CHENNAI: “Aaru per baliyaanal, naangal aayiram per puliyaavom” (If six people die, thousands of us will become tigers). Thus goes a punchline in filmmaker S A Chandrasekar’s latest offering ‘Sattapadi Kutram’, slated to hit screens on March 25.
A satire depicting the socio-political scenario that prevails today, the film is touted to be the launchpad for a strong anti-DMK campaign by the Opposition parties. The filmmaker himself is rumoured to have been offered a ticket by the AIADMK in the forthcoming elections.
Launching the film’s audio and trailer, Chandrasekar said, “You spend Rs 50 lakh to win an election and become a minister. And then, you swindle money to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore. Is it not ‘sattapadi kutram’ (crime as per law)?”
Sattapadi Kutram, Chandrasekar said, was a commentary on the political scenario today, and the dichotomy in defining what was right according to the law and according to dharma, along the lines of Raavana, Indian and Gentleman. An extended trailer of the film that was shown to a select audience during the film’s audio launch on Monday showed the uncanny resemblance of the film’s plot to the current political scenario in the state.
The film centred around Chandrabose, played by Sathyaraj with a Che Guavara look, who virtually ran a government along with his armed supporters in the woods by taking on the corrupt high and mighty political heads. Sathyaraj, shown as a revolutionary hero creating a change, runs a Makkal Iyakkam in the film, a stark similarity to actor Vijay’s Makkal Iyakkam.
Suffused with political innuendos and punch dialogues, the film touched upon various issues of relevance today, including corruption in the higher echelons of the government, stashing of black money abroad by Indians, corruption in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, sexual exploits of godmen, travails of Indian fishermen and the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. These issues also could be inferred from the speech of the filmmaker, when he explained his film.
“The film is reflective of the anger within me about today’s happenings,” the director said, amid applause and nods of acceptance from members of the film fraternity present at the audio launch. Sharing his angst were actors Sathyaraj, Seeman, film producer Kalaipuli Dhanu and FEFSI president VC Guhanathan. The film boasts of a largely-pro AIADMK cast, including star speaker Radharavi and founder of Naam Tamilar Party Seeman, now with the AIADMK front.