As a “masterpiece” and a “sensational debut … that is evocative, visceral and powerful,” critics say about the film.
Bombay (AFP) .- In a bustling Indian market, a boy selling flowers was amazed by cameramen on large cranes during a filming. Two decades later, that boy became the new sensation of Indian cinema.
Koozhangal (The Pebbles, as translated into English), PS Vinothraj’s first film, was chosen to represent India in the category of best film at next year’s Oscars.
The 32-year-old filmmaker drew on his family’s struggle against poverty and his sister’s experience with family abuse to tell the story of an alcoholic father and son traversing the arid landscape of their home state of Tamil Nadu. .
“My experience in life hardened me and helped me in this movie. That kind of life became the movie, “Vinothraj told AFP.
The result is a drama that Indian critics have called a “masterpiece.” and as a “Sensational debut … that is evocative, visceral and powerful.”
It won the top prize at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, whose jury said the effort “simple and humble in appearance” is a “lesson in pure cinema.”
Vinothraj joins an emerging movement of Tamil directors, many from poor backgrounds like himself, who address social concerns through common characters.
If he did not enter the festival circuit, the filmmaker intended to exhibit Pebbles in the communities where it was filmed, with less than 40 actors and workers.
This debut feature is the culmination of the young filmmaker’s long journey to the big screen. He started selling flowers in Madurai at the age of nine to help his family after the death of his father. “So much has happened in my life and all of those things prepared me for this,” he said.
“I don’t speak English and I have no education. The journey of life taught me everything, those are the metaphors of the film, that life is a journey ”, declared.
Vinothraj worked during his childhood and adolescence, changing town and city.
At one point he was a worker in a textile company in Tiruppur, where he saw “how many lives were ruined” by personal and financial problems.
“Some got married very young and had to fight a lot,” he recalled. “All that stayed with me, wanting to express those struggles.”
Simple stories
Believing that education would help him achieve his dream of becoming a filmmaker, he tried to go back to school but was told he was too old.
He moved to the state capital of Chennai and his knowledge of cinema grew by watching movies while working in a DVD store, before landing a job as an assistant in short films and theater.
When searching for ideas for her first feature film, Vinothraj’s sister came into the family home crying with her two-year-old in her arms.
Her husband had thrown her out of their home and she had to walk 13 km to reach her family. “I was in pain and wondered why life is a struggle. And I realized that I am in the cinema, that is my tool, I can talk about my pain through the cinema ”, he commented.
The journey of the father and his son in the film is told from the child’s point of view. The harsh rural environment of Tamil Nadu, as well as the impact it has on the characters, is a central theme of the film.
The title comes from a word used by the Tamils to refer to the hills and the pebbles. that rural people put in their mouths to fight their thirst during long trips.
“Knowing that this film won the Tiger Award (in Rotterdam) and that it will represent India at the Oscars fills me with pride,” said Vinothraj.
Her next project is also inspired by a family situation, and she says she intends to keep counting “Simple and honest stories about life.”
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
