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Riding the crest
After playing strong supporting roles Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has turned director with Aarohanam. She speaks to Sudhish Kamath about her celluloid journey
For 30 years now, Lakshmy has been nursing a dream. When her debut feature film Aarohanam hits the screens on July 27, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan’s dream will turn into a fairytale!
Aarohanam features strong, spirited women and tackles domestic issues with sensitivity. We caught it at a private screening and the early buzz includes director K. Balachander himself showering the film with praise for Lakshmy’s conviction and experiments with linearity.
As we dig deeper into her story, we realise only a mother could have made this film. You must have been familiar with Lakshmy as an actress over the past few years, having played strong supporting roles in over 30 Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films including Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, Yuddham Sei, Poi Solla Porum, Eeram, Naan Mahaan Alla, Vettaikaaran. Today, she’s a household name having done over 175 episodes with Aval (on Vijay TV).
But it was in 1984 when TV serials were just coming in that actress-turned-filmmaker Lakshmy took her first step towards chasing her goal of bringing stories to life. “I was introduced to someone working in Doordarshan and started working on 13 episodes based on short stories that used to appear in a women’s magazine.
But by the time things materialised, she had to move to the United States. “My husband got a posting with IBM and I decided to move because we were expecting our first child.”
In the next 20 years, she straddled many worlds — from the U.S. to Singapore to Muscat to Coimbatore — taking care of her family and managing careers in business, fashion designing and event management when a chance encounter with Malayalam filmmaker Lohithadas brought her back to the camera.
“We had a farmhouse and he wanted to shoot there. We didn’t give the place but he approached me for the next film and that’s how I came back to cinema — with Chakaramuthu, the remake of Kasturimaan. I played Kavya’s single mom and I got a meaty 32 scene role and a well-etched out mother-daughter arc to prove myself as an actor,” she says.
She continued her experiments with short films and thanks to her marketing acumen, was successful in shooting them in Tamil and Malayalam. “I just walked in to Jaya TV and asked them for a slot. They gave me a slot and I even ended up making a profit.”
Lakshmy shot six such films for TV while she continued acting. She also made short films and one of her shorts Radio which she made for SCARF on positive mental health won awards all around the world.
After doing four Malayalam films, she shifted to Chennai in 2006. “Pirivom Santhipom was my first Tamil film.” And before she knew it, she had 15 offers.
It was in 2009 that she attended the screenwriting workshop organised by Kamal Haasan at IIT, Madras. “I thirst for knowledge and was so excited. The workshop opened many doors for me. It was like someone taking me to the sea and telling me that I could either just jump in and help myself to how much ever I could absorb or take back a little in a glass. That exposure really affected me.” She had just written a story in 2008 about a woman who inspired her a lot but moved on to writing another film called Kural 786 after the workshop.
“Whenever I met actors Raji Vijayasarathy and Uma Padmanabhan at shows we would wonder: We see so many spirited women around but we don’t see them on screen. We wanted to make a desi Hangover kind of a film and have a blast. As we got deeper into the third character in the film, I realised that I had already written about this person in 2008, the story I had shelved. And soon her character dominated and took over the film. I produced it myself because it was an experiment. I did not know if it was possible for me to translate what I had in my head on to the screen.”
Last August, she decided to stop taking on new films just to focus on her film. She signed up for Aval so that it would give her “the pocket money” she needed to produce the film. “With TV, you know you have to devote half a month and are able to plan better. With films, the dates keep changing all the time.”
Lakshmy shot her 90-minute Aarohanam in just 20 days with a Canon 5D digital camera, working with its limitations. “Aarohanam is upswing, a crescendo... And our film is about that ‘aarohanam’ in the central character’s life.”
Her three daughters — Sharadha, Sruthi and Shreeya — pitched in and her husband has been managing the household for the last six months. “Sruthi was my assistant director and Sharadha was one of the co-producers. My little one is my right hand. It’s a family affair,” she smiles.
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The moment of truth
“Mysskin had only one condition for Yuddham Sei: ‘If you are ready to shave your head, you can do this role.’ I had never removed my metti in the past 27 years and even if the pottu moved from its place, I would feel insecure. And going mottai was something unimaginable. I was complaining there are no meaty roles and when there was one, why should I not do it? It was not like cutting off my hand or leg... it was hair. The moment I did it, I felt so light, I was rid of all that baggage of superstition. I didn’t want to hide it from my 90-year-old father. So I called him and told him I cut my hair. How short, he asked. Very short, I said. As luck would have it, one of the local newspapers carried a story that I had tonsured and I felt relieved that I didn’t have to break it to him. So I went home and he didn’t say a word. Finally, I asked him why he didn’t say anything. He just smiled and said: ‘It looks good on you’.”
