 I see you like to put your lips around SRK who doesn't agreed Hey, welcome back to our stupid direct since the Corbin. I'm Rick. You follow the Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, sick content You're still on Twitter, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah You know, they're not paying the rent I Couldn't tell you who's paying their rent What social media platform you must well most of the marks up that one cool. Yeah Don't care and Thanks for some patreon folks for true account scribe you like button. Thank you so much. Yeah, you beautiful beautiful Stupid babies. How you doing? All things considered pretty dang good terrible. No, okay good. Yeah today. We're doing a movie review And it's welcome back to classic month. It's classic month. It's classic month and today we got a tumble classic with Superstar Superstar I don't think at this point those who's no, no, no, this was a natural head of hair hundred percent His head of hair then. Yes, I'm talking about now. Oh, yeah, nobody has a better way 1978 tumble film Moulin Malaram Moulin Malaram, right? No Corbanization on that one bad boy. Very nice. Take that and shove it in your butthole Directed by Jay Mahendran And a directoral debut at the time screenplay but it based on a novel by Uma Chandran Chandran. Yeah, not to be confused with Uma Thurman. Yes composed by Raja, sir starring Superstar Rajnikanth, also starring Sarath Babu as Kumaran and Shobha as Bali and Jayakshmi as Manga. Yes And so this came out in 1978 and because it's classic month That's why we're doing a bunch of old films right now. The first film was guide the Hindi film Yep, if you haven't seen that review go check that out But it will obviously be a hundred spends for the review. Yeah, it came out many years ago So if you haven't watched it go watch it come back if you don't want to be spoiled like a little naughty little boy or girl that you are Rick your initial thoughts One of my favorite classics we've ever watched with what is in my view some of the best acting we've seen in classics You hated it See, this is why I say Rick only likes Bollywood films. That's right. God damn it. It's true So you liked it. I I loved it. Good. Yep I I have nothing but superlatives about this film to talk about I think we will from most part agree There's some parts that I did not enjoy it. Okay, I'd be interested to see what might be and we'll get into that I have so many good things. Yeah, I'm much more good things than I do bad. There's just certain in its It's a it's a through line. I guess for me Yeah from stuff that I don't normally like in certain films, but we'll just get started I already know I know what one of them is gonna be I already can tell you what we're gonna talk about And you're gonna know why I loved it and I'm gonna know why you didn't yeah But let's just get into let's start with the superstar rush good This is our third superstar Ross and cons film. Yep, and all of them so far have been his older works, right? We started with he was supporting in the first thing. I think we saw was come all his aunts film No, was that the second one? I think thought apathy was the first I think you're right Then it was the Shredevi and come all 16 something where he was supporting. Yes And then now this one and so it's all older so far and I I've been told that that's when he was more focused on being more Thespian addict. Yeah, and then he became larger than himself Right. You see later in his career Yeah Kind of just had to you know do more stuff for his fans and all that kind of stuff Yeah, the whole riff it conversation about star and actor So but I do want to see some of his more recent stuff as well to get that feel of what a more recent Superstar film is me too. I think it's like especially if we got to see it in theaters one. Yeah, I think that would be really interesting Yeah, but anyways, let's talk about him. I thought this is Probably and it's hard because all of his performances have been really really good Oh, I have no problem saying it. It's my favorite is this is best absolutely, and I have no no issue Yeah, it's it's for me his best. I think we've seen I think he did Really really good job and also I think a lot of that has to do with the director and how what because I did do some research And this was a very revolutionary for Tamil cinema at the time I can tell and what with what they tried to do and also for Rajanakha himself because he played mostly a villain Not that he was playing a predominantly good person in this fully, right? But he was predominantly just a villain and then this guy wanted him as the lead actor in this, right? And I believe the title also means the thorn and the rose and the rose yeah something along I didn't know if that meant if it was just about Rajanakha the thorn and the rose or if it was him and his sister Right, obviously you could obviously leave that open to interpretation. Yeah, my my interpretation would be It's it's that character him. Yeah, he's both a beautiful person and an ass That you get sweet beautiful things from that character, but you also get painful not okay things from that character a very There were so many things that surprised me about the film and focusing on him It became really clear that and I did more research on him as we typically do It's it shows that he had a love for theater and a love for the craft when he came into film and it it it shows his his Emotional availability his honesty his listening his Just nothing but I as Impressive for me as the stuff that I've seen where I've been impressed with say Kamal Hassan Yeah, I can I can see why and just the little we've seen of him I can see why he has the reputation he has absolutely and I loved his relationship with his sister One of my favorite part of the entire film was the fact that this was a lot more brother sister Centered yeah, they're beautiful chemistry and relationship. Mm-hmm. I really enjoyed that and we'll get to her as well But like he had some