Chinna thirayil mudhanmuraiyaaga, adhiradi super hit thiraippadam (For the first time on the small screen, a dashing super-hit feature film). This booming announcement is enough to take one back to the glory days of cable TV—when watching a Rajinikanth/Kamal Haasan movie on TV was just as important an event on a festival day as the feast or wearing new clothes. In keeping with this rich tradition, this Tamil New Year’s Day will see the television premiere of Kamal Haasan’s Thoongavanam, alongside I, Rajini Murugan, and Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga. But the question is, in this age of YouTube videos and torrents, does a TV premiere still hold the same relevance?
“A premiere used to be nothing short of a festive occasion at home. The film itself was a reason to celebrate the day,” says writer Javeeth Ahamed. Growing up in Dubai, a premiere was “almost always the only opportunity to watch a new movie”. “A TV premiere brought the entire family together, much like an India-Pakistan cricket match. All our activities on a festival day would be worked around the movie schedule. Watching these films on TV also saved us from the long wait for low-quality video cassettes.”
Techie Karthik Anandhakumar also remembers his Deepavalis and Pongals for the “sirappu thiraipadangal”. “The advertisements hardly seemed a bother. As there was no saying how long the ads would go on for, I would always hog the remote, and not allow anyone to change channels, fearing I would miss out on an important scene.”
Not many, however, are as tolerant of the advertisements. “I live in Mumbai, and so, rely only on these premieres to get my dose of Tamil films,” says Sukumar Srinivasan. “But the long advertisement breaks have completely ruined the enjoyment of watching a new film. There seemed to be fewer ads on the HD channels, but it isn’t so anymore. I remember once when a touching scene in a film was stopped midway, with ads playing for the next 10 minutes. By the time the ads stopped, I had moved on to another film. I’d even go as far as to say that I am willing to pay a nominal amount, if it means watching these films without the ads.”
Ads aren’t the only reason some people get put off. “I swore off watching movies on television after watching Pudhupettai, my favourite film. Not only do these films get censored before release, but they also go through another round of censorship by the TV guys. Pudhupettai on TV was utterly mutilated—can you imagine the film without the scene where Dhanush fights off those goons to become a rowdy?”
Dillip Kumar, a fitness consultant, points out that not all films get affected. “I’ve realised that comedies and light-hearted dramas don’t suffer as much. This is why my mother enjoys watching Sivakarthikeyan’s films on TV. She doesn’t like going to theatres and isn’t tech-savvy enough to watch it on the Internet. So, she doesn’t mind the cuts or the ads.”
For Javeeth, the wait for the TV premiere, often up to six months from the date of release, is another let-down. “Hindi films, however, get screened on TV just a few weeks after their theatrical release. At a time when there are several legal ways for me to watch a film, why should I wait for months to watch a Tamil film?”
Sai Sanjana R., who has just completed her 12th board exams, doesn’t understand all the fuss; she is still quite excited about watching films on TV. “I prefer watching films at home as I don’t have to share my snacks with friends. Earlier, we would somehow try and catch all the films on a holiday. But now, with all of them being available online, we prefer those that we haven’t heard much about, or simply watch an older film again.” And this is an idea that also resonates with Sharjah-based Soumya Raju. “There are always smaller channels that telecast classics, and only with half as many advertisements. So, instead of watching I or Rajini Murugan, this time, I’ll plan to watch a timeless movie, preferably one of Rajini’s older films or a Dhanush film like Thiruda Thirudi.”
Some others, like city-based Dr. Anirudh, are driven by nostalgia. “I saw Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu again recently, when I was browsing channels, and remembered the time during college, when a group of us went to watch its first-day, first-show. There are hundreds of films we love that we tend to forget. Rediscovering them on TV can really make your day.”