“MOTHER – THERE’S NO OTHER”

Today is a special day to me in more ways than one! One of my topmost priorities on my wish list got ticked!

I get to share my thoughts with like-minded ‘cinemaholics’. I call myself one! It happens to be my mother’s birthday. She was the epitome of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Woman of Substance and woman of the year (2004). Little did I know that my ‘amma’ would have such an ‘underlined effect” on my dream-career!

Rewind to a 6th grader, an avaricious reader, blessed (which I then thought was my bane not boon) with an amma who would show me the dictionary diligently whenever I mispronounced an English word.

This was irrespective of whether she was in the kitchen cooking, or proof reading with her pencil in hand or with a paint brush doing what she loved best!

I feel terrrrible now that I made no efforts to conceal my most exasperated expressions that fleeted across my ‘oh god why give me a mom like this’ face!

Every evening amma and I discussed a book I had to read and we weaved our way into the plot sub plot and minds of all the characters, an in depth ‘analysis-paralysis’.

Decades later I got involved in the making of my husband’s debut film ‘Thoovaanam’ which I subtitled.

VTV followed by Enthiran opened a whole new world to me. From August till date I have subtitled 20 films…within 6 months.

”And my destination makes it worth the while

Pushing through the darkness still another mile”.

With due respect to Hindi being our national language, there are 22 major languages within India. English binds the majority of the urban population in all cities, legacy of the British!

Down south, Thamizh, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada play a major role. So why are our South Indian films not finding their due place in the global arena of the celluloid world? It surely cannot be due to lack of content or talent? I think it is basic non-awareness and misconception. Non-awareness as to when, where, which international film festival to send? Misconception that entries to festivals are solely art films or merely a marketing strategy. Worse still, only those films that fail at the box office are sent to festivals!!! Trust me, that’s so far from the truth, as far as earth to Pluto!

With God’s helping hand, I have managed to slowly spread the word around to technicians, cast, crew, press, and media that we can change our celluloid history. I am happy to see a new awakening in Sollywood (South Indian film fraternity)!

“I have a dream that one day every nook and corner of the world will appreciate our South Indian films.

We will make our own indelible foot prints in the reel world sans time, space, religion and region” I would like to wrap up with this disclaimer. I do not profess to be an expert on cinema. These are the ramblings of a passionate and perseverant mind. I may often need to have my hand held and my thoughts guided. I am just an ordinary lady with ‘goliath’ dreams to elevate Indian cinema. I just dare to dream! Thank you amma for making me what I am today…

I’m sure you are up there watching over me… with your ‘Vijayalakshmi’ smile as you read this on your birthday!