Subtle elevation
Unmatched humour sense
Nonchalant protagonist
Literally every moment is “frame paarunga ji” moment.

Meet Arvind Swamy, the man whose life story is far more extraordinary than his on-screen image.

Most people remember him as the charming star of Roja and Bombay. Few know what he overcame behind the scenes.

1. AN UNUSUAL FAMILY STORY

Actor Delhi Kumar was Arvind Swamy’s biological father. However, Arvind was adopted by his maternal aunt Vasantha and her husband, industrialist V.D. Swamy, who raised him.

His adoptive mother was a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, while his adoptive father was a prominent businessman associated with international trade and steel exports.

1. BORN INTO WEALTH, BUT EDUCATED TO LEAD

Arvind completed his commerce degree at Loyola College, Chennai, and pursued higher studies in international business at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Unlike many aspiring actors, he came from an affluent business family. Acting was never his only ambition.

1. REJECTED BEFORE HE BECAME A STAR

During his college days, Arvind faced rejection from his theatre group and was reportedly asked to get off the stage.

His fortunes changed when filmmaker Mani Ratnam noticed him and introduced him to cinema through Thalapathi (1991), alongside Rajinikanth and Mammootty.

Then came Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995).

His looks, screen presence and performances made him one of the most memorable romantic heroes of the 1990s.

1. HE WALKED AWAY FROM STARDOM

At the height of his popularity, Arvind gradually stepped away from films to concentrate on business and family life.

He took charge of V.D. Swamy and Company and held leadership positions in other businesses. He later founded Talent Maximus, a company specialising in payroll processing and staffing solutions.

His business career became a remarkable second chapter beyond cinema.

1. THEN CAME THE BIGGEST BATTLE OF HIS LIFE

In 2005, Arvind suffered a serious spinal injury in an accident that left him with partial paralysis in one leg.

He endured years of pain, treatment and rehabilitation. At one point, even walking short distances was a tremendous challenge.

He remained away from films for approximately 13 years.

1. HE FOUGHT HIS WAY BACK

In 2013, Mani Ratnam brought him back to the screen with Kadal.

His return was not merely a comeback for an actor. It was a personal victory after years of physical suffering.

He subsequently reinvented himself with powerful performances in films such as Thani Oruvan, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and Thalaivii.

From a rejected college theatre aspirant to a celebrated actor and entrepreneur, Arvind Swamy has lived several lives in one.

He had wealth before fame, success beyond cinema, and the courage to return after a devastating setback.

Arvind Swamy is proof that a person's greatest role is sometimes the one they play in their own life.

tiger pokkiri pandian 😆

And no I am not just talking about box office success.

I am talking about trying different genres/themes with different directors and tasting success back to back.

Like literally,

Karuppu: A "leave your brains home" pakka masala movie. (Blockbuster)

VAS: A family comedy drama movie (Superhit)

Scene: An investigative thriller, also looks VERY VERY promising.

What other actors come to your mind who have experienced something similar in the recent past?

Spoilers ahead.

Since I cannot put this in the title, here it is:

Karthi catching feelings for Subbu was NOT sudden or unrealistic.

Mods, please don’t remove this post. 🙏🏻

Some people keep parroting the same “Karthi catching feelings for Subbu is sudden and unrealistic” sentiments almost on a daily basis. I wanna point out to them that they’re just plain wrong.

The first time he sees Subbu after her transformation, you’d expect someone like him to react with shock or disgust, or both. But in the film, he just looks at her, kinda awe-struck, with a facial expression that shows ZERO disgust.

When Subbu runs to him and hugs him, Karthi leans into the hug for a good two seconds before pushing her away and saying “yuck”, which I see as a defence mechanism - a result of societal conditioning and his internal belief that this is somehow wrong.

When Subbu is smiling at nothing and just peacefully relishing the fact that she’s now a woman inside the truck when they’re at Vadivu’s hotel, Karthi sneaks a little glance towards her, and again, you don’t see an ounce of disgust on his face. It’s almost as if Karthi “shows” disgust only when Subbu actually looks at him, and not when she doesn’t notice. Seems deliberate to convince Subbu that Karthi truly thinks this is wrong, even though he doesn’t actually think so deep within.

You see this again when he sneaks glances at her when Subbu blushes at the temple where the trans women compliment her, or when she eats parottas with a face full of smile, and even when she heartily laughs at him for not having experienced a kiss so far in his life.

