In Tamil cinema, north Chennai gets stereotyped as a place where goondas rule and organised crime thrives.
Call it coincidence that two Tamil movies, ‘Madras’ and ‘Bhooloham’, which strive to depict the area in a positive light, are being released around the time Chennai will be celebrating Madras Week.
While filmmaker Pa. Ranjith’s ‘Madras’, starring actor Karthi, will focus on how they are rendered powerless after being subsumed by party politics, ‘Bhooloham’, starring Jayam Ravi and Trisha, will shed light on the unknown history of boxing, a sport that was once popular in north Chennai.
“North Chennai has had really talented boxers, emerging from the so-called boxing families. There were a number of them. Fierce rivalries have existed between these families and the boxing bouts were so popular that it had the patronage of people like former CM M.G.R and actor Sivaji Ganesan. Bhooloham’s plot draws inspiration from this boxing history,” says director Kalyankrishnan.
When asked if this would mean that the film would duck the issue of organised crime, Kalyanakrishnan said that it needs a deeper and an honest analysis.
“One needs to take a hard look at the kind of social conditions that have led to organised crime in these neighbourhoods. Mere moralising won’t help.”
Pa. Ranjith says that ‘Madras’ will also showcase how the poor have managed to lead a cheerful life despite their hardships. “The film will document the aspirations and desires of the youth living in the slums,” he says.
Both films have been extensively shot in well-known northern neighbourhoods — Kasimedu, Vyasarpadi, Kannika Puram, Otteri and neighbouring areas.
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Director C.S. Amudhan, whose penchant for humour is well known thanks to his first film ‘Tamizh Padam’ and his tweets, is turning a lyricist for director K.V. Anand’s upcoming Dhanush film ‘Anegan’.
“I was looking out for a lyricist who would be able to capture the mood of a bunch of software employees who want to have a chilled out weekend bash. Amudhan was my natural choice as he is a very relaxed person at the core,” the director has said, justifying his choice.
The film is also Anand’s fourth collaboration with music director Harris Jayaraj, with whom he has delivered some chartbusting hits. The film’s audio is set to release soon.
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Following the success of ‘Yaamirukka Bayamen’, the horror genre in Tamil cinema seems to getting the attention of producers and directors.
The genre has rarely worked in Kollywood when compared to the likes of some Hollywood horror movies that truly send a chill down the spine.
In the horror movie pipeline is the movie ‘Aaa’, the Tamil letter that erupts as a scream. Directed by the duo, Hari and Harish, who had earlier made ‘Ambuli’, the movie has been shot in Japan, Saudi and other places.
The story revolves around some youths who experiment to see if ghosts really exist and, in the process, face encounters in different countries.
(Reporting by Udhav Naig, Karthik Subramanian and T.A. Narasimhan)
