Oomai Vizhigal — 50 Tamil Movies to watch before you die — 23

When movies are made in a pattern, there will be someone who will break the monotony and give a surprise. Oomai Vizhigal did that, and the technological breakthrough it brought in to Kollywood was immeasurable.

Oomai Vizhigal (1986)

Oomai Vizhigal is a thriller with a political angle. Written and Produced by Aabavanan, R.Aravindraj directed the movie. The music was by Manoj — Gyaan, Cinematography was done by Ramesh Kumar. They were completely unknown in the movie world, and the only credentials they had were — Students of Adyar Film Institute (now MGR film Institute). They made an indelible mark in Tamil Cinema.

Oomai Vizhigal is a crime thriller with a political angle. Although there were multiple side stories in the movie, I will try to give a synopsis. Young girls are murdered at Chola Picnic Village owned by the mysterious PRK (Ravichandran). Raja (Asst.Editor) of Dhinamurasu magazine tries to investigate the murders with the help of his editor Chandran (Jai Shankar). Vijay (Arun Pandian), Raja’s friend also joins them. Despite threats, they try to investigate the murders. Through Devi (Ilavarasi), Raja’s girlfriend, Dhinamurasu group comes to know about Sattanathan ( Malaysia Vasudevan), an MLA’s involvement with PRK and these murders. Sattanathan’s goons attack Dhinamurasu’s office and also finds out that Devi is the informer and murders her.

DSP Deenadayalan (Vijayakanth) enters into the investigation and how the whole team brings out the political nexus forms the crux of the story. I am not writing why the movie is titled “Oomai Vizhigal” (Silent Eyes). If you have watched the film, you will know it, and if you haven’t, I will not spoil it for you.

Why is it so special?

1. The sheer magnificence attached to the movie. Multiple stars, big-budget and sophisticated, intriguing thriller made this as the first true blue multi-starrer masala movie.
2. Oomai Vizhigal brought the technological attitude to Kollywood. If I am not wrong, the movie used ultra-slow motion for chasing sequences. The audience was awed by some of the camera work. There is one specific sequence considered to be an iconic landmark scene in Tamil cinema. I have linked the video.

Oomai Vizhigal Climax Sequence

3. The fantastic performances of actors made the movie memorable. Jai Shankar, Chandrasekhar, Arun Pandian, Vijayakanth, Saritha did their part perfectly. A cameo by Karthik was well received, but the pick of the lot was Ravichandran. He came back after a hiatus, and the transformation from a lover boy to bloodthirsty villain was beyond imagination. Malaysia Vasudevan can’t be discounted either.

4. Manoj Bhatnagar and Gyaan Varma had an exciting debut with music, especially the background score, was pretty impressive. I don’t need to tell you about the popularity of “Tholvi Nilayana Ninaithaal” and “Nilai Maarum Ulagil.”

Why is it on the list?

1. It broke the pattern of movies that were made at that time. The film was a surprise to many, and it combined different themes with a stylish presentation.
2. Although there were film institute students who already made a mark, this one made sure they were taken as serious filmmakers. They showed how a big-budget extravaganza should be made, and everyone involved was a product of the film institute.
3. The technological attitude that it gave to Tamil Cinema. People started talking about cinematography, slick editing and audio mixing, etc., after the movie.
4. One of the best thrillers that you can see in Tamil cinema.

