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.
If you liked this content, follow @labstamil for more!
RT the first tweet in the thread to spread the word.
It is one thing to excel at one chosen field, but entirely another to rule the roost in six different fields - Law, Theatre, Cinema, Journalism, Writing and Political Strategy.
On his birthday, let us take a look at the CV of the multifaceted Cho Ramaswamy (1/10)
Born in Chennai to Srinivasan and Rajammal on Oct 5, 1934, Cho did his SSLC in PS Higher Secondary, Mylapore in Tamil Medium.
He did Intermediate from Loyola, and got a B Sc in Geography in Vivekananda College - as it was the easiest to get admitted to (According to him😁).
He then got his Bachelors in Law in 1953-55 from Chennai Law College, and practised law in Chennai High Court for 6 years.
He then became the legal consultant for TTK group for over 12 years. Here, he had smartly used a tactic to get a case dismissed from a begruntled employee.
World's best narrative setters DMK had deployed a half-baked filmmaker to peddle their often repeated agenda, portraying "Aryam" as a villain and Dravidam as a savior.
Let's fact check some of their much popularized narrative claims in this short read (1/6)
Claim: "Education was gatekept in TN, Dravidam opened it for all"
Fact: 78.5% of the 1.42 lakh Hindu students in 1825 Madras Presidency were non-Brahmins
Where was Dravidam in 1825?
TN was always a hotspot for education, churning out scholars from all communities.
Claim: "Dravidam introduced mid-day meal schemes"
Fact: Theosophical society run schools had introduced the scheme to improve attendance, as early as 1905. Justice Party was against Theosophical society and its Home Rule Movement. It was K Kamaraj and later MGR who expanded on these schemes state-wide.
Do you know why DMK is a mighty force that OWNS narratives, whereas its measly opponents are forever playing catch-up in an uphill battle?
It is because proponents of Dravidam know & care abt something that intellectuals of the non-left disregard and disrespect. Read on (1/10)
The common people of TN are moved primarily by emotions. They are wired to think that good speakers are good thinkers, and to the common man, rhetoric = reality.
And DMK is master of using the Greek technique of pathos, to persuade people into buying their narratives. How?
Dstocks own Cinema, Street play, Reality shows, Mega Serials - basically every mass medium that has "mind share". They use emotions to their benefit.
They plant the highly sticky ideas of victimization by a clear opponent - Tam vs Hindi, Aryan vs Drav, State v Centre.
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.