Selvaraj, his protege, similarly champions identity pride with his debut ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ and now ‘Karnan’. He is hailed as the pioneer of an important movement in Tamil films. The film eventually achieved cult status.Ĭontroversy greeted Pa Ranjith when he made ‘Attakathi’ (2012). A video of an allegedly drunk Kamal ranting about the trouble he faced went viral. However, in 2004, Kamal Haasan wasn’t that lucky with ‘Virumaandi’, originally titled ‘Sandiyar’. All of them escaped the caste groups’ radar when they were released. Tamil cinema of the ’90s was accused of using caste in titles and themes irresponsibly: ‘Chinna Gounder’ (1991), ‘Thevar Magan’ (1992), ‘Ejamaan’ (1993), and ‘Nattamai’ (1994) are commonly cited examples. Madonne Ashwin’s ‘Mandela’, a satirical take on caste politics, effectively uses the name as a plot device. Mari Selvaraj’s sophomore film ‘Karnan’, starring Dhanush, woke us up to the upper caste prejudice against lower caste names like Duryodhana and Abhimanyu. In recent months, two Tamil films have brilliantly educated the audience about the significance of names.
It is about the ‘problem of universals’ or the human tendency to generalise, but is trivialised to play down characteristics seen as unique. The phrase, “A rose is a rose is a rose,” poses a similar problem. This is a deep question, but it is common practice to use that first sentence in a frivolous manner. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Juliet, referring to her lover Romeo in the famous Shakespearean tragedy that bears their names.
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