His movie opened to full houses on the first day is still running to packed houses in 73 theatres across Tamil Nadu. For a film which has no hype, no big star cast and no marketing gimmicks, drawing in audiences like this, is no small achievement, especially in these times of mega budget films biting the dust.'Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu', a story about an underdog kabadi team set in rural Tamil Nadu has caught the imagination of both the masses and the classes. People have been seen clapping after the show in a multiplex in Chennai while 250 assistant directors have called up its director saying ''You have given us a ray of hope and confidence that we too can do it.'' We caught up with the elusive, unassuming and reticent debutant director Susindran to find out more about who he is, what drives him, why he made such an unconventional film and his future plans.
A former assistant to directors ST Saba and Ezhil, Susindran grew up in Amarapoondi where he did his plus two. His debut film is based on real life. ''It's a film based on true incidents that happened in the lives of various people I knew,'' explains Susindran. His father was a member of the original underdog Vennila kabadi team in Ottinchatram for ten years. So how did he come to into movies? ''My chittappa lives in Chennai and had made Putham Pudi Poove long ago. I used to visit Chennai during my holidays. I was always a movie buff and would see two shows a day in my village,'' he laughs. ''When I announced my decision to enter cinema my family was shocked since my chittappa had achieved no success as a filmmaker! They tried to dissuade me but I persisted,'' he recalls.
His family's loss seems to be cinema's gain. Dialogue writer Prasanna Kumar introduced him to ST Saba and for five years he assisted him in movies like Naam (Duet Films) and others. Later he joined Ezhil, assiting in films like 'Deepavali' and others. But Susindran always harboured a dream of going solo and wrote many scripts. ''I wanted to make a realistic film and the idea of kabadi was strongly in my mind since I had first hand experience of it in my household. In 2001 when 'Lagaan' was released it served as a greater inspiration that I should go ahead with my project,'' he recalls.
But it was only in 2008 that he finally took the step for independent direction. ''I was lucky that Anand Chakravarthy, the very first producer I met, believed in my vision and okayed my film,'' says Susindran.
Today his film is re-writing records and making people notice him. Ask him if he was confident this would happen and he says, ''I wanted to tell an enjoyable story to my audiences. My aim is to make films that make people forget their problems when they come to the theatre. I knew my film would run and I assured Chakravarthy that my film would not incur any loss. But I never anticipated that it would be a hit,'' says he. Was he inspired by Chak De? ''When I wrote my film Chak De was not even released,'' he refutes.
Why did he cast relative newcomers? ''I wanted to give a chance to actors who are talented but struggling to make a mark,'' he states. Its no wonder then that actors like Suri, Appukutty and many others are receiving kudos for their performances. Even the cameraman Laxman Kumar is a debutant, along with the music director Selva Ganesh and producer Chakravarthy. ''I thank my producer for his courage in backing such a project. If producers support such scripts, only then can we creators can bring in fresh talents and stories,'' feels Susindran. It may be recalled that successful films like 'Paruthiveeran', 'Subramaniyapuram', 'Chennai 28' and even 'Chitram Pesudadi' have all been backed by new producers.
And what are his future plans? ''My biggest gift is that people have liked my work. I am still in the process of planning my next move,'' he signs off.
Susindran's next move is probably going to be closely watched by a film industry struggling to find the magic mantra of success in recent times!
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