Is Atlee a copycat or a postmodernist? Besides that, does it matter?

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Atlee’s recognition has now crossed the boundaries of South India. She is now common in different components of the nation as effectively, due to her upcoming movie with Bollywood celebrity Shah Rukh Khan. The director, who’s celebrating his thirty fifth birthday, was born as Arun Kumar. And he began his profession in movies by aiding filmmaker Shankar with Enthiran in 2010. And he was additionally a part of the crew for Shankar’s Nanban (2012), a remake of three Idiots.

It was in the course of the making of Nanban that Atlee turned acquainted with Tamil celebrity Vijay, who would later play a serious position in cementing Atlee’s place as certainly one of Tamil cinema’s most bankable business filmmakers. Atlee made his directorial debut in 2014 with Raja Rani, starring Arya and Nayanthara within the lead roles. The movie turned a field workplace hit, creating simply the correct quantity of impression for the brand new child on the block. At least that was sufficient to get him to fulfill Vijay.

With two consecutive movies with the grasp actor, Atlee signed Vijay for the primary time for Theri (2016). While Theri shocked critics by changing into a field workplace hit, Mersal (2017) was a good greater hit and Bigil (2019) surpassed the opposite two movies. But, it hasn’t at all times been sunshine and rainbows in Atlee’s travels.

Atlee has typically been criticized for stealing scenes and concepts from numerous movies. No, this isn’t Quentin Tarantino, a postmodernist factor. Where you see outdated films as a pop-cultural artifact, take inspiration from them, and make them your individual with a lot of authentic worth additions. Atlee has been accused of outright plagiarism on a number of events.

Vijay in Mersal.

YouTube is suffering from movies that present the unique supply of a number of the scenes from Atlee’s movies. For instance, within the airport scene in Mersal, once we first see Dr. Maran. He has been remoted by airport officers to analyze the odor of racism. Locked in a room, Maran sees by means of the window {that a} girl on the airport is choking on her drink, unable to breathe. So far the mild-mannered Maran has compelled the safety officers to assist the younger girl in misery. And he performs an emergency medical process utilizing objects discovered at a crowded airport to save lots of the girl’s life. And the same scene happens within the South Korean medical drama Good Doctor.

The allegations of copying scenes from different movies did not simply begin with Mersall. Atlee has been beneath scrutiny since her debut movie Raja Rani. Many believed that the marital discord between husband and spouse in an organized marriage setting was a crackdown on director Mani Ratnam’s Maun Ragam.

In Atlee’s defence, Raja Rani was probably the most authentic of all 4 of his movies so far. No one claimed that even the conspiracy of Sillunu Oru Kaadhal was primarily based on Mauna Ragam. Even although the 2006 Suriya-starrer was a couple of relationship drama between a pair whose marriage was organized by their households. As I discussed earlier, Atlee had a narrative to inform in Raja Rani, and he did it in an enchanting approach.

Atlee is not the primary filmmaker to take an thought from different movies and move it on on his personal. Such “inspired-actions” of some filmmakers have gone unnoticed prior to now. Take Bahubali for instance. In an essay, I mentioned at size that SS Rajamouli’s all-time blockbuster Baahubali: The Beginning had a deep imprint of Kamal Haasan’s basic Thevar Magan.

So Atlee is not the primary, and he actually will not be the final to take concepts from different movies. “There are only seven primary ragas. Even after 1000 years, the influence of AR Rahman, Raja Sir (Ilaiyaraaja) and MSV Sir (MS Viswanathan) will be felt in the new compositions,” Atlee had earlier stated.

Atlee’s Theri was stated to be a crack on the Chatriyan (written and produced by Mani Ratnam). And Mersel’s plot is believed to have been taken from Aborva Sgothargal, whereas Bigil’s large time Chak De! India. And all of the criticism of plagiarism hasn’t stopped Atlee from making movies he believes in. Because his movies work on the field workplace. He makes movies for the market and never as a private expression of artwork. “How large successful will the movie be? How a lot did folks prefer it? How a lot cash did the producers make? What type of movie ought to I do subsequent? These are the 4 main issues for me,” Atlee had stated whereas explaining his filmmaking course of.

Atlee’s method to movies as pure enterprise could get him some derisive laughs from severe filmmakers and critics. But, that is unlikely to hassle her, so long as her producers are laughing all the best way to the financial institution.

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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS

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