beautiful moments with her Yeah, and and it kind of he's showing of I'm wanting his toxic masculinity sign Yeah, at times. Yeah, but then also his deep like he there's nobody he loves more than a sister No, you wouldn't do for his sister and he's very kind kind compassionate person as is she I wrote down early in my notes They're wonderful. Mm-hmm, the brother and sister and their their chemistry and I wrote down lovely scene one of the best scenes I've seen in a classic film is When he's crying and she wants him to come to dinner early on in the film Yeah, I believed I was watching a brother and sister and I didn't believe they were Indicating there weren't false moments it it I Again some of the most for 1978 It's as grounded as acting gets yeah, absolutely and her as well Yeah, I want to talk about both ladies at length subia right and that was his sister That was a sister, right? I'm not yeah Vali is Vali. Vali was a sister. Yeah, sorry subia. Yeah, I believe committed suicide or yeah, that we can get into that now If you want yeah, I don't because I have a lot to say about that We might want to save that for the back end because I have a lot to say about yeah that because it's also Manga, yeah, they both killed themselves the same year really. Yeah, oh man. Geez, but yeah, which broke my heart Though the fact that they were so They're brilliant and they were they are such good actresses. Let's talk about suba first She gave young tree devy vibes really of like her capacity as an actor and her as her screen presence Oh, hello, that's my mother. Oh, hi mom Um, but yeah, probably wondering where I am probably she just woke up but she Her her screen presence and her capacity as an actor and obviously her beauty She's absolutely gorgeous, but like she she didn't say a lot in this movie, but she conveyed a ton Like she I don't think she had that much dialogue in this film It was a lot of looks which is obviously I think goes to what the director wanted to do in this film Yeah, you wanted to do a lot with just silence and without actually going into a heavy dialogue film And she meant she did she convey so much with her expressions or eyes or just I loved her She probably my favorite performance in the whole thing even above Rajanakant the two ladies were Even more stand out. They were they were incredible and I loved how every moment of emotion was believable most especially Close-ups of tears. I didn't in any way think they needed to add tears to make it look like they were crying I could see the emotion. I could see the willing up Everything felt grounded the whole of the film Gave me the same vibes I get when I see Stuff as good as last film show or a really really well done student film because You know everything is being done It's like college sports everyone's doing it because of they just are so passionate about it. Yeah, and I could it I Just felt that in every frame and the thing that was most impressive to me was how seriously I felt those three Took the roles and how good they were in their roles. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely Yes, she was made and I loved the character of manga as well the fact that she was this fiery Um Not taking any shit. Yeah character Pretty amazing to have such powerful powerful women and we'll talk about this on 1978. I loved her song. Yeah We'll talk about what Roger sir did in this, but I loved her song. I thought it was absolutely hilarious Yeah, but yeah, she had such a great character And it was in her character obviously developed right from it was obviously very dated for like having a character Just like gluttonous just eating all the time. Yeah, but you know 1978 Forgivable things. That's what it was what happened today. Yeah making fun of people for their vices But the fact that you know she had this kind of arc from being almost childlike to becoming a woman to wanting Rajnikanth Yep, their chemistry together. Yeah kind of the banter back and forth They had I thought was really really good She had great chemistry yep with Rajnikanth and then at the end obviously she when she was obviously Standing up a lot to Rajnikanth that she really brought the power. Mm-hmm. I did two minutes. Yeah, I Ever I was just Transfixed and happy There hasn't been a performance by actresses in the classics and even some of the more recent things we've seen This is some of the best acting I've seen From those three and those ladies as I was looking them up when I saw That they both Committed suicide. I then went on a deep dive into an issue that It gave me let's just say it gave me better perspective on why there was so much outrage about Shashant Yeah, the number of people I mean India alone the most recent this is a statistic from the Guardian who I think got this from World Health Organization in 2021 Nearly 40% of the world suicides are Indian. Whoo and of those suicides 70 to 80 percent of them are women hmm, and If you look at the history of Indian cinema not just Bollywood you look at Indian cinema the number of suicides is staggering Whether or not conspiracy theorists would say they were murders versus self-inflicted deaths You got a problem. Yeah There's there's an extraordinary Extraordinary problem that I don't think is just a Film industry problem in India. It's clearly a mental health and societal issue That has yet to be fully Accepted understood or addressed and sadly I read something. I didn't even know I You may be able to validate it. Is it true that Shwastika Mukherjee had once tried to take her own life in the midst of her depression I know she's been really open and honest about battling with depression and things, but it wouldn't surprise me No, did you hear you know there was an actress in December in Bollywood who hung herself on set Oh, no, I did not hear that she was on set went to the bathroom. They didn't come back and they found her she had hung herself and That was December 24th just a couple weeks ago so the one unexpected take away from this for me was