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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You must have heard the word 'பன்னாடை' (Pannaadai) as a common insult.
This word is mentioned in 12th century Tamil grammar work 'Nannool' to illustrate the nature of a bad student.
The set of examples for top, mid & bottom tier of students has a life lesson for us all (1/6)
Bhavanandhi Munivar, writer of Nanool classifies students into 3 tiers.
The top tier students are like swan and cow.
The mid tier students are like mud and parrot.
The bottom tier students are like broken pot, goat, buffalo and Pannaadai.
What do these examples mean?
Mythical swans can separate out the water from milk - it has the ability to discern useful things even out of an adulterated product.
Good students can filter out what's unnecessary.
Cows eat fast but chew slowly. A good student must get a quick download of lessons when learning, but recall it at leisure, and absorb the lessons well.
Shouldn't an army Major be remembered for his bravery rather than his caste?
Then, why are some RW handles being "casteist" in demanding an accurate portrayal of Major Mukund's roots in his excellently crafted biopic Amaran?
A thread that offers nuance on biopics (1/10)
First off, members of our forces - be it Indian Army, or Navy, or Air Force, these brave warriors cannot be boxed to the confines of caste, creed or religion.
They are unanimously respected for what they do - their selfless service to the nation. Not for who they're born to.
Then why are some RW handles hellbent on showing the real identity of Mukund Varadarajan - a TamBrahm?
If you're irked by it, consider this - how would Tamils have reacted if he was depicted as Major Mukund Menon - from Kochi?
Boat - a 1940s Dravidian propaganda stage play, masquerading as a Tamil feature film.
A thread that reviews this film with a clear agenda (1/9)
On Oct 11, 1943, Japanese warplanes bombed the Madras presidency in a nighttime raid.
Fearing another attack, 9 random people get on a boat to secure themselves in mid ocean, with one univited British guest who joins them later, with a gun.
'Did they all survive?' is the plot
The 9 characters stuck on a boat are carefully chosen to represent a Mini-India.
The fisherman & his grandma help onboard a pregnant Telugu woman+ her sick son, a Sait, a regular M, a regular H, and the usual villains of Tamil cinema - a c@steist TB mama and her daughter.