay’s Kaththi also took a jibe at a reporter in a crucial scene and his last blockbuster Sarkar also featured a scene where the lead protagonist (Sundar Ramasamy, played by Vijay) comes up with sharp counter-arguments to the questions of journalists in a press meet scene.