A Legacy of Responsible Laughter

Five-time Chief Minister, and a doyen in Tamil Nadu politics and Tamil cinema, M Karunanidhi famously said, “The one who knows to laugh understands human values better.” It is often said that reformist ideas and fiery dialogues about the Dravidian movement in stage plays and films written by Karunanidhi, fondly called Kalaignar, and his political mentor and DMK founder CN Annadurai, took the movement to the masses. However, the Dravidian movement took a fire and ice method to become the conscience of the Tamil society. Comedy became a potent tool to deliver social reform messages in a newly-independent society. The likes of legendary comedians and thinkers NS Krishnan and MR Radha became the voice of Dravidian ideologies in the 40s and 50s. “They were rationalists, and effectively used comedy to communicate their rationalism. Even believers of God enjoyed their brand of humour that invoked the ideals of Periyar. NSK pioneered the concept, and MR Radha was extremely effective. Later, comedians like Goundamani and Vivekh followed suit, and used comedy to push forward social reform agendas,” says two-time National Award-winning author and film producer G Dhananjeyan.  

There has never been a time in Tamil cinema, especially after the advent of talkies, where filmmakers didn’t leverage humour to address the issues plaguing society. Name any societal ill — caste discrimination, class discrepancies, gender inequality, poverty, and dowry harassment — there will be a Tamil film where it was brought to the fore through humour. Filmmakers understood that the first step in uprooting such evil was acknowledging it. “Using comedy to enhance films dealing with socially relevant themes is a sure way of making people revisit them. If it is an emotionally charged film, people might definitely resonate with it, even if they don’t watch it more than once,” points out National Award winner Madonne Ashwin, the filmmaker behind successful social comedies like Mandela and Maaveeran.

Of course, comedy in Tamil cinema was not just relegated to propagating social reforms or making scathing social critiques. There were other branches of humour too, but the social utility of comedy comes when it punches up, something always encouraged by Tamil cinema. As the years progressed from the NSK and MR Radha era, comedians started finding their forte where their opinions came to the fore. We had political humour from noted actor-journalist-satirist Cho Ramaswamy being accepted alongside the slice-of-life comedy of Nagesh, slapstick humour of Suruli Rajan and Thengai Sreenivasan, and the Chaplinesque comedy of Chandrababu. Every era found its comedy stalwarts, and the names of Goundamani, Senthil, Janagaraj, VK Ramasamy, Vadivelu, Vivekh, Karunaas, Santhanam, and Yogi Babu became synonymous with laughter in the consciousness of Tamil Nadu. They all used different forms of comedy to reach the masses, but more often than not, their tracks often came with a side order of social consciousness. But recently, there has been a scarcity of comedians picking up the tool of social reform. “Honestly, every actor, especially a comic actor, wants to create their own identity. They are sincere and might even have strong beliefs about social reform. But is the audience ready to accept such lines uttered by an up-and-coming comedian who hasn’t earned that clout? Can the audience resonate with a non-established comedian?” asks Dhananjeyan.  

There also was a time when family dramas ruled the roost, and filmmakers like Visu and V Sekhar took upon a social issue, and effectively used comedy to deal with the issue. From driving home the importance of nurturing the girl child to understanding economic strength, spending power, the necessity of savings, and the education of children, Tamil cinema of the 80s and 90s mounted most of these films as family dramas. Unlike in the 50s and 60s, the audience wanted to feel relatable rather than being relayed information. “While the paucity of family dramas is a concern, it is important to understand that cinema, like life, has a cyclical nature. Family dramas will be back,” says Ashwin. Agreeing with Ashwin’s observations, Ayalaan director Ravikumar, who frequently mixes comedy with science fiction, says, “Catering to an increasingly young audience who are the major crowds thronging the theatres in the first few days has become very important for the filmmakers. Comedy needs time and temperance. That is not being given to the films nowadays. An adrenaline rush is trumping every other emotion.”  

But not all is lost with the next generation. They are pointing out the errors of our ways of milking humour in some of our 'iconic' comedy tracks. Filmmakers are trying to right the wrongs committed to the oppressed communities, which were often propagated in the name of comedy. Topics of sexuality and identity have always found their way into our humour, but it is a step in the right direction that even comedy is becoming socially aware. Sections of comic actors, writers, and filmmakers are bending over backwards to realign their thinking and reassess certain choices from the past to find a way to right the ship. Yes, those comedians and those scenes were products of their times, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't be scrutinised under a critical lens today. Isn't looking back as important as looking ahead?

A common consensus, however, is that the legacy of Tamil cinema comedy must be reinforced in our minds. “It is important that people know the history of our cinema. We can progress only if we know where we come from,” says Ravikumar, who believes the icons of Tamil comedy from the black-and-white era will find their place in the cloud in the digital era. “While I thought the films enjoyed by my father were ‘old’, the present generation considers films made in the mid-2010s as old. Times are changing, but we must create interest in their minds. Shout out our achievements from the rooftop. Let people know about the advancements we made as a society through the power of cinema. Let them know the crucial role of comedy in unifying and reforming,” says Ashwin.

In the era of humblebrag, celebrating legacy is often seen as unwarranted or even ‘cringe’ but that shouldn’t be the case. We are in the digital era where everything is documented. Why not use the same to let people know the importance of legacy? Honestly, the present generation too understands the ease of pushing social reforms through popular media through memes, which are becoming a powerful tool for change. And why is it so powerful? “Simple… it is funny,” signs off Ashwin.