KV Anand: The Tamil filmmaker who made not-making-sense palatable
There are only two ways to read the work of KV Anand, the Tamil cinematographer and director who died in 2021: you either suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride, or you remain the pedant who leaves dissatisfied. There is nothing in between. For audiences across India and the diaspora, Anand created a brand of mainstream cinema that offered genuine relief from the drudgery of everyday life.
Who was KV Anand and why does his cinema matter?
To understand Anand's career as the director of eccentric mainstream films like Kaappaan (2019), Kavan (2017), Maattrraan (2012), and Ayan (2009), you need to understand the cinematographer he was before that. An assistant of the legendary PC Sreeram, he began his career working on the cinematic successes of the era like Thevar Magan (1992) and ambitious failures like Thiruda Thiruda (1993). Still in his 20s, he won the National Award for his debut film Thenmavin Kombath (1994).
From cinematography to directing: a visual journey
Anand made interesting choices and produced arresting work throughout his career. Kathir's Kadhal Desam (1996) gave him the chance to shoot the city of Chennai in fanciful ways. The song 'Hello Doctor' captured his imagination, and he threw together quirky visual effects, silhouettes, and fluorescents, all of which would become recurring motifs in his work.
Soon enough, the lavish budgets of Shankar's films gave Anand a bigger canvas for his penchant for grandiosity, something he would come to embrace more wholesomely in his own work. He loved shooting humungous set pieces: 'Mudhalvane' in Mudhalvan (1999), 'Adhiradi Kaaran' in Sivaji (2007), and the entire album of Boys (2003) are all testimony to his ability to make the infamous song sequence into a visual delight. He also liked his complex action sequences, be it the inciting incident in Mudhalvan or the climactic fight in Sivaji.
What made KV Anand's films distinctive?
Anand carefully carried his visual craft to his own filmmaking. His films were a treat for the senses, aimed only at the box office, which more often than not appreciated his efforts. He did not create cinema that was entirely new either. He drew his strength from borrowing a little bit of something and adding a little bit of himself to create something pleasurable.
Take Anegan (2015), for instance. He brought veteran actor Karthik back to screen for a role that made the most of his already well-established persona, adding a delightful twist in the end. In Kavan, it was T Rajendar's turn to be rediscovered by the audience through Anand's eyes.
When he was not pulling a casting coup, he wove films out of ideas that most of us would have trashed in the first draft. Take Maattrraan: conjoined twins in a science fiction film, which is just your average potboiler. Or Kaappaan: an organic farmer who is also a military man, who joins the Special Protection Group to protect the prime minister. Anand sometimes took ideas laughably too far, perhaps because he did not fear failing, which he did once in a while.
Ko (2011): Anand's best work
His best work, in this writer's opinion, is Ko (2011). Without the pressures of visual grandeur or casting coup, Anand produced a highly entertaining mainstream film. Whatever your disagreements with it, Ko works as a piece of cinema, the rhythms intact. You simply need to watch Ko 2, a sequel in name only, to see how superior Anand's work was.
What were the limitations of Anand's filmmaking?
Anand was not above faults though. His films regularly relied on remarkable set pieces and its actors to cover the weakness of its writing, despite his renowned collaborators. His work was peppered with the casual misogyny and paternalistic ideas commonplace in Tamil cinema, which he never saw the need to question. Sometimes, he was so focused on the box office that his films hardly demonstrated any understanding of the issues they took up; Kaappaan is a case in point.
Why does KV Anand's cinema still resonate?
For the audience, Anand created the kind of entertainment that gave them relief from the drudgery of everyday life. On days that one is too tired of the world around them, Anand is exactly the kind of filmmaker one wants for an evening show. He made not-making-sense palatable, and for that, audiences remain grateful.