Actor-television personality-filmmaker Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, who directed critically-acclaimed movies like Aarohanam (2012) and Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe (2014), is excited about her third directorial project Ammani, which is getting released next month. You let her speak, she brims with boundless energy and enthusiasm, which says a lot about her genuine interest for emotional-content-oriented-ventures.
She tells us, “The film has 80-year-old Subbulakshmi playing the lead role and it is about the bond that Salamma (played by me) shares with Ammani — almost like a mother and daughter. Though the title might give an impression that it’s a female centric-one, it’s not. Like any other filmmaker, I wanted to give something different to the audience. The characters are inspired by two real-life women. One of them, was a rag-picker, a septuagenarian, who came to my reality show, and the other one — I haven’t met her. But I know her kids. So, this is fictional story!
What would have happened if those two characters had met in reality, is the baseline of the script. The character ‘Ammani’ has this spirit and attitude, which impressed me when I had met her. I smile to myself even now when I think of her and I want the audience to experience the same.”
Subbulakshmi, has acted in many languages including Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. “She’s a fantastic woman, who worked quite hard for the film, irrespective of the age. Some portions were shot in the night and it was quite tiring. She walked without slippers without any complaint. You know, she doesn’t want anybody to call her ‘Paati’. We call her ‘Akka’. She used to dress up so well and actually she felt bad because her role demanded no make-up,” she laughs.
Speaking about how important Ammani is to her career, she smiles, “There’s this funeral scene where I had to not only direct, but also act as a dead body in it. My daughter, who accompanied me on the last day of the shoot was extremely upset to see me doing such things,” Wondering if she was going in the right track or not, she goes on to say, “but something makes me do all this and I like it. I love storytelling and I have made a conscious attempt to make my films appeal to the masses. The thrill of bringing stories of life is priceless.”
To her, every form of expression is art; and films are just not about entertainment, but more than that. “Just like the audience, I’ll be angry if a filmmaker fools me. So, when I direct a something, I place myself as one of the viewers and I think from their perspective. I see myself as a learner,” she explains.
Lakshmy feels if the story is strong, even if told differently, people will watch it. “An artiste must be aware of what you’re doing. There are hundred ways to tell a story, but you got to decide what works for you as an individual,” she opines.
Hosting a reality show helps her visualise a lot as a filmmaker? “Absolutely, yes. I have done nearly 800 episodes and I have met people from different walks of life and we deal with real life incidents. I have been subjected to criticisms for getting easily emotional. It’s a huge learning curve,” she shares.
What’s next? “People tell me that they miss seeing me on the screen as an actor. I already have the next script on my mind and I’ll working on it soon. At the same time, if I get to play any interesting character, I’ll take it up,” she grins.
Produced by Ven Govinda, Ammani has music by K, and have Nitin Sathyaa and Robo Shankar playing pivotal roles.