Following the widespread support for Jalllikattu, a group of talented people from Tiruchi have come with a short film Saayam that talks about agrarian crises and farmer suicides. Directed by R Arivu and produced by V Baskaran, the 13-minute short film was specially screened for students of Madurai Kamaraj University by the Deparment of Communication.
The film depicts the heart breaking story of a grandfather and his grandson who make a living out of their small piece of agricultural land. It shows the struggles the farmers face and how it affects their lives and families.
Farmers who give us food are forced to commit suicide unable to pay their debts -- is the hard hitting message of the film. The dialogues can shake you up and actually teach you to treat farmers with respect. Aided with a strong storyline, script and dialogue delivery of the actors, the short but powerful film not only creates an awareness but leaves you thinking about saving our agricultural land and their caretakers. The film can be watched on YouTube also.
“Hydrocarbon project, Cauvery water dispute, worst NE monsoon has affected the life of farmers as never imagined. We made this film to motivate youngsters who will actually face the brunt in coming years due to shortfall in crop production. It is time to act now,” says Arivu, who has just joined as assistant director in Kollywood.
The film was shot at Kanjanayagapati a drought prone area with 70-year-old Marudhamuthu, who is both the real and reel-life farmer. It is his touching dialogues and moving performance that lay bare the scary truth. The UKG student B A Sucil Joseph who played the role of his grandson has also given a powerful performance.
“Youngsters who brought a change in Jallikattu can also bring change in agriculture. As Dr.APJ Abdul kalam said “thought results in action”, I feel youngsters after watching this film will be motivated to learn about and save agriculture,” says M. Prashanth, the cameraman and an IT student.
Abi Saravanan, who has acted in Tamil and Malayalam movies and was invited as chief guest, says, “I protested for Jallikattu and also protested with TN farmers in Delhi. They are protesting for more than 20 days now. The condition of the farmers is pathetic. All we want is a solution for their problems. Youngsters and educated people ,apart from protests, should think innovatively to help the farmers”
“We give opportunity to budding film makers to screen their shortfilms every Friday . It is a platform to showcase their talents in our Forum of Film Appreciation,” says Dr.S. Nagarathinam, Head Department of Communication, MKU.
The discussion that followed the screening was equally loaded with sentiments and emotions as the viewers unanimously agreed how important it was to respect farmers and agriculture.
