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Aaranya Kaandam

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Aaranya Kaandam – is a Tamil neo noir released in 2011. The plot has different angles which come together at the end of the movie. A local don is in his old age is trying to cope up with the end of his golden era. One of his men is trying to take things on his own by getting the drug deal which their rivalry group is dealing with against the will of the don. The don is trying to divert his rival group onto this guy. A young girl in the captive of the don wants to flee from his captivity along with a worker in don’s house. A poor drunkard man and his young son chance upon the drugs for which the rivalry groups are fighting for. How all this come together is the plot of Aaranya Kaandam.

Director Thiagarajan Kumararaja has dealt with a very complex subject and a genre less used in Tamil movies in his first film. He has done well for a first timer. The movie acquired a cult status much later since it had been released. The casting of the movie has been done well. Jackie Shroff is a perfect choice for the role. Sampath Raj has equally done his role well. As the movie progresses the plot thickens, keeping you engaged with the narration and the ending unties all the knots leaving you convinced. The name is apt for the movie which means Jungle Chapter and the movie revolves around the gang wars in the city. If you are a fan of black action films then you would like Aaranya Kaandam. The movie is not suitable for kids.

Watchable – for fans of black films

Friday Fundas

Friday Fundas: Cult Movie

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Cult Movie

Often you hear people referring to certain movies as cult movies or cult classic. What does it signify, what are cult movies? Well there is no definite answer to this as this is largely debated for its classification. However there is a widely accepted definition for a cult movie which we can look at…

A cult movie is normally identified by the audience take on the movie. You would see there is a sub community of people who follow appreciate the movie, recite dialogues from it and watch the movie several times. Such a movie would be classified as a cult movie. Usually the cult movie may not do well at the box office but later through TV viewings it might become popular with a sect of people. However this is not a generalization. There are very popular cult movies in the mainstream cinema as well.

Another stark characteristic of a cult movie is its transgression. The movie does not follow the normal path between the good and the bad, but presents a entirely radical scenario in front of the audience that is beyond their imagination. Sometime the different scenario creates a very disturbing effect that it is difficult to accept for many people and appeals only to sect of people thus eventually becoming a cult classic. Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Shawsank Redemption,  Gods Must be Crazy are few examples of cult classics which made well in the mainstream cinema as well and appealed to a wider audience.

The 1990 Amitabh Bachchan’s  Agneepath is a cult classic. The Tamil movie Aranya Kaandam released in 2011 can also be classified as a cult classic. The movie was a flop at the box office but gained popularity among a set of people through TV and DVD viewing.