Trivia

1. Oomai Vizhigal was initially made as a short movie titled “Murder Echo” by Aabavanan and Aravindraj for their final year project. Aabavanan wanted to make a big-budgeted movie called “Iravu Padagan” which didn’t take off. They decided to make Oomai Vizhigal as a small budget film with their original crew including Arun Pandian and Ramesh Kumar (Cinematographer). They tried to approach Sivakumar to do the role of DSP Deenadayalan, but Sivakumar didn’t want to do a movie with the film students because they were known for making so-called “art” films. Vaagai Chandrasekar was a friend, and he suggested Vijayakanth for the role. Although Vijayakanth wasn’t sure about the movie, Aabavanan and Aravindraj showed the “Murder Echo” to Vijayakanth that converted him. Karthik was roped in by Arun Pandian who was a friend, and Jai Shankar was through Aravindraj’s uncle, Maruthakasi (lyricist). Jai Shankar helped them to rope in Sri Vidhya through the screening of Murder Echo. Although Film News Anandhan was roped as in Public Relations for the movie, they wanted someone young because the crew was full of youngsters. They got Film News Anandhan’s son Diamond Babu to do the Public Relations for the movie. He later became a popular PRO for many actors and films. [1][3][6]
2. The sound design was made by Deepan Chatterjee who introduced 6-track stereophonic sound in Sholay. Aabavanan and Aravindraj wanted to work with him for Iravu Padagan, and he worked with them for Oomai Vizhigal. He continued to work with various other filmmakers, including Priyadarshan, Kamal Hassan, etc. Deepan started his career as a sound recordist with RD Burman and continued to work with him until his demise. Deepan is known as one of the pioneers in sound design and won National awards for Audiography in 1995 for Kaalapani and Halo. He has trained various sound engineers including Justin Jose (Bajirao Mastani), MR Radhakrishnan (Urumi), Uday Kumar (Vedalam) etc., [6][7]
3. Adyar Film Institute was instituted in 1945. Now it is called the MGR Government Film and Television Training Institute and is situated in Taramani.
4. Aabavanan made many more movies with the same extravaganza — Uzhavan Magan (1987), Senthoora Poove (1988), Inaindha Kaigal (in contention for the list, 1990) and Karuppu Roja (1995). The importance he gave for sound is fantastic — Karuppu Roja was the first movie in India to use DTS. Aabavanan was born as Chinnasamy, and he changed his name to Aabavanan for films. The name is a combination of his parents’ names Aarumuga Gounder, Paavayi Ammal and Vaanan (means dedicated). Aabavanan was a maverick since his school days when he self-published a children’s book titled “Chithra Kullargal”. When he was a film student, he wanted to make his “Murder Echo” in Cinemascope. He and Aravindraj took the film rolls outside the academy (which is not allowed) to convert them into Cinemascope. He tried his hand in TV serials at a later point of time when his movies didn’t do well and made Ganga Yamuna Saraswathi, one of the successful serials in Tamil TV. In 2016, he was convicted for defrauding a public sector bank and sent to jail for five years. A sad ending to a maverick career. [6][8][9]
5. Aravind Raj made Uzhavan Magan (1987) after Oomai Vizhigal. His other notable movies include Thaai Naadu (1989) and Thanga Pappa (1983). After some failures, he is trying to make a comeback with a film titled “Kavithai.” He has also acted in few movies and notably in Adhe Kangal (2017) as Shivada’s accomplice. [6]
6. Manoj Bhatnagar and Gyan Varma were assistants of Laxmikant-Pyarelal in Bombay (now Mumbai). Manoj Bhatnagar hails from Uttar Pradesh, and Gyan Varma was from Punjab. Long term assistants of Laxmikant-Pyarelal, they debuted in a Hindi film titled Roohi (1981), but they become popular with Oomai Vizhigal (1986). They continued as a duo in movies like Uzhavan Magan (1987), Ivargal Indhiyargal (1987), Senthoora Poove (1988), Urimai Geetham (1988) and Thaai Naadu (1989). After parting, Gyan Varma scored music for movies like Inaindha Kaigal (1990) and Sathya Vaaku (1990). But he passed away, and Manoj Bhatnagar even tried his hand in direction and made some forgettable movies like Good Luck (2000) and Endrendrum Kaadhal (1999). Everyone much appreciated Oomai Vizhigal’s background score, especially Ilaiyaraja, admired the use of strings. At the same time, Tholvi Nilayena Ninaithal became an anthem of sorts for Tamil Eelam people, and in fact, LTTE used to play the song in official broadcasts to raise the morale of the people. I searched for interviews with these two music directors, and I couldn’t find any. It’s so sad that we haven’t documented their work. [4][5]
7. CinemaScope recording format was first used in Oomai Vizhigal by Ramesh Kumar. He is running his film school — Magic Lantern. They used high-speed films and special CinemaScope equipment from Russia to achieve it. Raja Raja Chozhan(1973) was the first movie to release in CinemaScope, but Oomai Vizhigal became the first movie to be shot in Cinemascope. Later Cinemascope became a norm in Tamil Cinema.
8. Ram Gopal Varma was impressed with the sound design of Senthoorapoove so much that he made his friends release the movie in Telugu. When he made Shiva, he consulted Aabavanan regarding sound design and mixing. Shiva was the first movie to credit sound designer in a Telugu movie.[2]

Read the entire 50 Tamil Movies to watch before you die list from this link https://medium.com/sylvianism/50tamilmovies/home

References

1. The best of Tamil cinema by Dhananjayan
2. ‘Set’ to make waves — The Hindu
3. சினிமாஸ்கோப் முதல் 25 நாள் ரகசிய போஸ்டர் வரை | மேக்கிங் ஒஃப் ஊமைவிழிகள் — Vanakkam London
4. Tholvi Nilayena (Oomai Vizhigal) — Tamil Guardian
5. இனப்பிரச்சினையின் ஒரு இசைப்பரிமாணம்
6. Director R. Aravindraj | Exclusive Interview with Touring Talkies
7. Fourframes Group Sound Engineers
8. ஆபாவாணன் — ஒரு பன்முகக் கலைஞன்
9. Producer Aabavanan Sentenced To Jail For 5 Years