Biff, bang at the box office

doweshowbellyad=0; A still from Polladhavan. (TOI Photo)The Diwali release in the south that’s drawing the crowds is Polladhavan with its extreme violence. Clearly, even as audiences flock to the experimental Chak De! India and appreciate the quiet pace of family dramas like The Namesake, maar-peet still finds many takers. BT finds out why.
“We’re all voyeurs of violence,” says Polladhavan director Vetri Maran.“There’s a fascination attached to it that other genres like romance and comedy don’t command. So even though we may deny it, we do like watching gore. Why else would so many people download Daniel Pearl’s throat-slitting video clip or repeatedly watch Saddam Hussein’s hanging on Youtube?” he asks.
He believes audiences identify with violence in films because it’s a reflection of real life. “There are so many cold-blooded murders happening on our streets; even my story is based on real-life incidents, but I haven’t portrayed even half of what those characters went through in reality,” says Vetri.
Suri, who directed the violent Kannada hit Duniya, agrees. “Even though people find romance and thrillers entertaining, there’s a greater inclination towards watching violent films. In fact, 75 per cent of the audience is fascinated by this genre,” he says. Suri adds that since most youngsters fantasise about becoming the gulli hero or local don, “It’s exciting for them to watch an underdog rise to that position of glory on screen; they feel like it’s a personal victory.”
Says actor-director Upendra, “When I made Om, a film about rowdyism, it became an instant hit. I directed it 10 years ago and people still ask me to make another flick like that.” He adds that all the guys in the film were real-life goondas. “And during the fight scenes, there would be total silence in the theatres because the action was so rivetting,” says Upendra.
So how much blood and gore is too much? Dhanush, who plays the boy next door who takes to violence in Polladhavan, says violence in itself isn’t offensive. “But when it’s gouging someone’s eyes out like they did in Hostel, or actually showing someone’s head being smashed, that’s off-putting.” Which is why in Polladhavan, even though there’s a scene in which a don is beheaded, “we only showed the blood splattering and left the rest to the imagination of the audience,” says Dhanush. “Filmmakers have to be careful when they feature violence because they shouldn’t end up glorifying the hero or justifying his acts. All gory scenes should be symbolic,” says Suri.
Uppi adds that all the rowdies in Om were shown to have reformed in the climax. “Directors should always know where to draw the line and be responsible in their portrayal of violence,” he says.