MGR, Rajini, Vijay and now Ajith

hey ladies!!! came across this interesting article...so i thought i wuld share it with u all!!

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TD vAlign=top height=148>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I saw Aegan too and I must say within 30 minutes of the movie I was asking myself: how did Ajith, after working with Vishnuvardan in Billa, agree to do Aegan?

Having said that, I would say I enjoyed Ajith's performance in the movie (it was the movie's only saving grace). While I agree with your questions and suggestions for Ajith, at the same time, I think you also missed an important point: you should have included a plea for Ajith's fans as well. The fans should allow him to make movies that do not always play up the Thala legend. In other words, Ajith should be allowed to take up some character roles as well that veer far from his Thala image because he is a damn good actor. Case in point is Kreedom where he played his role so well. Unfortunately this movie did not do well because Thala's fans could not accept Thala as a loser who does not get the girl nor emerge triumphant at the end of the story. What idiocy is this on the part of the fans?[/FONT]
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So it is not just Thala to be blamed for bad movies but also the fans whom refuse to see him in any other roles except the masala films that play up the Thala factor. Ajith is in danger of falling into the image trap of so many other stars before him like MGR, Rajini and now Vijay.

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MGR gave a splendid performance in Pasam. (The movie also starred the lovely Saroja Devi) If that movie had been a hit, perhaps his movie career would have taken a different trajectory. But unfortunately it failed miserably because the fans could not accept the death of their thalaivar at the end of the movie. The same fate also has befallen Rajini. The last good movie that he made where he gave a moving performance was Thalapathy. In that movie and earlier ones like Netrikan, Moondru Mudithcu etc we saw a glimpse of what a great actor he could have developed into if he had not fallen into the Badhsah and subsequent larger than life image in the movies. The same fate also seems to stick to Vijay. Early in his career, in movies like Priyamanale, Kadhalukku Mariyathai and Thullatha Manamum Thullum (how about the scene where he cries for his dead mother without letting others know how he felt? Will we see such scenes again in his movies?).

Only few actors like Sivaji and Kamal Hassan seem to have escaped the image trap and therefore are able to utilize their acting skills to the full, and show the rest of the world that the best actors of India are from the South.

Tamil film fans have to change their attitude towards their heroes. Why is it in Malayalam films and even Hindi films, which- let's face it- has a global audience that Tamil films don't, (lots of non-Hindi speakers watch Hindi movies. The same can't be said for Tamil films where right now I would guess that 90% of its audience are Tamil speakers. The marketing of Tamil movies to non-Tamil speakers can be a column by itself which I will write in future) do not force their heroes into stereotypical roles? This enables stars like SRK, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and a host of others to experiment with their roles and do different types of stories.

The big stars have to realise that there has been a fundamental shift in the minds of Tamil movie goers, especially this year with the success of so many `small' movies with non-stars like Subramanipuram, Saroja, Anjathe, Kadhalil Vizhuthen and Poi Solle Porom to name a few. More movies are being launched with unknowns, with the real stars being the story -- which it is as it should be. And it is so gratifying to hear up coming directors like Mysskin etc boldly proclaiming that they are not dying to do movies with Rajini or Kamal; instead these stars should do movies with them under these new directors' rules.

Big stars like Ajith must be daring enough to do roles that goes against their image; where the star is the screenplay and not their larger than life histrionics. They cannot dictate to the director to add certain elements in the movie to please their fans and to solidify their image as how Vijay asked a shocked Gautham Menon to do (can you imagine a kuthu song or a comedy track in a GM's film?!). And you need directors like GM who politely turned Vijay down and looked elsewhere.

The good news is, especially for Thala fans, it seems he is moving with the times. If reports are to be believed, his next film will be with Gautham Menon himself and we all know how well GM does his films especially his characterizations of the characters in the movies. And there are also reports he has agreed to do a film with Venkat Prabhu and he has asked him specifically not to change the story to suit his image. That is very good news indeed!

So fans of Thala, Ilayathalapathy and whatever new thalaivars out there, grow up! By all means love your Thailavas but also let them grow as actors and experiment with new roles and stories. If you are truly die hard fans of whichever heroes you support, you should be able to appreciate all the different roles they do. And yes, even roles where the hero does not always come out tops. What should come out tops is the story; the story my friends!
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LOL!!! thala means head so it can be either