I eye Chennai, say filmmakers!

I eye Chennai, say filmmakers!

After Madurai and southern Tamil Nadu, it is Chennai that has become a favourite for directors

M Suganth

The man vasanai present in the visuals of Paruthiveeran and Aadukalam seems to have been increasingly replaced by the sands and salty breeze of the Marina and Royapuram! While southern Tamil Nadu is still a preferred location for Kollywood, Chennai too is growing into a favourite destination for modern-day filmmakers.
If films like Marina, Vazhakku En 18/9, Atta Kathi and Vada Chennai showcase the less-seen sides of the city, Neethane En Ponvasantham, Oru Kal Oru Kannadi and 3 portray the city and the people that we often associate with — trendy and modern.
Director Pandiraj, who is bringing the life on the Marina beach on screen, says that the main reason why he chose to set his film in the city was because both his two earlier films were set in villages. "But I wanted to show a unique facet of the city; and, the Marina is a place where you can find people from all strata of the society," he explains.
At the audio launch of debutant director Ranjith's Atta Kathi, a film set in the villages that form north Madras, director Vetri Maaran said, "Many believe that Chennai city includes only the trendy localities, but there are a lot of villages on the outskirts that form an integral part. This is where you'll find people who have been here for generations. Though many filmmakers, including myself, show these regions to be a hotbed of violence, it is also a place full of normal people and not many have bothered to showcase this facet of the city."
Filmmakers feel that Chennai, as a location, offers lots of options creatively. "Every area in the city can be turned a character by itself and lend colour to your story. And each locality has a lot of stories to offer," says Ranjith, who says that his film was a result of his desire to document the life of the place he was born and brought up in. He feels that most filmmakers have often misrepresented the city. "The Chennai dialect is shown as slang used by gangsters or used for comic effect. But it is also spoken by a majority of the city's population," he says.
But shooting in Chennai is also not without its own drawbacks. Says Pandiraj, "Getting permissions to shoot is quite difficult. That is one reason why many filmmakers go to Pondicherry to shoot scenes set in the city. Also, crowd control is a big issue."

Marina

Oru Kal Oru Kannadi