By Anand Holla
At the 62nd National Film Awards Ceremony — the highest awards in the field of Indian entertainment — in New Delhi, India, on Sunday evening, a non-resident Indian from Doha, too, went up on stage to receive an award.
Christy Siluvappan, who works as a media manager at Al Jazeera Network here in Doha, is the producer of a gripping Tamil drama Kuttram Kadithal (The Punishment), and the film was adjudged as the Best Tamil film of the year.
Last week, Community did an interview with Siluvappan, for whom filmmaking has always been a passion. “It was a great experience meeting all other awardees in this event, and meeting Industry stalwarts of India was very encouraging and energising, as well,” Siluvappan said, from Delhi.
Directed by debutant Bramma G, the film tells the story of 24 hours in the life of a young female teacher who has married against her family’s wishes, and is trying to start a new life with her beloved engineer husband. Things go awry when she encounters a person she has never met in her life. Soon, she finds herself being chased by the police and the media. She flees the city and becomes Most Wanted overnight.
Siluvappan said, “We were appreciated and welcomed by many industry biggies such as actor-producer Dhanush, who too received an award. Director Barathiraja Sir, who was the Jury Chairman, appreciated our work as this is our debut production under Chris Pictures. My friends in Qatar and other countries wished us all the success and we are super excited about our future ventures. I look forward for the well-heeled NRI businessmen to see opportunities in Indian Cinema and come forward to turn their passions into reality.”
The biggest challenge was to challenge their own selves, Siluvappan said, when asked about the backbreaking task of helming his debut that has been travelling film festivals all over, and is slated for a release this month.
“It’s very difficult to know when we can actually feel satisfied. The question is when can we put a full stop, and say alright, this shot is good. So the biggest challenge was always within,” he said.
WINNERS: The film’s director Bramma, left, with producer Christy Siluvappan.
