Maybe I’m too hard on Kollywood. I’m repeatedly told by its supporters, that they are just simple stories made by simple filmmakers, and do no harm. Therefore, in a quest to understand these people, I decided to look deeply into Tamil films and to my horror, discovered that there are some seriously f$#ked up lessons that we are unwittingly being taught.

Lessons like:

#4 Love conquers all social and economic barriers (but only if you’re a guy)

Rich girl meets poor boy, they fall in love, overcome some hurdles and get married – a common and popular theme in Tamil Cinema. Other variations include, educated girl meets uneducated boy, they fall in love, blah blah blah, get married. So what’s wrong with this you ask? Nothing! It’s entirely plausible that in real life a guy can end up with a girl higher up the social ladder than him (and vice versa). However, Kollywood takes this theme to such extremes that it becomes just plain stupid!

Have you seen the movie 7aam Arivu? The film where Shruti Haasan’s scientist character invents a machine that can do some mind-blowing stuff with your genes, uses said machine to defeat China, saves India, and then marries a circus clown?

Wait, what?!

Yeah, you read it right! One of the few times Tamil Cinema has created both a positive and strong female lead and the best romantic interest that they can come up with for her is the Tamil version of Coco The Clown!

I may have exaggerated a bit—he was a circus acrobat and there is nothing wrong with working in a circus. But, seriously, he juggles for a living and yet despite this social and economic limitation he was still capable of bagging himself a hot, scientific, genius!

Can you imagine the conversation when Shruti Haasan’s character introduces him to her fictional father?

Dad: So Aravind, Subha tells me that you guys met at the circus. I love circuses, do you go often?
Aravind: Errrr, no Dr Srinivasan, I actually work there
Dad: Oh! Ok, what do you do? Accountant? Vet? Do you own the circus? lol
Aravind: Hahaha…accountant?! Nah, man! I dropped out of school when I was 10. I juggle and balance on balls for a living…(High Five!!)

This is not the only Tamil film that promotes this trope. There are too many to mention, but I’m pretty sure you guys can think of some examples (most of Vijay’s films).

In the world of Kollywood, a guy can be a random, uneducated, jobless bum on the street but can still romance a woman higher up the social ladder than him, since Tamil women apparently have no standards and will marry anyone.

Have you ever seen this theme the other way round? As in, poor Tamil girl hooks up with rich or more educated Tamil boy? If there are examples, I’m sure there aren’t many. Based on the films that I’ve seen, according to Kollywood the best a poor or uneducated girl can hope for is that she is either raped by some rich guy or the hero marries her out of some sense of guilt or pity. It sounds kind of f*$ked up, but that’s what Kollywood loves to preach.

#3 Your parents only exist to make your life difficult

I assume you’re wondering why I included this, because no doubt at some point in your life your parents have made your life difficult. So maybe, Kollywood has got it right on this one?

WRONG!! In Kollywood, parents don’t just make your life difficult, they will f*ck it right up for you!

In Rowthiram (2011), Jeeva plays a good kid who often gets into fights with local thugs. His parents get sick of this and make him promise that he would never raise his hand in anger again. He agrees and sticks to this promise, until one fateful day he encounters some guys trying to rape a school girl. Any way, he promptly beats up these perverts and rescues the girl.

Happy days? Hell no!! This is Kollywood, so he immediately gets disowned by his parents.

Wait, what? Why do they disown him?!

Because he broke his promise never to raise his hand in anger. The fact that he only did it to save a girl was irrelevant to his parents, they kick him out of their home, refuse to speak to him and then ban him from his sister’s wedding.

If you think that’s messed up, it gets worse!!!

Later on in the film, Jeeva’s love interest gets kidnapped and when he runs off to rescue her, his parents intervene and stop him! Why? Because of that damn promise! Who cares if his wife’s about to be murdered? If saving her involves any kind of violence then he better start packing his bags since he is no longer their son!! Despite his pleas, they restrain him. When he does eventually escape, it was too late since his wife had been brutally murdered, but hey, at least he kept his word…vat a good son!

