CIFF 2024 | Filmmaking shouldn't be hurried, not a 9-5 job, says Kottukkaali producer

CHENNAI: Koozhangal team’s second outing Kottukkaali, featuring actors Soori and Anna Ben in the lead with Sivakarthikeyan as producer, continues to garner acclaim. The film, which was screened at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, has now been selected for the Tamil feature films competition at the Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) 2024.

The Kottukkaali team graced the CIFF 2024 with their presence. “I have attended many festivals across countries, but it is always special to be in my homeyard,” the director began his speech, expressing his joy.

The team stressed the importance of remaining faithful to their story and ensuring their hard work was validated. They worked for more than two and a half years on pre-production, which enabled them to complete the entire shoot in just 31 days. “Filmmaking shouldn’t be hurried. It’s not a nine to five daily job. The creators should be given full freedom to execute their vision,” the co-producer Kalai Arasu noted.

PS Vinoth Raj’s films have stood out, not just for their craftsmanship but also for their grey-shaded characters with deep arcs. Speaking on this, he said, “My stories always arise from real incidents. The characters in them are not meant to be judged but understood.”

Kottukkaali, not to a surprise, had no music but was highly appreciated for its sound design in the film. “Music enhances the mood of a scene. However, here, the characters and core emotions had already built up so much intensity through it. We worked on nearly eight versions of sound mixing, which took six to seven months,” sound designer Suren G explained.

The film, released in August, has prompted discussions about its profitability at the box office. The co-producer said, “Films don’t become profitable in just one or two days. It takes time and depends on factors like the OTT market. Sometimes, they sell again after a few years. But with Kottukkaali, it is already in a profitable zone.”

Debates also arose before the release on whether artistic films like Kottukkaali required to be screened in theaters. “Denying films, the chance to be shown in theaters is akin to denying entry to the street through discrimination,” PS Vinoth Raj concluded with a powerful statement, earning a round of applause at the festival.

REVOLUTION WITH QUBE SYSTEM

Under the Masterclass and Conversation segment at the 22nd Chennai International Film Festival, Senthil Kumar, co-founder of Qube Cinema, delved deep into the topic, Revolutionising Cinema Projection, in the presence of the festival’s director AVM K Shanmugam. He spoke about the introduction of the Qube system in theatres. In 2005, it made its way to the Sathyam Cinemas through Chicken Little. Qube Cinema Network is currently working to set up the first virtual production stage for a higher quality film production.