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Amaran Mukundan

Discussion in 'Movies' started by chanchitra, Nov 4, 2024.

  1. SGBV

    SGBV IL Hall of Fame

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    Just curious

    I read somewhere that actor Kamal Haasan belongs to the Brahmin caste, but he doesn’t believe in the caste system and has openly denounced his religion.

    That being said, if and when a biopic is made about Kamal Haasan, would he or his family allow the character to be portrayed with a poonool (sacred thread) or other caste or religious symbols? Wouldn’t that contradict his beliefs and the purpose of the biopic?

    I think Mukund's parents may feel similarly. Despite being born Brahmin, he likely saw himself primarily as an Indian. Perhaps believed in equality.

    So, this might not be an issue for him or his family. But there are extremists (and I don’t think extremism is exclusive to any one religion) who can’t tolerate this kind of neutral portrayal.
     
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  2. chanchitra

    chanchitra Platinum IL'ite

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    If Mukund's parents wanted a neutral potrayal, then it's fine.
    Didn't see any interviews from them, then it's fine.
    Anyways iam happy that a Movie in his honor has been made.

    Checkout a tamil movie called Boat.
    Prime Video: Boat.
    A casteist Tam brahmin character is shown as villian. Rest all people's from all Religions are shown as good.
    Bad people exist in all Religion and Communities.
    The constant potrayal of a Bad character from Tamil Brahmin community is the problem that iam talking about.
     
  3. chanchitra

    chanchitra Platinum IL'ite

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    Yes. He is a Brahmin.
    He is an Atheist (as per him)who doesn't believe in any Religion, let alone caste
     
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  4. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Frankly, a biopic intended to pay respect to his bravery should be appreciated in any form irrespective whatever effort is made (intentionally or unintentionally) to downplay his caste or religion or anything else of his personal life. Why pay so much attention to what he did when he was at home as opposed to focusing more on what he did as a Major in the army? As a biopic can't be shown without his personal life, his wife and family will have to be shown. No movie is taken without investment of funds and therefore, profitability is primary focus and commercialization is done in a way that would appeal to the viewers. His wife was consulted throughout the story discussion and she played a major role in appreciating how his role and her role were characterized in the movie in promotional programs. His bravery was not minimized in any way and it doesn't matter whether his religious beliefs were shown properly or not.
    It is time for us to move out of identifying ourselves with a small segment of caste/religion/community and have a broader outlook. Whether he is a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain or Parsi, we will still respect him. We have to remember when one such Major is respected, the entire army including those who gave their lives for the country are respected.
     
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  5. chanchitra

    chanchitra Platinum IL'ite

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    Yes. Very much Appreciate the Movie.
    Many people have come to know about him.
    Movies have a huge reach among the common man.
     
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  6. SGBV

    SGBV IL Hall of Fame

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    Sure, thanks for sharing

    I understand your feelings. But consider how Muslims, people from Kashmir, and other groups are often portrayed in many Indian movies.
    As you pointed out, the consistent portrayal of Muslims in negative roles – sometimes even as terrorists (including in this movie)– is indeed problematic.
    I'm not sure how many people can fully grasp the impact of this.
     
  7. chanchitra

    chanchitra Platinum IL'ite

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    Isn't it true. When a Muslim is a terrorist, you can't potray him as a Non Muslim. How is it problematic?
    Weren't all Terrorists in Kashmir Muslim?
    So many Indian soldiers have lost their lives fighting terrorism.
     
  8. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Thank you for the explanation. You did well in explaining it. I think I might be closer to understanding the main message in the cousin's post. Yes, Amaran is a biopic with main story being to celebrate his service and sacrifice to the nation, so his caste is secondary information, but this was a good opportunity to celebrate the contributions and achievements of the Brahmin community. A chance that was missed while any opportunity to portray them as bad characters is rarely missed. This movie is only one example of a very unfortunate pattern. Highlighting Major Mukund's caste even a tiny bit would have been a way to right centuries of cultural oppression and injustice. Like you say, movies have a huge reach in the common public.

    The below paragraph from the cousin's post actually says it well, too bad it got lost in the other more attention-catching parts of the post:

    "While there is a debate on why this aspect doesn’t matter, fact is the per capita contribution from TN is nowhere close to the North when it comes to Indian army enrolments. Leave alone a decorated Major martyr. Therefore much fewer chances of biopics. Given Brahmins represent an even smaller micro minority at 2%, often mocked, caricatured, ridiculed and persecuted through entertainment, academia and the vitriolic government in TN for vote bank politics, it becomes even more important to celebrate this community."

    =====
    Thank you for starting the thread. I learned a lot from all the posts here. By coincidence, I just added Soorarai Pottru to my watch-list few days back (after watching Sarfira first half hour). Will definitely be watching it with more attention now.
     
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  9. chanchitra

    chanchitra Platinum IL'ite

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    Thank you for getting my point.

    I was not trying to propagate casteism.
     
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  10. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Any discussion that involves caste or religions in movies is a tough one to navigate. And such discussions are needed so regularly. Few months back there was the Annapoorani movie controversy. My friends were like it is only a movie, only a story, an artistic work. I said sure, would they show someone eating pork? Anyway, that discussion went nowhere.
     
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