Nerkonda Paarvai: The Ajith - Bharathiyar connect

The first look of the Pink Tamil remake was revealed earlier today and the film's title comes from a famous Bharathiyar poem
Nerkonda Paarvai Ajith Bharathiyar
Nerkonda Paarvai Ajith Bharathiyar

The Tamil remake of Pink, starring Ajith and Shraddha Srinath, which had the working title of AK59, has now been titled Nerkonda Paarvai

The phrase 'Nerkonda Paarvai' is part of a famous poem by legendary Tamil poet, Bharathiyar, titled Pudhumai Penn. This poem, consisting of 10 stanzas, is Bharathi's vision of a modern woman. The phrase in question comes in the stanza that begins:

நிமிர்ந்த நன்னடை நேர்கொண்ட பார்வையும்,
நிலத்தில் யார்க்கும் அஞ்சாத நெறிகளும்,
திமிர்ந்த ஞானச் செருக்கும் இருப்பதால்
செம்மை மாதர் திறம்புவ தில்லையாம்;

These lines translate to:

She who walks gracefully, her head held high and with a piercing stare
She whose values make her unafraid of anyone who walks this earth
She who is proud of her intellectual bravado and conviction
She is the modern woman who doesn't feel inferior to anyone

A slap in the face of patriarchy, this famous Bharathi poem talks about the freedom of women at length. Bharathi was one of, if not, the earliest feminist icons in India. The same poem has another interesting line to this effect:

ஆணும் பெண்ணும் நிகரெனக் கொள்வதால்
அறிவி லோங்கி இவ் வையம் தழைக்குமாம்

which translates to:

Placing man and woman on the same pedestal
Will let the world thrive and everyone will be wiser for it

The original, Pink, starring Taapsee Pannu, was about women who were wronged by men, who couldn't take 'No' for an answer. It reinforced the argument that it doesn't matter how the women dress or behave - 'NO means NO' and she cannot be forced into doing anything that she isn't comfortable with. So it is only fitting for the Tamil remake to take its title from this remarkable poem.

That Ajith, a male star (and who reaffirmed his superstardom with his recent film Viswasam) has taken up the mantle of Amitabh Bachchan in expounding this simple and necessary message for the Tamil audience deserves praise. 

Given Amitabh Bachchan delivered a powerful monologue in the climax of the original, can we perhaps hope to have Ajith voice these lines from the same poem by Bharathiyar in the Tamil version?

மூத்த பொய்ம்மைகள் யாவும் அழிப்பராம்;
மூடக் கட்டுக்கள் யாவுந் தகர்ப்பராம்;
காத்து மானிடர் செய்கை யனைத்தையும்
கடவு ளர்க்கினி தாகச் சமைப்பராம்;
ஏத்தி ஆண்மக்கள் போற்றிட வாழ்வராம்;
இளைய நங்கையின் எண்ணங்கள் கேட்டீரோ!

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