Mannerisms!!! -Love it or hate it?
Hello friends,
And of course, there are many other definitions to this word. Many of us like to discuss or point out why we do not like a particular cine artiste, because he kills the naturalism of acting with his acquired mannerisms over years. He/she becomes one's pet peeve. One such actor is Kamal Haasan. While his ideologies and personal life is marred with controversies, he would have had much more fan following if his acting was not filled with mannerisms which he had acquired over a period of time. In his earlier films, when he was young and dashing, the artificiality that I feel today in his voice in the recent films were not there and they were more watchable. But now, I really think whether I want to see his new movies. Even the tone in your voice can be affected by your facial expressions. Aamir Khan, who became an overnight sensation among teenagers with innocence in his eyes and display of undying love in Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, has matured over time with movies of his own production house. His movies like Lagaan, Taare zameen Par, Dangal, Peepli Live have become runaway hits and many of them highlight some social cause. He has made a name for himself in the industry, but there are some mannerisms or expressions which puts off viewers like me and would not want to make myself promote his films. There are many other actors in the Indian film industry who are free of mannerisms and have carved a niche for themselves by their natural acting.
Music is next to God for me and I have always been a faithful and a serious listener and a singer of Carnatic music. This includes listening to vocal, instrumental without showing any preference. The famous artistes who show mannerisms are/were violinist Kunnukudi Vaidiayanathan, Madhurai Mani Iyer?, O.S Arun, Aruna Sairam, Nityashree Mahadevan,playback singer Anuradha Sriram, and recently the young singer Abhishek Raghuram. They are just a handful I know who show more mannerisms than others. Kunnukudi's facial expressions keep changing according to the mood of the song. He used to experiment some portions of the keerthanams (Carnatic songs) and co-ordinate with the accompanists. In the small stretch, (maybe he had used various raagas in that small stretch ), he would bring out various emotions before concluding the song. His distinct style of violin playing made him stand out from his peers. Because it is not vocal, I could enjoy it.
Smt Aruna Sairam is a well-known exponent in Carnatic circles who has specialized in different genres of music. When she has a huge fan following, I am sure there are many around like me who cannot listen to her performances for long. This is because she tries to make the carnatic songs sound like bhajans, trying to infuse more bhakthi in them, making the audience more interactive. She sings some portions showing lot of expressions with her eyes and face which kills the essence of the song. Some songs sound like the ones sung in Katha kalakhepam (ritual performances where some lines are sung and the explanation of those lines are followed). Another young singer who is getting into mannerisms while singing is Abhishek Raghuram. Hope he reduces it as his voice is quite good, but his over-expressions should not be overtaking his performances. Well, this is not to say that one should sing plainly. To bring out some more essence or gamakas and bhavas, you need to use hands and face so as to ease the effort put in the song. This is required to constantly connect with the audiences and the accompanists. One should see that it is not overdone.
Thanks,
Deepa.
I keep using the word 'mannerism' as to why I am not fond of a particular artiste/musician. But what exactly is the meaning of 'mannerism'? Cambridge dictionary defines the word as something that a person does repeatedly with their face, hands, or voice, and that they may not realize they are doing:
And of course, there are many other definitions to this word. Many of us like to discuss or point out why we do not like a particular cine artiste, because he kills the naturalism of acting with his acquired mannerisms over years. He/she becomes one's pet peeve. One such actor is Kamal Haasan. While his ideologies and personal life is marred with controversies, he would have had much more fan following if his acting was not filled with mannerisms which he had acquired over a period of time. In his earlier films, when he was young and dashing, the artificiality that I feel today in his voice in the recent films were not there and they were more watchable. But now, I really think whether I want to see his new movies. Even the tone in your voice can be affected by your facial expressions. Aamir Khan, who became an overnight sensation among teenagers with innocence in his eyes and display of undying love in Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, has matured over time with movies of his own production house. His movies like Lagaan, Taare zameen Par, Dangal, Peepli Live have become runaway hits and many of them highlight some social cause. He has made a name for himself in the industry, but there are some mannerisms or expressions which puts off viewers like me and would not want to make myself promote his films. There are many other actors in the Indian film industry who are free of mannerisms and have carved a niche for themselves by their natural acting.
Music is next to God for me and I have always been a faithful and a serious listener and a singer of Carnatic music. This includes listening to vocal, instrumental without showing any preference. The famous artistes who show mannerisms are/were violinist Kunnukudi Vaidiayanathan, Madhurai Mani Iyer?, O.S Arun, Aruna Sairam, Nityashree Mahadevan,playback singer Anuradha Sriram, and recently the young singer Abhishek Raghuram. They are just a handful I know who show more mannerisms than others. Kunnukudi's facial expressions keep changing according to the mood of the song. He used to experiment some portions of the keerthanams (Carnatic songs) and co-ordinate with the accompanists. In the small stretch, (maybe he had used various raagas in that small stretch ), he would bring out various emotions before concluding the song. His distinct style of violin playing made him stand out from his peers. Because it is not vocal, I could enjoy it.
Smt Aruna Sairam is a well-known exponent in Carnatic circles who has specialized in different genres of music. When she has a huge fan following, I am sure there are many around like me who cannot listen to her performances for long. This is because she tries to make the carnatic songs sound like bhajans, trying to infuse more bhakthi in them, making the audience more interactive. She sings some portions showing lot of expressions with her eyes and face which kills the essence of the song. Some songs sound like the ones sung in Katha kalakhepam (ritual performances where some lines are sung and the explanation of those lines are followed). Another young singer who is getting into mannerisms while singing is Abhishek Raghuram. Hope he reduces it as his voice is quite good, but his over-expressions should not be overtaking his performances. Well, this is not to say that one should sing plainly. To bring out some more essence or gamakas and bhavas, you need to use hands and face so as to ease the effort put in the song. This is required to constantly connect with the audiences and the accompanists. One should see that it is not overdone.
Thanks,
Deepa.
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