I am not just bad. I am evil.
This happened to be the WhatsApp statuses of many of my friends after the film Thani Oruvan released.
The statement is a line uttered by the antagonist of the film and many of my friends who watched the film, fell madly in love with the antagonist - a rich and intelligent scientist who is driven by greed and who does not give a second's thought to go down the illegal path to monetize the medical world.
What's not to like in such a character?!
After the release of the film Jigarthanda, almost every person who had watched it wanted to go on and on about only one character - Assault Sethu - the antagonist.
This, in a film with 26 primary and secondary characters as per the Wikipedia 'Cast' list.
Why so much adoration for a Madurai gangster who does not bat an eyelid for killing one of his own men?
He's ruthless. He's merciless. He's conscienceless.
What's not to like in such a character?!
Would there be a person who had watched The Dark Knight and did not like the Joker?!
Heath Ledger's performance was spellbinding. Agreed.
But was it the only reason we fell in love with the Joker?!
The recently released Suicide Squad trailer has managed to garner 33.5 million views in about 2 weeks.
Letting the Bohemian Rhapsody play in the background was a genius touch. Agreed.
But was it the only reason we fell in love with the trailer?!
Speaking about trailers, lets take the Deadpool trailer for instance.
How great it is to see a superhero who is as irresponsible as a toddler instead of getting to hear him/her ramble about virtues and principles like a school teacher!
With great power comes great irresponsibility - How cool a tagline!
Speaking about superheroes, why has the The Avengers duology been so huge a success?!
Let's consider the 3 most liked characters of the Avengers assemble.
Iron Man - Egomaniac and Playboy.
Hulk - Anger Management issues.
Black Widow - Manipulation expert.
How many of us really drool over Captain America who is a personification of goodness?!
It is fascinating to see a man turn into a monster rather than seeing a man hold up a shield, isn't it?!
Why have we fallen in love with Jack Sparrow?!
Why have we fallen in love with Hans Landa?!
Why have we fallen in love with Hannibal Lecter?!
Why have we fallen in love with Darth Vader?!
Why have we fallen in love with Walter White?!
Why have we fallen in love with Gregory House?!
Why have we always loved heist films?!
Why have we always loved gangster films?!
Why has the casting of an antagonist attained considerable importance of late?!
A villain is no more a mere foil to the hero.
Most of the villain characters are more sophisticated than the heroes'.
Do the filmmakers feel that the audience likes to see a powerful villain more than a powerful hero?!
How do we find the answers to all the above questions?!
I could write a paragraph on narcissism. I could write a paragraph on capitalism. I could write a paragraph wondering if the admiration for villains is a result of various thoughts locked up in a corner like the old Golu dolls locked up in many Tamil houses for most part of the year.
But why go to so much trouble?!
The next time you come across a really fascinating antagonist in a film, fall in love with him/her and allow yourself some guilty pleasure.
But when you come across a really noble protagonist and after a point, in the film, if you cannot tolerate his/her sacrifices and magnanimous deeds any further and you feel like slapping your forehead and saying, "No person can be this good!", try closing your eyes and recalling the questions above.
You might not end up with all the answers.
But you would definitely end up uncovering a few Golu dolls.
This happened to be the WhatsApp statuses of many of my friends after the film Thani Oruvan released.
The statement is a line uttered by the antagonist of the film and many of my friends who watched the film, fell madly in love with the antagonist - a rich and intelligent scientist who is driven by greed and who does not give a second's thought to go down the illegal path to monetize the medical world.
What's not to like in such a character?!
After the release of the film Jigarthanda, almost every person who had watched it wanted to go on and on about only one character - Assault Sethu - the antagonist.
This, in a film with 26 primary and secondary characters as per the Wikipedia 'Cast' list.
Why so much adoration for a Madurai gangster who does not bat an eyelid for killing one of his own men?
He's ruthless. He's merciless. He's conscienceless.
What's not to like in such a character?!
Would there be a person who had watched The Dark Knight and did not like the Joker?!
Heath Ledger's performance was spellbinding. Agreed.
But was it the only reason we fell in love with the Joker?!
The recently released Suicide Squad trailer has managed to garner 33.5 million views in about 2 weeks.
Letting the Bohemian Rhapsody play in the background was a genius touch. Agreed.
But was it the only reason we fell in love with the trailer?!
Speaking about trailers, lets take the Deadpool trailer for instance.
How great it is to see a superhero who is as irresponsible as a toddler instead of getting to hear him/her ramble about virtues and principles like a school teacher!
With great power comes great irresponsibility - How cool a tagline!
Speaking about superheroes, why has the The Avengers duology been so huge a success?!
Let's consider the 3 most liked characters of the Avengers assemble.
Iron Man - Egomaniac and Playboy.
Hulk - Anger Management issues.
Black Widow - Manipulation expert.
How many of us really drool over Captain America who is a personification of goodness?!
It is fascinating to see a man turn into a monster rather than seeing a man hold up a shield, isn't it?!
Why have we fallen in love with Jack Sparrow?!
Why have we fallen in love with Hans Landa?!
Why have we fallen in love with Hannibal Lecter?!
Why have we fallen in love with Darth Vader?!
Why have we fallen in love with Walter White?!
Why have we fallen in love with Gregory House?!
Why have we always loved heist films?!
Why have we always loved gangster films?!
Why has the casting of an antagonist attained considerable importance of late?!
A villain is no more a mere foil to the hero.
Most of the villain characters are more sophisticated than the heroes'.
Do the filmmakers feel that the audience likes to see a powerful villain more than a powerful hero?!
How do we find the answers to all the above questions?!
I could write a paragraph on narcissism. I could write a paragraph on capitalism. I could write a paragraph wondering if the admiration for villains is a result of various thoughts locked up in a corner like the old Golu dolls locked up in many Tamil houses for most part of the year.
But why go to so much trouble?!
The next time you come across a really fascinating antagonist in a film, fall in love with him/her and allow yourself some guilty pleasure.
But when you come across a really noble protagonist and after a point, in the film, if you cannot tolerate his/her sacrifices and magnanimous deeds any further and you feel like slapping your forehead and saying, "No person can be this good!", try closing your eyes and recalling the questions above.
You might not end up with all the answers.
But you would definitely end up uncovering a few Golu dolls.
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