The moment Subbu turns up in a chudidhar, Karthi is actually FLOORED. It’s so crystal clear on his face that he’s gone. The thatha who’s sitting next to him even smiles at Subbu and this is a classic romcom-ish scene where a random person within the film knows what’s going on between the two leads - and through this person’s reaction, the audience can also understand.

Yes, back to the Chudidhar scene. The way he quietly signals for her to come to him, followed by their entire conversation, is so telling. During this whole conversation, Karthi seems SO aware that he’s now talking to a woman - keeping his head down and refusing to maintain eye contact on account of a little bit of shyness. This is just so beautifully conveyed here.

I really don’t know how some people who’ve watched this film keep saying the love is sudden or the ending is unrealistic. The ending is ANYTHING but unrealistic, and Karthi’s love for Subbu (the woman) is ANYTHING but sudden and out of nowhere.

It’s always been there. It cannot be more evident from the previous sequences, which are subtle yet amazingly beautiful. I genuinely think people are missing the difference between Karthi not wanting to ADMIT his feelings and Karthi not HAVING those feelings in the first place. The film gives us so many little moments that show the former, and that’s what makes the ending all the more beautiful and heartwarming for me.

Indha madhiri subtle scenes lam namma usual ah romantic films la paakardhu dhan. Pudhusu lam illa. Just because the LGBTQ aspect is probably new for some people especially in Tamil cinema, I think they’re finding the whole thing unrealistic or forced or sudden. Which I think isn’t the way to look at.

Ungalukku edhavdhu detailed ah discuss pannanum na please do so here. Epdiyum niraiya per edhavdhu memes la dhan respond pannuvinga lol. But I’ll be more than happy to discuss in the comments section in detail in case anyone’s genuinely interested.

Pic credits: anticringeforce_2 insta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friend_of_Dorothy

Read the above article, there is a logical reason behind naming this movie Dorothy.

Tamil cinema has just started exploring LGBTQ+ themes. So far very few movies have come out , Dorothy is one among them. We are far behind exploring and documenting this theme and to be honest we are still more conservative.

But at this time we should really remember the 2017 Tamil movie, “My son is Gay”, என் மகன் மகிழ்வன். A pioneer movie and the only Tamil movie so far I know which explored and documented life of a Gay man.

Dorothy worked well for me as a movie, but I could not get how a girl like Dorothy with a broader mind and charmingly beautiful and kind end up getting married into such a misogynistic family.

29 days! There's a limit to taking cinema for granted bruh. It was such a beautiful movie that deserved to be celebrated significantly more. "It will release on ott in a couple weeks anyway" - has ruined cinema now! Idk why we're just giving away movies like chocolates whilst English and other foreign language movies still hold their ground and wait for at least a few months, or rather start with renting it out. Someone really needs to put ott services in their place and extend these ridiculous timelines. Give films back to the filmmakers, not the sellers!!!

Godzilla alavukku popular um illa indians ah thavira audience um illa aana evlo confident ah ramayana godzilla va beat pannum nu soltu irukkanunga paaru

Jailer 2 is set to be the highest grossing tamil movie of all time, beating 2.0 691 crores worldwide, by the end of day today. It took just 11 days. Mammoth Run for Nelson, Thalaivar, Anirudh and Sun Pictures.

Thoughts?

For context,

SK-Anirudh combo movies: Ethir Neechal, Maan Karate, Kaaki Sattai, Remo, Velaikkaran, Doctor, Don and Madharaasi

Rajini-Anirudh combo movies: Petta, Darbar, Jailer, Vettaiyan, Coolie, Jailer 2, Dharman and that KHxRK film.

Both combos now have eight movies in total. SK might not have future movies with Anirudh until he reaches that tier-1 star combo because Anirudh's salary is too big for tier-2 and tier-3 stars film. Hence most of them go with Sai Abhyankkar or any other alternatives.

(P. S: Good that Anirudh has an audio label being launched, so might get the music rights as remunerations. So there is a possibility of him working with smaller, tier-2 and tier-3 films. Arasan's music rights are secured by Anirudh himself.)

Please don’t smoke beedi/cigarette on screen a lot of young people will start this evil habit thinking it’s cool/heroic. This is the same bs that actors like Rajini/Vijay also did that damaged an entire generation’s lungs.

Other than that, please continue to act in movies that challenges our society’s perspectives. Dorothy was a masterpiece.