The Tamil cinema industry has a 100-year-old legacy. But, rapid technological progress has rendered hundreds of labourers jobless. Last week, director SP Jananathan’s Ulagayutha Foundation honoured 100 technicians and labourers from the pre-digital era.
“Technological development cuts jobs across all sectors, and in the film industry the effect was telling,” says Jananathan. “Those days, we had preview theatre operators, laboratory graders and optical workers whose livelihood depended entirely on the film industry; such technicians have become jobless today. Even live musicians have become rare, as recorded music loops have taken over. Our idea is to honour 100 such technicians, film journalists and PROs by gifting them gold coins,” says Jananathan.
During the event, actor Vijay Sethupathi presented them with eight-gram gold coins. “I am here only because of technicians, and I know their value. Cinema is my family and technicians my family members,” he added. “Modern technology has washed out human skill from the film industry. This initiative is to honour those technicians, ” says Janananthan.
