TAMIL
Social novel
P. SUNDARESAN
KADAVULUM MANITHANUM: Se. Ganesalingan; Kumaran Publishers, 3 (12) Meigai Vinayagar Street, (Via) Kumaran Colony 7th Street, Vadapalani, Chennai-600026. Rs. 60.
THE WELL-documented preface provides a solid foundation to the structure of this unique social novel. A godless society, depicted as the sine qua non of human progress, puts in the shade the famous words of Voltaire, "False science creates atheists; true science prostrates Man before destiny". But the strength of this fiction is the ability of the central character to sustain his argument.
With his passion for films, the protagonist who is preoccupied with a doctoral thesis takes a long holiday to assist film director Sivaraman. He is optimistic that the future of the industry will be assured if it develops a progressive outlook with humanism as the base. At the back of his mind is Marxism-Leninism for the evolution of a new social order, not hidebound by convention. The way he puts the message across appeals to two new faces — Devika and her former college friend Sita — marked for a stellar role. But more often than not, one's arguments often prove nothing but one's wishes.
All the same, this novel is an enjoyable romp. All the nuances of film-making including its ups and downs are narrated vividly with the goings-on in the luxurious privacy where the rising stars are housed, providing a telling comment on the state of society.
Sivaraman suffers a major setback when his film `Kaathal Valayil', notwithstanding Devika's successful debut, proves a flop. And yet he forges ahead with Sita in the main role. It should be remembered that both the stars went through the trauma of sexploitation by the director. A live-in girlfriend Devika leaves Sivaraman all of a sudden as she was not sure how the financial loss the director incurred would affect her. She hops to another establishment where she stole the limelight with the picture `Pennaal Mudiyum'. But here too she is back to square one with the new director as well. The novel makes one aware of the foul-ups.
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