It is difficult to ignore the special touch and the emotional perspective a woman filmmaker brings to a film, but it is also time to shun the misconception that women are only capable of making films rich in sentiment and drama. Take, for instance, Anjana Ali Khan, who has made the action-thriller Veppam, produced by Gautam Vasudev Menon.
Anjana, who has been running her own production house from 1997, making commercials, documentaries and music videos, has finally decided to tell a longer story.
But why did she pick Bindu Madhavi and Nani from the Telugu film industry for a Tamil movie? Says Anjana, who has been friends with Nani for many years: “It was always understood that he would be part of the film in some capacity or the other.”
The director wanted Veppam to be a small-budget film that would appeal to many. Though she had signed up with another producer, the project took time to take off, and Gautam stepped in and took over the production.
The film also stars Nitya Menon and Karthik Kumar.
This violent film about slum-dwellers was shot in 46 days, and follows multiple tracks. “We have taken great efforts to make everything look real. When we were shooting in the slums, the people there didn't even recognise Karthik, Nitya or Nani. They blended so beautifully.”