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article3580970.ece
The part Sudish missed in The Hindu :lol2:
http://sudhishkamath.com/2012/06/28/...n-the-upswing/Quote:
Lakshmy has subverted every cliche Tamil cinema has been infested with over the last two decades and turns it into a celebration. Mothers will weep and the film is sure to sweep you off your feet with its brand of feel good entertainment. This is a film made with so much heart.
One that Bala, Vasanta Balan, Sashikumar, Balaji and every other filmmaker branching out from that school of cinema must watch. To learn that you don’t need to show poverty and misery to make people cry under the pretext of realism. You don’t need to paint the rich as evil and poor as good in every film saying that the story demanded the stereotypes. You don’t need to blatantly manipulate or exaggerate any condition – physical or mental – to tell stories of suffering. It’s a trend that has continued all the way till Vazhukku Enn 18/9. It’s high time someone stopped the pity-party. It’s something I have been praying for, for years: READ THIS. Lakshmy does exactly that.
One may have legitimate criticisms about these films, but the way Sudhish objects to them is just offensively stupid. இதுல "READ THIS"-னு all caps-ல அவர் எழுதுன அந்த மகாமொக்கை பழைய post-க்கு link வேற!
He he Sema comedy intha aalu.. and any link between his GOW review and this interview of Kashyap http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/e...w/11252536.cms ?? :)
Btw, I don't know what he means by this.He put it differently on twitter. This sounds meaningless.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sudhish Kamath
This weekend release....
http://i48.tinypic.com/2505oyf.jpg
I thot it was July release?
anyway, shades of vazhakku in the trailer...paarpOm
anandha vikatan- 44 Marks
Aarohanam
Written & Directed by : Lakshmy Ramakrishnan
Produced by : A. V. Anoop
Starring :
Viji Chandrasekhar as Nirmala
Jayaprakash as MLA
Rajee Vijayasarathy as Aunty N°1
Uma Padmanabhan as Aunty N°2
Sampath as Psy Doc
Veeresh as Senthil
Jai Queheni as Selvi
Music by K
Before even you give a thought, get it straight that Aarohanam is a documentary type. As there are many new undefined genres floating around, I like to coin a genre for this picture "Filmocumenti" (sounds like Italian too). In the 80s - Mid 90s, there were 10 mins length "preachy" documentaries screened just before the main picture. Aarohanam comes under this category, except its runtime is 90 mins.
Two aunties while petering run down a lady, Nirmala. She is a mother of 2, Selvi and Senthil. She rises them all by herself by doing a variety of jobs including scavenging and provides them good food, education etc.., Her husband left her not tolerating her sudden change in her attitude. She gets angry, not always but she choses the moment to get angry. One night she goes missing, and thats the night of the day the 2 aunties ran her down. Senthil and his dad look for her in vain, after allowing us to take in all the family quarrels - past and present. To our suprise, Nirmala is unhurt in the accident (later the Psy Doc justifies it, don't worry). She is taken to Meridian hotel by the aunties, where she dances with the party goers (Dont even think to ask how is it possible for a unknown lady to dance in a high profile party that too in traditional dress/makeup). When the song ends, she gets mad. But luckily the psy doc is around, and takes her to his clinic. The family unite there and the Doc tells them that their mother is suffering from Bi-polar. All ends well, giving a lesson to the run away husband how big a women is Nirmala.
And during the end credits they show many historical characters who had Bi-polar. All were American or European, I wonder why they showed it to us ? And you will be disappointed if you are waiting to get a glimpse of Danush while end credits roll.
Firstly :
This film certainly had a big potential to give an interesting view of 2 different status women in the soceity. It started like that, but after 15 mins, the film concentrates on Nirmala and ends there. If it was about :- a Rich bachelor women & her struggle, a women married to a military man & her agony and finaly a not-so-rich women with mental disorder & her loneliness - fate brings them together and all the 3 realise the common thingy in them - Liberty. They use the night to unleash their freedom -:- it would have been an award winning materiel.
Secondly :
It could have been a mystery/suspence, if they did not show the initial accident. All could have been said as a revelation in the 2nd half. That could have atleast kept the viewers attentive. And rather than making her dance, the reunion of 3 women could have been more interesting.
Finally :
There is no contrast between the high style life and slums. They both look bright, clean and beautiful on screen. And Jayaprakash - why was he there as a MLA - just to say in the end that he enjoyed the party ! Sampath's mustach deserves a spl mention.
But in the given 90 mins, the creator does touch many social issues - and as a final touch creates an awareness for psy related problems and existing treatements.
For those who like to observe different camera angles, this film is to look out for.
I felt the same..Quote:
Originally Posted by mappi
Finally managed to watch it... at just 1 hour 15 mins, its the shortest tamil film ever.
I expected a mother sentiment movie... nothing could be farther from this :lol:
More of 3 and ME... if you get what I mean.
What amazed me most was how the director moved from flashback to present and back again swiftly without the viewer losing track of the narration. shabash for that!
definitely one of the better movies of 2012.