Growing up as a Tamil kid in Canada, most of the movies I watched with my parents were Tamil films produced by Kollywood. For my parents, American movies weren't very appealing. This is mainly due to English being their second language, along with the explicit language, violence, and occasional nudity found in Hollywood.
It wasn't long before I realized that the movies produced by Kollywood, or at least the ones my parents watched, generally had the same plotlines. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, problems arise, fight scenes, songs, and finally boy gets the girl. There wasn't much choice in movies outside of the masala genre. The only Tamil "horror" movie I can recall is Chandramurkhi.
Iconic horror movies produced by Hollywood, such as Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, were interesting in their own way.They weren't scary, but they had their own tropes and camp value. Characters like Jason Voorhees and Bubba "Leatherface" Sawyer were simple-minded guys who were very close to their family and discouraged "immoral" behaviour. In other words, they weren't too different from Kollywood heroes.
One popular horror movie character is Michael Myers from the Halloween series. Michael Myers is an unstoppable, emotionless, killing machine. His powers and personality, while making him a fearsome killer in Hollywood, would make him the ideal Kollywood hero. Here is why:
1. He is relentless when pursuing a woman
In Kollywood, the hero typically falls in love with a woman he barely knows. The rest of the movie involves him pursuing her, while accomplishing improbable feats, ignoring her rejections, and missing out on other opportunities.
Michael Myers also pursues a woman, Laurie Strode, throughout not one, but multiple Halloween films over the span of decades. While his reasons for pursing Laurie may be different from a Kollywood hero's pursuit, his persistence while exposing himself to dangerous situations puts him in the league of Kollywood heroes.
2. He casually cheats death
Kollywood heroes are gifted with physical abilities that would make Batman jealous. This is typically depicted with the hero easily fighting multiple enemies at once while avoiding death or serious injury.
In the Halloween series, Michael Myers deals with multiple enemies who stand in his way. He also cheats death several times, from surviving gunshot wounds to explosions. Unlike opponents of Kollywood heroes, Myers' enemies often end up dead. This means he is willing to go above and beyond what is required of our beloved Kollywood heroes.
3. He lightens things up
One thing I noticed about Kollywood is how the heroes, with the help of a ton of makeup and movie magic, alter their appearance and look noticeably lighter than the actors portraying them. In some cases, the characters look nothing like their corresponding actors.
Likewise, Michael Myers generally looks nothing like the actors portraying him. Similar to a Kollywood hero, Myers' face is pale and inorganic. Exuding emotion is not his forte. Instead, he relies on "mass" built on his unique appearance, swagger, and accompanying theme music.
These are the reasons why I believe Michael Myers would be the ideal Kollywood hero. While he may not have much of a personality, his tenacity, superhuman strength, and unique appearance make him an unstoppable force and a timeless character. A murderous villain in Hollywood, Michael Myers is the epitome of heroism in Kollywood.
