Every script of Sharada Ramanathan’s owes its existence to an idea. Her first film, the critically acclaimed Sringaram – Dance of Love (2007), was a period Tamil drama based on the Devadasi tradition. She got the idea while returning from a seminar on feminism.
Now, her second film Tiruppangal – Twists of Fate is all ready for release. So, what inspired her to make the movie?
Says she, “The Post-production work of Tiruppangal is on and only one song is left to be shot. I happened to attend a theatre workshop by Bansi Kaul, an eminent theatre director, two years ago, in Madhya Pradesh. In one of the several interactions we had, we touched upon the topic of loans India had taken from the world bank. It was what he said then that made me think. He said, ‘Our biggest loans are from the next generation. We have robbed children of water. We have robbed them of air and their childhood.’ He was referring to child exploitation. It was the way he said it that kept haunting me. And thus I chose that to be the subject line of my next film. I set out with an idea and the idea becomes a story and the story becomes a narrative.”
“ is not the first time a film is being made on the issue of child exploitation. What matters is the way it is said. Unlike my previous film, in which I had a female protagonist, Nandaa plays the protagonist. You will find him in every frame of the film. Tiruppangal is about this young hunk, with a great American dream who finds himself facing an unlikely situation and how that gives rise to a series of situations that he has to deal with. There are four other significant characters in the film. They have been played by 13-year-old Dharini, a child artiste who is facing the camera for the first time, Andreah, Surveen Chawla, and Gautam Kurup of Kandhahar fame who plays the antagonist.”
But why the title Tiruppangal? “There are twists and turns at the end of every scene in the film and that’s why I chose this title,” she says and adds, “A lot of research has gone into bringing out this film.”
“Child exploitation is a huge issue and we focus on the main issue of child trafficking. The film is an emotional thriller and is set in Tamil Nadu. It was shot in and around Chennai. For my research, I visited jails, met undertrials and listened to stories — good and bad ones. It was a revealing affair,” she informs.
Talking about the film’s commercial appeal, she says, “Ustaad Zakhir Hussain coined a term to describe my first film, when a lot of people asked me if I had made a commercial film or an art film. He said, Comastic – meaning commercially made artistic film. That is what my film is like. Tiruppangal has all aspects of commercial cinema in it.”
The film’s music is by Vidyasagar and lyrics are by Na Muthukumar. “There are five songs in the film, including a romantic duet and a kuthu number. Karthik has sung a song in the film. And Andreah is singing a western number. We are planning a formal audio launch in November.”
Madhu Ambat has cranked the camera again in her second film. The story is by Sharada and the screenplay has been worked with Viju Vishwanathan, Gnana Shekhar and Vidhu Bala and the dialogues have been penned by Prakash.
