Pioneers to be remembered - Subtitlist Rekhs

 
As an avid cinema lover I was stunned at the attention a twitter handle by the name Rekhs hc got during the release of Ajith's arrambam. Even though I know Tamil since on Thursdays they screen films with subtitles in Sathyam which itself many people are unaware I went again.

Rekhs hc

I concentrated on the subtitles that were easy to understand and readable, also done intelligently. I could see the effort put into it. Songs were not mere translations. Rekhs subtitles add value to the lyrics, choreography, visuals and has outstanding alliteration. And not for the sake of rhyming but with the right meaning. Alliteration in songs while being subtitled, is something I have never seen in anybody’s work even globally. I say this because I google searched and found none. And as far as Tamil songs, even the ones online 'where the spouse is a lyricist', (I don’t want to pinpoint names please) the songs were only translations! That's when I concluded that alliteration is not possible unless the subtitlist has a flair for poetry especially in English and has read extensively from childhood! Fantastic example is the evergreen ‘pachai nirame’ on Behindwoods celebrity column, ‘rekhs underscore’ A lot of other subtitlists may try to copy her! But we know copy is never like the original. And what can be more flattery to Rekhs than a copied version of her style! Because not only has she revived subtitling for South Indian films she has also evolved her own style to showcase our Indian culture and tradition. And she has a head start of more than 100 films to her credit. With this subtitling bug I went to watch pizza 2 - villa the following Thursday. I was so disappointed because I am sorry to say it lacked readability, had spelling mistakes and didn't do justice. Name was not mentioned in the end credits. But definitely not up to Arrambam standard. There is a world of difference between translating and subtitling. Rekhs ‘subtitles’! For example : 'inga enna solludhu' Mere translation would be 'What does it say here?' To some it may even be okay though it is NOT! Whereas Rekhs' would do something like 'What does your heart say' or 'listen to your heart!' Anyone with a little knowledge of English would find the last one far superior. It gives a feeling of totality/completeness! 'Listen to your heart' is NOT mere translation. It is MORE. It conveys exactly what the director/lyricist wants to convey! When you watch a movie with subtitles like this, you actually enjoy the movie with its nuances. Yeah nuanced subtitling is what Rekhs does! At last I can tell people boldly to go watch a Tamil film. More Viscom students must see Tamil films with subtitles by Rekhs and understand how much this will help make our films as famous as Hindi films world wide. It is my humble opinion. My God, am I becoming her fan! I know I am not alone! She is probably the only person as a subtitlist in our country to even have a fan base, her fans have a group for her in twitter called WBMW expanded as 'wind beneath my wings' “Sometimes pioneers get forgotten This article is for it not to happen” One among the audience Madhu