Veteran filmmaker S.A. Chandrasekhar’s next directorial venture, Touring Talkies , will be the second Tamil film to be marketed as a ‘double feature’ — two movies for the price of one.
A few months ago, actor and filmmaker Raghava Lawrence had announced that his new film, simply titled Oru Ticketla Rendu Padam , will have two stories, one in each half.
While the origin of the concept dates to the period of The Great Depression in the U.S., during which theatre owners wooed audiences with an offer to show two movies for the price of one, Tamil cinema’s adoption of the idea is indeed surprising.
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Filmmaker S.A. Chandrasekhar says he decided to make a double feature because it is becoming tough to sustain the interest of the audience with the traditional narrative that runs for close to two-and-a-half hours.
“I am not a popular hero who can carry the film on his shoulders. The audience can’t keep looking at my face the entire time,” he says.
Mr. Chandrasekhar will be featured in the role of a 75-year-old man in the first half of the film.
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“The project began as a short film about the romance of a 75-year-old man. Later, when I recalled my days as a teenager, I decided to expand it into a movie,” he says.
Mr. Chandrasekhar’s experiences will comprise one part of the film, while the revenge saga of a poor village girl forms the other.
“This part of the film will be laced with a critique of society as is usual in my films,” he says.