An Analysis on Torture King 23Rd Pulikesi – a Political Satire Film
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Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO 2017, Vol. 7, No. 1 Amity University Rajasthan An analysis on Torture King 23rd Pulikesi – A Political satire film S.Yamunai Selvan Dr.P.Govindaraju Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, India Abstract One of the most interesting and ever-viewed concept in cinema could be political satire. During Hitler's regime, mocking the political system and its loopholes is evident through film made by film-maker Charlie Chaplin1 (THE GREAT DICTATOR). Films on political satire could appear as only comical in some ways but it also points out the way our political systems are engaging in current scenario pinpointing a strong opposition towards its nature. Evidently, the films bring out only the fatuous characteristics of political system giving suggestions for its proper management. As far as Tamil Cinema is concerned these could be some of the important movies which come under political satire: Muhhamad bin Tughluk (1971), Amaidhi Padai (1994), Joker (2016). Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei2 (2010) is a film that happens on an imaginary region called Cholapurapalayam which is a place created on-screen to appear under British regime. It describes about the rule of king where people suffer due to his activities concerning the region. It mocks about the important loopholes that the current political system has left unsolved such as caste-clashes, emerging of foreign soft drinks in the region and the kings who support the alien countries. This research brings out the satirical aspects dealt in the film through scene-by-scene analysis method. It employs qualitative methodology underlying semiotics. Though this film is released before few years it purely brings out the current exceptional activities of political system in Tamilnadu and highlighting its authoritative nature, and main objective is to study how this movie played a catalyst role towards development, believing this research could bring in detail about the social problems that are dealt in the film. Key words: Political satire, film studies, political communication, content analysis. Introduction From ancient times satirists have shared a common aim: to expose foolishness in all its guises – vanity, hypocrisy, pedantry, idolatry, bigotry, sentimentality – and to effect reform through such exposure. The many diverse forms their statements have taken reflect the origin of the word satire, which is derived from the Latin satura, meaning “dish of mixed fruits.”THE COLOMBIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA (pvenglishteach, 2015). Now, political education means opening...minds, awakening them, and allowing the birth of their intelligence; as Cesaire said, it is ‘to invent souls’. To educate the masses politically does not mean, cannot mean, making a political speech. What it means is to try, relentlessly and passionately, to teach the masses that everything depends on them. Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (Wayne, Political Film, 2001) Satire has long been a tool of political criticism. Although the term satire may describe an entire work, a passage, or a tone, its characteristics are shared: among these, it employs comedy or humor; has a target and an ideal to compare it to; and folly or vice in detail. We could sense the Political satire on the period of Bharatiyar’s Journalism. After that that was well crafted by the actor come Editor Cho.Ramaswamy in his political magazine Thuglak3. Still the magazine is publishing by weekly. “Nevertheless, in the modern Tamil theatre and its off-shoot, Tamil cinema, satire as a direct political tool was hardly ever present. This is indeed unusual considering that Tamil cinema was a medium that was used as a transformational and propaganda mechanism for the Dravida movement. In a state where cinema has incubated so many party-affiliated political leaders, Cho Ramaswamy chose this untreaded path of a satirist. And in the process became a bold, unforgiving, opinionated, dissenting public voice. Behind every word that his characters uttered lay Cho’s own politics” (KRISHNA, 2016) Today there are numerous YouTube channels and meme pages are coming with sharp satirical contents to criticize the existing political systems and its bureaucracy. Cartoonist of Ananda Vikatan a Tamil weekly magazine Hasif Khan4, Chummanachiki5 YouTube channel, Joker – a Tamil Political satire film which has been released recently are the recent political satirist records from Tamilnadu. Tamilanadu’s current exceptional situation paved way for the sharp Political satire contents in digital media. We are living in an era where everything and anything could be spoofed or criticized by the public who are all having social responsibility and creativity. They have a great advantage with technologies and their participation in digital media is very active these days. It’s really good in some cases, but some of the meme and video satire materials which have no social responsibility would hurts the particular person, i.e. ‘Character assassination’. A 65 Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO 2017, Vol. 7, No. 1 Amity University Rajasthan meme or political satire video will inform the public only the seriousness of the particular issue, it’s not giving the solution. Giving a solution to those social issues is not their job absolutely Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden. Political satire is usually distinguished from political protest or political dissent, as it does not necessarily carry an agenda nor seek to influence the political process. While occasionally it may, it more commonly aims simply to provide entertainment. By its very nature, it rarely offers a constructive view in itself; when it is used as part of protest or dissent, it tends to simply establish the error of matters rather than provide solutions. One of the most interesting and ever-viewed concept in cinema could be political satire. During Hitler's regi m e , mocking the political system and its loopholes is evident through film made by film-maker Charlie Chaplin (THE GREAT DICTATOR). Films on political satire could appear as only comical in some ways but it also points out the way our political systems are engaging in current scenario pinpointing a strong opposition towards its nature. Evidently, the films bring out only the fatuous characteristics of political system giving suggestions for its proper management. As far as Tamil Cinema is concerned these could be some of the important movies which come under political satire: Muhhamad bin Tughluk (1971), Amaidhi Padai (1994), Joker (2016). The king of torture, Pulikesi the 23rd (2010) is a film that happens on a imaginary region called Cholapurapaalayam which is a place created on-screen to appear under British regime. It describes about the rule of king where people suffer due to his activities concerning the region. It mocks about the important loopholes that the current political system has left unsolved such as caste-clashes, emerging of foreign cool- drinks in the region and the kings who support the alien countries. This movie is chosen to undergo research as it is considered one of the important of its kind. Literature Review (John.S.Nelson, 2013) In this section the author explained about the rhythms of political satire with examples of Bulworth (1998) and Bob Roberts (1992) O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) the three satirical films. In which he stated that Satire counters the chorus of conventional wisdom when the world becomes corrupt. In the tone and outlook, satire is often among the most realists of popular genres. Satire works in important part by turning politics into words. Literacy satire is not alone in this. Satire as a distinctive form of politics began in the amphitheaters of ancient Greece; and to the present day, theatrical satire depends on the deft delivery of closely worked and clever wording more than it does on props, costumes, make up, or even the inspired performance of physical comedy. Cinematic satire follows suit (Ganesh, 2015) Saravana Ganesh has written about the Marathi movie 'Court' in his blog. He stated that Court is a very simple movie which documents the present judicial system in a realistic way. It makes the observer passive bringing out the mass psychology, judicial absurdity and bureaucracy which seems to be more tightened within the system without identity but it could change the life of people who needs justice. (BASKARAN, 2006) In this article Theodore Baskaran a Researcher in Tamilnadu mentioned about technical and content aspect of the film Imsai Arasan. The Director has done a brave attempt through this film. Kattabommban and Ettapa have not been shown directly in the film but the story goes as fiction in that period. Pulikesi is a fictional character that supports the British government and when Ukkirabuddha comes to the kingdom the situation changes. To counter the criticism against mindless entertainers, many filmmakers here have been saying that the audience wants only such films. Another argument one often hears is that Indian films have their own grammar and so do not compare them to international cinema. This film 66 Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO 2017, Vol. 7, No. 1 Amity University Rajasthan disproves both these points of view. Moreover, the characters in the film are not the stereotypes to which Indian/Tamil film audiences are used. Very imaginatively Simbudevan has chosen the Salvador Dali moustache for Pulikesi. He knows that this growth on the upper lip can become an ideological symbol by itself, like Hitler's or Bharati's. He ended the article with this strong line that this is not the first historical comedy in Tamil cinema.