After Sasikumar's Subramaniapuram, the film that is making waves both at the urban and rural centres, is Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, a film which focusses on kabadi. And after watching the movie, we can say, without a doubt, that the 30-year-old debutant director Susindran has won the game quite handsomely.
He speaks to rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about the whole experience.
You've just returned from your village. Were you on a promotional trip?
No, I went to see my mother as she badly wanted to see the film made by her son. I took her to a theatre and showed her the film. She was overwhelmed. From there, I went to Velankanni to pray.
Were you influenced by Chak De India? There is a lot of similarity between the two films; a game, a losing team and a coach trying to make it winnable.
No, I was in no way influenced by Chak De India. I had written the script much before the film. I belong to a village in Pazhani and my father was a kabadi player and the captain of the team in the 80s. He used to tell me the insults and pains he had to go through because he played the game. Later, I too played the game. was a school and district kabadi player.
When I came to Chennai to be a filmmaker, I saw Lagaan. The film was a revelation to me. I thought if cricket can be made into a successful film, why not kabadi, a game I played. That is how I started writing the script. At that time, Chak De India was not even released in the theatres.
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