Again… There is a spectre haunting the nation… no, unfortunately it’s not Communism. It’s the mania of Sivaji aka Rajni aka Superstar aka the most sinful and lavish production of a movie. (the highest budget movie ever produced in India – about Rs. 80 crore)

I say, isn’t it after all just a movie?

But the average Indian film-goer (let alone the avid and crazy fans) cannot simply be convinced of the fact that it’s just an ordinary masala movie or the actor is just an actor – to quote his own humble words. No they won’t listen even to him, when it comes to that!
They will drool and go teary-eyed over how humble the great man is! They rave over him, worship him like God, and anyone who tries to even raise a word against all this is termed cynical or even jealous!

The media obviously has no holds barred when it comes to anything that is high-budget, hi-fi, high-tech, and high-class! Right from the prestigious multinational news channels like CNN-IBN down to the vernacular channels, the media is determined to milk this hype for all its worth.

And director Shankar is always held up in a pedestal for he toils and makes mastermind scripts that aways have a so-called revolutionary message.

All that is fine, it’s of course the right and pleasure of the fun-loving youth to indulge in such hypes and feed their insatiable hunger for fun and fervor which the BOSS only adds to. But what irks me is the price that they pay for it. Yes, literally!

It is said that the film has earned more than what it spent on the movie, even before its release. And the numbers are out of the scope of the financial expertise of the common man, who is albeit ready to pay Rs. 1000 for two-and-half hours of sheer entertainment!
One of my friends rejoiced over the fact that he got his ticket cheap... just for Rs. 150!

I am just alarmed at the moral responsibility of these so-called great directors and the venerable production house that made this movie. They simply sit back and enjoy the people’s folly that includes everything from sticking “Vels” in their tongues, to performing “Paalabhishekam” to the actor’s cut-outs.

They ultimately have no intention of educating the poor fan who is so pathetically ignorant. Now while the actor makes no such claims and is fairly an honest person when it comes to his style and taste in making films, the director is much different.
He has claimed himself to be a noble artist dedicated to the art of film-making, while he is yet to make an honest attempt on a simple and healthy movie without spending a colossal fortune. Now, that’s hypocrisy at its worst.

We all speak how rotten the film industry is. We all sigh about how the other nations are in a very higher platform when it comes to movie making. What we do not realize is that the movie makers simply blame it on “us”. Yes, they justify their pathetic films saying you and I have such cheap tastes and they give only what we demand.
I say, haven’t good films ever prospered? Take for example Autograph, Mozhi, Pithamagan, Black, there are several more, I am sure, if you stop to think.

Well, it is said that movies are just for entertainment and one should not be so seriously looking for any morals or messages there.

But it is certainly a serious matter that such a powerful media that can grip the entire nation for months together – that which unifies most of the energetic youth, claims much of your time and money is nothing but a collage of colorful songs, hip-shaking dances, and the frivolous tale of a fictional hero.

It's ok to watch a film that's just funny, light-hearted, even uttely stupid with no serious theme to get through. It's like eating sugar, knowing it's just sugar.
But the so-called intellectual directors are like fraud doctors whose so-called medicine to reform the society might in fact turn out fatal.