Documentary film on Tambaram showcases people’s resilience

Whenever filmmaker Viswesh S stepped out of his house in Tambaram to buy groceries, he could feel a sense of insecurity among shopkeepers. The only topic they discussed was pandemic. To provide an affirmation that everything will be back to normal, he directed a six-minute documentary titled Namma Tambaram. It is about testimonials of people getting affected due to the virus and what’s their mindset towards the new beginning. “It’s been more than 100 days and slowly, people are getting adjusted to the new normal. This documentary film revolves around the real-time scenarios of the situations that we are facing now and ends on a positive note of how we rise back stronger to the new beginning. I wanted to do a film about the entire city but wasn’t sure about the response of sellers. Since I am from Tambaram, I knew this neighbourhood very well,” says Viswesh, who is also a cinematographer.

When quizzed about how he managed to get the responses from shopkeepers he says that it was a tricky one. “They thought I am from the media and refrained from facing the camera. When they understood my intention, they were ready to talk. Earlier, I have made documentaries on Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat; so I have the experience of getting people to share their life stories. Moreover, I am a Tambaram boy and most of the people have seen me many times,” he smiles.

The documentary also has Mohammed Iqbal Firdhouse, a book store owner, talking about the changes that happened to the locality in the past 50 years. The film also shows a shot of Tambaram Railway Station with mural art by Varshini Ramakrishnan as a tribute to the frontline COVID-19 workers. “This is the first time an Indian railway station has paid tribute to the COVID-19 warriors and we are so proud of it. Once a bustling locality and the entrance to Chennai, now the entire town looks deserted,” Viswesh shares.