Is Tamil Cinema losing its cultural identity?

In a world when Tamil Cinema is growing all the more restless in terms of rising demands for financial success are Tamil filmmakers losing the plot when it comes to maintaining a cultural identity?

In days bygone when MGR and Sivaji Ganesan were ruling the roost majority of the films had a rich hero who ends up fighting against injustice and helping the poor. This trend was broken by Bharathiraja in the sense that he made movies that narrated the lives and times of rustic simpletons. The trend was healthy and many other directors followed suit. Human nature was focused upon as never before and then Cinema came to be a medium wherein innate cultural elements formed indelible facets.

India is a multicultural country and the truth remains that every single State has its own rich and varied heritage. Filmmakers started projects that would appeal to the 'whole' India and so pan-Indian elements have been used to a great extent.

With this view in mind remakes from one language to another was on the rise. For example, the idea of remaking a highly successful Hindi film in Tamil proved to be a wise move. The eighties saw Rajinikanth remake many Amitabh Bachchan movies that became big time blockbusters and helped pave his way to superstardom. Similarly some successful Tamil films were also remade in other languages. All these developments smelt very good for people who wanted to view Cinema as just a money-making business without any kind of artistic inclination.

When it comes to big bucks sadly culture takes the back seat. Today's trend is that a number of Telugu films are remade in Tamil quite successfully. The likes of 'Jayam' Ravi and Vijay are huge beneficiaries.

With all this rush for box office success the 'Tamil' identity is slowly but surely being buried with irrecoverable sand. Cheap gimmicks in the name of 'glamour', unwanted extravagance in the name of boasting one's own supposed 'talent' and nauseating heroism with stupid proportions are becoming the REAL identity of Tamil Cinema.

Tamil Cinema is nothing but an arid desert when it comes to artistic endeavors. But even in this desert, a few flowers bloom. Movies that depict real human emotions in the backdrop of Tamil Culture comes as a few and far in-between oasis. Tamil audiences love these films but then they are still few and far in-between.

Will there be a refreshing change that can build upon this or will the desert air bring in more dust to make Tamil culture perish forever in its Cinema?