Oru "Thalai" Raagam - My friend Ajith's views.

AJITH TESTING THE RACE CAR IN SEPANG MALAYSIA.

( snap courtesy my friend above )

At a function held by the film fraternity my friend and colleague Ajith spoke his mind . This was twisted and turned in every manner possible. I must still admire his Guts. This guy has both the mind and spirit to state his feelings in unambiguous terms. I think it is because he feels that where he cannot be 'free" he will not stay - he might just drop it all and go off to the racing circuit doing something that is his passion - and even more risky , or is it less than acting in Todays situation ?

BEFORE ANYONE LEAPS TO A CONCLUSION - I AM (SO IS AJITH) NOT ANTI TAMIL OR ANTI THE RULING PARTY.

I AM A FRIEND OF ALL ACTORS -THEY ARE MY FAMILY AND I DO NOT TAKE SIDES AS I BELIEVE NO ONE SHOULD.

I was there at the function and heard what he said - all that he said was

1. When there are eminently qualified and experienced people like the Hon'ble CM , why should people in the film fraternity jump the Gun and issue statements and organise protest fasts/morchas etc even before the Government/CM has publicly reacted.

2. Actors are NOT to involve others in their fraternity in active politics - those who want can join/start political parties.

3. Do not force anyone/Threaten anyone with dire consequences if they are not inclined to participate in any socio political activity - this is not Democratic but Dictatorial.

4. We just want to act -to do our job - in peace , please leave those who wish to be left out , alone.

I for one thought these were very poignant sentiments expressed by one who has felt the pain of being arm twisted. He added a very moot point for which the "Superstar" stood up and applauded - that man has guts too.

If we protest or object we are termed "anti Tamil".

I am at a loss at why everyone got so upset and riled about this speech of Ajith's. He felt it and so said it. Agreed many ask of the tamil proverb "yedam, porul ,Eval" - was it the right place and the right time to have said these - look at it from Ajith's point of view....when else ?

Here we have the CM and the rest of the State Dignitaries, you have the entire family ( film fraternity) and so when and where else ? That could have been his thinking - secondly, all said the CM is a film person too and the "elder" of the family so he had to voice his feelings to the Kudumba Thalaivar - probably felt that the Pressure and threats were too much.

Still , maybe Ajith could have refrained - that is a point of view that I am not going to disagree with. He did not, and now how do you react to that. By making it into a Political / Caste based/ Controversy ? The CM had the correct approach when he told all to just "Keep quiet".

I have been meaning to Blog on this for a long time but wanted all the tension to die down and this to become the non issue that it really is.

Personally I agree that in a true Democracy NOTHING SHOULD BE FORCED. Especially in a creative art. Remember the film "Saraswathi Sabatham" where both Money and Muscle try to force the "Poet - Creative person" to sing in Praise of the Queen. The conclusion from that film stands true even today - Money, Muscle and Learning ( knowledge/creativity) all go together nothing is superior to the other.

I wonder why no action was contemplated against people like Cho and Vijayakanth for not attending the function. Cho is probably one of the senior most actors in the Industry today , can you ask him to speak ? Does anyone have the Guts to take that risk..Ha ha ha...?

Now for the arrangements - Seniors like Mr. A.V.M.Saravanan ,Actor Sivakumar had no place to sit and so we all went behind the Stage and watched the entire show on a TV monitor. In fact Surya too was sitting with us till someone found a seat for him. I understand many people like Mani Ratnam, Radhika and others came only to be turned away as there were no Seats - Maybe my friend Ajith is thinking that he should have come another 20 minutes later then he too could have gone back without a seat and avoided all this heartache. He he he.

Over all these years - from the film "Minor Moses" , through the films of another friend K.Subaash ( a lovely technician who is unfortunately living in Mumbai away from his family for the past 6 years trying to make a living) , till today , I find one endearing quality in Ajith - he is unchanged. Most people change after Success and /or Marriage , in his case he has happily had both but remains that plain speaking person who remembers all his "old" friends.

I write this as a colleague , a thinking person , a lover of democracy , a great admirer of the Literature of Dr.Kalaignar , a film fan and last but not the least a Tamilian in Body and an Indian at heart. I must admire the Guts of Ajith to have spoken his mind and that of Rajinikanth to have stood up and applauded Ajith whilst sitting right next to the CM - Proud to know both these Men. Even more Proud to be an actor in the Tamil Industry.

We need more MEN.

GODSPEED AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR RACE , AGAINST CARS AND UNFAIRNESS.