Paradesi is the latest film by Tamil filmmaker Bala. Click on the play button and see if you can figure out what is this “reality teaser”. And why would anyone cut a teaser like this? though am not sure if this is an official video or made by some fan. But it seems the crew members are sharing it on social media platforms, so putting it here.
If you don’t know much about Bala and Paradesi, click here to read about his latest film. Anurag Kashyap and Phantom Films are releasing the film nationally with English subtitles.
Click here to watch its theatrical trailer.
Tip – Chinu
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 
That sadistic smile at the end. Pathetic. This almost reminded me of a scenario from a school/house where a helpless kid is beaten up instead of talking things out.
WTF to your closed fucking minds. This is fair enough and a highly applaudable effort when one tries to make a film about people who struggled to come through. Is it fair to kick and hit a person normally? No. Is it fair to while trying to bring a realistic potrayal in a film after obtaining their permission? Yes, a fucking yes. Now you can go back to your comfortable cave and watch Alex Pandian. Have you even seen films of De Niro, Day Lewis, Coppola or PT Anderson? I am not even talking Jodorowsky, Bergman or Tarkovsky. A man tries to put his all into film making and we drag him back.
Why wouldn’t anyone cut a teaser like this? It’s sadistic but also ridiculous enough to be funny.
They used to do this with K.Balachandar’s tv serials many many years back. During the end credits they’ll show him teaching the actors and occasionally he’d shout at them and sometimes, almost slapped/slapped them. When I was a kid I remember my folks saying.. ‘see, what a great director he is’.. There are so many stories about how Rajini and Kamal got slapped by him and became big stars. We naive tamil people think that great directors do this kind of thing. Looks like they have tried that kind of promo here. For us, tamils, it’s kinda funny though. These lazy ass actors getting some much required lashings at last. Only that it’s done in a bad taste with that smile in the end.
But what I heard from someone who worked with him was.. in his last film ‘Avan Ivan’ he was so passive in the sets and wouldn’t even get up from his chair. He’d come to the sets late in the morning, make the actors do the same thing for the next two days until he gets satisfied. And that film was a dud in all levels. Maybe that’s why he’s aggressive in this film, to give something good. Also, this film is his own production and with all that ‘drive’ he completed it in 90days. (usually takes a minimum of 1-2years to complete his films)..
Bala’s Paradesi is an impressive film. It is supposed to reveal horrors of migrant labourers of south thamizh nadu villages in damp, disease infested slave labour camps – also known as beautiful looking tea estates of vaalpaarai and moonar. It does reveal the horrors not in line with any international film – but with a uniquely indian voice meant to be heard by indians. To that effect it works and one can say that this phase in thamizh cinema where makers like Bala,Vasanthabalan and Balaji Sakthivel are doing is “reclaiming the art cinema movement” that never happened in thamizh cinema in the 80s. Better late, than never. The movie tries to tread safe and “talks” to its indian viewers through songs through the most arduous phases of the movie. Not a bad idea – but an overdose when the viewers easily “get” the visuals. When you realize that the same director has done a much better job of doing away with songs in an earlier spectacular film called Naan Kadavul, one wonders why. Prodding on, I was delighted to see that Bala’s sense of humor(is there a sense of despair as an opposite?) is on most of the times – though it is mostly in the form of various choiciest abuses on the hapless protagonist Raasa a.k.a ottuporukki (wastrel picker). The film is a first for thamizh films in choosing a period backdrop only to tell a sad tale of human suffering. However there are some demons that Bala needs to chase away. No – I am not talking about his delight in reducing protagonists to helpless piece of dust in front of fate and exploitation, it is about how he treats one character – the doctor who is summoned by british bosses to stem the spread of flu in the estate – This character is caricatured as a dark skinned thamizh guy married to a British woman aiming to convert as many slaves into christianity. The character goes on to organize a prayer song/dance event in stead of providing medical attention and so goes the track. This pre climax track seems to be innocuous piece of dark humor and satire, and so I thought while watching the movie. However truth has to be told and the fact is that it is a satire of the very person who wrote the original novel . P.H Daniel a dalit christian who was the first to organize a union for the exploited and abused tea estate workers. Bala’s movie proudly touts the source in the “Thanks ” section – but goes on to do a huge disservice to the voice of the person who brought the truth out in the first place by such a nasty repartee. I was shocked to see such a betrayal by an acclaimed film maker like Bala. So in net , ‘Paradesi’ is a movie which i liked – but it has left a bitter aftertaste overall,.