KB (K.Balachander) is known as Iyakunar Sigaram, roughly The Pinnacle of Direction, in Kollywood. Born in 1930, KB was actively into theatre, before he went on to direct his first feature film. He was 35 years old then. What started with Neerkumkizhi rolled on like an unstoppable juggernaut and he went past 100 creations in the year 2001. Poi (2006) was his last movie till date. KB, known for his proficient screenplay and characterisation and an eye for talent - his greatest finds, probably being Rajnikanth and A.R.Rahman, is associated with cinemas till date. He is running 84 now. I am his great fan. Without getting into the debate of Critical acclaim vs Commercial hit, I think KB's last good movie was Azhagan (1991). I remember seeing this movie of quadrangular love story 3-4 times in cinema halls. I was 11 years old then. KB was 61. KB went on to direct only seven movies after Azhagan. Most of these seven movies were mega flops, and had nothing to remind us of those golden days of Bama Vijayam, Avargal, Sindhu Bhairavi or Ek Duuje Ke Liye.
Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima was released in 2006, the same year when KB's last feature film got released. At the 79th Academy Awards, Eastwood's war epic was nominated for three of the coveted categories - best direction, best picture and best original screenplay. Letters won the Golden Globe under the Best Foreign Language Film category. Eastwood was 76 years old then. And he was born in the same year in which KB was born - 1930. But Eastwood is not just a legend to be remembered; he is still a name to reckon with. The very same year when Tamil cinema's pinnacle had become a spent force, Eastwood had reached newer peaks. It did not end there, Eastwood gave us Changeling (IMDB: 7.8) and Gran Torino (8.2) - both in the year 2008. Though you may say, Eastwood is more remembered for his inimitable roles in The Dollars Trilogy than his directorial ventures and it is absurd to peg him with KB, the short point is - Eastwood has crossed 80 and still makes the audience look forward to his work and - delivers too.
Bharathiraja is one of the path-breaking directors of Indian cinema. When it comes to a village plot, there is no one to match this master in screenplay and authenticity even today. He is credited with moving the cinema crew away from the childish village sets made inside Chennai studios to the actual village, bustling with life, stories and idiosyncrasies. If each cinema director is treated like a school, probably Bharathiraja will be the school with the maximum number of illustrious (direct/indirect) alumni with the likes of K.Bagyaraj, Parthiban, K.S.Ravi Kumar et al being a part of it. As a 36-year old, Bharathiraja launched his first creation 16 Vayathiniley - a movie that shattered the then existing shackles of cinema stereotypes. He followed up that work, released in 1977, with successive, radical, refreshing, memorable hits. I relished watching the ace director's Pudhiya Vaarpugal some years back. (Please click the link) In Muthal Mariyathai (1985) he brought out an entirely new dimension of unseen talent of the iconic actor Sivaji Ganesan. Incidentally, by then the thespian had completed 35 years of acting and was already the undisputed God of acting in Tamil film industry. Cut to Hollywood. Born in the year 1942, Martin Scorsese is one year younger to Bharathiraja. But Scorsese made his directorial debut in 1967 - almost ten years earlier than Bharathiraja. Scorsese is 71 now, and his latest hits include The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, nominated for five Oscars including best picture and best director) and Hugo (2011, nominated for eleven Oscars). Two decades before The Wolf, around 1993/94, Bharathiraja peaked with Kizhakku Cheemayiley and Karuthamma. Broadly, sadly, beyond that it has been only days of gloom for his fans. Though there has been some flash here and there, the magic seems to have gone; unfortunately, almost forever.
Steven Spielberg is not someone who has not crossed 60 years of age - the age of super-annuation in government of India. Just a few shades short of 70, Spielberg took the megaphone for Amblin (1968, short film), when he was only 22. Child prodigy? I don't think there is anyone else in Hollywood who could handle themes as diverse as sci-fi (E.T., Jurassic Park, Minority Report), adventure (Jaws, Indiana Jones), war (Saving Private Ryan), drama (The Terminal, Catch me if you can) and biopic (Schindler's List, Lincoln) with as equal ease as this talented filmmaker. I see Spielberg as the face of Hollywood in India. (I could have said this with much more conviction had it not been for the crazily creative guy called James Cameron). Among others, Spielberg has also inspired Mani Ratnam, whom I see as the face of Tamil cinema in Bollywood and one of the gems of Indian cinema known abroad. In Anjali (1990) this stylish, unassuming director had showcased his admiration for E.T. in one of the song sequences. Mani Ratnam, shot to national fame after Roja, is one among the firsts in the industry who really understood the medium of cinema - as being distinct from the stage plays or any other form that the crowd had experienced so far. It is not surprising that some of the acclaimed cinematographers like P.C.Sriram, Santosh Sivan and Rajiv Menon have worked with this director par excellence. Taking liberal help from the Western cinemas, Mani gave his audience a delectable dish that had the right blend of style and strength. He was alone in his own league without even a distant second. This gifted director was born a full ten years after Steven Spielberg. Mani made his debut in 1983, when he was 27 years old. Leaving out the biopic Guru (2007), arguably Mani's last real hit was the romantic drama, Alaipayuthey (2000) that had the same magic as his earlier best works. Unfortunately for us, Mani's latest two movies Kadal (2013) and Raavan (2010) miserably failed in their desperate attempts to take us back to those days of Nayagan (1987) or Roja (1992).
After watching Kadal Mani's die-hard fans like me have elevated him to the category of legends like KB and Bharathiraja. Without such creative geniuses Tamil cinema would not have reached the place where it is now. These legends have given us enough to keep munching and cherishing lifelong, but you always keep wondering - why are the good days behind, so early?
