Month: May 2024

CHENNAI : Director Maisam Ali’s ‘In Retreat’ is all set to have its world premiere in L’ACID (Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema), the parallel, independent sidebar in Cannes. It will be the first Indian film to play there. The unconventional film is set in Ladakh and plays with the ideas of time and space, geographical expanse, and the sense of belonging and disconnect. The themes are explored through a middle-aged man who returns to his hometown after a long absence but gets late for his brother’s funeral.

A product of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Ali is the batchmate of Payal Kapadia whose debut feature ‘All We Imagine As Light’ plays in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival this year. He spoke to CE about all that went into the making of In Retreat.

Excerpts:

Debut films are supposed to emerge from a personal space. Does it hold true for In Retreat?

The idea came to me in the film school. My forefathers, originally from Kashmir, were traders. They lived in Ladakh but would also travel for trade to parts of Central Asia and China. My father did MBBS in the 80s, went to Iran and practised there. I was born in Iran and then we moved back to Ladakh. I moved out of Ladakh because of studies, work etc. From all this came the ideas of home and the feeling of disconnect. I also remember seeing somebody like the lead character when I was in fifth or sixth standard. Somebody who had come back. I heard a few things about him, how he was roaming around, just trying to make small talk, and I felt a kind of sadness for him. Sometimes, small things create a big impact. The memory stayed with me. Maybe I felt this person was a distant version of myself.

More than the story, the film is about ideas. Is it the kind of cinema that excites you?

I wouldn’t go so far as to say cinema of ideas. I’m just trying to create a larger experience. Also, in the film, there is a sense of disconnect which I like. The disconnected scenes have their own identity, yet they are connected, while still disconnected. Then there is this girl who is doodling and a person roaming in the shadows, being there but not being there. What is the relationship between them? They are also connected in some sense, in time.

Music composer Ilaiyaraaja has sent a copyright notice to the makers of Rajinikanth’s upcoming film Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, for using his music in the promo video without his approval.

Sun Pictures had recently shared the title promo of Rajinikanth’s 171st film which featured the noted composer’s ‘Va Va Pakkam Va‘ song from the 1983 film Thanga Magan, which also had the actor playing the lead.

In his notice, Ilaiyaraaja stated that the makers should get his permission to remix the song or else, remove the portion from the video containing it. He also added that if they don’t get the necessary approval, he would be proceeding the issue legally.

Written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Coolie has music by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Girish Gangadharan, editing by Philomin Raj, stunts by Anbariv, and production design by Sathees Kumar. The dialogues for the film are written by Lokesh along with Chandhru Anbazhagan, who has also written the additional screenplay for the film.

Produced by Kalanithi Maran under his Sun Pictures banner, Coolie is scheduled to release in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada. While the rest of the cast and a release date are yet to be announced, the makers confirmed that they are all set to start filming soon.

(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)

CHENNAI: Varalaxmi Sarathkumar’s latest film ‘Sabari’, releasing on May 3, stars her as an anxious single mother. It is a character that would otherwise require an actor to do some homework. However, Varalaxmi does not believe in elaborate preparations before essaying a role, which is surprising given that her over-a-decade-old career encompasses everything from regular commercial film leads to a menacing villain to supporting characters with emotional arcs. Instead of extensive homework, Varalaxmi says, “I observe a character, the emotion in that role, and a scene’s tone, and perform accordingly.”

Delving more into the film, she says, “’Sabari’ operates both as an emotional story between a mother and her daughter who are pushed to the brink and as a mind-bending psychological thriller.”

Going by its trailer, what it also has is a set of intense chase and stunt sequences. Talking about her fitness journey and how helpful it is in pulling off Sabari’s stunts, Varalaxmi says, “My line of work is my primary motivation to take up the weight loss journey, but some health issues made it all the more necessary for ‘Sabari’. My current body frame makes me feel at ease while performing stunts. Earlier, I might hurt my knee trying to do a stunt fall. In general, I believe one can be healthy in any shape; if you can walk up a flight of stairs without panting, you are healthy no matter how you look.”

However, Varalaxmi confirms that ‘Sabari’ has no quintessential fight scenes. “Though I am now open to doing stunts, their placement shouldn’t feel forced,” says the actor while adding, “The stunts in Sabari are designed in a way that the lead fights impulsively, like a cornered cat.”

When it comes to Varalaxmi and Mime Gopi’s approaches to film and character choices, the latter says that he will take on even a one-scene role as long as it leaves an impact. “It is necessary that I am told how my character interacts with others in scenes. More importantly, the roles should appeal to the actor in me and have novelty,” he says. In agreement with her co-star, Varalaxmi reveals, “It is necessary for me too; if something in the film or my role is attractive, I would readily sign up for it.” Of course, Varalaxmi has played negative roles in films such as ‘Sarkar’, ‘Sandakozhi 2’, ‘Veera Simha Reddy’, and ‘Kondraal Paavam’. Talking about these roles, Varalaxmi says, “I am not gravitating towards them, but they choose me. Further, people like to see me in roles that challenge the leading men in my films. I felt honoured hearing from fans that, after Ramya Krishnan ma’am, they like seeing me give male heroes a run for their money on screen.”

On the other hand, Gopi regards the late actor Raghuvaran as his inspiration for mostly taking up bad-guy roles in films. Having his roots in mime, a purely visual form of art, Gopi says his transition to the audio-visual medium of cinema has been smooth. “Mime is the first way of communication among people, as sounds and languages only emerged later on. I have to convincingly convey a statement solely with expressions in a mime performance. Do you think I will find it hard to transfer a piece of information orally? Not really.”