The Hindu : Kerala News : A film of his own

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Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008
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A film of his own

Priyadarshan says ’Kanchivaram’ is a very personal and realistic film.

“Kanchivaram is a film that I made for myself and not for the audience,” says acclaimed film-maker Priyadarshan of the film he terms the best work of his career so far.

“Kanchivaram is a very personal and realistic film. Throughout the making of the film I have not bothered about how the audience would react to the film or how it will fare at the box office,” he said, addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club on Monday.

The film, which was screened on the opening day of the Soorya Festival here on Sunday, portrays the plight of the silk-weavers of Kancheepuram in pre-Independence India.

Labour unionism

It depicts the rise of labour unionism among the weavers’ community. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival where it received rave reviews and was widely appreciated.

Priyadarshan said that he felt an immense relief after making ‘Kanchivaram’ and that the reactions to the film were highly motivating and encouraging. “From the reactions I received from film-makers like Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan and also from the Toronto Film Festival, I think that ‘Kanchivaram’ has accomplished its objective. I am now motivated to do more such realistic films,” he said adding that he carried the subject of ‘Kanchivaram’ in his mind for nine years, unable to find a producer. The film has been produced by Percept Picture Company and Gulshan Kumar.

The award-winning director is planning to make another off-beat film in Hindi on AIDS after his current Bollywood projects — ‘Billoo Barber’ with Shah Rukh Khan and a children’s film starring Darsheel Safary.

Asked if the switch-over from commercial to serious film-making had been difficult, Priyadarshan replied in the negative. “It was only because I couldn’t find deserving stories in Malayalam that I did my first personal film in Tamil. Besides, ‘Kanchivaram’ is a typical Tamil story,” said Priyadarshan who also wrote the film.

He added that although he first thought of casting Mohanlal in the lead role, it did not materialise due to the actor’s inconvenience. “Another reason was that the language used in the film is an old form of Tamil which could be difficult for Mohanlal,” he said. Tamil actor Prakash Raj plays the lead role in the film.

“Kanchivaram was not made as an art film but as a big film at a production cost of Rs.1.25 crore. I made no compromises and we had the best technicians and artistes for the film,” Priyadarshan said. He added that it was important to note that many artistes, including the lead actor and the art director, worked for free on the film.

Recent trends

Talking about the recent trends in the film industry, Mr. Priyadarshan said that the entire system of film-making and distribution was changing now. “The trick is to release as many prints as possible and register maximum collection in the first two weeks itself. The fate of a film is decided within the initial weeks now,” he said.

Priyadarshan also said that there was no reason for the film fraternity in Kerala to worry about the entry of multinationals in film production as they could make Malayalam films more international.

On the reign of superstars, he said that stars would remain in the industry as long as people wanted them. “When Mohanlal and Mammotty first came to the film industry they could survive among the stalwarts of the time because they were better actors. Now, these superstars can be replaced only if better actors come to the industry,” he said.

Sangeetha Unnithan

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