Films based on mother-son relationships are usually well received and ‘Thenmerku Paruvakatru’ is no exception. Its director Seenu Ramasamy has woven intricate sub plots to make the film interesting.
“Mother’s love is unconditional . I feel ashamed that I have done nothing till date for the person who has been a great motivator and helped me through difficult times,” Seenu Ramasamy sounds apologetic talking about his mother.
Coming from the stable of popular cinematographer and director Balu Mahendra, he understands life and has learnt his lessons well. It is evident from his approach to cinema. “My vision and craft were chiselled there. We were groomed to make quality films without any compromise,” confesses Seenu, having worked for movies like ‘Raman Abdullah’.
If his passion for films has its roots in his movie addict grandma, his love for literature stems from his grandfather who took him to spiritual discourses, literary and political meetings.
With an equal exposure to films and literature early on, Seenu widened his horizon with an introduction to world cinema at The American College Film Club, where he got the opportunity to watch select movies from all over the world.
“It still remains green. When I had an opportunity to see ‘Bicycle Thieves’, ‘Rashomon’ and ‘Seven Samurai’, it ignited my passion for filmmaking. “I dashed off a letter to Mr. Balu Mahendra and became his student,” he reminisces.
After toiling over a decade in ad films , he broke into the scene with the movie ‘Koodal Nagar’ in 2007. The three-year break after that helped him hone his skills culminating in ‘Thenmerku Paruvakatru’.
“I finished the script within a year but had to wait for another two years to find a producer. It took me just 36 days to finish the schedule -- from composing songs to post production work. In fact, I filmed montage portion for the songs without the lyrics. Mr. Vairamuthu wrote lyrics after watching the movie. We were thorough with our pre-production work,” he elaborates.
The movie tries to capture the contrasting lives of people in Theni. “It is difficult to comprehend. On one side, there is plenty of green, and, on the other, land is dry and barren. People living in the barren land have no other go and indulge in anti social activities for livelihood. It is not easy to understand their culture ,” he says.
For a realistic portrayal of all the characters in the movies, the actors donned the clothes of villagers. “We exchanged our new clothes with them.”
Seenu speaks highly of rural women: They are extremely fearless, confident of facing challenges and remain unperturbed by any situation. This quality propelled me to make a film on them,” shares, Seenu, now busy working on his next project ‘Neer Paravai’.
Well presented right from the colour tone of the film to the breezy music, perfectly in tune with the film’s character, ‘Thenmerku Paruvakatru’ stands testimony to the universality of the subject that has attracted bollywood and tollywood filmdom. The movie is all set to be remade in Hindi and Telugu.
