Shedding light on Chennai’s neighbourhoods

The charm of Chennai aka Madras lies in its neighbourhoods; each area has its own flavour, its own quirks. And, filmmakers have time and again tried to capture that in their movies. If Venkat Prabhu’s Chennai 600028 captured local cricket on the streets and grounds of R.A. Puram, the recently-released Mahabalipuram was inspired by real incidents that occurred in the area. With De Monte Colony hitting screens today and Sowkarpettai currently being shot, Srinivasa Ramanujam takes a look at how some of the areas have been chronicled on the big screen…

Demonte Colony

Film: Said to be a horror film on incidents based in this “haunted colony,” this film — releasing today — has Arulnidhi in the lead. This Ajay Gnanamuthu-directed film incorporates real events with some fiction into its screenplay.

Area: This colony of two streets, off T.T.K Road, is named after a Portuguese businessman who led a troubled life. Despite being located in an otherwise-busy area, this colony is mostly deserted, with just a few labourers around, and is quite eerie at night.

Pudhupettai

Film: A peek into Chennai’s underbelly, this film directed by Selvaraghavan — set in the backdrop of the Pudhupettai neighbourhood — narrates the tale of Kokki Kumar (played by Dhanush) and his rise in the underworld.

Area: This area finds mention in the records from the 1670s as the ‘Egmore village’ or ‘Pudapawca’ or ‘Poodoopauk’, Today, if you’re a biker this is one neighbourhood you should visit. For, it is famous for mechanics and shops selling bike spare parts, mostly on the roadside.

Taramani

Film: This yet-to-be-released film directed by Ram is set in the area primarily known for its bustling IT offices. The MRTS station and its whereabouts form important locales for this movie starring Vasanth Ravi and Andrea in lead roles.

Area: Located adjacent to Adyar, this area connects most of the city’s IT crowd with their offices, a lot of which are located on the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (or OMR, as it is popularly called). Taramani is also an important train station in the route from Beach to Velachery.

Kodambakkam

Film: This film showcases the plight of assistant directors struggling to find a foothold in cinema through the tale of Sugavanam, its protagonist. Best remembered for the popular melody number, ‘Ragasiyamanathu Kadhal’.

Area: Records dating to the 1660s refer to this neighbourhood as ‘Corumbat’ and ‘Codamback’. In the decades following India’s Independence, this area emerged to be the hotbed of Tamil cinema (or ‘Kollywood’), with the presence of a number of studios.

Marina

Film: We head to the beach for a relaxed Sunday evening and then get back home, but for many these sands are ‘home’ — people such as pony riders, vendors and, of course, innumerable couples, are an integral part of this Pandiraj-directed film starring Sivakarthikeyan and Oviya.

Area: The 3.5 km stretch from the mouth of the Cooum River and the Lighthouse is primarily known referred to as the Marina. Monstuart Elphinstone Grant-Duff, Governor of Madras from 1881 to 1886, had the idea of building a promenade along the stretch of the beach, and gave it an Italian name (‘Marina’).

Kizharku Kadalkarai Salai

Film: One of the first movies to chronicle the growth of the East Coast Road, this had the protagonist (Srikkanth) play the role of a worker at a petrol bunk located at the stretch. Directed by S.S. Stanley, it was shot to a large extent in this extremely-popular stretch.

Area: This two-lane highway is most popular for Chennaiites heading out to Pondicherry to spend a relaxed weekend. The whole stretch, along the beach, has several places of interest that are popular with locals and foreigners.