Quickgun Murugan is heady and garishly coloured. Mind it!
Quickgun Murugan is heady and garishly coloured. Mind it!
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Blame it on the excessive schooling in Bhava Raga and Taala aka Bharathanatyam, or on the fact that I wake up every morning wanting to break into 'Maathey malayadhwaja paandya sanjaathey...'
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Wearing many hats: Quick Gun Murugan takes stereotyping to ridiculous levels, and then subverts it. Rajendra Prasad is the hero, and he doesn't hesitate to wear the rainbow for a suit |
It's in our blood you see all this over-acting. Or at least every other Indian would like to think so! Anyway, the conversation was about this fabulous piece of art that I had just seen on screen 48 hours ago, a once-in-a-blue-moon wait! pink-moon movie worth a cult status. This is one of those movies that will go down in cinema history as a path-breaker and will continue to entertain several generations to come. (As for the pink moon bit, when I am trying to tell you how special it is, exaggeration shouldn't be my first concern, right?)
So, take the accent and dialogues of one of Tamil cinema's most famous faces (Rajnikanth), who is Marathi by the way; add to that the style of a king of the yesteryear (read MGR), who is funnily enough a Malayali; get an actor of Telugu origin (Rajendra Prasad) to play the part, dress him up in clothes that remind you of the demi-god of independent Andhra (read NTR) and what do you have?
Quick Gun Murugan, YES, but more importantly, one of the best pan-south Indian comedies ever made!
Why did this film garner such respect from a guy who would otherwise brandish swords at the mere thought of a South Indian spoof? Well, the brilliant screenplay and the fact that Quick Gun Murugan is caricaturing taken to the levels of a fine art.
With elements from every corner of every state south of the Vindhyas, the accents and stylisation alone can make you pass through this perfectly edited film thoroughly satisfied. A storyline that is the homework of someone who knows what 'being South Indian' really means, this is stereotyping raised to perfection.
So why are we applauding stereotypes, again? Well, anyone worth a degree in anything related to culture will smile when I mention the word 'subversion'. They have ample reason to do so too. In an age of post-modernism, the best way to fight or tackle negative stereotyping is through the proper and thorough usage of subversive tactics.
So, take something that you hate as a stereotype, over-indulge its use and watch the otherwise potent effect fade away into nothingness. It's a pleasure process and you will be immensely satisfied, what's more, you get a few hearty laughs in the bargain.
This movie does precisely that and yet I'm not sure Shashanka Ghosh the director ever planned on using this as a powerful subversive tool! The fact that each character represents a South Indian accent crucified several times over by mainstream non-regional media is something one cannot ignore.
u00a0Quick Gun Murugan aka Rajendra Prasad speaks in the Rajni accent which is an amalgamation of far too many accents for me to list here. Anu Menon speaks in a stereotypical Malayali accent exaggerated beyond redemption. Nasser does a fabulous Telugu Reddy accent that is also a common stereotype and everyone else in the movie also succumbs to accent stereotyping with such detail that it couldn't but have been forethought.
I am however quite wary of the Hindi version and refuse to watch it, for fear of an overdose of Mithunda-meets-Bollywood versions of South Indian parlance. The Tanglish version has worked practically for the same reason the Hindi version will not authenticity!
But in true South Indian spirit, I will encourage everyone to go ahead and watch this movie that is basically just an excuse to get everyone cracking up.
Rajendra Prasad is brilliant as Murugan. His natural talent for aping the icons combined with his problematic good looks (er... Telugu good looks) add up to an interesting mix, that will surprise you at every stage.
Rambha as Mango Dolly is fun and acts (finally!) and speaks interesting English. She seems to have enjoyed the role thoroughly. I particularly liked Raju Sundaram as MBA Rowdy.
Nasser, however cuts the cake, eats it and then eats the slice from the guy next to him too. His Telugu Reddy mannerisms are perfect to the point of being worshipped. I can already hear some Reddy-gaaru somewhere going, "Swaperu shinema kaada?" and that just brings the most genuine smile to my face.
u00a0Watch it if you want to but watch it if you don't want to either. If you don't, remember you'll be judged. Being judged by us non-judgmental South Indian types is the last thing you'd want, no? Mind it! (Grins and cow eye-lash flutters)
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At: PVR, Inox, Lido
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