to think about All women but most especially to see those two I got very emotional Watching this knowing midway through that these ladies at 17 and 20 respectively in the same year died by hanging Was to me an encapsulated analogy indicative of the total tragedy that I Don't know It just it needs to be addressed as something much much larger than just conspiracy theories like came up with Shashant not negating the reality of that I now have a greater understanding because with you if you I imagine if you live in India, which I Guess it shouldn't be so much of a surprise because it's the primary Issue that you deal with in three idiots, which is the first Indian film we ever watched that Pressure it's it's it's and there was a moment in the film where Somebody said if you don't let her get married She's gonna kill herself and that just struck me in the light of of all of that And I don't want to make that the salient pinpointed issue, but I think it's an important thing To talk about because their voices I Still hear them now in ways that It needs to be addressed yeah in much much better ways because it's it's it's a it's an epidemic absolutely Yeah, I totally agree And on that I also want to talk about the Obviously their performances were beautiful and everything obviously like that I want to talk about the the score of this film from the songs that south which were even though It's not a song heavy film like the good film We just watched guide which had a ton of amazing big songs much much smaller. Mm-hmm, but some great songs in this. Yeah, obviously Manga's song about food before they had sex essentially Yeah, I loved yeah, I love that song a lot of humor there, but it was actually a really great song, too I was like it was I wish people would sing this to me before they had sex with me But then also superstars song almost halfway through yeah that number I know it's an iconic song And then but I actually I love the entire score behind the entire I did too as well Yeah, I thought it was a really really lovely. Yep. I thought it was very creative. I I I Always set aside my thoughts about Overscoring when watching a classic because the standards of the day are far far different than they are and in cinematic storytelling today Yeah, I I love the recurring theme that consistently came up and yeah, I not a surprise that He made a good score for the film another thing before I forget That really kind of boggled my mind and I guess it it shouldn't because I remember the first time I saw something like this there's a moment in the film where Everybody's it's before Roger DeCant song where they're walking down The hill carrying the deity and everybody's barefoot. Yeah, including the ladies and I looked at the ground and it's another rock Yeah Well, I remember watching kids in Papua New Guinea play football Barefoot. Mm-hmm. No grass just dirt and rocks When you grow up that way your feet can handle it, but I was I was Gobsmacked at that terrain and everybody happily Marching down how many takes they may have had to do I can imagine So that was very impressive to me. Yeah, I noticed that as well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I love the score and all that and so the one Issue that I had with the film was the ending. Yes. Yes Okay hated and I loved so here here's the thing I actually loved the direction it was taking because it really made him become a villain. Yeah in the end, right? Right, I was like, this is a turn. Yeah, he's no longer our lead hero who we're rooting for right Which is wonderful. He was bashing his wife's head in it Same revolutionary sense of breaking stereotypes that most Kamal Hassan stuff does and so like he was like bashing his wife's head in right? I was like, okay This is not really redeemable anymore. No, right. So like it's like He's become a full-fledged. His ego is taken over. Yeah, and all this kind of stuff and I was like, okay This is a turn I like this. I think all of his compassion was in his left arm And once he lost that he had none I didn't love that he lost his arm because I was not expecting no arm at all No, but yeah the when that turn happened at the end where obviously he was making his sister marry somebody else because he didn't Want his ego wouldn't let him right married this guy loves her who also I thought did a really good job I haven't talked about him. I enjoyed his performance. I did too. I thought he did a good job but in the end When obviously I loved the moment when the entire village was like we're not gonna let you do this to where we Actually, I didn't I did not expect no neither did I I thought he was just eloping with her like good But they were the whole village came together and then they left him at the at the the water I was like, oh, this is great. He's gonna have to Deal with the fact he's alone now because he's such an ass And then they gave him like this fucking like redemption Yeah, no well done. He did not deserve that Like I don't hope springs eternal and then he was gaslighting everybody and her it's like she loves me So much and now I'm such a nice guy. You can marry her. I hated it. I hated the ending Absolutely despised it. I loved it He did not it's like if big beat like when big B in the end of K3g gets a redemption arc from being such an asshole The entire film I I despise it, but that's the thing I'm okay if you make your main character a villain But don't give him a redemption arc when he's literally about to kill his wife Things before his being his his being a full-fledged asshole Came after the loss of his arm Who he was before that was a good guy. No, he was pretty as holy before. No He was mostly a compassionate guy. Mm-hmm mostly a compassionate good guy who was caring and Was really sweet to his you see it a turn you think a guy Wives head and deserves a redemption arc I do because of the love that he has for Both of those ladies. This is how I would have ended the film You could have still had everybody dies bashing. No, just leave