This is just one example, another form of abuse Kollywood parents love to dish out is emotional blackmail. Either threats of family shame or suicide (or both), often used when trying to force the heroine into marrying someone that they have selected.

Kollywood is teaching kids that parents are unreasonable jerks that need to be fought against and at the same time, teaching parents that the only way to guide their children is to be unreasonable, illogical and downright stupid. In general, Kollywood makes no effort to encourage parents and kids to resolve their problems through discussion and compromise.

Yes, Hollywood also makes films where kids are forced to rebel against unreasonable parents but they don’t take it to the same extremes as Kollywood, which prefers to resolve parent-child conflicts with themes like getting disowned, death, and emotional blackmail.

Therefore, it’s no surprise why so many Tamil kids, when coming into conflict with their parents, prefer to either give up or take extreme measures like running away, rather than just simply talking through their problems. Ok, it’s not completely Kollywood’s fault but its social culturing has played a significant part – in my humble opinion.

#2 He may come across as an abusive thug but deep down inside he is a good guy

Don’t deny it ladies, you love your bad boys! You’re not alone since Kollywood loves them too. These characters all follow the same formula: the hero initially comes across as a rude and violent moron and this initially puts off the heroine. But then she discovers that he is in fact, deep down inside, a sensitive soul and a good guy, and so they end up together.

A great example is the film Siva Manasil Sakthi, where Jeeva spends the entire movie being a complete jerk to the heroine. Despite his behaviour she still persists with him and eventually discovers he is in fact a good guy and they end up together.

Kollywood is teaching guys that women love men who are sexist, condescending and rude, and at the same time, teaching women that all rude and abusive morons are in fact sensitive teddy bears who just need the love of a good Tamil woman to bring it out. This is b.s.. In reality, if you encounter a rude and abusive moron, 99.99% of the time he is just a rude and abusive moron and not some tortured poet dying to be loved.

#1 All forms of social embarrassment must end in death

Before I start ranting about this lesson, I want you to watch this scene from the movie Endhiran (specifically 2.4 min onwards).

So in summary, what you just saw was a girl who would prefer to be burnt alive than be seen naked by her rescuer. When she is eventually rescued (against her will) and brought outside, rather than politely turning their heads away the useless bystanders instead choose to gawk at her.

Her own mother looks more ashamed at the sight of her being naked instead of happy that she is alive. The robot, rather than being hailed a hero, is criticised by his creator for not covering the girl up and subjecting her to the shame. Finally the girl, unable to bear the shame of being rescued naked (and from being burnt alive), freaks out and runs directly into the path of a bus and killed.

What message was Shankar (the writer and director) trying to deliver with this scene? That it’s better to be burnt alive than be seen naked for a few seconds and live?

No doubt some of you will argue that the scene was meant to show that the robot did not understand our Tamil values, but in all honesty, any culture that promotes modesty over life is kind of messed up in my opinion. Shankar could have easily used the scene to show how the robot wins over the sceptical public with his heroism. Instead he chooses to revel in the ridiculous drama caused by shaming the girl and her ridiculous and irrational response to it. This scene perfectly sums up how seriously f*#ked up Tamil cinema is—and Shankar is meant to be one of our shining lights!

This is a popular trope in Tamil Cinema and other equally stupid variations include, parents immediately dying on the spot after getting shamed in public or someone committing suicide after not getting their way over something (usually romance related).

Kollywood loves to teach people that the minute you experience any setback or embarrassment, your life is over and you’re better off dead. This, in my opinion, is f*#ked up, especially considering the number of people who take Tamil films seriously.

Instead of suicide and other irrational actions, Kollywood should be promoting intelligent responses to problems and telling people that messed up and embarrassing things can happen to you, but you can move on, become stronger and live to fight another day.

— Mystic Tamil. This article has been revised for TamilCulture.ca. Check out the original, full-length article, and stay updated on Mystic Tamil’s articles via facebook or follow him on twitter @Mystic_Tamil