Is the Grass Really Greener on the Other Side?

As 2015 has come to a close, here is a recap of two under-appreciated Tamil movies released last year that were missed by audiences.

We live in a world in which we are forever plugged into the global digital world. Some of us are constantly checking Facebook, observing and comparing the highlights of others against our own, judging our experiences, and trying to find that new and unique Instagram post that hasn’t been shared yet. The concept of “the grass is greener on the other side” stems from the idea that something better awaits us on the other side of our current state.

But is this truly the case? These two movies paint the humble reminder that the grass is greener where we stand. Now I’m not saying people shouldn’t dream big or that life doesn’t have its down times. Rather, we should be mindful of the privilege that we have in each of our lives (shelter with a roof over our heads, food on the plate, and no war). Let’s remind ourselves that we should always wiggle our feet in the green grass we stand in today.

Enakkul Oruvan

The premise of this story is quite simple. Take a pill and enter into a dream state to live the life you always dreamed of. Once you wake up, you return to reality and continue with your regular boring day to day life. Then at night, you can come back to ingest the pill and re-enter the dream state.

Imagine the dream state as being anything you want. You can redesign your entire life (winning the lottery, having celebrity status or whatever your heart desires), so that you can live your life in the most grandiose of ways.

What happens if the experiences in the dream state start to feel real, and the line between the two realities blurs? Which reality would you want to be in? This forms the rest of the story.

It reminds me a bit of Christopher Nolan’s Inception – delving deep into the human psyche – but maintains an easy to follow and excellent script all within 2 hours of screen time. That’s a bonus for Tamil movie!

Kaakai Muttai

You’ve likely heard of this movie. And if you haven’t watched it, then make time this weekend. It had its world premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2014, but got its major theatrical release in 2015.

It is the story of two children seeking to eat their first slice of pizza. How many of us eat pizza without even realizing it’s a luxury? The opening scene sets up the movie perfectly and follows the boys as they trek through their day to day lives in the slum. One day, they happen to witness a famous actor at the inaugural opening of a pizza shop, and form a desire and determination to try and taste their very first pizza.

The rest of the movie follows them on their quest of obstacles and issues to eat their first slice. The acting of the two children is a pleasure to watch, in particular their genuineness which will make you smile as you’re watching them. The movie explores a lot of different themes from the caste system in India to the effects of media and commercials on our lives in an ever changing world.

Author

Prathipan R

Prathipan is an avid movie buff and music lover (all languages and forms). When he's not staring at a screen, he likes to read and take photos of the world around us.