Mari Selvaraj made his directorial debut with Pariyerum Perumal. The film has been selected for the International Film Festival Of India (IFFI), Goa. Before its release, the movie had made clear its unconventional undercurrents through posters; some of which featured only dogs.
Starring Kathir, Ananthi and Yogi Babu in lead roles, Pariyerum Perumal was produced by Kaala director Pa. Ranjith who has been known for making political movies and admits to using the medium to spread his ideology. Hence, it was only natural for a movie backed by his Neelam Productions to be tackling social issues; which in the case of Pariyerum Perumal happens to be caste.
As the movie finds its way to the 49th IFFI, its director Mari Selvaraj spoke to Silverscreen about what the selection means to him and his dreams for the movie. “That my movie got selected to the festival is a big thing for a first-time director like me,”
“Pariyerum Perumal speaks about caste politics which isn’t confined to Tamil Nadu alone. The movie reflects the pain of the Indian society as a whole. Being viewed by a larger Indian audience at a film festival means it reaches out to those many more people which makes me glad,” Selvaraj says.
Also selected for the festival is the Malayalam movie Ee. Ma. Yau – a film that has religion at its core. It talks about the travails of a devoted son who has promised an extravagant Christian burial for his father just before his passing. Its director Lijo Jose Pellissery says that both Ee. Ma. Yau and his previous movie Angamaly Diaries were born out of his effort to create an international movie firmly rooted in local settings. Pariyerum Perumal, which talks about caste and caste politics with its story rooted in Tirunelveli, seems to be treading the same line.
When asked whether the selection of both these movies to the festival indicated that people have started looking at religion and caste critically, Selvaraj says, “Yes, I think the common people have begun to look at things like religion and caste in depth. They’ve come to realize that these are topics that need to handled carefully. I think the creators have also come to realize this fact and are making movies based on these topics. I think we’ll be seeing more movies dealing in these topics in the future.”
He is excited about the fact that his movie would help initiate a discussion among other creators who will be watching it at the festival. “That is enough for me,” he says.
However, Ee. Ma. Yau and Pariyerum Perumal, along with movies like Peranbu, Toilet, October and Sudani From Nigeria fall in the middle of the spectrum whose ends are occupied by art-house movies and hardcore commercial Bollywood films like Tiger Zinda Hai and Padmaavat. Padmaavat was reportedly made on a budget of Rs. 180-220 crores making it the second most expensive Indian movie while Tiger Zinda Hai was made on Rs.150 crore.
This explains why the festival has no qualms in tagging Padmaavat – which is believed to have raked in more than 550 crores, and Tiger Zinda Hai – which earned 339 crores, under the mainstream category of the Indian Panorama section. Mahanati and Raazi are the two other films belonging to the category. When pitted against such heavyweights, the budget of Pariyerum Perumal’s seems shoestring in comparison. While the budget is no criterion in judging a film, it sure makes its presence felt in the aesthetics of a movie.
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Padmaavat is headlined by Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Shahid Kapoor, while Raazi features Alia Bhat. However, Pariyerum Perumal features mostly young and upcoming actors yet to find mainstream fame, while October has a Varun Dhawan headlining its cast. This could be the reason why these movies, despite being thoroughly profitable ventures, did not end up featuring in highest grossing lists.
In spite of all this, Selvaraj feels that Pariyerum Perumal has achieved what it initially set out to do. “People have accepted the movie and are celebrating the movie. I think the movie has managed to touch the souls of the people. More than the financial success, I wanted the movie to kick-start discussions about caste and caste politics between family members and friends. I think the movie has succeeded in this.
The positive buzz generated by the movie upon its release was so much that Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap tweeted about the movie seeking to know more about it.
What is this film? Is it playing with subtitles in mumbai?
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 30, 2018
The strong word of mouth continues to date that some theatres continue to hold special screenings of the movie.
For those who missed this on the large screen … #PariyerumPerumal in #Vettri from Friday !!! pic.twitter.com/rDBGHNkkCx
— Rakesh Gowthaman (@VettriTheatres) October 31, 2018
There finally seems to be a breeding ground for Pariyerum Perumal and its like. Film festivals taking cognizance of this fact is an indicator of good times that lie ahead for these movies.