How Indian Influenced Other Movies? (image: screen grab from Sri Surya Movies/youtube.com)
Expectations are soaring high for Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2. As it hit theatres on July 12 in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages, its much-celebrated first part, Indian, and the impact generated on Tamil cinema and the commercial movie industry in general need to be discussed.
Indian, a vigilante action Tamil film, was directed by Shankar and released in 1996. It introduced Kamal Haasan in dual roles. The movie introduced Senapathy, an ageing freedom fighter who turned vigilante and fought against social issues. Though it is a role written for Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan aced the characters as Senapathy and Chandru.
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It seems ‘vigilantism’ became Shankar’s favourite theme after Indian. Though common man fighting against corruption may now seem like a worn concept, it was a novel thought then and proven to be successful. His 1993 film Gentleman dealt with vigilante justice, and after Indian, the theme became more popular and appeared in several movies, including AR Murugadoss’s Ramana (2002), Balaji Sakthivel’s Samurai (2002), VV Vinayak’s Tagore (2003), Jayaraj’s 4 the People (2004), Eeshwar Nivas’s Bardaasht (2004), Shaji Kailas’s Chinthamani Kolacase (2006), and Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday (2008). Even Shankar’s directorial Anniyan (2005) handled the same theme, where the hero committing murders for seeking ‘justice’ became more macabre.
The theme of fighting against corruption still finds a way in today’s cinema; some works well at box office, while others fail to make the point. Movies such as Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi’s Gabbar Is Back, Koratala Siva’s Janatha Garage, Atlee’s Mersal, Vikramaditya Motwane’s Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, and Milap Zaveri’s Satyameva Jayate have also dealt with themes such as corruption, vigilantism, and justice, adapting to the sensibilities and audience’s interests of the time.
Similar to the themes, Indian influenced movie business significantly and opened the possibility of commercial movie markets. It was considered the most expensive Indian film made at that time, which gave the makers confidence to expand the horizons of filmmaking and production quality if the movie demanded cinematic extravagance and allure. If we take a look at the most expensive movies in India, Shankar’s movie 2.0 comes in at the top of the IMDb list along with SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Om Raut’s Adipurush, and Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1.
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Indian, reportedly, helms the title of the first Indian film to use prosthetic makeup. The larger canvas and exciting characterisations, require elaborate character makeovers, and the Kamal Haasan film guided the transformation of Indian cinema’s prosthetic game. As the storyline necessitates authentic and convincing looks, prosthetic artistry plays a crucial role, and movies like Avvai Shanmugi (1996), Dhoom 2 (2006), Paa (2009), Kapoor and Sons (2016), 2.0 (2018), and Thalaivi (2021) exemplify this.
Undoubtedly, the Indian movie was a trendsetter on many accounts. As its sequel is about to hit screens, all the records it going to break are eagerly looking forward. At the same time, vigilantism as a concept attained nearly satiation, heavy production involving action sequences and imaginative special effects have become normal, and special makeup effects are not new phenomena—what Indian 2 has to offer today’s audience is all that needs to be seen.
