In the iconic interview scene from this film, the CM is cornered by the interviewer with facts.
To save his dignity, the CM challenges the interviewer to take up his job for one day.
The hero panics at this unexpected twist.
The CM then utters Kural 691.
"With fire,
Go too far & it doesn't warm you.
Come too close & it might burn you.
So, keep a safe distance with fire and kings"
- Kural 691
The interviewer had come too close to fire & is now facing the wrath of the king (CM).
An apt usage by dialogue writer Sujatha.
2. Super Deluxe (2019)
This hyperlink film uses Thirukural in a subtle way.
In the lift scene with Fahadh and Samantha,
the husband is furious with his wife's adultery.
Power goes off in the lift and Samantha reassures Fahadh that it would be back soon.
Fahadh insultingly asks her: "Are you a pathini (faithful) for power to come back if you say so?"
But it is back the next second!
This is adapted from Kural:55:
"If a devout wife says "let it rain," it will rain."
Samantha's faithfulness in the climax is foreshadowed here!
3. Ghilli (2004)
Thalapathy wants to secretly go to Madurai for his Kabbadi semis.
He uses Kural 314 to convince his mom to attend a relative's function.
If not for this Kural, Thalapathy would not have met Dhanalakshmi / Muthupandi to give us the blockbuster of the decade.
4. Ko (2011)
Two journalists hide the truth about the CM's character to save an otherwise well qualified government.
In fact, they blatantly lie & report him as a martyr instead of an opportunist. All for the greater good.
This is justified using Kural 292 in the end card.
"Even falsehood has the nature of truth, if it can confer a benefit that is free from fault."
- Kural 292
Both the journalists are reinstated, their resignations aren't accepted, as their choice to lie is defended by Thiruvalluvar himself.
5. VTV (2010)
This film uses 3 Kurals in the song Mannipaaya and one of it summarises the core theme of the film.
The Kural 1259 states:
"My pride filled mind wanted to quarrel with him.
But the moment I saw him, my heart decided to embrace him instead."
This Kural states Jessie's psyche precisely in 7 words.
Jessie has an internal conflict - fighting constant battles between her mind & her heart.
Her mind says "This will never work out, I should stop it" but her heart falls in love despite all this!
The film's core theme!
Bonus: "Iru Dhuruvam" series in SonyLiv uses Thirukural as a plot device.
This is a cat & mouse game between a psychô and a cop.
The psychô drops in Thirukural clues after every murdër he commits.
Each relating to eyes, ears, smell, mouth etc.
Watch the show to find out more.
Thirukural from 2000 years ago is relevant till date.
Smart film makers use it for its literary merit.
What other films have you seen Thirukural being aptly used?
Drop in your comments.
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RT the first tweet in the thread to spread the word.
Ever wondered why iconoclastic invaders across the world specifically cut off noses, ears, hands or eyes of the pagan idols with ideological passion?
Did you know this belief directly correlates with anti-Brahm rhetoric of Dravidian politics?
An important thread (1/10)
Context: The ancient world was not monotheistic at all like today.
It was a pagan world with many Gods: Zeus, Poseidon, Thor, Aphrodite, Durga, Shiva, Vishnu.
And each region had their own national God - Athena of Athens, Padmanaba of Trivandrum and Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Even Jews were not monotheistic originally -they were monolaters. Meaning, they didn't deny that other Gods didn't exist, they simply didn't worship them.
Its the first step to monotheism: "My God is greater than other Gods, so I shan't worship them or put them before mine."
Today is Aadi 18, the day Vandhiyathevan commences his journey from Kanchi to Thanjavur, kicking off the proceedings of Ponniyin Selvan!
Come, let us travel along Vandhiyathevan to retrace the hero's journey in modern day Tamilnadu, with google map links and images! (1/14)
Vandhiyathevan is on a mission - to deliver 2 secret messages from Kanchipuram to Thanjavur.
After 175km of travel, both the hero and his horse are tired. That is when he sees the refreshing visuals of Veeranarayanapura lake. It was Aadi 18, and the Cholas were celebrating.
This dam of 16km length was built by Rajaditya Chola named after his dad Parantaka-1 aka Veeranarayanan.
Sri Ramanuja was influenced by the magnitude of this lake and decided to establish 74 mutts : a number based on the 74 openings in the lake.
Map: maps.app.goo.gl/8iF2nxAoucMe7U…
"Check your privilege" is a favorite phrase thrown around by LW w0kes to silence their opponents.
Here's a short thread on why no sensible, decent person should fall for this psychological trap, and how to counter this manner of thinking using Indian sensibilities (1/8)
"Check your privilege" is basically a w0ke call for guilt-tripping you.
It is a polite way to shut you up by claiming moral high ground. They frame your life as easy, theirs as 0ppressed, and their "introspection" of their privileges (or lack of) as a license to silence you.
This thinking is comparable to the "original sin" doctrine - where being "privileged" (by their own definitions) is your sin.
You are made to feel guilt, shame and sorry simply for being born to a particular "privileged" group, by default. The sin was there for your taking, even before you were born.
You pay for this original sin by confessing your privileges and baptizing yourself into the sacred water of consent, in the presence of the holy victim spirit and pleading privilege guilty.
To understand the effectiveness of this endearing superhit film, you must first understand the psychology of "Identifiable Victim Effect"
You can learn more about yourself and how your brain works by watching this film. (1/8)
Our brains are wired to respond more strongly to individuals than to stats.
Which is why articles about the sufferings of poor families passes off as an abstract impersonal statistic but putting a name, face and story to a SINGLE suffering family makes it more relatable to us.
And Tourist Family does this brilliantly. The characterization is wonderfully designed to be humanized and likeable. Every single person in this film is a goody-good person.
You laugh with them, you cry with them, and you don't want anything bad happening to them.
When things you don't want to happen, happens, how do you respond?
Do you fatalistically blame it on destiny and accept it, or take initiative to overcome it?
What is the guiding principle in the fate vs free will debate?
What did Sri Rama do in such circumstances? (1/8)
In the epic's defining moment, Sri Rama who was about to be crowned as King, was instead sentenced to exile for 14 years.
Lakshmana was outraged by the injustice of this request, but Sri Rama calmly considered the exile as the will of destiny.
Kambar writes - "நதியின் பிழையன்று நறும்புனலின்மை; விதியின் பிழை"
"it is not the fault of river to dry up when rains fail. Similarly, Kaikeyi isn't at fault for fate's doing", says Sri Rama.
Here Lakshmana is for free-will, to not passively accept injustice, and to fight for the kingdom which was Sri Rama's right.
But Sri Rama defers to destiny and accepted the extraordinarily difficult situation that circumstances suddenly placed upon him and agreed to be exiled.
I've read Ponniyin Selvan cover to cover thrice, and this is my biggest takeaway from it.
It was a decision made by the hero Arulmozhi, inspired by his Suryavanshi ancestor Sri Rama. And it has a relevant lesson for all of us to learn in current political climate.
A🧵(1/8)
BG: Arulmozhi is the more popular prince among public, and they wanted him to be king, even when his elder brother was the crown prince.
This popularity constantly unsettles him, as he wants to do the right thing. And he wants to go beyond public opinion and shape it.
He is influenced by 2 tales - the sacrifices of Shiva he hears from priests at Thiruvarur Thyagaraja temple, and Ramayana.
Rama left for the forest at night when citizens were asleep & also informs his charioteer to take it along a circle so that they can't retrace his path.