I have often wondered what makes a good literature. is it the characterization? or the story line? or the dialogues? or the vocabulary used? Or is it a combination of all these? When people go ga-ga over great literary works, I am often stumped as to why I don't find them interesting and more importantly what made those stories such a big hit amongst those critics. Some of them are so boring that I couldn't quite crawl beyond few chapters. Irrespective of the number of characters, I loose track of the story line amidst all those adjectives and phrases and themes that they try to explain in their narration. Probably literature students my find it easier, for they've to think through all the metaphors and come up with their own version of what the author could've meant. But is that what stories are supposed to be?? I guess the folk tales or our grandma stories survived through ages mainly because of their simplicity in narration. Even the best seller novels like Dan Browns, Crichtons, Haileys have less recollect value. God father and specific few being a glorious exceptions wherein people recall punch dialogues in them as quotes. Take the case of Vairamuthu's short stories appearing in Kumudham for example. It rambles on to several pages. While the actual story might be just about a pages worth, the rest are all fillers whose absence wouldn't have hurt the story I felt. But probably, it showcases his ability to detail out simpler things. Maybe this is how screenplays are written, minuting everything to the detail possible. But as a quick read enthusiast, it really dampens the flow.
What makes a movie tick?? If anyone has a sureshot answer to this question every movie getting released would be a Superhit isnt it. To me whether a movie goes on to become a hit or not..if you are able to relate to it..that itself is a victory for that creator. Dasvidaniya is one such movie. It got released quite sometime back and sank without a trace for obvious reasons. Happened to watch it today and here is the review :) This movie maynot be everybody's cup of tea considering that it moves at a slow pace and doesnt have feet tapping melodies or any peppy songs. Nor does it have slap stick comedy scenes which might draw repeat audience. This is one movie best watched in DVD..at your own leisure..just soaking in its pace and relishing just the same. If its Nasseruddin shah with Vaswani 3 decades back..Vinay Pathak and Ranbir Shourie are no less a pair to match wits with them. Add in the ever dependable Rajat Kapoor you've a formidable cast. Throw in a decent script and lo..yo...
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BTW, which is the book you are referring to, any in particular?