Southern Spice: Love gone wrong

Actor Revathy, who received an award at the recent Indian National Awards ceremony, talks about her film Red Building Where the Sun Sets.

The short film won in the non-feature section for best film on family welfare. It is now free to watch on YouTube.

Revathy spoke to tabloid! recently on...

The award

It felt very good and came as a surprise.

The film

Red Building Where the Sun Sets is a part of many films made by Edu Media, Bengaluru, under a project called School Cinema.

My film is for parents of children between the age group of six and eight. It is made from a child's point of view, his reaction to the quarrels his parents have day in and day out, and how their arguments affect him.

Most children are witness to their parents' arguments. It is not uncommon, but it is important to give children the security of love and home and make them realise that arguments between people are normal and it will not shake their world.

This message is important, especially these days when our lives outside our homes are under pressure and we bring our tensions back home.

The script

Suresh Triveni is the script writer. I related to the basic concept and the way it was written. It is not very easy to sketch the love story of two individuals going bitter over the years in a matter of 15 minutes and Suresh [did] that with both clarity and sensitivity.

The hurdles she faced

We had a limited budget and at the same time did not want to compromise on the quality, be it technically or with the choice of the cast. We shot in Chennai. The main characters are played by Anu Hassan, Sunil Vishnu, child actor Abhay Nanda and Dhritiman Chatterjee. Cinematography is by Alphonse Roy and music by Amartya Rahut.

Her upcoming project

I am working on a feature film in Hindi, my next project as a director.

Real heroes rescue reel heroes

Tragedy was averted on the sets of Marenthen Mannithen, directed by debutant Kumar Nagendra.

With 170 huts erected on 21 acres of land to resemble a fishing village, the unit was all ready along the banks of the river Godavari in Chinchinada village of Andhra Pradesh to enact a flood scene. It was well past midnight when the camera rolled on the lead actors, Aadhi and Lakshmi Manchu and the flood gates of the reservoir were opened as the director called for "action".

Before they knew it, Aadhi and Manchu were dragged towards the river up to 400 feet by the gushing waters. Thanks to the timely action of local fishermen, the duo were rescued in the nick of time.

Marenthen Mannithen, produced by Manchi, also features Tapsee and Sundeep Kishan.

Love-birds unite

Actors Prasanna and Sneha tied the knot on Friday in an elaborate ceremony held in Chennai.

Since the groom and the bride belong to two different communities, the wedding rites were conducted twice, one according to Brahmin rites and another conforming to Naidu traditions.

Raattinam's out tomorrow

The Tamil film Raattinam is releasing in India tomorrow.

This romantic story written and directed by debutant K.S. Thangasamy introduces newcomers Laghubaran and Swati in lead roles.

Produced by J. Mahalakshmi, the music has been composed by Manuramesan and cinematography is by P. Rajasundar.

A native of Thoothikkudi, Thangasamy has always been enamoured by the celluloid world ever since his childhood days. And inspiring him were directors K. Balachander, Bhagyaraj and Cheran. After working in the industry for 17 years and learning the ropes under several directors he is now ready with Raattinam.

"Most of my cast [are] new faces," says the 37-year-old director.

"And this love story has a different angle to it. It is all about the highs and lows of life, just like a ride on a raattinam [giant wheel]."

MUK's going to Cannes

Muppozhudum Un Karpanaigal, starring Atharvaa and Amala Paul, has been selected for screening at the Cannes International Film Festival.

The director and producer of the film, Eldred Kumar, has been invited to the exclusive Producer's Network. MUK was screened on the opening day yesterday with another screening scheduled for Tuesday.

For R.S. Infotainment, an independent production company that has hits like Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, Ko and Rangam (in Telegu) to its credit, this is a new feather in its cap.