The premise of ITLI (acronym for Inba, Twinkle and Lily) is simple: Necessity is the mother of invention. “Age is no barrier if one wants to achieve something, even the seemingly impossible,” says Saranya Ponvannan, who plays Inba, a retired music teacher and grandmother to Ashmitha. Inba’s best friends are Twinkle (Kovai Sarala), a librarian who remains a spinster because of her unrequited love for Mano Bala, and Lily (Kalpana), a beautician and a grandmother with OCD.
The director of ITLI, Vidyadharan, says, “When her granddaughter needs money for a surgery, Inba goes to the bank. But, as soon as she withdraws the money, she gets robbed. When the bank refuses to take responsibility, her two friends come to her rescue by drawing up an elaborate plan to rob the same bank; their logic: “It was our money, anyway!”
Saranya says, “That’s when our inner strength, despite our age and single status, comes to the fore. If we can be robbed in a matter of minutes, why shouldn’t we plan a heist and get our money back from the same bank? Daring yes, but the dire need for money drives us to do the extreme.”
For Kalpana, who has done more than 270 films in Tamil and Malayalam, this is a unique role. “Director Vidyadharan has given utmost importance to the role of women in this film and that’s what attracted me. Our well-etched roles show how even elderly women like us do not have to rely on men when pushed to a corner,” says Kalpana, who was first introduced as a heroine in K. Bhagyaraj’s Chinna Veedu .
Kovai Sarala has done many such roles. “There have been quite a few films where we comediennes have come together, and all of them have been hits. Considering the funny script by Vidyadharan, I had absolutely no hesitation in accepting the film. Saranya’s role has some serious undertones, but when the three of us are together, the scenario lightens. I am on this eternal quest for my long-lost love, as against the other two who have families,” says Sarala.There is also a twist in this tale, but Vidyadharan feels revealing it will ruin the suspense. “Humour is laced with a socially relevant message in the storyline and it is probably this that has convinced these veteran actresses to sign on the dotted line,” concludes Vidyadharan.
