Tamil filmmaker whose cheap Pebbles is the entry of the Oscar of India | Video Stories

PS Vinothraj has joined the forthcoming Tamil leadership team – many from disadvantaged backgrounds – to address inequality.

In one of India’s largest markets, a child laborer carrying flower bouquets was attracted to photographers riding large cranes during filming. Twenty years later, the young man became very popular in the cinema of his country.

The first PS Vinothraj movie with low budget Koozhangal – known internationally with its title rendered Pebbles – has been selected as India’s all-time leading international film festival at the Oscars next year.

A 32-year-old boy has come out of his family’s poverty-stricken war and his sister’s experience of domestic violence to tell the story of an alcoholic father and his young son walking in an empty, unforgiving neighborhood in his hometown of Tamil Nadu.

“My real life experience gave me strength and helped me in this film. Such a life has turned into a movie, “Vinothraj told AFP.

The result is a theatrical performance that Indian critics described as “artistic” and “fascinating … that appeals to the senses, visually appealing and powerful”.

He won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, where judges said “what seemed simple and humble” was “a lesson in radio video”.

Vinothraj has joined a growing group of Tamil leaders – many of them from similar struggles – to deal with moral inequalities through the words and lives of everyday people.

Had it not been taken over by the festival area, its original plan would feature Pebbles in the villages he shot, with at least 40 athletes and staff.

It is the culmination of a long journey for a young filmmaker to a major theater. She started selling flowers in Madurai at the age of nine to support her family after her father’s death.

“A lot has happened in my life and that has prepared me,” he said through a translator.

“I do not speak English and I have no education. The journey of life has taught me everything. These are the illustrations of the film – this is a journey of a lifetime. “

Vinothraj worked during his youth and adolescence, moving to various towns and cities.

At one point, he was an employee of a textile company in Tiruppur, where he “saw the lives of many people ruined in front of me” because of personal and financial problems.

Some married young and had many problems. It all came down to me, I want to explain the problem. “

‘Pain through a video’

Believing that education could help him achieve his dream of becoming a director, the aspirant tried to return to school but was told he was too old.

He later moved to the capital of Chennai and developed his knowledge of video watching while working in a DVD store, before working as an assistant in a short film and theater.

While looking for ideas for her first film, Vinothraj’s sister walked through the door of the family home, weeping, with her two-year-old son in her arms. Her husband was forced to leave his family and walked the eight miles[13 km]back on foot.

“I was in pain and wondered why life is so difficult. And I realized, while in the video, that was my tool. I can express my grief through movies. ”

The journey of father and child to Pebbles is told through the eyes of the child, while the rural area of ​​Tamil Nadu is a complex and complex one that takes its people and the main theme of the film.

The theme comes from a term similar to the tamil used in the mountains – and villagers put their mouths to quench their thirst on long journeys.

“Knowing that the film has won the Tiger Award and being sent to India for the Oscars, I am proud,” Vinothraj said.

“Watching the film with an audience that helped me a lot, I feel like a big celebration for me.”

Her next work is also inspired by family events, and she wants to continue to create “simple, honest stories of life”.