him Standing on the edge of the river and them going away. Okay. Why do I have a question? Why the redemption? I have a question. I've you've seen the color purple. No, I said holy crap. I've never seen that so Oprah right the color purple No, that's one of the greatest movies ever made it's one of Steven Spielberg's finest creations It's the movie that made me realize. It's Oprah. It's Oprah. It's Oprah. It's whoopie Goldberg. It's it's Danny Glover, yeah, I know obviously have the color purple and and never seen it and it is I Remember when I saw it. It was the first time Spielberg had gone into a film He had been known for the blockbusters. He'd been known for Jaws and ET and close encounters and To hear he was doing something that was an adaptation from a really amazing novel and I'm bringing it up because of the Arc and the line and those of you who've seen the color purple will know what I'm talking about The arc of mister in the film. Hmm. You've got to see the color. Okay. I'll watch yeah I can't now I can't think of a parallel of another character I'm trying to figure out that but he tried to bash his wife's head in and he got a redemption art You got to see the color purple. There's nothing I can nothing I can do I just like because I would that my question would be how do you feel about the character arc of mister in the color Purple but you haven't seen the color purple. Yeah, I just I'm fine with like and I enjoyed the fact that they went in a Different direction. I wasn't expecting them like for him. I was like, okay. This is our hero. He has some flaws He's really gray, but he's gonna kind of come through and be the hero in the end But then they took the turn and he was like he's really going into his ego side So you don't like a Christmas Carol I would imagine because you don't like what happened to Scrooge Well Scrooge never tried to bash anybody. Oh my goodness. He had a lifetime of being a giant asshole dick selfish Idiot and one night has some dreams and becomes a completely different person Having being an ass and almost murdering your wife are two completely different things I just like that I could have probably really I probably says I mean he won't give the charity because are the treadmill and the Workhouse not working. I don't care. I'm talking almost murdering your wife Which be probably if it was in reality bashing her head into a wooden post that many times probably would have killed her Yeah, I just like I could probably have forgiven everything else in the film But the fact that he literally like if I took my wife's head and And then got a redemption arc in the end I wouldn't have deserved it I I'm a believer in that even the farthest of us that are as lost and degenerate as can be still have the capacity for redemption No, you damn them all. Yes. Yeah Difference of perspective yes, it is and it makes it makes I think it would have been a much nicer ending though I feel like I was like it's a strong moment him Just contemplating what he's done on the river's edge and everybody else leaving him behind because he's such an ass That would have been better Versus him realizing yet a momentary lapse of reason and becoming who he is Genuinely and everything being restored. No, he deserves to die on the river I enjoyed the film outside of the ending I knew we were gonna have a conversation about the end I just I loved the end and I thought Gorman's gonna have that India For some reason loves these redemption arcs. So does Disney. Yeah, they do and that's a big problem. I have a Once upon a time you can have a happy ending for a happy story once upon a time That they lived happily ever after it's been the beginning and ending of stories Forever for how many of those stories with the lead bashes his wife's head and how many of them Watch the color purple. That's like having somebody who's like oh he raped a little child and being like in the end Whoo, he's he's you like the character arc for Darth Vader Did he rape a child? I don't remember that part in the Star Wars What are you talking about? You think you think Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are good guys. Yeah, but Darth Vader Yeah, I got granted Vader was never married and in bash his wife's head in true I guess that's the he did unforgivable sin You know the other girl was actually murdering a bunch of children. What makes the entirety Murdering a bunch of children. What makes the entirety the central story of the entire Star Wars saga is not Luke Yeah, but he it's the redemption of Anakin Skywalker, but he died in the end Which was which is fine? But which is fine. He but he Redeemed that's but you would have preferred that's fine. He could have been like the Emperor to have killed him I he could have done this. I'm so sorry And I died and then I would have been fine. Yeah, but the So saying you're sorry is fine, but sure just make sure that you still Some stuff is not totally forgivable. Gotcha. So that is the unpardonable sin bashing your wife's head. Yeah That's the unpardonable one. If you bash your wife's head and I don't know if I could work with you anymore, Rick Well, that's different saying. I don't know that if I could work with you anymore. It's very different than wishing I was dead Did you kill your wife in this scenario? Anyways, let us know about the film and what should be the next Classic superstar rise in a con film old or new yeah as well With the newer ones just make sure it's one that we'd be able to enjoy as well Not something that's like just for his fans right as well something that it doesn't have to be full-set speed I want to see the big over the top. Yeah I want what want to know who he's been who he evolved into when I know we're gonna watch the cigarette throws Yeah, but I I still want to be able to fully enjoy the film and I know some of his films are just for his fans Well, right, so you guys can let us know what the next Superstar Russia con film or other Tamil classics that we can get into down below