Do away with duet songs, urges Mahendran

The audio of "Vannathupoochi", a film for children, produced and directed by C. Alagappan, was released at a function in Chennai.

Director Mahendran, who released the audio, handed the first copy to actress Revathy, who plays an important role in the film.

Speaking at the function, Mahendran said what he considered very bad in cinema is romantic duet songs. This is far from the reality. How many lovers in real life sing duet songs the way the hero and the heroine do in films, he asked. It is sickening to see the hero chasing the heroine around the bushes, in jungles and mountain slopes and their suggestive postures. This is not only absurd but also vulgar beyond words; Mahendra said and added that only when duet songs are done away with can cinema take pride.

Mahendran also stressed the need to make films exclusively for children. No one remembers when such film was last made. This only shows they are not interested in children. No film-maker could muster courage to make a children's film. Praising Alagappan for his bold venture, Mahendran said Alagappan had mortgaged his house to produce "Vannathupoochi". People in Tamil cinema often use the word 'brahmandam". Some of them do not seem to know the meaning of the word. A film which teaches good morals and ideals alone can be described as 'brahmandam', Mahendran said.

Speaking next, director Ameer said cinema has now slipped into the hands of corporates. It is difficult to make a film like "Vannathupoochi" in the midst of films like "Dasavatharam". Moreover, for such small films finding theatres is a big problem. Pointing out that Saimira is said to have bought "Kuselan" for Rs 60 crore, Ameer said the entertainment company also should have bought "Vannathupoochi" paying Rs one crore. "I place this before Saimira as a request."

Ameer said directors like him who want to be different are forced to fall in line by the compulsions of today's cinema. Director Balu Mahendra cautioned him when he embarked on acting. "I am sure I would not go missing,' Ameer told the gathering.

"Vannathupoochi" is the maiden venture of C. Alagappan, who worked as an assistant director under Kamal Haasan, Bharathan, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, R.K. Selvamani and others. The story revolves around a grandfather and his granddaughter. Baalasingh plays the grandfather and little girl Lakshmi the granddaughter.

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Vannathupoochi